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CompTIA Certifies Home Network Integrators 56

Posted by samzenpus from the I'm-a-level-7-cable-connector dept.
prostoalex writes "Consumer Electronics Association and Computer Technology Industry Association introduced a new certification for individuals and companies installing home networks and connecting consumer electronics devices to a central PC: 'The certification is geared to individuals who install, integrate and maintain "smart" homes, in which the PC is the hub controlling lighting, security systems, audio-visual and digital entertainment gear, including home media centers.' The home networking market is predicted to grow at 20% a year globally."
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CompTIA Certifies Home Network Integrators More

CompTIA Certifies Home Network Integrators

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  • last month when my home's thermostat blew. I thought it was going to be a snap to find a WiFi enabled replacement, so I could program it remotely -- from the basement *or* from the campground. Never did find one.
    • I thought it was going to be a snap to find a WiFi enabled replacement, so I could program it remotely -- from the basement *or* from the campground. Never did find one.

      Carrier's high-end residential HVAC can be programmed over the net. Climate Control Over the Internet [digitalmedianet.com]

      • Thanks, but that's not what I needed. I have a fairly new HVAC system -- all I needed was a new thermostat. It just really shouldn't be that hard to put a web server and a wireless card in a thermostat! Think of the functionality you would gain! On the first day of vacation, you realize you forgot to turn the heat down or the air off at home. There goes a lot of cash and wasted energy out the door. Not to mention it would be a lot easier to program the thing for maximum comfort and efficiency via a br
  • I've been waiting for home automation to "hit" for about four years now. Only after part-time work with a moving company did I see new homes with all the necessary "wiring" at that point I knew this was coming soon. Also, if you check employment listings you will see "construction technology specialists" listed, another hint.

  • It's official. I can wire X10. (Score:5, Informative)

    by lightversusdark ( 922292 ) on Wednesday March 21, 2007 @10:18PM (#18438281) Journal
    Did any new standard supplant X10 in this field?

    Isn't this basically an electrician with knowledge of niche product availability?

    I can't imagine this qualifies you to build and install a soffit-mounted machine and code up some custom serial control. That's a service I would pay for.
    • Is there anything that is X10 that's not junk? The standard stuff is garbage. Even their fanciest stuff that I've seen looked and felt flimsy.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Leebert ( 1694 )

      Did any new standard supplant X10 in this field?


      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-Bus_(protocol) [wikipedia.org]

      Both wired (CAT-5) and wireless.
    • X10 is a joke. Our company is one of the largest home automation/lighting control integrators in the state, and we wouldn't use X10 if they gave it to us.

      These are the big guys, the ones the pros (us) use.

      http://www.control4.com/ [control4.com]
      http://www.lutron.com/ [lutron.com]
      http://www.crestron.com/ [crestron.com]
      http://www.homeauto.com/ [homeauto.com]

      They're quality. X10 is... not.

      • Hmm.. Glanced at the websites. Can any of these be integrated with a windows or *nix machine? X10 can (I know it is cheap). If these solutions could, then I might be more interested in them personally.

        Things I can do with X10 -

        • Make a phone call to modify settings (via asterisk)
        • Hit a website to view status/modify settings
        • Link cameras with lights for security - sensor ir tripped, lights come on, cameras record - affordably.
        • Automate watering of the plants and trees we have inside.
        • Control baffling i

  • CompTIA exams (Score:5, Informative)

    by transporter_ii ( 986545 ) on Wednesday March 21, 2007 @10:28PM (#18438361) Homepage
    Got Network+ certified a couple of months ago. The actual test material isn't bad, and it covers a lot of networking fundamentals from a vendor neutral standpoint. I had heard they had really made the test a lot harder. Boy, if my test was hard, I would have hated to have seen the easy test. It seemed repetitive and all very easy, with a lot of port number questions, firewall questions, and basic TCP/IP utility questions, most of which I could have passed without hardly any actual study.

    Now, I see no reason to make it so hard that hardly anybody can pass (Cisco are you listening?), but it would be nice to have a test that reflected the study material a little better. All in all, I have had Brainbench exams that were much, much harder to pass.

    Transporter_ii

     

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by flosofl ( 626809 )

      ...I see no reason to make it so hard that hardly anybody can pass (Cisco are you listening?)

      You're kidding right? Not to take away from your accomplishment, but most certifications are not worth the paper they're printed on. Your first paragraph pretty much illustrates that. All these certifications prove is how well someone can memorize and regurgitate facts. Basically, Certification bodies are nothing more than a way to make money by convincing clueless management types that they actually mean some

      • How certifications work (Score:5, Insightful)

        by transporter_ii ( 986545 ) on Wednesday March 21, 2007 @11:37PM (#18438905) Homepage
        Ok, I snagged this from a Slashdot post a while back, author unknown:

        Assume there are 2 people up for a job:

        (1) If neither has the experience and one has the certification, the one with the certification wins.
        (2) If one has the experience and no certification and other has no experience but a certification, the person with experience wins.
        (3) If both have the same experience and only one has the extra certification, the one with the certification wins.
        (4) If both have the same certifications and the same experience, the one who is cheaper wins.
        (5) If both have certifications and neither has any experience, the one who talks better wins.
        (6) If neither has any certifications or experience, the one who looks better wins.

        Transporter_ii
    • Maybe its because I'm generally good at test taking but I found the same thing. Network+ questions were either insanly hard or insanly basic and therefore easy, and there were not a lot of hard ones. (and the hard ones I had were novell/server03 based) Oh, and a lot of the easy ones were STUPID easy. Like what does ip stand for (exageration) easy, they could really do a better job of forcing some actual thought as opposed to memorized answers...

      Net+ isnt so much vendor neutral as vendor "fair", and when
    • Well, the new homes building industry might have a cozy relationsihp with contractors, or being the installers themselves, might not want newly certified technicians to muscle in on "their" turf. But, for new homes, it would be vastly easier for those still wanting copper vs wireless....
    • I would have hated to have seen the easy test. It seemed repetitive and all very easy, with a lot of port number questions, firewall questions, and basic TCP/IP utility questions, most of which I could have passed without hardly any actual study.

      Why is the exam so expensive? It is an order of magnitude above what I paid for my ISCET journeyman exam.
      • I just looked.. The prices of the ISCET exam has gone up also, but it is still 3x the price.

        ISCET exam prices..
        TESTING FEES
        Associate and One Journeyman Exam $75.00
        Journeyman Exam $50.00
        Associate Exam $45.00
        Endorsements $50.00

        http://www.iscetedu.net/ec/certManager/registerInf o.jsp [iscetedu.net]

        I did pass on my first try. I have also taken my Low Voltage NEC classes. (Class 2 electrical)

        So at todays prices the ISCET exam is $75 compared to $225 for the non-member in home tech exam.
  • I don't think this certification is going to necessarily make anyone suddenly become useful. A random look at some of the sample questions is sort of scary.... Two sample questions from their website http://certification.comptia.org/resources/practi c e_test.aspx [comptia.org] Question 3 (corresponding objective: 1.a.10) A technician is asked to troubleshoot a residential network that reported no problems yesterday. Today, the user's computer is not able to communicate with any of the other networked devices. Which of

    • Question 3 (corresponding objective: 1.a.10) A technician is asked to troubleshoot a residential network that reported no problems yesterday. Today, the user's computer is not able to communicate with any of the other networked devices. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST? A. Power supply to the network devices B. Operating system for viruses C. System resources used by the network interface cards D. Protocols installed on the system

      How about E. Is it plugged in?

      • fsck, forgot that. The actual correct answers were A and B respectively.

        A. Power supply to the network devices

        B. The strands of wire are touching.
  • sigh,

    The previous post should have looked like this:

    I don't think this certification is going to necessarily make anyone suddenly become useful. A random look at some of the sample questions is sort of scary.... Two sample questions from their website http://certification.comptia.org/resources/practic e_test.aspx [comptia.org]

    Question 3
    (corresponding objective: 1.a.10)

    A technician is asked to troubleshoot a residential network that reported no problems yesterday. Today, the user's computer is not able to communicate with
  • Did anybody else read the title as saying "Network Interregators" ? Thoughts went immediately to the RIAA shouting at networks for a couple hours and claiming evidence of piracy...
  • This "cert" is in the same camp as the thoroughly pointless MCSA and MCDST. For every friggin' level of technical ability there must now be a "recognition" for achievement, the cover story being that not only do we need a diverse pool of talents of varying level (which is true, because it makes little sense to send a CCIE to re-cable a living room), but we also need to recognize them individually for all those little steps that they take.

    Reminds me of those people who would put down "CCIE-Written" as one o

    • Ridiculous...competition. (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      "Reminds me of those people who would put down "CCIE-Written" as one of the "certs" that they have earned on their way to the big leagues. Either you have the necessary skills, or you don't. Stop using Mickey Mouse certs to hide your lack of technical knowledge. As for organizations that certify people and companies that recognize these certs, stop enabling pretenders from crowding out the contenders."

      Translation: I can't find a job. "Won't someone think of the contenders?"
  • ...that you could get certified for "insert male RJ-45 connector A into female RJ-45 socket B"...

    Wot next?

  • From the people who brought us the A+ cert (Score:3, Insightful)

    by zoomshorts ( 137587 ) on Wednesday March 21, 2007 @11:05PM (#18438683)
    Are you serious? CompTIA is basically useless. I have seen far
    too many of their 'certified' people be nothing more than paper tigers. They have
    a piece of paper and that is all.

    Their paper is suitable for lining bird cages.

    ATTENTION HUMAN RESOURCES - CompTIA training is a joke. Rinse, repeat.

    • Re:From the people who brought us the A+ cert (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Simulant ( 528590 ) on Wednesday March 21, 2007 @11:50PM (#18439039) Journal
      I agree that most certs are generally meaningless to most tech savvy people. I would never rely on a cert as an indicator of ability and would probably be suspicious. But... if one were, say, to go into business as a "Home Network Specialist" the average, not so technically inclined customer might feel comforted to see some sort of certification on your business card.

      Given that the market shows promise and I that can probably handle most of the tech involved with my eyes closed, I am seriously consider dropping out of the corporate rat race and starting up a little business helping normal people with the tech they have at home. May take the test myself just for marketing purposes.
    • I'd only agree to an extent... I got my CompTIA A+ cert. years ago, figuring it couldn't hurt to have it, since it was obviously all stuff I knew anyway. (Easier to show a cert. on a resume than to prove, indirectly, you know the same material to some guy you never met before in your life, and you only have 1 hour or less to speak with in an interview.)

      CompTIA certs. are entry-level. They only show you have *some* basic knowledge of the topic, vs. some random guy off the street.

      I think part of the proble
  • Oh great, another worthless certification! I am so sick of these

  • Cisco.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by HockeyPuck ( 141947 ) on Thursday March 22, 2007 @02:12AM (#18439911)
    I for one can't wait for my CCIE:Linksys.

    In the sprit of CCIE: R&S (Routing and Switching)... one would have to know indepth the common protocols used in the house to include (but not limitted to) at the frame/packet level:

    Ethernet.
    TCP/IP
    UDP
    Netbios
    CIFS
    BitTorrent
    Various streaming audio/video protocols.
    PPOE..

    It shall be in the style of the "old CCIE:R&S" exams, which had a TWO day lab, in which if you failed the first day, you didn't come back the second day. Additionally, while setting up the gear, you will have to contend with a crying baby, a large dog that wants to play, a husband that "thinks he knows it more than you" and a housewife that says you charge too much.

  • The certification test is offered to CompTIA members for $180. The fee for non-members is $225.

    Wow, a person can't actually setup their wireless router/access point. Big frick'in surprise. And now you should pay an additional fee to have a cert that any well mannered geek should be skilled at to begin with.

    I feel that this is more of a manufacture issue, doc/instruction wise. Come on, enough is enough. IF people actually had a clue. Wireless routers suck big time from some manufactures. Be
  • I suppose this goes without saying but certs are only as good as the person behind them.

    A few years ago I helped a guy pass his MSCE exam. The funny thing was this guy knew zip about computers before (and mostly after). He had been a carpet installer in his previous life. Anyway he passed his exam and was then hired as a sysadmin for a small town municipality for about 50 grand. I suppose OJT is the best kind of training anyway.

    Certs have their uses, but it's no replacement for real knowledge.

  • First time they drill into a power line.

    Seems problematic. Like this should be in a carpentry trade school track "with assistance from CompTIA" or something.

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