I had intended to take a break from studying after recently passing the VCP5-DT. Yesterday, I received an email from HP mentioning that I could update my HP APC – StorageWorks Solutions Architect 2011 to HP ASE – Storage Solutions Architect, needless to say that email which normally I would have filed in ‘deleted items’ had me intrigued.
First of all I checked the certification overview which states
“This certification validates that you are able to identify and translate business requirements into an enterprise, multi-site storage solution design that supports all needed applications and data. This includes data across physical, virtual and cloud environments with a common architecture and converged management considerations. Your skills to design deduplication and back-up/recovery solutions for information protection and storage solutions for information retention and analytics with massive “big data” repositories will be validated. This includes validation of your expertise to design and architect storage solutions that enable seamless efficiency, agility, information protection, and non-disruptive scalability for optimum ROI.”
Some fancier words that I would tend to normally use, however it does fit the very essence of what I do.
The ideal candidate
“IT professionals with at least one year of experience in storage technologies are ideal candidates. If you want the proven credibility to not only identify and define business requirements but to also design enterprise, multi-site complex storage solutions to meet those needs, this certification is ideal for you.”
Again, I fit the bill, there must be a catch somewhere I thought, maybe it’s four exams and you need to go on a paid course?
Looking into this, it appears that you only need to sit and pass the HP0-J66 HP Storage Migration exam. Earning this certification confirms you can:
- Understand the hardware configuration and architecture of the new HP 3PAR StoreServ platform
- Identify the components and the specifications of the new HP 3PAR StoreServ platform
- Describe changes in the Service Processor on the HP 3PAR StoreServ OS 3.1.2
- Explain how to use the HP 3PAR StoreServ Virtual Service Processor
- Describe how to use the HP 3PAR StoreServ SmartStart setup tool
- Describe the new features of the StoreVirtual SAN/iQ Operating System environment
- Identify changes to the CMC to integrate FC connection type similar to iSCSI
- Identify and describe the OneCommand Manager and San Toolbox HBA And SAN Tools used to
- Configure the StoreVirtual fiber channel platforms
- Understand the hardware configuration and architecture of the new StoreVirtual servers
- Identify the components and the specifications of the new StoreVirtual servers
The exam must be fairly recent as StoreServ was only released late November 2012, same for StoreVirtual (LeftHand’s new name).
I plan to use the material below for the exam. This is all web based training and is free from HP Learning Center
- HP 3PAR Inform OS 3.1.2 Delta Rev 13.11
- HP 3PAR 7000 Array Hardware Delta, Rev. 13.11
- HP StoreOnce B6000 Backup System Training Rev 13.11
- LeftHand SAN/iQ 10.1 L2 Training Rev 13.11
- LeftHand Nitro A L2 Training Rev 13.11
VMFocus 
The path is the same if you own a ASE StorageWorks Solutions 2011, because the APC is “included” in the ASE. I’ve planned the exam for Q3 or Q4, because the HP Master ASE Storage Solutions Architect V1 will be released later this year. Unfortunately there is no “short” upgrade path if you own a Master ASE, so you have to take J66 and J67.