Your certification goals for 2015?

[wintermute000]

sorry, disagree. Maybe if you're in house for an all cisco shop. But is that what you're going to be doing for the rest of your life?
You don't know whats out there until you run into it, and then its too late to start studying from scratch.
Also Cisco skills are a dime a dozen. Its actually a big advantage for many jobs to be certed up on other (still relatively common) vendors.

Esp with SDN/SDWAN, there is a heck of a lot of disruption coming down the road. Heck I'd argue that having a Cisco R&S background counts for practically nothing when it comes to ACI/APIC for example, and that's from the same bloody vendor. FFS now even Docker has a built in overlay. Yes, application container level overlay networks

Maybe I'm biased due to my current role, and I have been roles before that were 95% Cisco (if not more lol), but I'd rather have those arrows in my quiver than be caught with my pants down if/when my situation changes - how about missing out on an awesome opportunity or promotion because the other candidate had XP and cert in XYZ but you didn't?

Finally, all these other vendors are EASY PEASEY compared to good old CCNP Voice (5 exams, need a new mortagage to lab properly - ESXis, routers, voice cards, phones, POE switches), CCNP Security, etc. Most are one exam one cert. BAM!

So yeah in this life you're looking at at least one exam every 6-9 months lol - but that's really no more onerous than 2-3 hours study a week (if that???) - the CCIE / Vmware Advanced level certs are the only ones that require any 'real' dedication. And expired certs DO carry weight, esp. if you can explain how you didn't touch that technology for a few years - employers will understand that and still credit you for your self motivation / know that if you have to work on that vendor, you'll be able to hit the ground running.

[killabee]

Thanks for sharing!

I had a feeling I wasn't thinking broadly enough.

[deanwebb]

I plan to keep up my CCNP-Security, but my management is encouraging me to get vendor-less certificates, such as CISSP and GIAC certs. Looking at security jobs at a senior engineer/architect level, those are the kinds of certs most mentioned, after Cisco. VARs and vendors would look for other vendor current certs more than regular companies, particularly in the security field. I could go after a ForeScout CounterACT cert, but that wouldn't mean much at my job. CISSP, though, and It'll be all "Watch out, we got a badass here," as the picture below demonstrates.

[routerdork]

I plan to keep up my CCNP-Security, but my management is encouraging me to get vendor-less certificates, such as CISSP and GIAC certs. Looking at security jobs at a senior engineer/architect level, those are the kinds of certs most mentioned, after Cisco. VARs and vendors would look for other vendor current certs more than regular companies, particularly in the security field. I could go after a ForeScout CounterACT cert, but that wouldn't mean much at my job. CISSP, though, and It'll be all "Watch out, we got a badass here," as the picture below demonstrates.

How is the CISSP to obtain? When I was getting out of the Navy in 2007 my Chief was telling me that a new directive had come out requiring each command to send someone in the IT community to a CISSP class. He tried to use it as a bargaining chip to get me to stay in but I of course wasn't having that. At that time I had very little knowledge of the security side and didn't care.

[deanwebb]

There's a BIG TEST, "a mile wide and an inch deep". Lots of general knowledge-type questions. Passing the test and having validation of 5 years' security experience gets you the CISSP, which you can maintain with continuing education credits, which include going to RSA, taking GIAC classes, basically giving money to the security training industry... Passing the test without 5 years' security experience means an associate kind of status.

I'm heading towards it because of my company, but also because I can clean the floor with trivia tests.

[routerdork]

Interesting. I wonder how he was going to make up my 5 years experience when I had only been in the Navy for 4.

In my free time I'm still pursuing Cisco but at work I'm looking into HP. Corporate wants us to maintain two vendors and so we are being force fed HP as an alternative for sites.

[Reggle]

(counter-argumentation)

Good arguments. You're right on most I'd admit. As for CCNA/NP/IE not covering ACI with the same vendor" true, and I'm aware of that, but that one is no reason to go for another vendor here. Cisco should offer certs for this. Does Cisco offer decent certs for this yet?

[srg]

(counter-argumentation)

Good arguments. You're right on most I'd admit. As for CCNA/NP/IE not covering ACI with the same vendor" true, and I'm aware of that, but that one is no reason to go for another vendor here. Cisco should offer certs for this. Does Cisco offer decent certs for this yet?

CCNA/CCNP Cloud. No CCIE advertised - yet.

[NetworkGroover]

(counter-argumentation)

Good arguments. You're right on most I'd admit. As for CCNA/NP/IE not covering ACI with the same vendor" true, and I'm aware of that, but that one is no reason to go for another vendor here. Cisco should offer certs for this. Does Cisco offer decent certs for this yet?

I'd imagine it wouldn't be wise to invest in developing a certification track if they're not sure which direction they are going.

So we had FabricPath, ACI, and now VTS: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/cloud-systems-management/virtual-topology-system/index.html

I know I'm going to hurt people's feelings when I say this, and I know it sounds completely bias, but I don't see ACI getting widespread adoption.  I certainly wouldn't focus efforts on it.   I could easily be wrong though - time will tell.

[wintermute000]

You might be right, it just reeks of Ivan Pep's complex core (loser) vs complex edge (winner) argument doesn't it.
VTS looks much more scalable and easy to implement than ACI.

I've had chats with two teams implementing ACI and AFAIK they're just replicating a subnet/VLAN/default GW topology within ACI policies, which begs the question of why reinvent the wheel....
I've also since learnt that our second go-to vendor for DC switching is Arista (i.e. if they don't want Nexus we then sell Arista) so there you go, a win for your mob

[NetworkGroover]

You might be right, it just reeks of Ivan Pep's complex core (loser) vs complex edge (winner) argument doesn't it.
VTS looks much more scalable and easy to implement than ACI.

I've had chats with two teams implementing ACI and AFAIK they're just replicating a subnet/VLAN/default GW topology within ACI policies, which begs the question of why reinvent the wheel....
I've also since learnt that our second go-to vendor for DC switching is Arista (i.e. if they don't want Nexus we then sell Arista) so there you go, a win for your mob

Exactly.  A few groups I've overheard talking about implementing it didn't quite understand how it solved any of their problems. The easiest thing you can do as a smart consumer when told anything by a vendor is, "Ok - prove it." Have them show you how "simple" it supposedly is and how well it works.  If they need to bring four engineers and spend two weeks setting it up... may not be as simple as claimed.

[digitheads]

I am going to attempt CCNA by the end of 2015.

[srg]

Did ARCH to get my CCDP today :beer:

[that1guy15]

Did ARCH to get my CCDP today :beer:

WOOT! Congrats dude. That was one of the funnest test to study for.

[routerdork]

Congrats srg!