Category: Certification

New blog section – Certification

I don’t know how many of my blog visitors had the curiosity to visit the About section to read something about me. If some of you did read that section, then you already know that I have several certifications from Cisco and other vendors and I’m on my way to CCIE. A long road with a slow progress due to my busy professional life.

These being said, I want to announce a new section of my blog called “Certification”. In this section I will discuss only about certifications and related topics like training providers, exam scenarios and tasks, recommended approach and so on. I will try to help engineers on the same path as me and, why not, ask for help when I have a blocking point.

I have some years of network engineering field experience, I attended some exams and for a while I’m preparing for the CCIE R&S exam, so I think I can do a good job in this section. Compared to other sections the technical parts discussed here will be more oriented to exams, and not real networking challenges.

I hope my experience together with your contribution with comments and suggestions to make this section interesting.

Last words. If you hope to find here braindumps or materials that violate the NDA (no matter if is Cisco or other vendor), then you are in the wrong place.

Cisco CCDA: 640-863 and 640-864

As you probably know the CCDA exam 640-863 will be replaced by the newer version 640-864. The problem is not that Cisco is changing them (this is actually a good thing) but the fact that are too less materials regarding new exam and a lot of contradictory information.

First of all the official Cisco guide: CCDA 640-864 Official Cert Guide, 4th Edition is not yet available. Ciscopress.com announce it to be available June 10, 2011. Despite the fact that you need more knowledge that this guide offer, it would be a good sense to enforce an exam after the documentation for that particular exam is available. It’s true that the CCDA 640-864 Official Cert Guide, Rough Cuts, 4th Edition exist already in electronic format (PDF) on Ciscopress.com. For those of you who are not familiar with Rough Cuts concept, here is a small explanation from Cisco Press:

The Rough Cuts service from Safari Books Online gives you exclusive access to an evolving manuscript that you can read online or download as a PDF and print. A Rough Cuts book is not fully edited or completely formatted, but you’ll get access to new versions as they are created.

Fine, but Rough Cuts, is are not the official guide.  I don’t know about your preferences, but from time to time I prefer to read from a hard-copy book than from my monitor.

Now for some good news, even if these are full of contradictory information. According to https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccda/syllabus ,
it seems that the 640-863 availability has been prolonged until June 15, 2011 (was April 30, 2011):

Good news for those who plan to take the exam in near future. Bad news? Confusion!

This link: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccda/desgn sustain that nothing is changed:

Pretty confusing, isn’t it? Both are official Cisco links. In the meantime, there is a discussion about this topic on The Cisco Learning Network where few members confirmed that Cisco postponed the date for 640-863 for June 15, 2011. This would be a good thing, giving the conditions that I’ve explained above.

If there is an official statement (beside The Cisco Learning Network thread) I will add an update here.

UPDATE:

Yes, the correct EOL date for the 640-863 DESGN exam is June 15, 2011.

The correct EOL date for the 642-873 ARCH exam is June 16, 2011.

Hope this clarifies any confusion.

Regards,

Rigo
Cisco Learning Network Moderator

I’m just glad that this confusion has been solved and there is still time to take 640-863, before the official documentation for 640-864 is released.

New benefits for Cisco 360 Learning Program

Today I’ve received an e-mail with the following content:

Dear Cisco Certified Colleague,

CCIE certifications are as popular as ever. A recent publication has listed both the CCIE and the CCIE Voice certifications in their top 10 IT networking list* and has cited both as highly sought-after by employers. If that’s not enough motivation to keep moving up the certification ladder, the Global Knowledge 2010 IT Skills and Salary Survey identifies the CCIE credential as the highest paid networking certification!

The Cisco 360 Learning Program can help you obtain the knowledge and skills you need to pass the rigorous CCIE certification lab exam. As the only Cisco developed and approved CCIE training program available, the blended learning curriculum contains over 350 hours of practical, hands-on lab configurations that have been proven to accelerate development.

Now, Cisco has enhanced its expert-level training program to offer additional value and training assurance to help you work your way towards a Cisco CCIE® certification. Beginning June 22, 2010, you will be given more time to practice expert-level skills using the Cisco 360 Learning Program components. The subscription period for all components that are accessed through LMS will be extended from 12 months to 18 months.

  • The extension applies to Preassessment Lab, Self-Paced Lessons (also downloadable), Performance Assessments, Practice Workbook, and the Reference Library.
  • The extension will be automatically made in the LMS for all current subscriptions

The following benefits** will also be available to qualified Cisco 360 Learning Program students:

Benefits: Qualifications to be met by June 30, 2011:
Free graded Preassessment Lab
(value of $289 USD)		 When you purchase at least one instructor-led workshop for CCIE Routing and Switching or CCIE Voice and the Preassessment Lab will be made available for free through your Cisco 360 Learning Management System (LMS) account.
Priority scheduling of CCIE Mobile Lab Event When you purchase and complete at least one instructor-led workshop for CCIE Routing and Switching or CCIE Voice and all classroom assessments, then contact your Cisco Learning Partner for scheduling assistance.
Cisco Lab Safe: Free retake on CCIE Lab Exam, which is valid for 18 months from the day it is issued
(value of $1400 USD)		 You must complete at least one of the following two qualifications:

  • Previous Promotion Extended: Purchase and complete either the Essentials or Preferred bundle for CCIE Routing and Switching and complete the four Lab Readiness Assessments (CIERS03, CIERS04, CIERS10, and CIERS11), earning a score of 80 or better on at least one assessment.
  • New Promotion: Purchase and complete at least one instructor-led workshop for CCIE Routing and Switching or CCIE Voice, including all classroom assessments. (No additional assessments need be purchased and no minimum score is required).

In both scenarios, you must first make one paid attempt at the lab, and then contact Learning Partner to request free voucher code from Cisco by December 31, 2011. Free retake is limited to one per track

It seems that Cisco is trying to attract more audience to it’s program. The benefits are great, what can I say, but in this time also a change in the price system would be welcomed.

Core Knowledge Questions Removed for CCIE R&S and Voice Lab Exams

Cisco removed the Core Knowledge Questions section from the CCIE R&S and Voice Lab exams.

This sections STILL exist on CCIE Service Provider, CCIE Security, CCIE Storage Networking and  CCIE Wireless Lab.

Please find below the official announcement and the reasons regarding this section removal from R&S and Voice lab exams:

With more than six months of exam results now available, Cisco is able to report that the troubleshooting components of the CCIE R&S v4.0 and CCIE Voice v3.0 lab exams are performing well in validating expert level networking skills.  Considering these results, Cisco has decided to eliminate the Core Knowledge questions from the current CCIE R&S v4.0 and CCIE Voice v3.0 Lab Exams.  Beginning on May 10, 2010, CCIE R&S and CCIE Voice Lab Exams, in all global locations, will no longer include the four open-ended Core Knowledge questions.  The total lab time will remain eight hours.  For the CCIE R&S Lab Exam, this means candidates will begin with the two-hour Troubleshooting section, followed by a six-hour Configuration section.  For CCIE Voice, candidates will have the full eight hours to complete the integrated exam.  At this time, only the R&S and Voice tracks will be eliminating the Core Knowledge questions.
You can read more here:

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-6484

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New Service Provider Operations Track Training and Exams

The Cisco CCNA Service Provider (SP) Operations certification and the written exam for the CCIE Service Provider (SP) Operations certification are now available.
The Cisco CCNA SP Operations certification targets entry-level students with a foundation of network operations skills in SP IP NGN environments required of associate-level operations personnel. Both the Supporting Cisco Service Provider IP NGN Operations (SSPO) course and required # 640-760 exam are now available. Interested students should access the CCNA SP Operations home page for more information.

The Cisco CCIE® SP Operations certification assesses and validates core IP NGN service provider network operations expertise and broad theoretical knowledge of operations management processes, frameworks and network management systems. Registration for the for CCIE SP Operations written exam is now available. In addition, students may download the blueprint for the CCIE SP Operations practical exam from the CCIE SP Operations practical exam overview page. The practical exam for the CCIE SP Operations certification is scheduled to be made available in the third quarter of 2010.

For more info:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccna_sp_operations
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/index.jspa?ciscoHome=true
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccie_sp_operations/practical_exam

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