BSD Associate
In order to take an examination, you must first obtain a BSDCG ID. The same ID can then be used to register for any BSD certification exam. There are no pre-requisites to take an examination--in other words, you do not have to be BSDA cer tified in order to take the BSDP examination. Read the "Intende d Audience" section for each exam to determine which examinatio n(s) match your skill set.
Intended Audience for BSDA
The BSDA certification is designed to be an entry-level certification on BSD Unix systems administration. Testing candidates with a general Unix background and at least six months of work experience as a BSD systems administrator, or who wish to obtain employment as a BSD systems administrator, will benefit most from this certification. Human resource departments should consider the successful BSDA certified applicant to be knowledgeable in the daily maintenance of existing BSD systems under the direction and supervision of a more senior administrator.
The successful BSDA candidate is able to complete common administrative and troubleshooting tasks and has a good understanding of general BSD Unix and networking principles. In addition, the successful candidate demonstrates basic skills with these BSD operating systems: Dragonfly BSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD. This does not mean that the candidate needs to learn the complete details of four operating systems. It does mean that the candidate is aware of the basic utilities common to these operating systems, and where specified in the exam objectives, of features unique to some of the BSD operating systems.
The completion of the BSDA certification is not a requirement for the BSDP (BSD Professional) examination. If you feel that you already have the skills needed as a senior administrator, you should instead consider taking the BSDP examination once it is available.
BSDA Exam Details
| Domain | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Installing & Upgrading the OS and Software | 13% |
| Securing the Operating System | 11% |
| Files, Filesystems, and Disks | 15% |
| Users and Accounts Management | 16% |
| Basic System Administration | 12% |
| Network Administration | 15% |
| Basic Unix Skills | 17% |
Detailed exam objectives are contained in the BSDA Certification Requirements document which is available in English. A Command Reference mapping each of the BSDA commands to the four operating systems covered by the BSDA is also available as a separate download.
The BSDA exam is paper-based and the question format is multiple choice or true and false. The range of psychometrically scaled scores is 200 to 700, and a scaled score of 500 or more is needed to pass the exam. The exam cost is $75 USD.
The exam is hosted at IT conferences, user groups, employers, and educational institutions across the globe. Upcoming events can be viewed at the Events page. If you are aware of an event in your geographic area which is not listed or would like to host an examination event, Contact Us with the details so the event can be arranged.
Study Resources
You can help contribute to the development and maintenance of the BSDA exam by purchasing the DVD which contains the latest stable releases of the 4 BSDs, the exam objectives and command reference, as well as the Handbooks, Guides, and FAQs from the BSD projects.
Additional (free) resources can be found here:
