There are two main Hyperledger Fabric focused certifications on the market right now that have credibility. The two certifications are:

  1. Blockchain Training Alliance’s CBDH
  2. Linux Foundation’s CHFA

Lets review both of them and determine which one is meant for what audience. Ill also cover the CBSA exam as well for comparison purposes.


Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the GOLD standard for credibility in the Open Source community. No need to pump them up and expand on why the certification they own would be worth time.

The Linux Foundation has a Hyperledger Fabric certification available. This certification is really meant for the folks that are deploying Hyperledger Fabric and for that matter maintaining it.

The Linux Foundation has been well known for managing open source projects. They also are well known for their content and certification exams.  Blockchain is no exception for them as well and they have a great certification that is technical and is hosted and valid by these leaders in Open Source training and certification.

The Linux Foundation’s Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator (CHFA) is really the “Star” of the Hyperledger certifications in my opinion so let’s find out why.

Hyperledger Fabric

Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator (CHFA) is a technical certification around Hyperledger Fabric. The exam will really challenge the test taker to build a secure Hyperledger Fabric network for commercial deployment, including the ability to install, configure, operate, manage, and troubleshoot the nodes on that network. This exam is an online, proctored, performance-based test that consists of a set of performance-based items and is different in the sense there are actual problems to be solved in a command line. You can not fake your knowledge on this easily. If your prospective hire has this certification then you know they are very technically adept at Hyperledger Fabric.

Here is the official blurb for the Linux Foundation or just go to the link below.

http://shrsl.com/1j8yw


The purpose of the Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator (CHFA) certification is to provide assurance that CHFAs can effectively build a secure Hyperledger Fabric network for commercial deployment.

The main objectives are listed below.

This CHFA exam curriculum includes these general domains and their weights on the exam:

  • Application Lifecycle Management — 20%
  • Install and Configure Network — 25%
  • Diagnostics and Troubleshooting — 15%
  • Membership Service Provider — 20%
  • Network Maintenance and Operations — 20%

Check out the exam here

http://shrsl.com/1j8yw

The exam is well written and clearly defined and you can easily get it done in one hour.

What makes the exam nice is you dont have to go to the proctor center and instead it is proctored online with a proctor keeping an eye on you.

This exam is an online, proctored, performance-based test that consists of a set of performance-based items (problems) to be solved in a command line.
Candidates have 2 hours to complete the tasks.

The exam is based on Fabric v1.3.0


Lets Compare Certifications.

Below is a chart to sum the main blockchain certifications.

What about the Blockchain Training Alliance Exams? The BTA exams are perfectly fine just they market them better to less technically driven folks.

What is the difference between BTA and Linux Foundation Exams?

Note that the main difference between Blockchain Training Alliance’s (CBDH )— Hyperledger Exam is that it more focused on Hyperledger Development than operations. (Much more technical) If you want someone that is competent in actually a doing work with Hyperledger Fabric then the Linux Foundation exams are what your looking for.

The CBSA exam is more presales. The Certified Blockchain Soliutions Architect exam does have a small component of Hyperledger Fabric.

The BTA exams are not meant for technical engineers performing the day to day work like day to day operations.

Blockchain Training Alliance (BTA)

Certified Blockchain Developer - Hyperledger
Use Hyperledger Composer several times before hand. Review the documentation since its important you understand how Composer works, communicates and the main files(.Bna, .qry, model file) Know how to debug a Model File and know what the syntax actually means. In the example code below know what the code snippets do. (Over 30% of the exam) What is (o, — ->, etc) I wont tell you but you would be ill advised to not know this before hand.

If your looking to get certified on Enterprise Blockchains then considering the Blockchain Training Alliances exams would be a great start.

The Blockchain Training Alliance (BTA), an organization based out of Southern California and mainly caters to the enterprise organizations.

The Blockchain Training Alliance has a small portfolio of certifications as well which is five at the time of writing.

I will cover the main three certifications that I believe has the most demand and acceptance in industry are as follows.

These three most important BTA certifications are as

Certified Blockchain Business Foundations (CBBF) exam is a route for non-technical workers to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the blockchain. Exam really focuses mainly on the use cases, high level terminology and blockchain basics and why an organization should or should not use Blockchain.

Certified Blockchain Solution Architect (CBSA) exam is a route for both technical and non-technical audiences to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in this blockchain architecture. The exam really focuses mainly on architecting blockchain solutions, working with blockchain engineers and technical leaders and choosing appropriate blockchain solutions.

Certified Blockchain Developer – Hyperledger (CBDH) exam is a route to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in the basic development of Hyperledger Fabric blockchains .Unlike the CBBF and the CBSA the CBDH exam is specifically designed for more of a targeted audience which are Software Engineers, Programmers, Developers and Application Architects.  The exam focuses on preparing production ready applications for the Hyperledger blockchain, etc.

Note that BTA exams are proctored at a Pearson testing center and each exam costs $300, with the exception of the CBBF certification, which costs $250. Each exam asks 70 questions, requires a passing score of 70 percent, and allots candidates 90 minutes to complete.

Preparation for BTA Exams

If your looking for prep courses here is a link for my Pearson Course for CBSA https://learning.oreilly.com/videos/certified-blockchain-solution/9780135411841

For my Certified Blockchain Developer – Hyperledger Fabric Prep Course..

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/certified-blockchain-developer-hyperledger/9780135435458/

Discount Practice Questions Here.

CBSA — https://www.udemy.com/certified-blockchain-solution-architect-cbsa-practice-exam/?couponCode=LNCBSAPRACTICE2018

CBDH — https://www.udemy.com/certified-hyperledger-fabric-developer-cbdh-practice-exams/?couponCode=LINKEDINHYPER2018

Joe Holbrook, The Cloud Tech Guy

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