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I want to let everyone know about a planned site upgrade. Over the next two weeks this site will be getting a fresh coat of paint and will also be moving to another hosting provider. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Bear with me through the upgrade and we’ll be back online and spitting out great content again very soon.

Thanks!

Brandon.

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While the GlobalConfig.net Members area is growing in both members and content I felt like giving people an opportunity to get in on a special deal today. The standard Web Session Membership is $75.00 USD per month and this includes access to the following:

To purchase lifetime access to the “Video Only” members area for just $99.99 UDS click the “Buy Now” button.

*** This Offer Ended on Friday April 1st at 5pm PST. ***

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Management is still done via the existing controllers but what I found interesting is how the AP deals with user data. On a briefing call with HP we were told that unlike the Cisco solution with all traffic using LWAPP or CAPWAPP and flowing through the controller, with the HP product you can decide wether traffic flows through the controller or not, and by default, it does not. Additionally the communication from AP to controller is done via a proprietary protocol, which is apparently a modified version of IAPP using OpenVPN and UDP tunnels.

What I really like about what HP is doing here is that they are thinking in terms of innovation. They want the wireless network to operate just like the wired network and this puts us in that category. What’s more is that “single pane-of-glass” type management makes it easy to manage and deploy these devices with up to 2,500 devices.

If you haven’t taken a look at the HP solutions check them out here!

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In addition to the Job Series I’ll still be posting some interviews with respected network engineers. If this episode isn’t exactly your flavor that’s cool. We’ll catch you on a technical interview in one of the next few episodes.

In the mean time, your feedback and recommendations are important. Please feel free to comment on this post, use the comment form, tweet me, email me or use any other method you prefer, and let me know what you want to hear on the podcast. I’ll do my best to make it happen, within reason of course! I do have something pretty cool in store in the near future but can’t exactly lay it out there right now. I will say that it may appeal to someone studying for the CCIE, but I’ll leave it at that.

Anyhow, thanks for the great feedback you have already given me!

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Maybe it’s just me, but it really bothered me. It’s as if to say that although there is an “Expert” level for Service Provider, R&S, Security, Wireless, Design, SP Operations, Storage Networking, and Voice, one who possesses the CCAr is in fact an “Expert” in all of these respective disciplines. While I don’t doubt that one who possesses the CCAr is extremely bright, I do doubt that they could sit each of the CCIE labs back to back and successfully pass each one of them. Of course, that’s just my opinion of what would constitute an expert in all of these disciplines. I know the world doesn’t work that way.

While I don’t have any plans to pursue the Architect certification you might. Or perhaps you have one, two, three or more CCIE’s. How does this make you feel?

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The Cisco ASA now supports EtherChannel. In fact, the release notes state that you can configure up to 48 802.3ad EtherChannels of eight active interfaces each. The new commands include channel-group, lacp port-priority, interface port-channel, lacp max-bundle, port-channel min-bundle, port-channel load-balance, lacp system-priority, clear lacp counters, show lacp, show port-channel. You’ll notice that there are no commands that relate to PAgP so hopefully you’re not hooked on the Cisco Proprietary Features.

Additional Coolness

Also of notice to me was the Stateful Failover with Dynamic Routing Protocols, TCP Ping capability to allow ping when ICMP is not allowed, and IKEv2 capability. AnyConnect with IPSec Capability is a great step for the Cisco VPN product.

Final Thoughts

While some have said that Cisco is lacking in their security vision, and admittedly I’ve questioned this myself in the past, this update demonstrates their commitment to progressing their security portfolio.

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The year 2011 started off for me with a bang. In the first two weeks of 2011 I have received calls and emails from dozens of Cisco Channel Partners from around the world. It seems like the drought is at an end and maybe one of my prediction for 2011 is coming true. This year I predicted on a friend’s blog that it will be easier for a Neophyte Network Engineer and Newly Minted CCIE to find a job. I am not saying the jobs will pay as much as a senior level engineer, but the jobs are out there and employers seem to be willing to interview. Yeah it’s a good time to be a young and smart Cisco certified person. So listen up all you greenhorns and tenderfoots get ready for the interview as if each was a final exam. Study up, make yourself comfortably conversant on the details in your resume and stave off the crickets during an interview. Active listening is critical, so make sure to be conversant in general, not just in technical discussions. Remember crickets can kill an interview! But I am getting ahead of myself; I do that when I get excited!

What Are Cisco Channel Partners Looking For?

Money! Yup that’s right, M O N E Y (no dummy, don’t hide your wallet). A CCIE in the eyes of a Cisco Channel Partner represents revenue, they all want the highest ROI (Return on Investment) and that is the bottom line. Do you want the big bucks as a CCIE? You have to earn them; you did not win the lottery when you were certified, you won the chance to stand out in a line up.

But what skills are they looking for?

Important and often number one is the ability to communicate. You can carry around in your gray matter information on how subatomic particles influence the flow of IP data during sun spot activity, but if you cannot convey the information to a sixth grader you are not prime cut. Make sure you can communicate techy to any audience. Practice doing it even if it feels silly; drive your mom and dad crazy with MPLS and OSPF.

Next is Presales skills. Like it or not, you as a CCIE, (or any other IT eye catching certification for that matter), are the link to revenue in developing client relationships for your employer. If you are working for a Cisco Channel Partner then you have to help sell yourself because you are the subject matter expert. Yeah, those are awful big shoes for some youngsters, but confidence is contagious and it’s your job to gain it.

Next in line is technical acumen. The technical skills assessment in an interview can be debated and often is by anyone who has been eliminated in one. That CCIE number did not automatically and permanently install instant recallable technology details in your synapses. You have to prepare for an interview and be able to communicate in a way that makes you a rock star, but not a snob. That old “CCIE tude” thing I have heard so much about in feedback after a CCIE has interviewed is real to some people. Like Sasquatch though you have to be the right person in the right spot at the right time to see it. I am not really sure if its intimidation or snobbery or what, but you have to keep an eye out for the beholder’s expressions I think.

Last but not least is price. What is your price? Is it steeped in legend and was it found on hieroglyphs pointed out by some oracle from a place no one has ever been? Don’t price yourself out of a job because of a legend. The legend of the $150,000 entry CCIE job has as much to do with hype as it does with fiction. Remember you are young and you will have to climb a few rungs before you can hook the golden ring. Show a little patience and get the discussion started simply based upon your needs first. Entry level network engineers with a CCIE certification are going to be around $100k (many places lower) as a base in the USA. India maybe 1,000,000 INR, Europe 60,000 €, South Africa about 400,000 ZAR, Brazil 100,000 BRL, please note these are estimates from chatting with so many Network Engineers around the world. But my point is you have to get on the ride first. The professional journey you have undertaken is like a roller coaster. The ride will pick up speed rapidly so tuck away your ego to win the first job and the money will follow in your jet stream soon enough.

Ok, OK I hear you, “Uncle Eman what the heck are you rambling on about? I am looking for a ray of hope, a spot of sunshine, the light at the end of the tunnel!”

I am telling you that the Neophyte Network Engineers are getting curtain calls. Yeah the hiring trend is finally creating a chance for the young’uns to interview! Tenderfoot resumes are getting more reads and I have “Heard it through the grapevine”, as Gladys Knight and the Pips first sang back in 1967. And what I heard was that “Certification Starvation” along with the exodus of baby boomers from the work force is creating a void that is drawing in younger talent. So dust off the old shoes, remove some of the facial piercings, allow your hair to return to a natural color (for humanity’s sake please stop dying your hair purple and pink and orange) and yes (I know it’s hard) iron something professional looking and business dress (not casual) and “Get Ready to Rumble”!!!

I would like to say in my best radio announcer’s voice, ”Today’s trend towards casual dress has eliminated the need for gentlemen to don ties and ladies to wear blazers for interviews” but I would be lying. In fact preparing yourself for an interview must include avoiding Business Casual dress. If you are going to be taken seriously you must make the interviewer feel like you dressed up to impress them. It does not hurt to play ZZ Top’s, “Sharp Dressed Man” while you are showering and getting dressed either.

Enjoy 2011 and make it your year to shine!

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I think it’s important to get away for a bit and I certainly need it. I plan on reading a few magazines, teaching my son to ride a bike, and maybe playing a little football while I’m at it.

I do have a few posts scheduled so if you plan on doing a little light reading during your weekend there will be a few new posts.

In the mean time I’ll be pretty quiet on twitter. See you soon!

• Brandon

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