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VMware Certification: Preparing for the VCP & VCDX

David Davis — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:00:50 +0000

Earlier this week, I posted about the new VCAP Certification that VMware has recently introduced to help close the huge gap between the VCP and VCDX certified professionals.

Today I thought we’d take a step back and review the VCP (VMware Certified Professional) and VCDX (VMware Certified Design Expert) certifications.

In the video you will discover the benefits of becoming a VCP and some of the best ways to prepare for your VCP and VCDX exams.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

What are your VMware Certification options?
What does it take to get a VCP?
What are the benefits of becoming a VCP?
How to upgrade your VCP certification?
How to prepare for the VCP exam?
What does it take to get a VCDX?
What is a vExpert?

And if you haven’t already, please make sure to read my article on the new VCAP Certification.

Microsoft Certification Updates: New Certs, Reverts and More

Kasia Grabowska — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:22:27 +0000

There’s a lot going on in the certification world today. Cisco is introducing a new CCNP path next month, the Linux Professional Institute has recently formed new partnerships with CompTIA and Novell offering some nice certification benefits for Linux candidates, and let’s not forget about the two new wireless networking certs that CWNP is planning to launch later this year.

But that’s not all! While at TechEd I learned about a few new Microsoft certification updates that I thought were worth mentioning including new exams, and a two changes to current exams and certifications:

Exam 83-640 Reverts Back to 70-640
MCAS Reverts Back to MOS
New MCTS: Bing Maps Certification
New MCTS: Deploying Windows 7 + Office 2010 Certification
Second Shot Ends in June … and Maybe Forever?

Exam 83-640 Reverts Back to 70-640

Because of some technical difficulties the 83-640 performance based exam is temporarily suspended and replaced by it’s predecessor, Exam 70-640.

The two exams are essentially the same, covering the same objectives and will earn you the same certification: MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring. The main difference between the two exams is the format — Exam 83-640 is a performance based or lab based exam, whereas Exam 70-640 is a traditional multiple-choice type exams. The Transcender blog has a great article about the difference between the two exams.

So what does all of this mean for those who are registered for the 83-640 exam?

Born to Learn says that all current registrations from 83-640 will automatically change to 70-640 with no required action on your part. Your exam will still be at the same time and location but you will be taking the 70-640 exam instead. You do however have the choice to reschedule your time and location through Prometric if you need to.

MCAS Reverts Back to MOS

Does anyone remember the MOS certification? The Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification was used with the Office 2000, Office XP and Office 2003 versions of Office. With Office 2007 the Microsoft Certified Applications Specialist (MCAS) credential was introduced along with some confusion about the Office certifications.

Starting this month, the MCAS is no more and the MOS designation is now valid for all versions of Office, from 2000 to 2010, including Office 2007.

What does this mean for individuals who earned the MCAS?

MCAS certified individuals are now MOS certified for Office 2007. Born to Learn points out that “your certification is still relevant and valued in the marketplace” and that this change “does not affect your credential.” You can now view and print your updated transcript with the MOS logo and make appropriate changes to your virtual business cards at Microsoft Learning.

New MCTS: Bing Maps Certification

The most surprising certification update I learned about last week is the introduction of the new Bing Maps certification. As you know, Bing is Microsoft’s new search engine which includes the Bing Maps feature.

The new Bing Maps exam (70-544) validates skills such as retrieving, analyzing, and displaying location data, administering location platforms and manipulating the map. The certification is designed for application developers working with Visual Studio 2008 interested in creating solutions environments using Bing Maps. Exam 70-544 will earn you the credential of MCTS: Bing Maps Platform, Application Development.

More information on the new Bing Maps certification can be found at Microsoft Learning.

New MCTS: Deploying Windows 7 + Office 2010 Certification

Although not officially out yet, an upcoming MCTS certification exam will focus on Windows 7 and Office 2010 deployment. The exam numbered 70-681 will go into beta soon.

No word yet on when the exam will be available to the public, but a recent Born to Learn post does confirm that the exam will be available for subject matter experts to participate in beta.

Second Shot Ends in June … and Maybe Forever?

The popular Second Shot offer ends June 30th and this time it might be gone forever, or so I heard. At the moment it’s just a rumor, so please don’t quote me on this, but I’ve heard from a number of individuals that this might be the last second shot offer. Why? I have no idea… so hopefully this is just a rumor and second shot will come back next year.

So… What Else Is New?

What did you learn this week? Got any exciting exam or certification news to share?

Exchange Server 2010, Configuring Exam (70-662) Essentials

Abhinav Kaiser — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:00:07 +0000

Most enterprises around the world leverage Microsoft’s Exchange Server for their messaging and collaboration needs.

With paperwork gone to the bins, communication relies significantly on this technology. This makes MS Exchange a crucial component for companies to manage communication.

For organizations, the people who man vital solutions such as Exchange are critical resources. Exchange administrators draw high salaries however, the number of technology refreshes and required certifications is demanding.

The latest in the queue being TS Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Configuring: Exam 70-662. If you are familiar with Microsoft certifications, this one is coded Exam 70-662, the suffix TS abbreviates Technology Series, and the exam will earn you MCTS certification.

Passing this exam will also adds credit towards Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010 certification.

Overview of Exchange Server 2010 MCTS Certification

You could consider this a certification that will test your basics in Exchange 2010 environment. The technical details will not be too riveting and the exam hovers around testing your competency in handling and maintaining MS Exchange server.

The exam will not focus on intricate details of Exchange Server but will assess your administration and maintenance skills in the enterprise environment. Some typical activities that fall under the certification include adding and deleting users, creating and deleting groups, and delegating roles amongst others.

Job profiles that you may bag post certification are most likely Exchange Administrator, Desktop Engineer, Systems Administrator and Server Support Analysts.

If you believe that you don’t belong to this league, the next in line in the professional series is the Designing and Deploying Messaging Solutions with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 certification which is Exam 70-663. I will discuss this certification in more detail in an upcoming post.

Exchange 2010 Exam 70-662 Prerequisites

This is a technology based certification and not a professional one; although Microsoft has not specified any definite prerequisites, you should have at least a couple of years of hands-on experience with Exchange 2007 and 2010 in order to pass the exam.

If you don’t have the prior experience with Exchange, my advice is to work in the environment and try to understand the system as much as you can before attempting the certification exam.

If you rely on understanding concepts and processes through text and visualizing them in your mind, Exam 70-662 might be one of the toughest exams you will face. Hands on experience is a vital component in preparation for this exam.

Exchange 2010 Exam Topics Covered

MS Exchange 2010 is an upgrade of Exchange 2007. The core features of Exchange 2010 have not changed.

Microsoft added, modified and removed certain features from the 2007 version in its new release. If you are familiar with 2007, you need to identify the changes, unlearn what you already know and cram the new set of features.

The 2010 exam covers sections and weights as follows:

Installing and Configuring Exchange Servers – 15 %
Configuring Exchange Recipients and Public Folders – 14 %
Configuring Client Access – 15 %
Configuring Message Transport – 15 %
Monitoring and Reporting – 13 %

All of the sections on the exam are even, as far as points distribution is concerned. This most necessarily means that you have to prepare in all the above mentioned sections if you want to have a realistic chance of passing the exam.

More detailed information on the skills measured can be found at Microsoft Learning.

Exam 70-662 Study Materials

Although the 70-662 exam was announced just a few months ago, there are already a few study materials available.

Train Signal is preparing to release their Exchange Server 2010 training which features comprehensive 70-662 exam coverage in multiple file formats for convenience.

Taught by Exchange guru J. Peter Bruzzese, the training will help you gain hands-on experience by walking you through everything including the installation, configuration, maintenance, etc.

And as a bonus you’ll get a free practice exam to test your skills.

Two popular book options that are starting to get recommended by those who passed the exam are:

• Exchange 2010 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant by William Stanek and

• MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-662) Configuring Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 by Orin Thomas and Ian McLean.

The former addresses the ‘how’ part rather than the ‘why’, which is in line with the exam objectives. Also, the chapters are stacked according to the skills being measured on the exam.

However, the books can only take you so far, especially when hands-on, practical skills are concerned. Plenty of practice and classroom training or an equivalent, like video training, would do a world of good if you are serious about understanding the nuances of Exchange 2010 and passing the exam.

Practice exams are also a great way to prepare for the exam. Transcender, MeasureUp, and a few others offer comprehensive and quality practice exams that will help you make sure you’re ready to sit for your exam.

Exam 70-662 Logistics

Like all other Microsoft exams, this one is outsourced to Prometric as well. You are required to register on the Prometric website, choose the examination you want to take, in this case Exam 70-662, then choose your preferred location and proceed to payment.

The cost of this exam is $125, which is moderate at best. And if you didn’t know already, this is a proctored exam so beware — you are being watched!

Exchange 2010 Exam Details

The 70-662 exam contains 64 multiple choice questions generally, with some rare cases where candidates have received 68-70 questions. Different weights are assigned to each of the questions, and it amounts to a total of 1,000 points. To pass the exam, you need a minimum of 700 points and, you have 3 hours to complete the exam.

The average scores hover around 800+ for IT professionals who have taken this exam in the past month and a half.

From what I have seen and heard, if you have excellent knowledge of Exchange 2007, you will probably be able to answer many of the questions on the 2010 exam. I also heard that the updated exam covers much less PowerShell and that 3 hours is plenty of time to complete the exam.

How Should You Prepare for This Exam?

If you’re new to Exchange, start with the theory and once you understand it try relating it to what you already know. Practice is key for this exam, so make sure you get plenty of hands-on time with the technology in order to build up your skills. This will also come in handy on the job, trust me.

This is definitely one of the harder MS exams, so make sure you prepare well. Take a couple of practice exams to build up your confidence and celebrate once you complete your cert!

Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) Certification Overview

Sean Wilkins — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:00:20 +0000

In modern networks there is a large amount of attention put on network security.

In order to fill this section of the market with well trained and qualified professionals, Cisco created the Cisco Certified Security track and like most of their certification tracks includes an associate (CCNA Security), professional (CCSP) and expert certification (CCIE Security).

This article focuses on the CCSP and the requirements of this professional certification.

The first thing that must be completed before starting on the CCSP is the completion of the prerequisite which includes taking and passing the CCNA Security Exam 640-553: Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS) or by having an existing CCIE certification in any discipline.

The CCSP requires three core exams which include:

Securing Networks with Cisco Routers and Switches (SNRS) Exam 642-504
Securing Networks with ASA Foundation (SNAF) Exam 642-524
Implementing Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Exam 642-533

For the fourth exam requirement you are given the selection of three different tests, these include:

Implementing Cisco NAC Appliance (CANAC) Exam 642-591
Implementing Cisco Security Monitoring, Analysis and Response System (MARS) Exam 642-545
Securing Networks with ASA Standard (SNAA) Exam 642-515

All of the tests detailed in this article can be taken through Pearson-Vue at http://www.pearsonvue.com/cisco/schedule/.

Now let’s look at each of these exams in more detail.

Securing Networks with Cisco Routers and Switches (SNRS) Exam 642-504

The majority of the SNRS tests are spent focused on the security features available through Cisco IOS including Layer 2 security, IOS Firewall and IPS sets and various tunneling solutions. The datasheets for these feature sets can be found at the following two links: FIREWALL and IPS.

Implement Cisco Layer 2 security
- Utilize Cisco IOS commands to mitigate Layer 2 attacks
- Implement Cisco Identity-Based Networking Services on Cisco Catalyst Switches
- Implement Identity Management using ACS as the Authentication Server

Configure Cisco IOS Firewalls to mitigate network threats
- Identify and describe the advanced capabilities of the IOS firewall feature set
- Configure Classic IOS Firewall (CBAC) and NAT to dynamically mitigate identified threats to the network
- Verify Classic IOS Firewall (CBAC) configuration and operation
- Configure IOS Zone-Based Firewalls including advanced application inspections and URL filtering
- Verify Zone-Based Firewall operations

Configure Cisco IOS-IPS to identify and mitigate threats to network resources
- Identify and describe the advanced capabilities of the Cisco IOS-IPS feature set including Signature Event Action Processing
- Configure Cisco IOS-IPS features to identify threats and dynamically block them from entering the network
- Verify Cisco IOS-IPS operations
- Maintain, update and tune Cisco IOS-IPS signatures

Configure Cisco VPNs to provide secure connectivity for site-to-site and remote access communications
- Describe IPsec features and functionality
- Describe GRE/IPsec features and functionality
- Configure secure connectivity for site-to-site VPN using certificate authorities
- Describe DMVPN features and functionality
- Configure secure connectivity for site-to-site VPN using DMVPN
- Verify secure site-to-site VPN operations
- Implement IOS SSL VPN
- Configure Cisco IOS Easy VPN Server with Dynamic Virtual Tunnel Interface (DVTI)
- Configure Cisco IOS Easy VPN remote using both router and VPN software clients
- Verify Cisco IOS Easy VPN implementations
- Implement IOS GET VPN operations
- Describe High Availability IPsec VPNs

Implement Network Foundation Protection using the CLI
- Describe NFP features and functionality
- Secure the management plane using Cisco IOS security features
- Secure the data plane using Cisco IOS security features
- Secure the control plane using Cisco IOS security features

Securing Networks with ASA Foundation (SNAF) Exam 642-524

As you can gather from the name this test focuses on the familiarity with Cisco’s ASA security products and how to implement a number of features using these appliances. The datasheet for these products can be found here.

Configure Security Appliances for secured network connectivity
- Configure and verify network and interface settings using ASDM and CLI
- Configure and verify NAT globals, statics, NAT exemption, and Identity NAT using ASDM
- Configure and verify access-lists with or without object groups using ASDM

Configure and verify routing and switching on Security Appliances
- Describe the routing capabilities of the Security Appliance
- Use ASDM to configure VLANs on a Security Appliance interface
- Use ASDM to configure the passive RIP routing functionality of the Security Appliance

Configure and verify Authentication, Authorization, & Accounting services for Security Appliances
- Configure ACS for Security Appliance support
- Use ASDM to configure the Security Appliance AAA features
- Configure and verify Auth-Proxy (cut-through proxy) using ASDM

Configure and verify Layer 3 & 4 protocol inspection, Modular Policy
- Framework, and threat detection for Security Appliances
- Configure and verify Layer 3 and Layer 4 protocol inspection using ASDM
- Configure and verify Modular Policy Framework using ASDM
- Use ASDM to configure and verify threat detection

Configure and verify secure connectivity using VPNs
- Configure and verify remote access VPNs using ASDM
- Configure and verify IPsec VPN clients with preshared keys using ASDM
- Configure and verify site-to-site VPNs with preshared keys using ASDM
- Verify IKE and IPsec using ASDM and CLI
- Configure and verify clientless SSL VPN using ASDM

Configure and verify active/standby and active/active failover features on Security Appliances
- Configure and verify active/standby failover using ASDM
- Configure and verify active/active failover using ASDM
- Configure and verify redundant Interface using ASDM

Configure transparent firewall and virtual firewall features on a Security Appliance
- Explain the purpose of virtual & transparent firewalls
- Configure and verify the transparent firewall feature of the Security Appliance using CLI
- Configure and verify the virtual firewall feature of the Security Appliance using ASDM

Monitor and manage installed Security Appliances
- Update, backup, and restore configurations and software images using ASDM and CLI
- Install and verify Licensing using ASDM
- Configure and verify Console and SSH/Telnet access
- Configure and utilize Logging using ASDM

Implementing Cisco Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Exam 642-533

The IPS exam covers in depth design and configuration of Cisco’s IPS sensor product line. The datasheet for this product can be found here.

Describe how Cisco IPS sensors are used to mitigate network security threats
- List sensor requirements for inline operations
- Explain the difference between inline and promiscuous mode sensor operations
- Explain how Cisco IPS protects network devices from attacks (Describe signatures, alerts, and actions)
- Explain the evasive techniques used by hackers and how Cisco IPS defeats those techniques
- Describe the considerations necessary for selection, placement, and deployment of a network intrusion prevention system
- Explain the Cisco IPS signature features

Install Cisco IPS sensors/modules and configure essential system parameters
- Explain AIP-SSM functionalities
- Use the CLI to initialize the sensor
- Configure user accounts and explain the different user roles
- Configure management access to the sensor appliance
- Explain how allowed hosts are used and how they are configured
- Describe sensor interfaces, interface pairs, VLAN-pairs, and VLAN-groups
- Use the Cisco IDM to configure sensor interfaces (enable, create pairs, assign to virtual sensors)
- Describe and configure software bypass
- Describe sensor communications with external management and monitoring systems
- Launch, navigate, and use the Cisco IDM to manage and monitor the sensor
- Describe the various CLI configuration modes and sub modes and navigate between them
- List the tasks for installing and configuring the IDSM-2 and AIP-SSM

Describe Cisco IPS sensor advanced system parameters
- Plan the mitigation of specific network vulnerabilities and exploits
- Describe sensor tuning
- Explain IP fragment and TCP stream reassembly options
- Explain how IP logging should be used and how it is configured
- Explain the use of Event Variables
- Describe signature engines and their functionality
- Determine which response actions need to be configured for a given scenario
- Describe the purpose of the Meta Event Generator
- Explain Target Value Ratings and how they are used
- Determine the need for Event Action Rules in a given scenario
- Explain event Risk Ratings and how they are used

Tune Cisco IPS sensor advanced system parameters to optimize attack mitigation performance
- Use the IDM to tune the sensor to work optimally in the network
- Use the IDM to tune signatures to provide maximum protection for a network
- Given a scenario, use the IDM to create custom signature to meet the requirements
- Configure response actions for a signature
- Configure the sensor to take response actions based on a risk rating
- Use the Cisco IDM to create a Meta signature and disable alert production for the component signatures
- Configure Event Action Filters
- Configure Target Value Ratings
- Configure general settings for Event Action Rules
- Configure Event Variables
- Use the sensor application policy enforcement feature
- Configure passive OS fingerprinting (POSFP)
- Explain the External Product Interface, its benefits, and specifications
- Configure a virtual sensor
- Configure anomaly detection
- Use IDM/CLI to monitor advanced features such as POSFP and AD

Analyze Cisco IPS sensor events to determine the appropriate response to network attacks
- Use the CLI and the Cisco IDM and IEV to monitor events

Upgrade and maintain Cisco IPS sensors
- Move software images/upgrades and configuration files via HTTP, HTTPS, SCP, and FTP
- Apply the appropriate system image to the sensor
- Perform sensor password recovery
- Explain sensor licensing and how to install a license
- Describe service pack and signature update file names and how to install them

Implementing Cisco NAC Appliance (CANAC) Exam 642-591

Well I know this will be a surprise to you, but this exam covers Cisco’s NAC appliance and its configuration. The datasheet for this product can be found at this link.

Implement Cisco NAC Appliance
- Identify the components and features used for Cisco NAC Appliance
- Configure and verify NAM and NAS to support the Cisco NAC Appliance In-Band server solutions
- Configure and verify NAM and NAS to support the Cisco NAC appliance Out-of-Band server solutions
- Configure Single Sign on
- Configure and verify Cisco Switches as network access devices
- Configure and verify user roles
- Implement and verify rule based policies
- Configure Cisco NAC Appliance network scanning
- Configure NAM to implement NAA on user devices
- Implement and verify an HA solution
- Administer and monitor a Cisco NAC Appliance solution

Implementing Cisco Security Monitoring, Analysis and Response System (MARS) Exam 642-545

This exam focuses on the design and configuration of Cisco’s MARS. The datasheet is located here.

Install and configure the Cisco Security MARS product
- Describe, configure and verify features and functions of the Cisco Security MARS appliance
- Describe, configure and verify the installation of the Cisco Security MARS appliance
- Add supported Cisco reporting devices to the Cisco Security MARS appliance and verify the operations
- Add supported third-party reporting devices to the Cisco Security MARS appliance and verify the operations
- Perform incident investigation and mitigation from the Cisco Security MARS appliance
- Configure the Cisco Security MARS appliance to send alerts and notifications
- Generate queries and reports on the Cisco Security MARS appliance
- Describe, configure and verify rules to detect interesting patterns of network activity and other anomalous network behavior
- Use the Management options in the Cisco Security MARS appliance user interface to configure and verify Event, IP, Service, and User information
- Describe and perform Cisco Security MARS appliance maintenance activities
- Describe Cisco Security MARS Global Controller functionalities

Securing Networks with ASA Standard (SNAA) Exam 642-515

This test focuses on more advanced topics used along with Cisco’s ASA appliances. The datasheet for these products can be found at this link.

Configure and verify NAT, dynamic routing, and switching on Security Appliances
- Configure and verify VLANS using ASDM
- Configure and verify dynamic routing protocols and route redistribution using ASDM
- Configure and verify policy NAT using ASDM

Configure and verify application layer protocol inspection and Modular Policy Framework for Security Appliances
- Describe the Layer 7 advanced protocol handling capabilities of the Security Appliance
- Configure and verify Layer 7 application layer protocol inspection using ASDM
- Configure and verify Modular Policy Framework using ASDM

Configure and verify secure connectivity using IPsec VPNs
- Describe the features and capabilities of digital certificates
- Describe how to use digital certificate enrollment with the Security Appliance and Cisco VPN client
- Configure and verify remote access VPNs with digital certificates using ASDM
- Configure and verify IPsec VPN clients with digital certificates using ASDM
- Configure and verify site-to-site VPNs with digital certificates using ASDM
- Configure and verify advanced remote access features using ASDM
- Configure and verify the ASA 5505 as a remote access client using ASDM
- Configure and verify QoS for tunnel traffic using ASDM

Configure and verify secure connectivity using SSL VPNs
- Describe the features and capabilities of SSL VPNs
- Configure and verify the local certificate authority using ASDM
- Configure and verify clientless access including smart tunnels, plug-ins and bookmarks using ASDM
- Configure and verify port forwarding using ASDM
- Configure the Security Appliance for SSL VPN client access using ASDM
- Configure and verify the AnyConnect VPN client
- Configure and verify CSD using ASDM
- Configure and verify DAP using ASDM

Configure and verify AIP-SSM and CSC-SSM modules
- Explain the function that AIP-SSM and CSC-SSM perform within a network
- Configure and verify AIP-SSM
- Configure and verify CSC-SSM

ITIL Study Guide: Introduction to the Service Desk

Abhinav Kaiser — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:00:26 +0000

These days, you don’t find a service provider or a product company that does not have a call center.

Call centers have become an integral part of the system, and one cannot imagine living without them. The need for such a call center is to provide a contact line from the company, or as it’s called in IT terms, a single point of contact (SPOC).

In Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework, the first point of contact or the SPOC is called as the service desk.

Difference Between a Service Desk, a Call Center and a Help Desk

Service desk is similar to a call center but differs in the way it functions. You can say that a call center is the interface between a customer and a company representative. And, calls made by the customer land in a call center and a call center employee’s communication does not go beyond customers and vice versa. Call centers only exchange information and do not indulge in resolving technical issues.

In a service desk, a service desk agent communicates with the user/customer (as in a call center) and alongside, they interact between the technical people who resolve issues, third party service providers, and other departments within the company. So, their interactions are multi-dimensional and apart from the communication, there are other responsibilities that are bound to the service desk function which I am going to discuss in the reminder of this article.

In between a call center and a service desk, you have another entity called as a help desk which is not a part of ITIL. A help desk is a call center which is capable of resolving technical issues. They do not liaise with any other resolver groups, third party service providers and other departments.

Responsibilities of a Service Desk

Being a single and first point of contact with customers/users, resolver groups, third party service providers and other departments, is not the only responsibility of the service desk, although it is their primary role.

The service desk is responsible for taking ownership of issues that are reported by users, and track the issue until closure. At different stages of issue resolution, they have to communicate with the users and other stakeholders apprising them of the resolution status.

The Service Desk Environment

ITIL governance is followed primarily in the service industry. A service industry can be defined as any organization which performs certain tasks for a client, and mainly the work revolves around maintaining IT infrastructure, applications and other business processes.

Service desk is best suited for service organizations, although non-service organizations can easily customize the concept to suit their needs.

Different Types of Service Desks

A service desk can be implemented in a number of ways. Each type of service desk has its own set of pros and cons and has a different price tag attached to it. An organization needs to be prudent in choosing the one that’s most appropriate for them.

To explain the different types of service desks, I’m going to consider an example of an organization which is located in eight locations around the globe. Two of their offices are in Australia, one in India, one in the UK and two in the US.

1. The Local Service Desk

If the organization decides to set up a service desk in each of the eight locations, they would be setting up a local service desk. Calls from the Indian location would land in the India service desk, UK calls in the UK service desk, and so on. You get the idea, right?

Pros: Being a local service desk, lingua franca can be the mode of communication. Users and the service desk personnel can relate to each other which can lead to a better understanding of the issues on hand, followed by quick resolutions. Customer satisfaction will boom as well.

Cons: Local service desks are expensive. The organization will have to set up eight service desks around the globe, which includes personnel, infrastructure and management around it.

2. The Centralized Service Desk

As the name suggests, the service desk is located centrally and all company locations dial into the centralized service desk. And, it is up to the company to decide on the extent of centralizing it.

For example, they may decide to have a centralized service desk for the US located in one of the locations and another covering UK and India. At the end of the day, it is the company’s decision and they will need to think over cost implications mainly, along with availability of personnel, office space, etc.

Pros: Centralized service desks ring several bells, the most important being costs. Cost savings are immense and companies can leverage on technologies like VoIP to further reduce the calling costs from far locations.

Cons: As the saying goes, further the distance, farther the heart; the personal touch imparted by a local service desk is an obvious miss. Also, any breakdown in the calling infrastructure or issues with telecom service providers will hamper the purpose it is set to serve.

3. The “Follow the Sun” Service Desk

Follow the Sun is a support model which works best for service desks that work around the clock, i.e 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

The organization which we are using in our example has offices spread worldwide and the Follow the Sun support model works wonderfully well for it. We can strategically place service desks in the US, Australia and India to provide 24X7 support to all locations.

The concept works something like this: During the US day time, service desk in the US is operational, and all calls from each of the eight locations land in the US service desk. As the sun moves away from the US and towards Australia, the service desk function is picked up by the Aussie counterparts and all the calls land in Australia, and the same process follows when the sun moves towards India. Hence, the name Follow the Sun.

The Follow the Sun service desk works best for larger organizations with bases spread across the globe, similar to our example.

Pros: Resiliency is the biggest advantage in such a model. If any of the service desks are down, the company will have at its disposal other service desks that can take over, and hence eliminate single point of failure. In some countries, staffers will need to be paid extra if they are to work beyond a certain time in the evening; this model eliminates this burden.

Cons: It may not be as cost effective, because you would need a dedicated management to keep a finger on the service desk’s pulse. Coordination will be the biggest challenge and you would need able managers to run the show ably, and as you would expect, good managers come at a cost, usually inflated.

Service Desk Makes a Difference

Many companies feel that the service desk is an overhead and hence optional. But, what they fail to understand is that the service desk integrates different departments of the company, and can help a smooth passage of communication if used strategically.

A company without a service desk is like a football team that zips its mouth throughout the game.

Cisco CCNA Wireless Certification Guide

Jason Harry — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:00:21 +0000

With more and more companies adding wireless to their network infrastructure, the need for skilled wireless professionals has begun to grow.

Cisco, being one of the leaders in network innovations, understands this trend and tackles this need with the implementation of the CCNA Wireless certification track.

The CCNA Wireless Certification is one of Cisco’s Associate level certifications that is available along with two other specialized tracks, together known as the CCNA Concentrations.

For those of you who may not know what the CCNA Concentrations include, take a look at some of my previous articles where I describe what potential candidates need in order to prepare for and pass these exams:

CCNA Wireless Certification

The CCNA Wireless Certification Exam, otherwise known as the Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Network Essential (IUWNE) exam (640-721) consists of approximately 75-85 questions which must be completed in a time frame of 90 minutes.

If you want to get certified in Cisco’s Wireless field, you will want to begin with the associate level wireless cert, as it is a prerequisite for the professional level CCNP Wireless certification.

Like most of Cisco associate level exams, you have a number of options to choose from depending on your native language. These include English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, French and Spanish, with all other languages, except English, given an additional 30 minutes. All this really means is that, if English is not the native language for the country you’re taking the exam in, you’ll be allotted that extra 30 minutes.

CCNA Wireless Exam Objectives

Now, let’s get into exactly what technologies and topics are covered on the CCNA Wireless 640-721 exam. You will be tested on your ability to install, configure and troubleshoot small to medium-sized Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs).

These are the topics covered on the 640-721 exam as outlined on Cisco’s Learning Network:

Describe WLAN fundamentals

Describe the basics of spread spectrum technology (modulation, DSS, OFDM, MIMO, Channels reuse and overlap, Rate-shifting, CSMA/CA)
Describe the impact of various wireless technologies (Bluetooth, WiMAX, ZigBee, cordless phone)
Describe wireless regulatory bodies, standards and certifications (FCC, ETSI, 802.11a/b/g/n, WiFi Alliance)
Describe WLAN RF principles (antenna types, RF gain/loss, EIRP, refraction, reflection, ETC)
Describe networking technologies used in wireless (SSID –> WLAN_ID –> Interface — >VLAN, 802.1q trunking)
Describe wireless topologies (IBSS, BSS, ESS, Point-to-Point, Point-to-Multipoint, basic Mesh, bridging)
Describe 802.11 authentication and encryption methods (Open, Shared, 802.1X, EAP, TKIP, AES)
Describe frame types (associated/unassociated, management, control, data)

Install a basic Cisco wireless LAN

Describe the basics of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network architecture (Split MAC, LWAPP, stand-alone AP versus controller-based AP, specific hardware examples)
Describe the Cisco Mobility Express Wireless architecture (Smart Business Communication System — SBCS, Cisco Config Agent — CCA, 526WLC, 521AP – stand-alone and controller-based)
Describe the modes of controller-based AP deployment (local, monitor, HREAP, sniffer, rogue detector, bridge)
Describe controller-based AP discovery and association (OTAP, DHCP, DNS, Master-Controller, Primary-Secondary-Tertiary, n+1 redundancy)
Describe roaming (Layer 2 and Layer 3, intra-controller and inter-controller, mobility groups)
Configure a WLAN controller and access points WLC: ports, interfaces, WLANs, NTP, CLI and Web UI, CLI wizard, LAG AP: Channel, Power
Configure the basics of a stand-alone access point (no lab) (Express setup, basic security)
Describe RRM

Install Wireless Clients

Describe client OS WLAN configuration (Windows, Apple, and Linux)
Install Cisco ADU
Describe basic CSSC
Describe CCX versions 1 through 5

Implement basic WLAN Security

Describe the general framework of wireless security and security components (authentication, encryption, MFP, IPS)
Describe and configure authentication methods (Guest, PSK, 802.1X, WPA/WPA2 with EAP- TLS, EAP-FAST, PEAP, LEAP)
Describe and configure encryption methods (WPA/WPA2 with TKIP, AES)
Describe and configure the different sources of authentication (PSK, EAP-local or -external, Radius)

Operate basic WCS

Describe key features of WCS and Navigator (versions and licensing)
Install/upgrade WCS and configure basic administration parameters (ports, O/S version, strong passwords, service vs. application)
Configure controllers and APs (using the Configuration tab not templates)
Configure and use maps in the WCS (add campus, building, floor, maps, position AP)
Use the WCS monitor tab and alarm summary to verify the WLAN operations

Conduct basic WLAN Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Identify basic WLAN troubleshooting methods for controllers, access points, and clients methodologies
Describe basic RF deployment considerations related to site survey design of data or VoWLAN applications, Common RF interference sources such as devices, building material, AP location Basic RF site survey design related to channel reuse, signal strength, cell overlap
Describe the use of WLC show, debug and logging
Describe the use of the WCS client troubleshooting tool
Transfer WLC config and O/S using maintenance tools and commands
Describe and differentiate WLC WLAN management access methods (console port, CLI, telnet, ssh, http, https, wired versus wireless management)

For an entry level cert, this sure does cover quite a number of topics. But then again, this is Cisco, the leader in Network innovation, so you can’t really expect anything less from them.

Why Get the CCNA Wireless Certification?

As I mentioned before, the wireless job market is beginning to pick up pace, with more and more companies expanding their infrastructure to include wireless. This is definitely going to require network engineers who have the skills needed to support these infrastructures and having a CCNA Wireless added to your resume will surely demonstrate this to potential and prospective employers.

The certification will help you set yourself apart from other candidates, or perhaps, get a pay raise or bonus, which is always a good thing. Another reason for getting it may be that you’re already working within the wireless field, but mainly with open source or other vendor platforms, and you’re interested in breaking into the Cisco world of wireless. Beginning with the CCNA Wireless will definitely give you the knowledge needed to understand how Cisco’s wireless technology works, which is the most important thing needed before you strive for the higher level certs.

CCNA Wireless Recommended Training

For reading materials I would recommend the Cisco Press CCNA Wireless Official Exam Certification Guide (CCNA IUWNE 640-721) by Brandon James Carroll and Sybex’s CCNA Wireless Study Guide by Todd Lammle.

Both of these books go in depth on the topics covered within the exam.

Unfortunately, Cisco Press is yet to release a Quick Reference Guide for the CCNA Wireless track. This might be a disappointment to some, especially if you’re a big fan of Cisco’s Quick Reference Guides.

Cisco’s Learning Network also has a wealth of documentation that will help you with your studies. Plus, don’t forget to check out the Quick Learning Modules under the wireless section.

Turns out, finding training materials for this track can be quite a challenge. Train Signal along with Transcender are yet to release training and practice exams for the CCNA Wireless to their collections.

Finding simulators for your lab also is proving to be a challenge. My guess is that, as time goes on and the wireless field grows more and gets even higher in demand, then you will start to find training materials much easier.

At this point, there’s not much that I can recommend to you but I’ll be sure to update this post as soon as I find a recommended training, practice exam and simulation solution for the CCNA wireless track.

I hope you found this overview of the CCNA Wireless track informative and kindly feel free to post comments if you have any other recommended solutions for learning. Good Luck!

Cisco CCNA Voice Certification Guide

Jason Harry — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:30:57 +0000

Thus far, I’ve written 2 certification guides based on the associate level exams from Cisco:

• Cisco CCNA Certification Guide
• Cisco CCNA Security Certification Guide

Today, I’ll be continuing with another one of the CCNA concentrations: CCNA Voice.

I will follow the same format as in my previous articles, where I provide you with a brief overview of what the exam entails and what materials can be used to help you prepare and pass your exam.

Voice technology is also another field that has gained quite a lot of interest over the past couple of years and will continue to do so for some time to come. The Cisco CCNA Voice certification is geared towards candidates wanting to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in this field.

With a CCNA Voice cert added to your resume, you’re validating to employers that you have the necessary skills required to deploy and maintain a Cisco Voice infrastructure. Some of the technologies covered on the certification are Voicemail solutions, IP PBX, IP Telephony and call control.

Does CCNA Voice Have 2 Certification Options Like the Foundation CCNA?

The quick answer is yes.

Just like the CCNA, the CCNA Voice also has two options available to candidates:

• CCNA Voice Enterprise

The CCNA Voice Enterprise option is suited for professionals that will be working in large Voice environments. Candidates are required to be knowledgeable in how the Cisco Unified Communication Manager 6.0 (CUCM) works.

The advantage of taking this option is that, if you do later decide to go for your Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP), you would have already completed one of the required 5 exams. Whereas, if you decide to take the commercial option outlined below, you’ll still have to complete all 5 exams.

The required exam for the enterprise option is 642-436.

• CCNA Voice Commercial

The CCNA Voice Commercial option focuses more on the technologies used by smaller to medium-sized organizations consisting of less than 2,000 employees. The Cisco Call Manager Express (CME) and the Cisco Unity Express (CUE) are the area’s most focused on.

The required exam for the commercial option is 640-460.

CCNA Voice Exam Objectives

As mentioned above, there are two exam options available to candidates, each with a different exam.

Let’s first take a look at the topics covered in the Enterprise (exam 642-436) option. The CVoice exam consists of approximately 60-70 questions that must be completed in 75 minutes. As a prerequisite for the CCNA Voice track, candidates are required to have a valid CCNA Certification (aka Not Expired).

Exam Objectives for CVoice – Enterprise (Exam 642-436)

These are just some of the objectives for this exam; for the complete list of topics, see Cisco’s Learning Network.

Describe the components of a gateway

Describe the function of gateways
Describe DSP functionality
Describe the different types of voice ports and their usage

Describe a dial plan

Describe a numbering plan
Describe digit manipulation
Describe path selection

Describe the basic operation and components involved in a VoIP call

Describe VoIP call flow
Describe RTP, RTCP, cRTP, and sRTP
Describe H.323

Implement a gateway

Describe the gateway call routing process
Configure analog voice ports
Configure digital voice ports
Describe considerations for PBX integration

Describe the function and interoperation of gatekeepers within an IP Communications network

Describe the function and types of gatekeepers
Describe the interoperation of devices with a gatekeeper
Describe gatekeeper signaling

Implement a gatekeeper

Configure devices to register with a gatekeeper
Configure gatekeeper to provide dial-plan resolution
Configure gatekeeper to provide call admission control

Implement an IP-to-IP gateway

Describe the IP-to-IP gateway features and functionality
Configure gatekeeper to support an IP-to-IP gateway
Configure IP-to-IP gateway to provide address hiding

Exam Objectives for CCNA Voice – Commercial (Exam 640-460)

Now, let’s look at some of the topics covered in the Commercial option (exam 640-460). The commercial option has approximately 60-70 questions with an allotted time of 90 minutes.

Describe the components of the Cisco Unified Communications Architecture

Describe the function of the infrastructure in a UC environment
Describe the function of endpoints in a UC environment
Describe the function of the call processing agent in a UC environment

Describe PSTN components and technologies

Describe the services provided by the PSTN
Describe time division and statistical multiplexing
Describe supervisory, informational, and address signalling

Describe VoIP components and technologies

Describe the process of voice packetization
Describe RTP and RTCP
Describe the function of and differences between codecs
Describe H.323, MGCP, SIP, and SCCP signalling protocols

Describe and configure gateways, voice ports, and dial peers to connect to the PSTN and service provider networks

Describe the function and application of a dial plan
Describe the function and application of voice Gateways
Describe the function and application of voice ports in a Gateway
Describe and configure a Cisco network to support VoIP
- Describe the purpose of VLANs in a VoIP environment
- Describe the environmental considerations to support VoIP
- Configure switched infrastructure to support voice and data VLANs
Implement UC500 using Cisco Configuration Assistant
- Describe the function and operation of Cisco Configuration Assistant
- Configure UC500 device parameters
- Configure UC500 network parameters
Implement Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express to support endpoints using CLI
- Describe the appropriate software components needed to support endpoints
- Describe the requirements and correct settings for DHCP, NTP, and TFTP
- Configure DHCP, NTP and TFTP
Implement voicemail features using Cisco Unity Express
- Describe the Cisco Unity Express hardware platforms
- Configure the foundational elements required for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express to support Cisco Unity Express
- Describe the features available in Cisco Unity Express
Perform basic maintenance and operations tasks to support the VoIP solution
- Describe basic troubleshooting methods for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express
- Explain basic troubleshooting methods for Cisco Unity Express
- Explain basic maintenance and troubleshooting methods for UC500
CCNA Voice Training Options

As usual, the first place to look for training is the Cisco Press store. At least, this is where I usually start. From here you’ll find the 2 recommended books for both the Commercial and Enterprise options.

CCNA Voice Official Exam Certification Guide (640-460 IIUC) covers all the topics required for the commercial option.

Cisco Voice over IP (CVOICE) Authorized Self-Study Guide, 3rd Edition covers everything you need to know for the enterprise option.

There is also the Quick Reference Guides available for both books. Remember that these guides can be used in the review stages of your studies, basically the final stages just before you take the exam.

If you’ve read my past articles on Packet Tracer, you would have seen that this could be used for your CCNA and CCNA Security preparations. However, this is not the case for the CCNA Voice concentration. Your options for lab exercises are going to be Dynamips or Rack Rentals.

As is customary, I always recommend Transcender’s practice exams to use as practice before you sit the actual exam. The questions are usually to a slightly higher degree of difficulty than the real exam which is a good strategy to use. This way, when you sit the real exam, everything seems a lot easier. Of course, with proper preparation, all the questions will be manageable regardless of whether or not you use the Transcender engine.

CCNA Voice Track

If you’ve recently completed your CCNA and are currently looking to go further into the networking field, then you may want to consider taking the Voice path. A lot of jobs today require engineers to have some knowledge of voice technology and how to support it — the CCNA Voice track is an excellent cert to have.

Let us know your thoughts and if you have any other recommended training solutions. Good Luck!
Related posts:

LPI Forms Partnerships with CompTIA and Novell

Veronica Henry — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:00:35 +0000

Have you been contemplating the pursuit of Linux professional certification? Have your choices been narrowed down to Novell, LPI and ComTIA?

Well, there’s good news to share for new Linux certification candidates and current Linux certified professionals.

Last year, Linux jobs grew by 5% and salaries increased by as much as 10% for Linux certified professionals. The new certification partnerships that LPI, CompTIA and Novell have formed will help IT professionals get a start in the Linux sector of the industry.

LPI and CompTIA Partnership

Today CompTIA announced that it is joining forces with Linux Professional Institute to help advance the global Linux workforce.

The partnership between LPI and CompTIA means that certification in the new CompTIA Linux+ will mean that candidates are eligible for LPIC-1 certification. Past and current Linux+ certification holders will only be able to benefit from this partnership if they plan on recertifying with the new Linux+ exams.

To obtain both the Linux+ and LPIC-1 certification at once, all you need to do is have your exam results of your Linux+ exams be sent to LPI. At the beginning of your Linux+ exams, you will have the opportunity to choose this option.

The big news is that CompTIA is adopting the LPIC-1 exams (LPI-101 and LPI-102) which are numbered LX0-101 and LX0-102. Candidates will be required to pass both of the exams to become Linux+ certified and to qualify for the LPIC-1 cert.

The new Linux+ cert has also been retitled and is now officially called: CompTIA Linux+ Powered by LPI certification.

According to CompTIA’s website, the new Linux+ exams will be available in late April, 2010 and will be priced at $160, the same price as the LPIC-1 exams.

For some reason, the new CompTIA Linux+ [Powered by LPI certification] will not be available in Japan; the current Linux+ exam retires at the end of April, 2010 in Japan.

LPI and Novell Partnership

LPI (the group behind the LPIC certifications), and Novell (the makers of SUSE Linux), have formed a groundbreaking partnership that at last, paves the way for cross-certification.

LPI has announced that current holders of LPIC certifications can now receive the Novell Certified Linux Administrator (CLA) certification — and get this, candidates will not have to pay any additional costs or take another exam.

Apparently, the two companies have worked together for years on exam development, so LPI and CLA holders may not be surprised at the announcement.

Essentially, if you’ve earned the LPIC-1 certification, both groups believe you have demonstrated the requirements necessary to earn the Novell CLA certification. Novell will also include LPIC-1 test objectives in its CLA training materials.

Additional self-study and classroom training programs are pending, so be sure to check the LPI website periodically for more information.

Unfortunately, the agreement does not extend to LPI candidates or holders in Japan.

How to Obtain Your Novell CLA

In order to obtain your Novell CLA, you will need to complete an online form at Novell’s website.

Required Information:

LPI ID
verification code (found in your online candidate record)
contact information: (name, address, phone, email)

CLA & LPIC Certification Information

Novell Certified Linux Administrator (CLA)

The Novell Certified Linux Administrator (CLA) is the newest Novell certification and demonstrates competency in the day-to-day administration of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server networks.

There are two learning paths, covering both server software versions: SUSE Enterprise Server 11 and 10. For the purposes of this article, we’ll cover the most current version, Server 11. There are two tests, concentrated on fundamentals and administration. Both are ninety minute, multiple choice exams with sixty-nine questions, spanning fifty-five test objectives. In addition to the distribution-neutral Linux topics, candidates will be tested on Novell-specific components, such as, RPM, SUSE installation, YaST and SUSE Linux system monitoring.

Novell Training:

Novell offers the following training courses for this exam: The three-day fundamental training (course 3101), costs $1,495 for classroom study and $495 for self study. The five-day advanced administration class is $2,495 for classroom and $495 for self-study.

For more information on the CLA certifications, check out my post that provides a Novell Certification Overview or visit Novell’s website.

Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC)

The Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC) is one of two distribution-neutral certifications in the Linux space. LPIC certifies competency in both the basic operating system components and associated administration tools.

Each test objective is weighted on a scale of 1 to 10, based on their relative importance. As you might expect, the higher the weight, the more questions on the exam will be dedicated to that objective.

There are three certification levels: LPIC-1, LPIC-2 and LPIC-3.

LPIC-1 – Junior Level Linux Professional is an entry level certification which consists of two exams, both of which must be passed. The first exam focuses on system architecture, while the second covers shells, scripting and data management. Candidates should be familiar with the Linux command line, be able to perform typical system maintenance tasks and manage installation of workstations and networking.

LPIC Training:

LPI doesn’t offer in-house training, but instead has LPI Approved Training Partners (LPI-ATP). Click here to view and search the listing for local training options.

For more information on the LPIC certifications, see my article on LPIC Overview or visit LPI’s website.

Professional Certification Impact

Overall, I think this is a good move for all three companies. One of the challenges for IT professionals is deciding which certification path to pursue — especially at the entry-level stage.

There is definite need for testing separation to assess certain skills depending on the Linux flavor. However, in the distribution-neutral space, there is a recognizable overlap of test objectives.

These partnerships have simplified the process not only for candidates, but will also help employers who make hiring decisions based on the perceived industry standard.

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Certification

Abhinav Kaiser — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:00:37 +0000

Today, more and more IT projects that are coming in are maintenance projects. Development projects have gone down steeply owing to a number of factors surrounding cutting of costs and reusing available solutions rather than reinventing the wheel.

Moreover, all the developed projects need to be maintained, and hence the demand for professionals in the service sector. The art of managing the service sector in the IT field is most commonly referred to as IT Service Management.

On the field, a set of technicians and software engineers by themselves cannot run maintenance projects which involve services and systems. There is a need to bring the whole process under a strong governance that integrates all functions together under professionals who are well versed in the field of service management.

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is one of the most popular governance models and its certification is conferred on individuals who possess minimum understanding of the ITIL model.

In this post, I hope to throw some light on the ITIL certification and provide ample proof that the certification is the way forward and owning one will move you to a position of strength in obtaining your dream IT job.

Today you’ll learn:

What is ITIL?
What are the jobs opportunities for ITIL certified professionals?
Are there any alternatives to ITIL?
What are the ITIL certification exams?
How to get ITIL certified?

Introduction to ITIL

ITIL is an IT service management governance model. It provides the set of best practices in the industry for managing IT services, and running IT operations.

The library provides a structure for an organization to run cost effective operations, improve performance on a continuous basis, and to control the activities through multi-layers.

In the eighties, a number of service projects were under the hammer as the practices followed and the outputs delivered varied significantly. At this point in time, the British government, under its Office of Government Commerce (OGC) brought forth a set of best practices, and was christened Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

The first version of ITIL (v1) came out in 1989, and was voluminous with over 30 books. Although the framework was tedious, it was in vigor for over a decade.

In 2000, their most popular version, ITIL v2 was launched. It basically had two volumes for IT service management and was supplemented by a further six volumes which offered specific guidance for different segments in the IT industry.

The latest installment, ITIL v3, was launched in 2007 and it consists of five volumes. This version covers the entire life cycle of service management, which is probably fitting and the need of the hour for today’s industry.

Although v3 is the latest and updated ITIL version, many industry experts, including me, believe that ITIL v2 suffices for the most part, especially for professionals working in junior and mid levels. The v3 version will come in handy for service managers and delivery managers who have a holistic view into all the processes in the lifecycle.

Jobs Opportunities for ITIL Certified Professionals

The ITIL environment not only provides jobs for technicians and software engineers, but there are a number of ITIL professionals required to run the processes, at junior, mid and higher levels of service management.

The junior level jobs include coordinator roles mainly responsible for coordinating between technicians, managers, customers and suppliers, reporting, running meetings amongst other level one activities.

For those with at least five years of experience, the mid level offers job opportunities that make them functional managers who are accountable for the deliverables. They will have powers to authorize technicians and software professionals to address problematic situation on hand.

The people who take decisions sit on the top. They need to have significant exposure to ITIL practices to ensure best performance using the available resources and at a minimum cost. Apart from this, ITIL mandates continuous improvement, which falls directly under higher level managers’ objectives.

I have mentioned the various levels of jobs one could undertake depending on experience just to prove that ITIL professionals have unparalleled career growth. They perhaps take over management roles much earlier than those working in development environments. And, with the number of maintenance projects on the rise, it is evident that the future is looking bright for ITIL professionals.

I have been an ITIL professional for a number of years now. I am in charge of operations for a number of clients in a particular geography. I have the power to take decisions which also includes managing people.

Not too long ago, I started out as a coordinator managing deliverables, getting inputs from technical teams and ensuring timely delivery of outputs. I moved up the ladder as a service manager where I managed a number of services for a particular client. After a successful stint, I was handed a promotion and given wider responsibilities to handle multiple clients, and the power to chop and change things to increase performance and reduce costs.

All in all, I do believe that my ride up the ladder has been swift, compared to my comrades who are in the development industry.

Alternatives to ITIL

ITIL has somewhat monopolized the industry, leaving others way behind.

The closest contender is Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (CobiT), another governance model that has made quite a name for itself.

However, unlike ITIL, CobiT is a certification for organizations and not for individuals.

ITIL v3 Certification Exams

ITIL offers four levels of certifications, aimed at professionals at different stages of their career:

ITIL Foundation Level
ITIL Intermediate Level
ITIL Expert Certificate
ITIL Master Qualification

The ones getting started in the maintenance projects will want to undergo the ITIL v3 Foundation Certification, which is perhaps the most popular of the four.

Other exams include ITIL intermediate level certification meant for managers responsible for making decisions.

Higher up the ladder are the expert and master certifications which test the knowledge through case studies on specific ITIL topics.

The foundation certification should suffice for the most part, even for those seeking managerial berth. A basic understanding of ITIL coupled with industry experience will deem the individuals invaluable.

ITIL v3 Foundation Certification Essentials

There are several accredited examination institutes around the world. Go with the one that is relevant to your geography. Most examination institutes have tied up with Prometric to conduct proctored exams EXIN is the exam institute of my choice.

To register for ITIL v3 foundation certification examination, you need to head over to the Prometric website to register. The examination will be listed under your examination institute. It costs $174 in the United States and this could vary depending on the geography.

The examination has a total of 40 questions and you are expected to score at least 26 to pass it.

You have a total of 60 minutes to finish the examination. In my opinion, you should be able to answer all the forty questions within the first 45 minutes and utilize the remaining time to review your answers.

If you are writing the exam in a language other than your native language, you will get an additional 15 minutes along with a dictionary to aid you.

ITIL has published five volumes for v3, however I don’t recommend that you study them for your foundation examination, it is way too much information.

Passing your ITIL foundation exam: the official study aid by Christian Nissen is a good book, it simplifies all of the concepts for rookies and the material offered is succinct and apt for the examination.

Self study should be sufficient to pass the foundation certification examination but if you need more help, there are plenty of training options out there as well.

Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP) Certification Overview

Sean Wilkins — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:00:33 +0000

With modern networks now having the ability to not only service your data requirements for surfing and getting email but also to fulfill your requirements for other services including voice, Cisco started the Cisco Certified Voice track.

As with the other certification tracks, this includes an associate (CCNA Voice), professional (CCVP) and expert level certifications (CCIE Voice).

This article focuses on the requirements for the professional level certification — Cisco Certified Vooice Professional (CCVP).

As with other Cisco professional level certifications CCVP requires one of two prerequisites be accomplished. The two available prerequisites are:

A current CCNA Voice certification — Implementing Cisco IOS Unified Communications (IIUC) Exam 640-460 (Commercial) OR Cisco Voice over IP (CVOICE v6.0) Exam 642-436 (Enterprise)

A a current CCIE certification of any discipline

It is obvious that if you are interested in continuing on from CCNA Voice to CCVP that just taking the CVOICE exam would allow you to avoid one test as CVOICE is also required for the CCVP certification.

CCVP Exam Requirements

The current CCVP requires five exams, which include:

Cisco Voice over IP (CVOICE) Exam 642-436
Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Part 1 (CIPT1) Exam 642-446
Quality of Service (QoS) Exam 642-642
Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Part 2 (CIPT2) Exam 642-456
Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Communications Systems (TUC) Exam 642-426

All of the exams detailed in this article can be taken through Pearson-Vue at http://www.pearsonvue.com/cisco/schedule/.

Now let’s look at each of these tests individually.

Cisco Voice over IP (CVOICE) Exam 642-436

The CVOICE exam is a great base VoIP fundamental exam and measures a large number of concepts in a small number of questions. Just the study guide for this exam is a great reference.

Describe the components of a gateway
- Describe the function of gateways
- Describe DSP functionality
- Describe the different types of voice ports and their usage
- Describe dial peer types
- Describe codecs and codec complexity

Describe a dial plan
- Describe a numbering plan
- Describe digit manipulation
- Describe path selection
- Describe calling privileges
- Describe call coverage

Describe the basic operation and components involved in a VoIP call
- Describe VoIP call flow
- Describe RTP, RTCP, cRTP, and sRTP
- Describe H.323
- Describe MGCP
- Describe SCCP
- Describe SIP
- Identify the appropriate gateway signaling protocol for a given situation
- Describe voice quality considerations
- Choose the appropriate codec for a given situation

Implement a gateway
- Describe the gateway call routing process
- Configure analog voice ports
- Configure digital voice ports
- Describe considerations for PBX integration
- Configure dial-peers
- Configure hunt groups and trunk groups
- Configure digit manipulation
- Configure calling privileges
- Verify dial-plan implementation
- Implement fax and modem support on a gateway
- Configure a gateway to provide DTMF support

Describe the function and interoperation of gatekeepers within an IP Communications network
- Describe the function and types of gatekeepers
- Describe the interoperation of devices with a gatekeeper
- Describe gatekeeper signaling
- Describe Dynamic Zone Prefix Registration with a gatekeeper
- Describe gatekeeper redundancy

Implement a gatekeeper
- Configure devices to register with a gatekeeper
- Configure gatekeeper to provide dial-plan resolution
- Configure gatekeeper to provide call admission control
- Verify gatekeeper operation

Implement an IP-to-IP gateway
- Describe the IP-to-IP gateway features and functionality
- Configure gatekeeper to support an IP-to-IP gateway
- Configure IP-to-IP gateway to provide address hiding
- Configure IP-to-IP gateway to provide protocol and media interworking
- Configure IP-to-IP gateway to provide call admission control
- Verify IP-to-IP gateway implementations

Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Part 1 (CIPT1) Exam 642-446

The 642-446 exam focuses on the deployment and configuration of CUCM (Cisco Unified Communications Manager) when using a single site and centralized call processing models. The datasheet for the most recent version of CUCM is located here.

Perform an installation and initial set up of a Cisco Unified Communications Manager cluster
- Describe administrative access to Cisco Unified Communications Manager
- Describe Cisco Unified Communications Manager cluster architecture
- Describe Cisco Unified Communications Manager redundancy designs
- Describe the requirements for Cisco Unified Communications Manager use of
- DHCP, TFTP, DNS, and NTP
- Determine the services necessary to support a Cisco Unified Communications
- Manager deployment and activate the appropriate services
- Perform an install and upgrade on Cisco Unified Communications Manager

Describe and configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager to support on-cluster calling
- Configure a Cisco Unified Communications Manager group
- Configure users, user groups, and roles
- Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager to support Cisco SCCP & SIP Phones
- Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager to support 3rd party SIP phones
- Describe how to harden an IP phone
- Configure LDAP integration
- Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager profiles and device pools
- Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager templates
- Configure a Cisco switch to support IP phones
- Use Cisco Unified Communications Manager BAT to manage phones and users
- Describe the function of TAPS

Describe and configure a route plan for Cisco Unified Communications
- Manager to support off-net calling
- Describe Cisco Unified Communications Manager digit analysis
- Implement an MGCP Gateway
- Configure route patterns and route filters
- Configure route lists and route groups
- Implement toll-fraud prevention
- Configure digit manipulation
- Describe the functions and usage of CSS and partitions
- Implement calling privileges
- Implement call coverage

Describe and configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager media resources
- Describe media resources
- Configure MeetMe conferencing, hardware conferencing resources, and software
- conferencing resources
- Configure MoH
- Configure MRGs and MRGLs

Configure the Cisco Unified Communications Manager to support features and applications
- Configure IP phone services
- Enable user web page access
- Integrate Cisco Unified Communications Manager with Unity and UnityConnection
- Configure Call Park, Privacy, Barge, Call Pickup, and Intercom
- Implement Presence

Quality of Service (QoS) Exam 642-642

This exam covers the specifics of the various QoS mechanisms that can be implemented for voice traffic.

IP QoS Fundamentals
- Given a description of a converged network, identify problems that could lead to poor quality of service and explain how the problems might be resolved
- Define the term Quality of Service (QoS) and identify and explain the key steps to implementing QoS on a converged network

IP QoS Components
- List and explain the models for providing Quality of Service on a network
- Explain the purpose and function of the DiffServ model
- Describe the basic format of and explain the purpose of the DSCP field in the IP header
- Define and explain the different per hop behaviors used in DSCP
- Explain the interoperability between DSCP-based and IP-precedence-based devices in a network
- Given a list of QoS actions, correctly match the QoS actions to mechanisms for implementing QoS and identify where in a network the different QoS mechanisms are commonly used

Modular QoS CLI and Auto-QoS
- Given a network requiring QoS, explain how to implement a QoS policy using MQC
- Explain how AutoQoS is used to implement QoS policy

Classification and Marking
- Explain how link layer and network layer markings are used to define service classes and the different applications represented by each of these service classes
- Given a network and a description of QoS issues, use MQC CLI commands to classify packets
- Given a network and a description of QoS issues, use class-based marking to assign packets to a specific service class
- Describe the function of Network Based Application Recognition
- Describe the purpose of pre-classification to support QoS in various VPN (IPSEC, GRE, L2TP) configurations
- Describe QoS trust boundaries and their significance in LAN based classification and marking
- Identify the different classification and marking options available on Cisco L2 and L3 switching platforms

Congestion Management Methods
- List and explain the different queuing algorithms
- Explain the components of hardware and software queuing systems on Cisco routers and how they are effected by tuning and congestion
- Describe the benefits and drawbacks of using WFQ to implement QoS
- Explain the purpose and features of Class-Based WFQ (CBWFQ)
- Explain the purpose and features of Low Latency Queuing (LLQ)
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor LLQ on a Cisco router
- Describe and explain the different queuing capabilities available on the Cisco Catalyst 2950 Switch

Congestion Avoidance Methods
- Describe the drawbacks tail drop as a congestion control mechanism
- Describe the elements of a RED traffic profile
- Describe Weighted Random Early Detection and how it can be used to prevent congestion
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor DSCP-based CB-WRED
- Explain how ECN interacts with WRED in Cisco IOS

Traffic Policing and Shaping
- Describe the purpose of traffic conditioning using traffic policing and traffic shaping and differentiate between the features of each
- Explain how network devices measure traffic rates using single rate or dual rate, single or dual token bucket mathematical models
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor single rate and dual rate CB-Policing
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor percentage based CB-Policing
- Explain how the two rate limits, average rate and peak rate, can be used to rate limit traffic
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor CB-Shaping
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor Frame Relay adaptive CB-Shaping on Frame Relay interfaces

Link Efficiency Mechanisms
- Explain the various link efficiency mechanisms and their function
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor CB header compression
- Given a list of link speeds and a specific delay requirement, determine the proper fragment size to use at each link speed and identify the typical delay requirement for VoIP packets
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor Multilink PPP with Interleaving
- Identify the Cisco IOS commands required to configure and monitor FRF.12

QoS Best Practices
- Explain the QoS requirements of the different application types
- List typical enterprise traffic classes then identify the delay, jitter, packet loss and bandwidth requirements of each traffic class
- Explain the best practice QoS implementations and configurations within the campus LAN
- Explain the best practice QoS implementations and configurations on the WAN
- customer edge (CE) and provider edge (PE) routers

Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Part 2 (CIPT2) Exam 642-456

The 642-456 exam picks up on the materials covered on the CIPT1 exam and extends it to multiple sites and the additional technologies used in these situations. The datasheet for the most recent version of CUCM is located here.

Manage Tcl and VXML call applications on a gateway
- Describe how to obtain call applications
- Configure a gateway to use call applications
- Verify call application implementations

Describe and implement centralized call processing redundancy
- Describe device fail over
- Configure call survivability
- Configure SRST operation
- Configure CME to provide redundancy
- Configure MGCP Fallback operation
- Verify redundancy operations

Describe and configure a multi-site dial plan for Cisco Unified Communications Manager
- Describe the issues with multi-site dial plans
- Describe the differences between the various gateways and trunk types supported by Cisco Unified Communication Manager
- Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager to utilize an H.323 gateway
- Configure a SIP trunk
- Implement a numbering plan for multi-site topologies
- Configure intercluster trunks
- Configure tailend hop off
- Configure Cisco Unified Communication Manager to register with a gatekeeper

Implement bandwidth management and Call Admission Control
- Configure Regions
- Configure transcoders and MTPs
- Configure Locations
- Implement RSVP agent
- Implement gatekeeper-based Call Admission Control
- Configure AAR
- Configure multi-site MoH

Secure an IP Telephony network
- Describe the threats to an IP Telephony network
- Describe the features used to mitigate threats to an IP Telephony network
- Describe how authentication and cryptographic services can secure an IP Telephony network
- Configure secure signaling between devices
- Configure devices to support sRTP

Implement mobility in an IP Telephony network
- Configure device mobility
- Configure Cisco Extension Mobility
- Configure Cisco Unified Mobility

Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Communications Systems (TUC) Exam 642-426

This exam involves the troubleshooting of all of the technologies covered in the other exams including CUCM and Unity.

Apply the Cisco recommended methodology used to determine general Unified communications system problems and issues
- Describe the steps that can be used to identify a problem with a given unified communication system
- Identify tools that can be used to identify and isolate problems
- Correlate events (using traces, logs, and monitoring tools to identify the problem)
- Parse and interpret trace logs and system logs

Troubleshoot call setup issues
- Troubleshoot PSTN call setup issues
- Troubleshoot intersite call setup issues
- Troubleshoot intrasite call setup issues

Troubleshoot registration issues
- Troubleshoot issues with endpoint registration
- Troubleshoot issues with gateway registration
- Troubleshoot issues with gatekeeper registration

Troubleshoot database issues
- Troubleshoot database replication issues in CallManager 4.x
- Troubleshoot database replication issues in CallManager 5.x
- Troubleshoot 3rd party LDAP synchronization issues

Troubleshoot application issues
- Troubleshoot voicemail integration
- Troubleshoot CTI integration issues
- Troubleshoot IP phone XML services

Troubleshoot media resources
- Troubleshoot music on hold
- Troubleshoot conference bridges
- Troubleshoot transcoders
- Troubleshoot MTP

Troubleshoot voice quality issues
- Troubleshoot echo
- Troubleshoot dropped calls
- Troubleshoot audio quality issues

Troubleshoot security issues
- Troubleshoot authentication issues
- Troubleshoot certificate issues

Red Hat Certification Options

Veronica Henry — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:00:30 +0000

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been taking a closer look at the available Linux certification options including the LPIC certification, CompTIA’s Linux+ and Novell’s SUSE Linux certifications.

Today we’re covering the final Linux certification option on our list: Red Hat Certification

With over 75,000 certified Red Hat professionals, this is certainly the most recognized Linux certification. Hard estimates aside, this figure would imply that more enterprises have chosen to become Red Hat Linux shops.

Unlike the other certification bodies, Red Hat solely uses performance based testing – in a live laboratory environment. Memorization alone won’t help you with these exams, where there is no substitute for real hand-on experience.

Red Hat Certification Overview

There are six Red Hat certifications:

Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT)
Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator (RHVCA)
Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS)
The Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist (RHDCS)
The Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)

As well as, six certificate options, which are more specialized, expert level certificates available to RHCE’s and discussed in more detai below.

Red Hat Certification Process

At this time, there are testing centers across the U.S. and a few in Canada. In order to schedule an exam, you can search for the exams and locations here by selecting the exam only options. You can also search for training with exams at this link.

Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT)

This $399, two hour exam, is the entry level Red Hat certification. Typical candidates are adept with another operating system and are looking to take the initial step down the Linux certification path. Candidates should be able to install, configure and connect to an existing Red Hat production network.

The exam is two hours long and you must score 70% or higher to pass. Unlike other exams, where your result is known immediately, you’ll have to wait 3 days for your results to arrive via email.

For those wishing to gauge their current skill level, registered users at the Red Hat website may take an online assessment exam.

Recommended Coursework for the Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT):

Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)

This $399, 3.5 hour exam focuses on your ability to configure networking and security services on the Red Hat OS. Insiders refer to it as the “crown jewel of Linux certifications.” Adding these letters to your resume will have potential employers taking note.

Depending on your level of experience with Red Hat (beginner to expert), the following table will help you understand the four different study paths.

The pre-assessment questionnaire for the RHCE along with more exam information is available here.

Recommended Coursework for the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE):

Red Hat Certificates of Expertise

These are specialized, expert level certificates, only available to RHCE’s. The actual exams vary in length from 2 to 8 hours depending on the course. This is a pass/fail test, and will require candidates to wait on the hot seat for their result – usually sent within 5 business days via email.

Areas of specialization include:

Security: Network Services
Directory Services and Authentication
SELinux Policy Administration
Deployment, Virtualization, and Systems Management
Clustering and Storage Management
System Monitoring and Performance Tuning

More detailed information on each of the certificates of expertise can be found at this link.

Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator (RHCVA)

This $599, half-day exam tests system administrator’s ability to administer virtual environments (a single server running multiple servers or desktop operating systems). A study guide (RHVCA) is available and there is also a class ($2,898 4 day classroom training) to help shore up your skills in this space.

Candidates should be able to install Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager (RHEV-M), along with any dependencies and perform these functions:

Use RHEV-M to
Create Data Centers
Create Clusters
Manage Hypervisor Hosts
Configure Storage
Create Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Microsoft Windows virtual machines
Create Pools
Create Templates
Create RHEV-M users
Install and configure a Red Hat Virtualization Hypervisor (RHEV-H) to support guests and attach to a RHEV-M
Import installation media for creating new virtual machines
Perform management tasks such as collecting logs, creating bookmarks for specific events, etc.

If you’re interested in learning more about the RHCVA, here is where you can find more detailed information.

Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS)

This certification is only open to current RHCE’s and consists of three exams that measure advanced skills in using Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SELinux, and Red Hat Directory Server to manage enterprise security requirements.

All of the exams cost $749 and include:

Red Hat Enterprise Security: Network Services
Enterprise Directory Services and Authentication
SELinux Policy Administration

Recommended Coursework for the Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS):

More details and exam information on the RHCSS is available at this link.

Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist (RHDCS)

Open to RHCE’s, this certification ensures its holders can manage solutions in mission-critical datacenter environments.

There are 3 exams which are all $749:

Deployment, Virtualization, and Systems Management
Directory Services and Authentication
Clustering and Storage Management

Recommended Coursework for the Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist (RHDCS):

Complete RHDCS certification and exam information is available on the Red Hat website at this link.

Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)

This is the most senior level, capstone certification to the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT).

There are five exams – all $749:

Red Hat Enterprise Security: Network Services Expertise
Red Hat Enterprise Deployment, Virtualization, and Systems Management
Red Hat Enterprise Directory Services and Authentication Expertise
Red Hat Enterprise Clustering and Storage Management Expertise
Red Hat Enterprise System Monitoring and Performance Tuning Expertise

Recommended Coursework for the Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA):

The RHCA exam and certification information is available here.

Alternative Red Hat Training

In terms of other recommended training options, these self study books are recommended:

A complete listing of Red Hat sponsored courses is available at their website.

Who Should Pursue Red Hat Certification?

Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at all the current Linux certification options. Which certification is for you?

The answer is — it depends. Those new to the Linux arena, should probably focus on either the LPIC or CompTIA options, as those are the entry level distribution neutral certifications that will get you to a good start.

The choice between Novell and Red Hat will largely depend on your current or future employment direction. If you’d like to increase your chances for advancement at your current employer, consider certifying in the distribution used in-house. If you have your eye on another opportunity, then a distribution-neutral certification may be the way to go.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our deep dive into the Linux certification arena. Let me know if you have any questions or need help deciding which Linux certification is right for you.

CompTIA Security+ (Exam SY0-201) Certification Guide

Tracey Wilson — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:00:45 +0000

In my previous article on IT Security, we explored the key concepts of IT Security and looked at some of the more prominent IT Security Certifications available today.

In continuation of my series focusing on IT Security, today’s article addresses the key objectives for passing the CompTIA Security+ (SY0-201) exam.

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-201) Exam Overview

The SY0-201 exam is an entry-level security exam and candidates seeking to acquire this certification are expected to understand a variety of security topics from an overview perspective, rather than implementation. With that said, practical experience in IT Security or networking concepts is a huge plus, but not required.

The latest version of the exam was launched in 2008, consists of 100 multiple choice questions, and the time limit of the exam is 90 minutes.

Note: For the Security+ certificate holders of the previous exam, CompTIA offers a bridge exam, BR0-001, which contains 50 questions and requires 60 minutes to complete.

Once you pass the exam, a Security+ certificate and a CompTIA ID card will be sent to you in the mail. The certificate is stated to be good for life, but that is subject to change in 2011 once the new Certification Renewal Policy goes into effect.

My suggestion: get your Security+ cert before the end of 2010.

CompTIA Security+ Key Objectives

The SY0-201 exam requires the exam candidate to understand several topics or key objectives related to IT Security. These key objectives are viewed to be the core components in the development of an IT Security professional and they consist of the following:

Systems Security
Network Infrastructure
Access Control
Assessment and Audits
Cryptography
Organizational Security

SY0-201: Systems Security

Systems security is an important topic in the battle to protect information and prevent intrusion. The SY0-201 exam will test the candidate’s knowledge of threats, which are typically characterized as: viruses, worms, spyware, spam, botnets, and privilege escalation.

Candidates will need to know the difference between a threat and a risk or vulnerability. Questions will pertain to vulnerabilities and risks with hardware and peripherals such as: USB devices, removable storage, network attached storage (NAS0, cell phones (especially smart-phones or blackberries), and system BIOS.

The exam will also cover ways to prevent attacks though the implementation of hardening procedures and practices, particularly for workstations and servers. The exam will also include questions on procedures for application security and how they apply to items like: ActiveX, Java, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), instant messaging, cookies, buffer overflows, and web browsers.

Lastly, this topic addresses the implementation of security applications like firewalls, anti-virus, and pop-up blockers and will cover the purpose and use of virtualization technology.

SY0-201: Network Infrastructure

The next key objective in the SY0-201 exam is network infrastructure.

Candidates need to have a good grasp of some key network topics, particularly network ports and protocols. Understanding threats and the proper mitigation practices is needed, as these topics will be covered for issues like: TCP/IP hijacking, spoofing, man-in-the-middle, and denial of service attacks.

Candidates need to be prepared for threat and mitigation questions related to network design components like VLANs, DMZs, and wireless networking. Additional questions will also concentrate on areas related to Network Address Translation (NAT), telephony, and subnetting.

Finally, this key objective covers the use and implementation of key network tools often seen in the defense of your networks. These tools include: Network Intrusion Devices (NIDS), proxy servers, and protocol analyzers.

SY0-201: Access Control

Controlling access to systems and data is extremely important and covered well in the SY0-201 exam. Best practices need to be understood for the following methods: implicit deny, least privilege, separation of duties, and job rotation. Candidates will also be asked questions related common access control methods and what are their differences.

Logical access to services and data is important in the workplace and adequately covered in this objective. Security controls for files, printers, and appropriate policies for user names, passwords, Access Control Lists (ACL), and time of day restrictions need to be understood.

Access to systems and data requires in today’s IT environments requires some form of authentication. Understanding the method of identity proofing, or authentication is vital in this exam and should not be overlooked. Candidates need to know the differences between one, two, and three factor authentication or single sign-on. Additional authentication models that need to be understood include: RADIUS, LDAP, TACACS, Kerberos, and VPN.

The last issue to be concerned with in this objective is physical security. Restricting physical access to IT equipment is crucial not only for preventing equipment theft, but also controlling access to data and system control. Having physical access to a system can provide a person with access to consoles or management interfaces not available to the outside. The exam covers topics related to different policies and procedures for the prevention of physical intrusion such as: ID badges, hardware locks, video surveillance, and physical access lists and policies.

SY0-201: Assessments and Audits

Proper review and assessment of the secure nature of your system, network, and data are required to maintaining a healthy and secure infrastructure. Keeping up to date on the latest vulnerabilities and threats is inherent in the IT Security professional’s job, but so is the use of tools for detecting them.

The SY0-201 covers the proper use of many vulnerability assessment tools such as: port scanners, vulnerability scanners, system performance monitors, and protocol analyzers.

The exam also is concerned with the differences between monitoring methodologies and logging procedures. The monitoring methodologies that are covered include behavior-based, signature- based, and anomaly-based. Candidates need to be prepared to contrast them to each other. Logging procedures for systems logs and key applications like DNS, firewalls, and anti-virus software will also be addressed.

SY0-201: Cryptography

Confidentiality of data is extremely important in the world of IT Security and as I had mentioned in the previous article on IT Security, confidentiality is the defining principle of cryptography or data encryption. The SY0-201 exam includes questions related to several topics related to this objective.

Candidates need to understand several general cryptography concepts including: key management, symmetric and asymmetric keys, steganography, strength of algorithms, disk encryption, and digital signatures.

In addition, the exam covers hashing concepts such as SHA and MD5, but candidates must also understand basic encryption concepts like DES, 3DES, PGP, AES, and RSA. Candidates will need to prepare to explain protocols that utilize the encryption algorithms including: SSL/TLS, PPTP, HTTP (web browser), HTTPS, IPSec, and secure shell (SSH).

One of the more prominent cryptography methods today is public key cryptography (PKI). The SY0-201 exam covers many of the core concepts, but candidates must be ready to answer questions related to its implementation and certificate management.

SY0-201: Organizational Security

The final key objective that the SY0-201 exam covers is organizational security. This topic is very rich in policy and understanding how organizations function or continue to function after an incident.

Exam candidates need to understand redundancy planning concepts for the IT facility including the use of backup generators, Uninterruptable Power Supplies (UPS), redundant connections, redundant servers, disk RAID, and the planning definitions for hot, cold, and warm sites. The elimination of single points of failure is critical in redundancy planning and this concept is stressed throughout this objective.

This exam includes questions concerning incident response procedures, but has a strong focus on disaster recovery planning and recovery procedures. Companies that have effective disaster recovery plans and protect their data are the ones that survive major incidents to their corporate IT infrastructure.

Also included in this objective are important policies related to organizational function and training. These policies involve issues of equipment disposal, change management, user education, information assurance training, classification of information, and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). These policies typically raise awareness to methods of information gathering by potentially hostile sources and include preventative measures. These methods are referred to as social engineering and common examples include: hoaxes, phishing, and yes, even dumpster diving.

CompTIA Security+: Certification with Strong Core Security Concepts

As you can see from the key objectives, the Security+ exam is a very well rounded exam that focuses on the core concepts of IT Security and how those concepts mesh with an organizations’ infrastructure.

Exam candidates often take the CompTIA A+ or Network+ exam before they attempt Security+, but this is not required.

Understanding the topics and definitions of many of the security terms listed above is imperative for passing this exam, but also for practical application of IT Security for your network, computer system, or organization.

SQL Server 2008 Certification Guide

Mike Rodriguez — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:56 +0000

SQL Server 2008 is used in many fields and has opened up many certification opportunities. If you choose to become certified in SQL Server 2008, you have a few career choices.

The SQL Server 2008 certification paths allow you to become:

• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist,
• Microsoft Certified IT Professional,
• Microsoft Certified Architect, or
• Microsoft Certified Master.

The MCITP and MCTS certifications each come in three flavors. I’ll quickly go over each of these paths to help you decide which route is right for you.

Keep an eye out for my next few articles where I will go over each path in detail, to help you better prepare for the exams.

Before going into the exam paths, it is important to note, if you wish to become a Microsoft Certified Master or Microsoft Certified Architect, you will need to take two full specific certification paths. You will need to become a MCITP Database Administrator, and a MCITP Database Developer.

If you choose to take the MCITP Business Intelligence Developer path, you will not be able to use that towards becoming a Microsoft Certified Master and will need to take the other two paths in full.

Why Become a SQL Server Professional?

Database Administration and Development Professionals, especially those with SQL Server 2008 experience are in high demand. CareerBuilder and CNN listed DBAs as the second most promising job for 2010. And SimplyHired listed SQL Server 2008 DBA salaries at $82,000 this month. So if you’re looking for a career change or a direction, this might just be the right path for you.

SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

In the case of SQL Server 2008 certifications, the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist is an important, but entry level certification.

You will need to demonstrate your skills and abilities in using, implementing, building upon, troubleshooting, and debugging SQL Server 2008.

Microsoft recommends you have at least one or more years of experience using SQL Server 2008.

There are three routes to becoming a MCTS on SQL Server 2008:

SQL Server 2008 Administration
SQL Server Database Development
SQL Server Business Intelligence

SQL Server 2008 Administration Track

The SQL Server Administration route requires you to take Exam 70-432 TS: SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance. By completing this exam, you will have earned the title of Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance.

SQL Server 2008 Database Development Track

The next route is specializing in SQL Server Database Development and requires you to take Exam 70-433 TS: SQL Server 2008 Database Development. By completing this exam, you will have earned the title of Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2008, Database Development.

SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence Track

The final route allows you to specialize in Business Intelligence. This route requires you to take Exam 70-448 TS: SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance. By completing this exam, you will have earned the title of Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance.

SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified IT Professional

To become a Microsoft Certified IT Professional, you first must become a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist.

You must demonstrate your range of skills and ability to use SQL Server 2008 in a particular job role.

Microsoft recommends you have at least two or more years of experience as an IT Professional and working with SQL Server.

Depending on which Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist exam you decide to take, you will have a corresponding MCITP exam for that track.

MCITP SQL Server 2008 Administration Track

So for example, if you took the MCTS 70-432 Implementation and Maintenance exam, you will want to continue in the Administration path by taking Exam 70-450 Pro: Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Server Infrastructure using Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

Only by successfully completing both the 70-432 MCTS and 70-450 MCITP exams, you will earn the title of Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Administrator 2008.

MCITP SQL Server 2008 Database Development Track

If you took the 70-433 Database Development exam, you will need to take Exam 70-451 Pro: Designing Database Solutions and Data Access Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

By successfully passing these two exams, you will have earned the title of Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Developer 2008.

MCITP SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence Track

Finally, if you took the 70-448 Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance exam, you will need to take Exam 70-452 Pro: Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance.

And by passing these two exams, you will have earned the title of Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Business Intelligence Developer 2008.

SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Master

As I noted in the beginning of this article, only two of the paths above will allow you to become a Microsoft Certified Master for SQL Server 2008. Unfortunately, while the Business Intelligence track is well sought after, it is not included in Microsoft’s Masters Program.

After completing both the MCITP Database Developer and MCITP Database Administrator exams, you must apply, attend, and successfully complete a three week training program, pass three computer based tests during the training, and successfully complete the final qualification lab exam. This is a long and tough process, but becoming a Microsoft Certified Master is a rare and extremely valuable addition to anyone’s resume.

As reported by Microsoft, businesses show a 60% annual increase in revenue generated from Microsoft Certified Masters; double the number of successful interactions during the presale cycle; triple the number of requests for advice and/or project participation; job offers at 30% increase in salary; 90+% success rate where 60% is the norm; eligibility for partnership at a boutique consultancy; 95% customer return rates; and up to 50% increase in billable rates.

As you can tell by these statistics, most businesses and corporations put a lot of value and show extreme benefit from Microsoft Certified Masters, and an average of 30% increase in pay backs up that fact.

SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Architect

There are only a handful of Microsoft Certified Architects in the world today. Most of them are quickly hired by Microsoft and put to work on their own products.

Consider this certification the best of the best. This program enables you to prove your expertise is among the highest-achieving professionals in IT architecture and puts you on a level of advanced proficiency accomplished only by few.

Microsoft notes that successful candidates generally have ten or more years of IT experience and five or more years of specific architectural experience.

In order to become a Microsoft Certified Architect, you must first become a Microsoft Certified Master. Once you have obtained this title, you will need to successfully pass the Microsoft Certified Architect Review Board interview conducted by Microsoft and industry experts.

More SQL Server Certification Info To Come

In my next few articles, I will cover the details of what you will need to know from start to finish in working your way up the ranks and earning these valuable SQL Server 2008 certifications.

It is important to note, that most career professionals can and do make a very good living as Microsoft Certified Technology Specialists and Microsoft Certified IT Professionals. While very few choose to work their way all the way up to becoming a Master or Architect, it is attainable.

Also keep an eye out for my articles on Microsoft Certified IT Professional upgrade paths from SQL Server 2005.

How to make sure IT certifications actually matter

J. Peter Bruzzese — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:37:44 +0000

Do IT certifications have any modern-day relevance? Some claim that “experience is the key … not multiple choice questions.” So is it worth getting certified in today’s economy?

These are the questions I tackle in my latest InfoWorld article on how to make sure IT certifications actually matter.

If you’re interested in learning how to choose a certification path that’s right for you and how to prepare for exam victory, check out the article. And if you’re the one making the hiring decisions, see how to make sure that your certified candidates really know their stuff.

CompTIA Linux+ Certification Overview

Veronica Henry — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:50 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a general Linux Certification Overview that listed all of the different Linux certification options that are available today. I also posted a more in-depth overview of the LPIC Certification.

Today we continue our examination of Linux professional certification options with CompTIA’s Linux+.

Most of you may be familiar with CompTIA’s A+ or Network+ certifications. This certification leader has also added their own distribution-neutral certification similar to the LPIC path.

Linux+ Overview

Linux+ covers Linux basics and is targeted toward entry level professionals, with a minimum of six to twelve months of Linux and/or Windows experience.

There is no prerequisite for the the exam, but candidates should be familiar with the subject matter covered in CompTIA A+ and Network+.

From a Linux perspective, you should have broad experience with the Linux command line, general administration and troubleshooting skills.

According to CompTIA’s website, both Oracle and Novell recognize Linux+ in their own certification paths.

The Linux+ Exam

The 98 question exam must be completed in 90 minutes and covers five domain areas, weighted as indicated below:

Installation and Configuration (22%)
System Maintenance and Operation (28%)
Application and Services (23%)
Networking (14%)
Security (13%)

CompTIA uses statistical analysis to determine passing scores. On a scoring scale of 100-900, you must receive a minimum score of 675 to pass. When you complete the exam, you will receive your score, indicating whether or not you passed, along with a breakdown by section.

You can download a complete list of objectives here, but we’ll review the highlights below:

1.0 Installation and Configuration:

Compare and contrast installation sources (physical media & network options)
Implement partitioning schemes and filesystem layout using tools such as – RAID, fdsk, and mkfs
Explain the purpose of local and network filesystem types such as EXT2/3, NTFS, NFS and others
Conduct routine mount and unmount of filesystems
Explain the advantages of having a separate partition or volume for directories such as: /boot, /home, /usr
Explain the Linux system directories and their purpose
Configure the GRUB boot process
Perform package management functions: deb, rpm and source
Configure profile and environment variables system-wide and at the user level
Troubleshoot boot issues
Manage devices using standard tools including but not limited to: lspci, modprobe, and lsusb

2.0 System Maintenance and Operations:

Correct usage of basic Linux tools, techniques and resources including but not limited to: directory navigation, file commands, kernel, editing and process/device management and I/O operations.

Basic BASH tasks
Analyze system and application logs to troubleshoot Linux systems, based on scenario
Backup and restore operations
Explain the features and concepts of X11
Explain the difference in runlevels and their purpose (levels 0 – 6)
Manage filesystems using the following: disk usage, quotas, file system management, NFS, and swap files.
Manage task scheduling using cron
Utilize performance monitoring tools and concepts to identify common problems

3.0 Application and Services:

Manage Linux system services using: etc/init.d , start, stop, restart, inetd, xinetd, and chkconfig
Implement Windows interoperability with these tools: rdesktop, vnc, Samba and security
Implement, configure and maintain standard Web and FTP services – Apache & FTP
Explain the purpose of these web-related services based on presented scenario: Tomcat, Apache, and, Squid
Troubleshoot web-related services with: curl, wget, ftp, telnet
Scenario based troubleshooting of common FTP problems including active vs. passive, ASCII vs. binary
Perform these scenario based MySQL administrative tasks:
Locate configuration file
Starting and stopping
Test the connection
Explain the purpose of each of the following mail services, protocols and features:
Protocols: SMTP, IMAP, POP3
MTA: Postfix & Sendmail
Email aliases: /etc/aliases & newaliases
Deploy and manage CUPS print services
Set up, install, configure and maintain a BIND DNS server and related services
Perform basic administration of the DHCP server
Scenario based troubleshooting of NTP related issues

4.0 Networking:

Identify common networking ports and the associated service
Perform network interface configuration
Implement configurations and/or configuration changes for the following
Packet filtering: iptables
Hostname lookup
/etc/hosts
/etc/nsswitch.conf
/etc/resolv.conf
Explain the different DNS record types and the process of DNS resolution
Troubleshoot basic connectivity issues using: netstat, ping, traceroute, telnet, route, and arp
Troubleshoot name resolution issues using: dig, host, nslookup, and hostname

5.0 Security:

Manage user and group accounts with these tool:
useradd, userdel, usermod, groupadd, groupdel, groupmod, lock, who, w, last, whoami
Select file permissions, set ownership and troubleshoot typical issues
Explain the basics of SELinux
Change and manage privileges with sudo, su, and sudoers
Explain the usage of these security related utilities: nmap, Wireshark, NESSUS, Snort, and Tripwire
Use checksum and file verification utilities
Implement remote access solutions using SSH and VNC
Explain these authentication methods: PAM, LDAP, NIS, RADIUS, and two-factor authentication

Linux+ Certification Process

Like LPIC, CompTIA candidates can take their tests at Pearson VUE and Prometric testing centers worldwide. At this time, the only available languages are English and Japanese.

If you’re one of the lucky ones and pass the exam on the first try, within four to six weeks, you’ll receive an ID card and certificate. If you fail an exam, there is no waiting period between retakes. However, if you fail an exam twice, you must wait at least 14 days before trying again.

Linux+ Exam Pricing

For non-members, the exam is $239. Members receive a discount, at $191. If you’re interested in becoming a member, here’s where you can find membership information.

Exam vouchers may be purchased via testing partners or directly from CompTIA.

Linux+ Recertification

At the moment, the Linux+ certification doesn’t seem to be affected by the recent Certification Renewal Policy that CompTIA put in place earlier this year. However, as all policies are subject to change, I’d recommend periodically checking CompTIA’s website for the most up to date information on this issue.

How to Prepare for the CompTIA Linux+ Certification

This outline is a snapshot of the skills necessary to obtain this certification. You’re probably wondering where to begin, and what resources are available to help you prepare for an exam covering such a broad range of topics. CompTIA has a document with even more detailed test objectives on their website. In addition, sample questions are available for download.

CompTIA also has a list of approved training materials that have been reviewed by ComTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum program (CAQC) which you can access here — just select the Linux+ certification option and the media type for your training.

At the moment, there is only one approved training option for the 2009 Linux+ objectives and that is the CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide: 2009 Exam self study book by Wiley.

Be sure to join me for the next article in this series, which will cover the Novell Linux certification options.

IT Security: Concept and Certification Options

Tracey Wilson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:00:48 +0000

Information technology professionals face a constant battle to secure systems and networks from a variety of threats.

IT Security, as a concept, is often synonymous with Computer Security, Information Security, Information Assurance, or Cyber Security.

Each of these security concepts have slight differences in meaning, but primarily focus on the protection of information or data, not computer systems.

If information is so important, then what is it?

Information could simply be data flowing through a computer network, or the key elements of a computer operating system, or even a simple electronic document stored on a hard drive.

Information can be stolen, modified, corrupted and even used as a weapon to deny access to information stored on other computer systems or networks.

Today, we will look at the principle goals in the overall concept of IT security and take a look at some of the various certifications available to IT security professionals.

Protecting Information:
IT Security’s Prime Directive

As an IT professional, security should be a principle ingredient in the design and maintenance plan of any computer system, network, or electronic work environment.

Several security and standards organizations state various goals and principles for IT security professionals to follow to protect information stored on computer systems, in a computer network, or resting on a piece of disk or tape storage media. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) lists over thirty defined principles and has developed several lengthy documents of best practices.

But as an overall concept, IT Security has three primary goals for protection of information:

confidentiality,
integrity,
and availability.

• Confidentiality

Let us look at the first security goal, confidentiality.

Confidentiality formally defined is “ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorized to have access.” Confidentiality is commonly seen in practice with user permissions on files on a server, but it is the defining principle for cryptography or data encryption.

Encryption today is very prevalent in computer networks, but even more so for laptop hard drives and even archive tape storage.

• Data Integrity

Data integrity is another important security concern.

Integrity is defined as “maintaining structure during any type of operation.” This means that data should maintain its total structure during a data transfer from one system to another, while it is written to a storage media, or retrieved and displayed.

Many data transfer mechanisms contain a data integrity check to verify that the data sent is the same as when it was received.

The antithesis of data integrity, data corruption, is often seen as a result of viruses or malicious software that attack and alter the structure of information. Data objects, such as databases, rely heavily on data integrity assurance processes to accurate reflect any updates to its information and avoid corruption.

• Availability

The last of these three important goals is availability.

Availability is “the degree to which data or a system is in an operable condition.” Confused? Well, plainly stated, availability is all about the amount of access time to a computer system, network, and information.

Networks and computer systems need to allow access for users to reach data. Denial of service attacks, viruses that alter communications, and theft or deletion of information by an external hacker are all examples of security issues that threaten availability.

IT Security Certifications

Now that you have an overview of some of the key IT security goals, let us take a look at some of the certifications that IT professionals can acquire.

Several organizations and private companies offer certifications related to IT security and the protection of information. Listed below is a short list of certifications seen in the workforce today:

Security+ — CompTIA’s comprehensive security certification
GIAC — SANS Global Information Assurance Certification
CISM — Certified Information Security Manager (targeted for accreditation officials or facility security officers)
CISSP — Certified Information Systems Security Professional
SSCP — Systems Security Certified Practitioner
CEH — Certified Ethical Hacker (yes, it seems that some hackers can turn to the good side)

Some of the private companies that offer security certifications for their technologies include: Microsoft, Cisco, RSA, and Symantec.

Interested candidates will find security certification topics in related areas of business continuity/disaster recovery, auditing, and risk management.

More to Come …

These brief descriptions of the security goals only scratch the surface of the overall IT security concept. In future articles, we will investigate many of the principles and practices that IT security professionals must utilize to protect and maintain networks, computer systems, and the information they contain.

In addition, specialized articles will target many of the prominent security certifications and focus on updates and key topics needed to acquire them.

Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC) Overview

Veronica Henry — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:00:38 +0000

Our look into the Linux certification arena began with a top-level overview of all the available Linux certification options.

Today, we continue the series with a deeper discussion of the Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC).

LPI, the folks behind LPIC, is a Canadian non-profit organization that advocates Linux usage in enterprise environments. They are also firm supporters of the open source and free software movements.

LPI is unique in its approach to establishing Linux certification standards via strategic partnerships. They employ the help of leading technical companies and a team of virtual volunteers to assist with test development and scoring scheme.

LPIC Overview

LPIC is one of two distribution-neutral certifications in the Linux space, the other one being CompTIA’s Linux+ cert. LPIC certifies competency in both the basic operating system components and associated administration tools.

There are three certification levels: LPIC-1, LPIC-2 and LPIC-3. Each test objective is weighted based on their relative importance, using a scale of 1 to 10. As you might expect, the higher the weight, the more questions on the exam will be dedicated to that objective.

LPIC-1 — Junior Level Linux Professional

This entry level certification consists of two exams, both of which must be passed. There are no prerequisites.

The first exam (Exam 101), has 4 topic areas focusing on system architecture, while the second (Exam 102) covers 6 topic areas encompassing, shells, scripting and data management.

Detailed test objectives are available here: exam 101 and exam 102.

Candidates should be familiar with the Linux command line, be able to perform typical system maintenance tasks and manage installation of workstations and networking.

LPIC-2 — Advanced Level Linux Professional

This advanced level certification also consists of two exams. To qualify for LPIC-2, you must hold an active LPIC-1 certification, but the tests can be taken in any order.

Exam 201 has seven topic areas including the kernel, boot process and networking. Exam 202 has 6 topic areas covering web services, security and troubleshooting.

Detailed test objectives are available here: exam 201 andexam 202.

Candidates should be able to administer up to a medium-sized site, manage and troubleshoot networks and associated services, and advise management on best practices and purchasing decisions.

LPIC-3 – Senior Level Linux Professional

This is the highest LPIC certification, designed for professionals who manage enterprise level Linux installations. To qualify for LPIC-3, you must hold an active LPIC-2 certification.

Candidates must pass one exam on the following topics: authentication, troubleshooting, network integration and capacity planning. Full details and test objectives are available here: exam 301.

LPIC-3 Specialty Designations

Exams 302 and 303 are for those interested in extending their LPIC-3 with specialty designations for mixed environments and security, respectively. Test objectives and sample questions are available here exam 302 and 303.

Exam Weights & Topics

LPIC exams are weighted, dependent upon topic importance. With the exception of exam 301, weighted at 50, all LPIC exams are weighted at 60. And the weight determines the number of questions on the exam, so a 60 weighted exam will have 60 questions. Scores can range from a low of 200, to a high of 800, with a passing score of 500 — reported immediately upon completion.

LPIC Exam Process

Exams are administered via testing centers: Prometric (www.prometric.com) and Pearson VUE (www.pearsonvue.com). Each have more than 3,000 locations in over 120 countries, so finding a testing facility close-by, shouldn’t be a problem. If you need to retake an exam, there is a required delay:

Take an LPI exam once and you must wait one week before re-taking

Take an LPI exam a second (and subsequent) time, you’ll have a 90 day wait before you can re-take

Not sure under what circumstance this would apply, but if you pass an LPI exam, you can’t retake that exam for at least two years

LPIC Exam Pricing

Nearly all LPIC exams are $160, with one exception, exam 301 — LPIC-3 is $260. It is important to note, that no matter where you take your tests, fees must be paid in U.S. dollars. Depending upon your location, there may also be a bit of pricing variance, due to exchange rates and currency conversion.

LPIC Recertification

As anyone who has gone through any technical certification can attest to, the process can be brutal. Consequently, recertification is a question at the forefront of every certified professional’s mind. Each organization has a different policy, sometimes unclear, and often subject to change.

For LPIC certified professionals, recertification is recommended after two years, in order to retain current status. Things get tricky though if we’re talking about active certification, which requires that you recertify within 5 years. There are other caveats and I recommend reading the fine print details of the policy here.

How to Prepare for Your LPIC Certifications?

Undoubtedly, this seems like an overwhelming amount of information. But there is help. LPI is a non-profit organization and thus, does not offer certification training courses, but they do maintain a list of approved training partners at their website.

An obvious starting point is the Linux man pages (syntax: man [command name].

In terms of book recommendations, I suggest you start with these:

the LPIC Bible gets good reviews at Amazon
O’Reily fans will want to check out their text — LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell
the GNU/Linux Manuals are also recommended

And don’t overlook the LPIC website, as many study resources, including sample exam questions (none of which will actually appear on an exam) are freely available.

Be sure to join me for the next article in my Linux Certification series, which will cover the CompTIA Linux+ certification process.

Linux Certification Options

Veronica Henry — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:00:18 +0000

There was a time when a college degree alone was the standard measurement in determining a technical professional’s marketability.

However, increasingly, certifications are becoming the requisite distinction on which potential employees are gauged. The growth of Linux, both in the enterprise and the home, has sparked an increase in employer demand for Linux certifications.

This article, the first in a series about Linux certifications, will provide an overview of the four available certification options:

Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC)
CompTIA Linux+
Novell Certified Linux Engineer
Red Hat

Linux varies from the Windows space in that there are several different flavors or distributions of the operating system. Consequently, there are both general, distribution-neutral and vendor-specific Linux certifications.

Let’s start by taking a quick look at the available Linux certifications.

Linux Professional Institute Certification (LPIC)

There are three certification levels: LPIC-1, LPIC-2 and LPIC-3.

LPIC-1 – Junior Level Linux Professional:

Exam 101 – System Architecture: This required exam covers the basics. These are essentially the skills that are common across all major Linux distributions.

Exam 102 – Shells, Scripting and Data Management

LPIC-2 – Advanced Level Linux Professional:

Exam 201 – Linux Kernel

Exam 202 – Web Services

LPIC-3 – Senior Level Linux Professional:

Exam 301 – This is the only exam required for LPIC-3 certification. It covers Concepts, Architecture and Design. Exams 302 and 303 address special topics.

Exam 302 – Successful candidates earn the specialty designation for mixed environments. The exam covers SMB/CIFS, file sharing and print services in a mixed environment.

Exam 303 – Successful candidates earn the specialty designation for security. The exam covers Cryptography.

CompTIA Linux+

CompTIA Linux+ is the other distribution-neutral certification. Similarly, this certification covers Linux basics and is targeted toward entry level professionals, with a minimum of six to twelve months of Linux and/or Windows experience.

According to their website, both Oracle and Novell recognize CompTIA Linux+ in their own certification paths.

The 98 question exam covers five domain areas:

Installation and Configuration
System Maintenance and Operation
Application and Services
Networking
Security

Novell Certified Linux Engineer

Seasoned network professionals will remember the Novell Certified Network Engineer (CNE) as one of the earliest entrants into the certification arena. Novell has expanded its focus since those early years and is now the company behind SUSE Linux.

The Novell Certified Linux Engineer (CLE) certification is aimed at senior level professionals, and Novell has also introduced certifications aimed at entry-level Linux administrators.

There are four Novell certifications:

Novell Certified Linux Desktop Administrator (CLDA) – Beginners will likely start with this entry-level Linux desktop certification. Typical candidates will already have some experience with the Windows desktop environment. The certification measures administration skills; things like installing, configuring and managing the Linux desktop.

Novell Certified Linux Administrator (CLA) – The Novell Certified Linux Administrator (CLA) is the newest Novell certification and demonstrates competency in the day-to-day administration of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server networks.

Novell Certified Linux Professional (CLP) – A certified CLP has proven skill at administering the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 platform.

Novell Certified Linux Engineer (CLE) – The CLE is the highest level Novell certification, affirming engineer-level skills for managers or architects of enterprise networks based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10.

Red Hat Certification

With over 75,000 certified Red Hat professionals, this is probably the most recognized Linux certification. Unlike the other certification bodies, Red Hat uses performance based testing – in a live laboratory environment. Memorization alone won’t help you with these exams, where there is no substitute for real hands-on experience.

There are six Red Hat certifications, as well as, six certificate options:

Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) – This two hour exam is the entry level certification. Typical candidates are adept with another Operating System and may have already taken other multiple choice type exams.

Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) – This three and a half hour exam focuses on ability to configure networking and security services on the Red Hat OS.

Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator (RHVCA) – This half day exam focuses on the ability of system administrators to administer virtual environments (a single server running multiple servers or desktop operating systems).

Red Hat Certificates of Expertise – These are specialized, expert level certificates, available to RHCE’s. Areas of specialization include:

Security: Network Services
Directory Services and Authentication
SELinux Policy Administration
Deployment, Virtualization, and Systems Management
Clustering and Storage Management
System Monitoring and Performance Tuning

Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS) – This certification is only open to current RHCE’s and consists of three exams that measure advanced skills in using Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SELinux, and Red Hat Directory Server to manage enterprise security requirements.

Exams include:

Red Hat Enterprise Security: Network Services
Enterprise Directory Services and Authentication
SELinux Policy Administration

The Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist (RHDCS) – Open to RHCE’s, this certification ensures the ability to manage solutions in mission-critical datacenter environments.

There are 3 exams:

Deployment, Virtualization, and Systems Management
Directory Services and Authentication
Clustering and Storage Management

The Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) – This is the most senior level, capstone certification to the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT).

There are five examinations:

Red Hat Enterprise Security: Network Services Expertise
Red Hat Enterprise Deployment, Virtualization, and Systems Management
Red Hat Enterprise Directory Services and Authentication Expertise
Red Hat Enterprise Clustering and Storage Management Expertise
Red Hat Enterprise System Monitoring and Performance Tuning Expertise

How to Choose the Right Linux Cert?

So now that you’re aware of the available Linux certification options, how do you know which one is right for you?

In the subsequent articles in this series I will provide you with a more in depth look at each Linux certification option, their requirements and training paths which will help you make the right decision.

CCNP Curriculum Update: ROUTE, SWITCH & TSHOOT Exams

Sean Wilkins — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:00:43 +0000

On January 25th Cisco introduced a major revision in their CCNP curriculum and with their certification path.

Instead of a four test requirement which has existed since its inception, the newer CCNP requires you to pass only three exams: the ROUTE, SWITCH and TSHOOT. These exams have been refocused in order to better highlight the newer technologies which are used on today’s networks.

Both the Optimizing Converged Cisco Networks (ONT) and Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks (ISCW) exams will be retired on July 31, 2010. It is important to note that neither of these exams can be used towards CCNP certification past their July 31, 2010 retirement.

The Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks (BSCI), Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN) and the comprehensive exam which combines both BCSI and BCMSN will all be accepted for three years after their pass date.

Another difference with the new exams is that the time allotted to take them has increased to 120 minutes from 90 minutes. According to currently known information each test will cost $200 and have the same retake rules as the previous exams.

The New CCNP Curriculum

Much of the information which is currently covered on the ISCW and ONT exams will not be covered in this iteration of the CCNP.

The CCNP troubleshooting exam is making a comeback as it was taken out a couple of years ago and existed in the original CCNP.

The ROUTE and SWITCH exams cover much of the same information with a few additional topics and greater depth of content. The TSHOOT exam takes a more in depth look at how to efficiently troubleshoot the various problems that can come up when dealing with various technologies.

The following is an outline of these new exams and how they have changed with this revision from the old.

CCNP ROUTE Exam (642-902)

Follow this color guide to find out which exam topics were carried over from the BSCI and ISCW exams and which have been added to the curriculum:

Existed in BSCI curriculum
Added to the curriculum
Added from ISCW curriculum

Implement an EIGRP based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing EIGRP on a network
Create an EIGRP implementation plan
Create an EIGRP verification plan
Configure EIGRP routing
Verify EIGRP solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of EIGRP implementation and verification

Implement a multi-area OSPF Network, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing OSPF on a network
Create an OSPF implementation plan
Create an OSPF verification plan
Configure OSPF routing
Verify OSPF solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of OSPF implementation and verification plan

Implement an eBGP based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing eBGP on a network
Create an eBGP implementation plan
Create an eBGP verification plan
Configure eBGP routing
Verify eBGP solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of eBGP implementation and verification plan

Implement an IPv6 based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing IPv6 on a network
Create an IPv6 implementation plan
Create an IPv6 verification plan
Configure IPv6 routing
Configure IPv6 interoperation with IPv4
Verify IPv6 solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of IPv6 implementation and verification plan

Implement an IPv4 or IPv6 based redistribution solution, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Create a redistribution implementation plan based upon the results of the redistribution analysis
Create a redistribution verification plan
Configure a redistribution solution
Verify that a redistribution was implemented
Document results of a redistribution implementation and verification plan
Identify the differences between implementing an IPv4 and IPv6 redistribution solution

Implement Layer 3 Path Control Solution:

Create a Layer 3 path control implementation plan based upon the results of the redistribution analysis
Create a Layer 3 path control verification plan
Configure Layer 3 path control
Verify that a Layer 3 path control was implemented
Document results of a Layer 3 path control implementation and verification plan
Implement basic teleworker and branch services
Describe broadband technologies
Configure basic broadband connections
Describe basic VPN technologies
Configure GRE
Describe branch access technologies

CCNP SWITCH Exam (642-813)

Follow this color guide to find out which exam topics were carried over from the BCMSN and ONT exams and which have been added to the curriculum:

Existed in BCMSN curriculum
Added to the curriculum
Added from ONT curriculum

Implement VLAN based solution, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing a VLAN based solution on a network
Create a VLAN based implementation plan
Create a VLAN based verification plan
Configure switch-to-switch connectivity for the VLAN based solution
Configure loop prevention for the VLAN based solution
Configure Access Ports for the VLAN based solution
Verify the VLAN based solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of VLAN implementation and verification

Implement a Security Extension of a Layer 2 solution, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing a Security solution
Create a implementation plan for the Security solution
Create a verification plan for the Security solution
Configure port security features
Configure general switch security features
Configure private VLANs Configure VACL and PACL
Verify the Security based solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of Security implementation and verification

Implement Switch based Layer 3 services, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing a Switch based Layer 3 solution
Create an implementation plan for the Switch based Layer 3 solution
Create a verification plan for the Switch based Layer 3 solution
Configure routing interfaces Configure Layer 3 Security
Verify the Switch based Layer 3 solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of Switch based Layer 3 implementation and verification

Prepare infrastructure to support advanced services:

Implement a Wireless Extension of a Layer 2 solution
Implement a VoIP support solution
Implement video support solution

Implement High Availability, given a network design and a set of requirements:

Determine network resources needed for implementing High Availability on a network
Create a High Availability implementation plan
Create a High Availability verification plan
Implement first hop redundancy protocols
Implement switch supervisor redundancy
Verify High Availability solution was implemented properly using show and debug commands
Document results of High Availability implementation and verification

CCNP TSHOOT Exam (642-832)

Follow this color guide to find out which exam topics were carried over from previous CCNP curricula and which are brand new additions:

Existed in previous course curricula
Added to the curriculum

Maintain and monitor network performance:

Develop a plan to monitor and manage a network
Perform network monitoring using IOS tools
Perform routine IOS device maintenance
Isolate sub-optimal internetwork operation at the correctly defined OSI Model layer

Troubleshoot Multi Protocol system networks:

Troubleshoot EIGRP
Troubleshoot OSPF
Troubleshoot eBGP
Troubleshoot routing redistribution solution
Troubleshoot a DHCP client and server solution
Troubleshoot NAT
Troubleshoot first hop redundancy protocols
Troubleshoot IPv6 routing
Troubleshoot IPv6 and IPv4 interoperability
Troubleshoot switch-to-switch connectivity for the VLAN based solution
Troubleshoot loop prevention for the VLAN based solution
Troubleshoot Access Ports for the VLAN based solution
Troubleshoot private VLANS
Troubleshoot port security
Troubleshoot general switch security
Troubleshoot VACL and PACL
Troubleshoot switch virtual interfaces (SVIs)
Troubleshoot switch supervisor redundancy
Troubleshoot switch support of advanced services (i.e., Wireless, VOIP and Video)
Troubleshoot a VoIP support solution
Troubleshoot a video support solution
Troubleshoot Layer 3 Security
Troubleshoot issues related to ACLs used to secure access to Cisco routers
Troubleshoot configuration issues related to accessing the AAA server for authentication purposes
Troubleshoot security issues related to IOS services (i.e.,finger, NTP, HTTP, FTP, RCP etc.)

What The CCNP Changes Mean For You

Bottom line of it is that the CCNP is changing more significantly in this update then in the last and this should be considered when choosing which path to take. But again keep in mind that if the older CCNP is taken with either the ONT or ISCW exams the certification must be complete by the end of July or you lose the ability to use these for the CCNP.

The advantage of going for the newer CCNP track is that some of the material is more in line with the true day-to-day troubleshooting duties of a networking engineer.

Cisco CCNP Webinar

Cisco is hosting two CCNP webinars on Tuesday, February 23rd — one at 8:00 am and the other at 7:00 pm PST.

Please note that registration is required. Here are the details on each of the events:

CCNP Webinar 8:00 am PST:

Topic: CCNP Webinar
Date and Time: February 23, 2010 8:00 am, Pacific Standard Time
Event number: 201 520 736
Event password: ccnp
Register here: https://cisco.webex.com/cisco/onstage/g.php?d=201520736&t=a

CCNP Webinar 7:00 pm PST:

Topic: CCNP Webinar
Date and Time: February 23, 2010 7:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time
Event number: 205 935 616
Event password: ccnp
Register here: https://ciscosales.webex.com/ciscosales/onstage/g.php?d=205935616&t=a

SBS 2008, Configuring (Exam 70-653) Certification Overview

Abhinav Kaiser — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:00:57 +0000

The Small Business Server 2008 package by Microsoft is a boon for a number of startup and small to medium sized businesses.

The needs of these businesses are similar in all aspects to that of enterprises. The messaging, collaboration, secure file storage and databases are just some of the must-have features that all companies vie for, on a day to day basis.

However, smaller businesses find it hard to fund and maintain the server base that is needed to run these solutions. The answer is SBS which fills the void; the package contains heart lines of businesses such as MS Exchange, SQL Database and Sharepoint Services.

All these packages which normally require a server of its own are bundled together in SBS, and the latest offering is SBS 2008.

But while SBS is an economical solution for businesses, it isn’t sufficient unless we have trained professionals behind the wheel. Microsoft offers a certification for SBS 2008 in Exam 70-653, and this article is aimed towards providing you the information which you need to prepare, schedule and pass the SBS 2008, Configuring exam.

Interesting Read: Why Small Businesses Use Windows Small Business Server

Overview of Exam 70-653 SBS 2008, Configuring

The SBS 2008 is a multi-package bundle. To master this solution, you are required to know each of the packages in detail, which can be rendered as a blessing in disguise from your career perspective. Knowing each of the individual packages in the bundle in good detail will give you wider choices while you search for a job.

The TS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring (Exam 70-653) will test your knowledge on the SBS 2008 solution. The exam gets into technical intricacies of:

Exchange 2007 Standard,
Windows Server Update Services,
and SharePoint Services 3.0.

Prerequisites for Exam 70-653

To be eligible to take the 70-653 exam, you should have prior experience in deploying and managing network solutions in a company that has under 75 devices such as routers, switches and servers amongst others. Also, Microsoft specifies that the company network must have internet connectivity and an option for users to work from a remote location.

You will be asked to declare your experience during the registration process, and a small percentage of the total applicants will be audited and asked to provide proofs for their claims.

SBS 2008 Exam Topics

The questions on the 70-653 exam cover both the functionalities present in Standard and Premium editions of Small Business Server 2008. It includes installation of the bundle on servers, migrating from SBS 2003 to 2008 and messaging configuration along with a number of other activities.

Here’s the list of sections that appear on the exam along with the weights they carry:

Deploying Hardware and Software for SBS Servers – 10%

Migrating to SBS 2008 – 16%

Deploying Hardware and Software for Computers on the Network – 9%

Maintaining Systems and Services Availability – 16%

Maintaining Remote Access – 10%

Maintaining Users and Computers – 11%

Maintaining Collaboration – 11%

Maintaining Messaging – 17%

Study Materials for Exam 70-653

It has been over a year since the certification exam was announced and the number of books on the subject is numerous. A particular book worthy of mention is the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-653): Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008 by Beatrice Mulzer, Walter Glenn, and Scott Lowe.

It includes the official Microsoft study guide and comes with a good set of practice questions.

A preferred method to prepare for an exam such as this, where plenty of hands-on experience is required, is the traditional classroom training. However, not all cities around the world have the comfort of such trainings, and a better alternative is a virtual classroom and video training.

Train Signal has recently released a video training for SBS 2008 certification which is packed with 17 hours of hands-on experience. It covers all the topics that will crop up on exam 70-653, and will be your handy guide to master SBS 2008, and a guide for your certification exam.

The training is currently priced at $397 and includes multiple file format for convenience.

Study Tips for Exam 70-653: SBS 2008, Configuring

Prior knowledge of SBS 2003 coupled with SBS 2008 working knowledge will brighten your chances of clearing this examination with least effort. Any know-how of Windows server will also help immensely.

To prepare for this exam, I would advise you to give yourself one month at the very least. Book well in advance to give yourself the seriousness of taking a professional examination.

Install SBS 2008 on your PC at least a couple times to familiarize yourself with the process, and at some point, you need to put SBS 2003 and migrate over to SBS 2008. Learning things practically beats theory, hands down!

The ten step learning course on Microsoft’s website for configuring SBS 2008 is a key resource along with the TechNet library. The migration document from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 is useful too.

70-653 Exam Logistics

If you have taken Microsoft exams before, you will be familiar with the logistics.

All Microsoft exams are outsourced to Prometric, and you are required to register for the exam directly on Prometric’s website.

Currently this exam is priced at $125.

70-653 Examination

If you have taken Exam 70-283 (SBS 2003), this one is nothing like it.

You will have 50 multiple choice questions to answer within 140 minutes. You are required to score a minimum of 700 points on a possible 1000 points to pass the examination. Questions normally carry weights based on the complexity, and from what i have heard, the questions posed in the exam are hardly menacing.

From reading up on the forums I found that a number of exam takers were able to finish it in under an hour and scored over 900. If they can do it, you can too! What are you waiting for?

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