Update on the BSD Professional Lab Exam

Work has progressed steadily on the BSD Professional Lab Exam.  You may recall we've discussed this before.  Well, the exam is almost ready.  We have an exam booklet, which is based on the BSDP Exam Objectives.  We also have a working exam station with several virtual machines.  The scoring procedure makes use of  Net::OpenSSH with scripts to examine each virtual machine for results. 

And, we have a sample provisional report (based on TAP::Formatter::HTML) that can provide some hopefully gratifying instant feedback, though that report is unofficial.


For our official score report, we are again working with our psychometrician, Dr. Sandra Dolan, to provide valid psychometric scoring.  This ensures our program maintains its high standards and also keeps us in line with requirements for ANSI 17024 accreditation.

We will have a demo available at vBSDCon coming up Oct 25-27, 2013.






We will also have the demo available at LISA 2013.





If you are at either of these cons, stop by for a test drive to see what the BSDP Lab Exam is all about.

Get a Life with BSD

Tired of high prices for server software?  Don't like paying for bloated desktop versions loaded with crippleware and nagware?  Sick of mismatched libraries and applications?  Do you want your own software to do with as you please - not subject to some EULA?

Get BSD and get on with your life.  Server software from FreeBSD, DragonFly BSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD, along with desktop software from PC-BSD can simplify your life.  Install it the way you want, and it works out of the box.  Plus, you can do whatever you want to do with it for as long as you want.

For server software, here's an easy way to get started - the latest BSDCG MultiBSD DVD.  For a modest sum you get:

• DragonFly BSD 3.4.2 - includes the HAMMER filesystem
• FreeBSD 9.1 - production ready, serving millions
• NetBSD 6.1 - highly portable, clean code often used in embedded systems.
• OpenBSD 5.3 - where secure code is  Job 1

All are production quality systems ready to help you get on with your life.  Order your copy today at http://www.bsdcertification.org/store and support the BSD Certification Group.

Updates, Updates, Updates

The BSD Associate exam will again be available at BSDCan this year.  The exam will be held at 12:30 - 2:00pm both Friday, May 17th, and Saturday, May 18th, 2013.  You can register for the exam at https://register.bsdcertification.org/  and you can pay at the conference or online through the website.

The exam objectives are at http://www.bsdcertification.org/certification/CertReqBSDA2012.pdf.

We'll have updated brochures with dates and times for other locations this year at the conference.  Stop by and pick one up, or let us know and we'll email you a PDF you can print and distribute yourself.

Know of an employer who uses BSD?  Having competent people can make a significant difference at any organization.  The BSDA exam can provide the employer the assurance that their employees know their stuff.  Email chair@bsdcertification.org and let us know!

Finally, stay tuned for the next edition of the BSDA Study DVD.  The upcoming edition (in development right now) will have FreeBSD 9.1, OpenBSD 5.3, DragonFly BSD 3.4.1, and if released on time, NetBSD 6.1, all on a single DVD with a customized El Torito Boot Loader so you can boot them all.