Certification

I've been interested in technology for as long as I can remember. From my early beginnings of learning how to navigate the DOS command line interface on my dad's computer while he was off at work, to building my first PC (with 8Mb of RAM!). I've always had an interest and a knack for this stuff.

Over the past decade, my interest in networking technology has grown significantly. In 2001, I earned my CCNA while working at Cisco (on contract) and a few years later installed my first 6509 in a global financial company. Several certifications followed down the road including the CCNP and CCAI. I now teach Cisco curriculum part time while working as a Senior Network Engineer for a mid-size enterprise. My drive to learn has never stopped, in fact it just keeps growing the more I am exposed to this stuff.

The time has come to take it to the next level.

Several months ago I made the decision, after some serious research and discussions with my wife, to begin studying for the CCIE Routing & Switching Exam. I started by researching and reading everything I could find regarding the exam - Cisco's official exam page, other blogs that detail how they approached the exam, podcasts talking about the exam, etc. I spent a good month reviewing my options before I finally made the decision that absolutely, without a doubt I am going to go for it - no matter what it takes.

I've written this blog post to share my experience so far and hopefully help others in a similar situation to make the go-no-go decision.

Cisco has created a new rendition of their Cisco Live website called Cisco Live 365. You can register with the site for free and gain access to some of the conference materials presented at the various Cisco Live conferences around the world throughout the year.

If you are signed up for CiscoLive2012.com (because you are attending Cisco Live in San Diego this June), then your credentials for that website don't apparently work automatically at the new site. To get access to the new site using your current credentials, login to the old site CiscoLive2012.com, then click on Registration, and click on the huge button that says Enter Cisco Live 365. A new tab or window should open and voilà, you're in.

Cisco recently updated their wireless exams to version 2.0 for both CCNA Wireless and CCNP Wireless.The new version brings a much needed update that is more in line with current Cisco wireless technologies.

Some of the updated content includes more recent versions of WLC and client software. They've also expanded 802.11n support and added more information about Video over wireless and Voice over wireless. Check Cisco's website for more details.

If you are currently working toward the CCVP, which was renamed to the CCNP Voice last year, one of the exams on the check list is the 642-642 QOS Exam, but only for a couple more months. If you take the QOS exam after February 28th 2012, it will no longer count toward the CCNP Voice. The new exam list is available on Cisco's page for the CCNP Voice, but here's a quick reference:

Well, the CCNA Voice 2011 series has just completed on CBTNuggets and now I have my dream opportunity. A couple years ago, I approached CBTNuggets with an idea on a series called "CCNA Labs" - I wanted it to be a hard-core hands on series, similar to CCIE Labs but at the CCNA level.

Now, my ideas are changing a little bit. I've met one too many people who are new to the Cisco world that say things like, "sure, I know how to configure a Cisco router...but what does a router really do again? Where would that go in a company? What's that do again?"

The newest addition to Cisco's line of certifications is the CCT, or Cisco Certified Technician. Released in August of this year, the CCT certification has three different areas of focus:

• Routing and Switching
• Data Center
• TelePresence

Each certification focuses on the on-site maintenance and support of Cisco equipment in each specific area.

You might be wondering what is the difference between the CCT and the CCENT? Cisco explains that and several more questions in their FAQ, but for those not interested in reading through all of that, here's the basics...

If you are studying for the TSHOOT exam, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the topology. I've been working on creating a lab that mocks the TSHOOT topology, and it has forced me to recall how to setup a Cisco router to act like a Frame Relay switch. 

Here is the topology that I've built. As you can see, it closely resembles the topology that Cisco has provided on their site. Since their doc doesn't provide specific DLCIs, I've used the most logical numbers I could think of.

The first step in configuring a Cisco router to act like a frame relay switch is to enable frame relay switching: