Linux Professional Institute Certification

The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) currently offers three different certification programs. The core certification program LPIC (short for Linux Professional Institute Certification) contains three different levels addressing distinct aspects of Linux system administration. LPI also offers an introductory Linux certificate called Linux Essentials, as well as a certification testing DevOps tools, called LPIC-OT DevOps Tools Engineer (OT stands for Open Technology).

LPI exams are delivered onsite at Linux and open source events, or through the network of the test centres such as Pearson VUE. The exams are made up of multiple choice questions with a single response, multiple choice question with multiple responses, and fill in the blank questions. Linux Essentials is a 60-minute exam with 40 questions, while all other exams are 90 minutes with 60 questions. LPI offers exams in the following languages: English, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Modern), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional) and Japanese, although not all exams are available in all languages.

The wider community of Linux professionals plays an important part in the objective development process for LPI exams. Once the LPI staff has developed a structure and description for a certification, community input is collected through a Job Task Analysis. The purpose of the JTA is to poll a large group of Linux professionals about the tasks a candidate would be expected to complete in a certain field. The responses are compiled and have significant influence on the shape the exam objectives.

As part of the certification maintenance and quality assurance, LPI does the review and revision of the objectives for each certification every three years. The exam items are written and screened by writers and supervisors, respectively. To assure the exam items are accurate and relevant, they are put through a technical review by a group of Linux experts. The following are the current version numbers for each of LPI’s certifications. The version numbers reflect which certifications have been around for the longest, and thus have required more updates over time.

LPI is frequently updating its exams to keep pace with the ever-changing open source environment. For this reason, the validity of a LPI certification is 5 years. For example, if it has been over 5 years since candidate passed the LPIC-1, candidate would need to pass it again before receiving a potential LPIC-2 certification. Certifications can be renewed by certifying at a higher level (e.g. acquiring the LPIC-2 certification will renew your LPIC-1 for an additional 5 years). Acquiring an LPIC-3 certification will renew the LPIC-1 and LPIC-2, but not other LPIC-3 certifications. The exception is the Linux Essentials certificate, which has lifetime validity.

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