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Look back at the some of the highest paying IT certifications of 2020.

System Administrators, or SysAdmins, are the “installation specialists,” “configuration specialists” and “fixers” in IT. If you’ve ever seen Pulp Fiction, SysAdmins are like Winston Wolfe — their job is to solve problems.

Cryptography can be used for many purposes, but there are two types of cryptographic algorithms you need to understand: symmetric and asymmetric. Learn more from the experts at Global Knowledge.

Every second of every day, data is being sent and received. Billions of data packets are processed by your company’s network every day. In fact, you received dozens of packets just to read this article, but the vast majority of us have no idea how this works. People have no clue as to what goes on behind the scenes to ensure data actually gets to the right device.

For organizations getting started with RHEL, Red Hat Training has developed a series of courses to develop the skills needed for basic administration and configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. These courses introduce key command line concepts and enterprise-level tools, laying the foundation for the rapid deployment of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The curriculum also introduces the basic administration skills needed for resolving configuration issues and integrating Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems with other existing environments. View the slide deck>>

Here's an introduction to encryption. What is it? Why do we need it? It's a complicated area, so we're here to help get your started. You'll understand the general function of three categories of mathematical ciphers: Symmetric, Asymmetric and Hashing. 

Learn about the five types of area networks.

Here are 18 certification options, in no particular order, that are worth your effort based on site searches, feedback from subject matter experts and data in the Global Knowledge 2019 IT Skills and Salary Report.

Project Scope Management sets the foundation for the creation, development and successful delivery of a project. Learn about the project management process here.

As IT departments struggle with skills gaps and businesses attempt to recovery economically from the COVID-19 pandemic, these 10 IT skills are essential to drive success. Job roles in these areas pay well, but decision-makers are struggling to find qualified candidates. If you’re looking to make an IT skills investment or start a new career path this year, these are the areas to consider.

While cybersecurity remains the most popular certification category in our IT Skills and Salary Report, foundational-level certifications highlight our list of the most popular IT certifications of 2020. 

According to the Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report, women make up 16% of the tech workforce, and an even smaller percentage (8%) are at the senior or executive level. Here’s an overview of the most popular and most pursued certifications by women in tech.

If you’re looking to fortify your cloud expertise, there are a number of certifications to consider. We have compiled 10 cloud certifications that are sure to positively affect your career. 

Managers are in dire need of cybersecurity professionals with specific skills. If you’re looking to advance your career, or transfer into the cyber field, now is the time to get certified.

Looking ahead at new and emerging certifications provides insight into the areas deemed valuable in the IT industry. If you are an early adopter or in a position where you need to show that you have the bleeding-edge expertise of a technology, this list of recent and upcoming certifications is for you. 

There’s a reason why one out of four certified IT professionals in North America hold at least one CompTIA certification. IT professionals who hold at least one certification have higher salaries, are more productive and generally are more satisfied in their job than their non-certified peers.

Watch this recorded webinar as CompTIA’s chief technology evangelist and Global Knowledge’s federal sales director discuss how pentesting has morphed.

The Red Hat® Learning Subscription delivers 12-months of unlimited access to all Red Hat Online Training courses. The Standard RHLS subscription is a higher tier with access to 5 certification exams and up to 2 retakes.

Global Knowledge subject matter experts know certification exams inside and out. They understand the study methods and test-taking techniques that pay off the most when it’s exam time. Here are 10 certification exam tips and tricks, directly from our experts and Certification Prep Guides, that will best position you for certification success.

VMware vSphere: ICM 6.7 is the foundation for most other VMware technologies in the software-defined data center. The recent update from 6.5 brings important new features and enhancements.

How do you measure the experience and knowledge of an IT professional? One way is through certifications. Earning any certification is a notable achievement, though not all certifications carry the same perceived worth.

IT is a very fast changing industry – what is hot today may be a tiny niche market in only a few years and lesser known things may turn out to be huge trends. That having been said, there are many certifications that will be around for a long time. However, this does not imply that recertification and/or continuing education credits are not required to maintain certification. Predicting the future is always challenging, including in IT, but these certifications are good bets.

This Certification Prep Guide provides an overview of the current CompTIA Cloud+ certification and offers helpful tips that you can use when preparing for your CompTIA Cloud+ certification exam.

It has been over three years since the last revision of the CompTIA Security+ exam back on May 1, 2014. In fall of 2017, the latest version, SY0-501, was released. This revamped exam retains the same six domains as established in SY0-401, which emphasizes security in three main areas: application, data, and host.

Take your VMware vSphere training to the next level—set up your own training lab environment. This paper is broken down into three major sections: the hardware required, the VMware Workstation configuration, and installing vSphere and vCenter (vC).

A lot of IT pros would like to get their work to fund their training and certifications, but if the issue isn't approached with care and forethought, it can be dangerous territory. So how do you justify the costs of training? Luckily, a help desk tech in the healthcare field named R. Lee Young offered up some great suggestions.

If you are considering career options or have been in the workforce a few years and are seeking a career change, you might want to consider training to become a computer support specialist.

IT professionals benefit from gaining skills in data analysis, cybersecurity, cloud computing, virtualization and hyperconvergence, and mobile app development.

The methods we have used in the past to secure our networks won’t work for tomorrow’s networks. Cloud-based applications and multi-tenant environments require greater scalability, agility and control. Software-defined networking (SDN), such as that provided by VMware NSX, can deliver a new platform that transforms networking and provides for much more specific control of the security of your data and networked applications.  In this white paper, author Bill Ferguson describes the microsegmentation of security and illustrates how you can use NSX to provide security that works on today’s and tomorrow’s networks.

The VMware NSX platform combines networking and security functionality directly in the hypervisor and it interoperable with a vast majority of VMware’s products. The platform provides a set of logical networking elements and services, using logical switching, routing, load balancing, VPN, firewall, etc. This product decouples network functionality from the physical devices.

VMware announced Horizon 7 in February and subsequently released the software updates. Horizon 7 provides a more streamlined, high-performance virtual desktop and application experience. New updates include features such as Instant Clones, Smart Policies, Blast Extreme and greater scalability with Cloud Pod Architecture. Let’s dig into the seven key features that Horizon 7 brings!

Learn how Docker makes it easy to update, test and debug software with this white paper and gain foundational knowledge about Dockerfile, Docker images and containers.

Which mainstay certifications should be in your list of credentials? What's the next up-and-coming certification? This article will help you answer both questions by providing a review of the 15 top-paying certifications.

CompTIA has raised the bar for Network+ candidates. The new certification exam has significant changes to the five "domains" or knowledge areas with new content related to security, cloud, data-center and operational concerns and troubleshooting. There is also a greater emphasis on wireless networking and VoIP. Use this white paper to help you gain an overview of what's new and what's different.

Do you want to take your Power System to higher levels of cloud functionality but don't know what's available? Join us for this free webinar, presented by IBM and sponsored by Global Knowledge, to hear senior power cloud consultants Vess Natchev and Kyle Wurgler share an exciting new cloud solution for Power Systems. In this interactive webinar, you'll gain insight on the details and features of the new cloud solution from IBM and VMware.

With the release of vSphere 6, there are big changes that allow for zero downtime with data access and recovery. The new features enable live migrations across long distances with enhanced vMotion features, datastore backup capabilities around Fault Tolerance upgrades and a new Content Library. These advances help you keep up to date with the latest in server virtualization.

The cloud revolution is truly a revolution - the way we work, learn and even play is very different now than it was just 10 or 15 years and will probably be a lot more different in 10 or 15 years. With this in mind, let's look at 10 ways the cloud will (and to a large degree already has) changed the world.

Cloud computing is a big force in IT today, and it isn't going away. In fact, cloud adoption is going up geometrically, both for end users (think apps on your phone or tablet) as well as for organizations of all sizes. In fact, many smaller organizations may not have any on-premises infrastructure at all, other than networking infrastructure to get connected to the cloud. With this transformation in IT, it behooves all of us in the industry to understand it and adapt or risk being out of a job, like punch card operators.

A range of factors can influence the data center you choose. You should consider all of the factors listed in this white paper before deciding where to place your servers.

It’s not uncommon for different teams to be managing the virtual switch and physical switch configurations. This can make it very difficult to troubleshoot unless each configuration parameter has been gone through manually. There have been enhancements to the vSphere Distributed Switch over the past few years to address these operational challenges.

Virtual storage area network (VSAN) and VMware View can offer cost savings and performance benefits compared to traditional SAN implementations for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). If you are starting a new desktop virtualization project, it would be wise for you to take the time to explore your options and compare VSAN to other options.

There are two types of virtual switches available using vSphere, the vSphere Standard Switch and the vSphere Distributed Switch. The vSphere Standard Switch (vSwitch or vSS) resides in and is manually configured and administered on each ESXi host. The vSphere Distributed Switch (dvSwitch or vDS) provides similar functionality but is centralized to vCenter Server and is more featured. This white paper will cover the vDS architecture as well as an overview of many of the different features that are exclusive to the vSphere Distributed Switch.

Discover the ways in which VMware's new vSphere 6.0 is more powerful, more manageable, more secure, and more flexible than any previous release of vSphere.

What’s the difference between high availability and fault tolerance in VMware vSphere? This article elaborates on first configuring high availability and then layer on the fault tolerance capability. Learn more.

One of the advantages of vSphere is that you can move a virtual machine from one location to another, across servers, storage locations-even data centers. Physical servers don't have that ability and that can have many implications for disaster recovery, availability, and so forth. This white paper explains why migrations are useful, the methods that vSphere makes available for you to manually move a virtual machine (VM), and how vSphere can automate the process for you in various scenarios.

With VMware's recent release of the Horizon Suite (specifically View 6), VMware has taken the performance and usability features and put them all under the Blast moniker. This category of features is grouped from a marketing perspective but will retain their technical terms in the documentation, similar to how the term vSphere encompasses both ESXi and vCenter. Learn about the various features of the components that comprise the Blast family, including a brief discussion of what they are, improvements in version 6, and any notes or requirements for implementation.

VMware Horizon 6 was announced in April and began shipping in June 2014, bringing a more unified suite delivering more integration with infrastructure and cloud products and more simplicity for all devices. Along with the numerous updates across the Horizon suite, VMware has transitioned to a more traditional product licensing hierarchy. This paper explores the new licensing model and provides an overview of the new features associated with VMware Horizon 6.

Often, we don't have time to learn the reasons behind the standards we use. But learning what instigated a standard goes a long way toward not only understanding its importance, but also more easily and effectively applying it in your workplace. In this hour-long webinar, Global Knowledge instructor Keith Sorn will discuss common networking standards and explain how they were determined and why they are relevant. He will fill you in on things like why it's important to use proper color-coding standards when making cable and why the length limitations on wired cable are essential. He will also explain new standards, such as power over fiber.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) created a cloud definition that has been well-accepted across the IT industry. NIST was mandated to assist government agencies to adopt cloud computing for their IT operations. As part of their mandate, NIST created multiple working groups to define cloud computing, its architecture, and requirements. In this paper we explore the center core of NIST's cloud definition.

As an IT professional you deal day in and day out with securing operating systems, patching software, installing and configuring firewall and routers But what about the physical infrastructure? Do you understand how simple techniques can allow theft of your company resources? In this session we will discuss how to reduce the possibility of loss of data and equipment. Physical security may not be part of your job but you should be aware and having discussions with the personnel who are responsible. Or does Physical Security become one of your job responsibilities? Come to this session and learn about one of the most important and yet least thought about areas of security by IT professionals.

This paper is aimed at IT professionals who are interested in earning a VMware Certified Professional on Data Center Virtualization (VCP5-DCV) certification. It provides the benefits of having the certification, details for earning the certification and tips for passing the exam.

In 2013, VMware announced VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN), which is VMware's native version of Software Defined Storage (SDS). It is simple, easy to setup and managed by user-defined policies. This paper explains VSAN, its basic requirements and how it works.

The technologies examined reduce operational expenses (OpEx), not capital expenses (CapEx) that has traditionally been the focus of virtualization. Many companies implemented virtualization with the goal of saving money in the form of fewer servers to buy with a side benefit of reducing the footprint of the servers and lowering the required power and cooling. Most of the savings were in capital, but do not expect the same with many of the technologies listed here, because some may even require some additional capital expenditures, at least for software, in order to save on the day-to-day operations of IT. The bigger cost in running an IT department is in the OpEx category anyway, so savings there are recurring.

If you have been working with vSphere 5.1 or 5.5 lately, you have undoubtedly noticed that the latest features such as XvMotion and vSphere Replication are only available on the Web Client. This cheat sheet for the new Web Client includes instructions for configuring VMs, networking, storage, resource settings, cluster settings, permissions, and many other settings.

In this report, I've reviewed the 15 most popular certifications according to our more than 12,000 North American respondents to our annual IT Skills and Salary Survey. For each certification, you'll find a brief description, the average salary, and some insight into why it is popular.

You know you need to invest in training, but how do you get the best return on investment (ROI) from your training dollars? To help you make smart training decisions, we've put together this guide, which illustrates some alternative and little-known payment options, the types of discounts and promotions available with training and a suggested list of courses that give you excellent value.

vSphere 5.5 is now available with myriad small improvements such as a faster Web Client, LACP, Autoscale and higher configuration maximums. In addition, there are changes coming such as VSAN, which may be ground-breaking in regard to VM storage of the future. Since the release of vSphere 5.5, they have not yet announced a change to the blueprint for the test. That being the case, I will say, for now, that the VCP-510 test should remain unchanged as well. My goal here is not to reeducate you on everything that you need to know for the test; instead, it is to point out the few changes that might apply in your company or organization.

You have spent money on software and hardware, implemented best practices, and believe you are secure, right? You may have overlooked the weakest link: your employee. Many breaches occur as a result of an employee mistakenly clicking on a link or visiting a site that allows a virus to be unknowingly downloaded, giving hackers access to your network. Today, a well-trained workforce is a necessity and may even be your most important cybersecurity tool. In this webinar, security expert David Willson will discuss how many breaches have occurred and are occurring, the tools and techniques hackers use to trick employees into clicking on links or opening attachments, and how to prevent such behavior.

VMware vCloud Director fashions the provisioning of the software-defined datacenter layer to allow for a full virtual datacenter deployment within a short period of time. A vCloud consists of many layers and can quickly become a complex architecture. Before any deployment, requirements should be defined so that the vCloud can be designed to offer those services needed. It is imperative to understand the many components of vCloud, how each vCloud construct fits, which allocation models are available, and what network options can be chosen.

With the growth of bring your own device (BYOD) and mobility, users are increasingly asking for computing anywhere from any device at any time. Users now expect productivity on the go with a desktop that can be freely accessed and secure. We're no longer a society that sits at a desk to be productive. The VMware Horizon Suite allows the datacenter administrators to satisfy the accelerated mobility needs of the workforce while still maintaining an IT solution that is easily managed and secure.

Resource Pools are often misunderstood, disliked, and untrusted by vSphere Administrators. However, resource pools can be very useful tools for administrators who want to configure resource management without having to individually configure each VM. This leads to the administrator’s desire to explore the proper usage of resource pools.

This white paper has three main goals. The first is to generate a better understanding of the cloud in both the business and IT communities. The second is to describe the major components of vCloud and the virtual datacenters they provide. The third is help businesses visualize and understand how vClouds could be beneficial in addressing their specific IT needs.

This vSphere Essentials white paper will give you a basic understanding of some of the concerns or planning points to consider as you get ready to deploy vSphere in your organization. This is a glimpse into some of the essential things to consider for implementing vSphere. This will focus on some of the basics that vSphere administrators run into when installing the latest features and not realizing they still have some older versions implemented.

Here are seven tips for working with vSphere, including: Logging in via Command Line, dealing with connection problems using ssh to an ESXi host; network performance issues; possible storage problems; Log Files to View in vSphere ESXi 5; network performance troubleshooting; migrating to a virtual machine using VMotion.

Your business has been hacked, leaving you with a persistent bot; now what? In this hour-long webinar, security expert David Willson will discuss ways you can eliminate the threat in an act of self-defense or defense of property. As new laws are explored, old ones amended, and solutions sought, you'll take a look at thinking outside the box to give the good guys the advantage-or at least a fighting chance.

In this hour-long webinar, security expert and Global Knowledge instructor Phillip D. Shade will provide insight into the emerging network security science of network forensics analysis, a.k.a. security event analysis and reconstruction. Using case studies, you will examine the role of data retention in network forensics analysis, and you will learn about applying forensics analysis techniques to handle application-based attacks, VoIP call interception, and worms, bots, and viruses.

In this hour-long webinar, Global Knowledge instructor John Barnes will guide you through implementing Cisco private VLANs. He will review VLANs and 802.1q, and he will discuss private VLAN fundamentals and operation, covering primary VLANs and secondary VLANs. He will cover VLAN mapping and discuss using private VLANs between multiple switches. He will also provide a use case example.

Planning for a cyber disaster makes recovering from one much easier. Still, as important as disaster planning is, it's often overlooked or put off until it is too late. In this webinar, Global Knowledge instructor Debbie Dahlin discusses planning for the unexpected -- whether the unexpected means a simple power outage, a network security breach, or a major natural disaster. She'll discuss risk analysis and risk management techniques and explain the importance and process of creating a business continuity plan. Using a fictional company as an example, Debbie will walk you through the disaster planning process a security professional should use, and she will provide simple tricks to reduce your company's downtime before, during, and after a disaster.

In this webinar, you will examine the need for IPv6 and whether it's possible to survive on IPv6 alone. You will learn ways to phase in IPv6 and how to successfully migrate to IPv6.

In this webinar, the second of two based on our Cybersecurity Foundations course, you'll build on what you learned in the first of the series, Protecting Your Network with Authentication and Cryptography.

In this webinar, the first of two based on our Cybersecurity Foundations course, you will examine the following topics: verifying users and what they can access, ways a user can be validated to computer and network resources, how cryptography is used to protect data, symmetric and asymmetric encryption and hashes.

The flexibility, reduced cost, and mobility of cloud computing have made the concept a hot topic. Before implementing this method of computing, however, it is important to consider the security of the "cloud." During this webinar, we will help you understand some of the risks and benefits of cloud computing so you can decide if it is the right solution for you.

The definition of cloud computing depends largely on whether you are a consumer or producer. The public cloud is geared more for the individual consumer or small company, while the private cloud is geared more for a medium-to-large company. In addition, the private cloud is branching out to incorporate the ability to have some data and applications serviced from the public cloud. This white paper examines the different types of cloud computing and shows what cloud computing can offer you.

Wi-Fi networks have been misunderstood by much of the IT community since their inception. Even the reasons for this misunderstanding are kind of hard to understand. The result has been that myths about 802.11 (better known as Wi-Fi) networks have grown almost as fast as the technology itself. In this web seminar, we'll examine 11 common Wi-Fi myths and explore ways to use correct information to make your networks scalable, secure and satisfying for your users.