For those of you who are in the Collab game- Cisco Meeting Server (CMS) is a popular topic for discussion. Enjoy!
All posts by Vik Malhi
CCIE Collab v3
A brief update, but the title says it all. The current blueprint (CCIE Collab v2) will become obsolete on Feb 23 2020. Version 3 comes into effect from Feb 24 2020.
Written Exam changes
As with all other CCIE Written exams, the CCIE Collab Written is no longer! To qualify for the Practical/Lab exam candidates will need to pass Implementing and Operating Cisco Collaboration Core Technologies (CLCOR 300-801) which is used as part of the CCNP Collab certification.
Lab exam changes
The v3.0 software/equipment list can be found here. In a nutshell the appliances have migrated from 12.0 to 12.5.
The exam topics have not changed too much and can be found here. We fully expect there to be more emphasis on automation and programmability throughout the journey.
The biggest change is the format of the exam. The current format of TS-DIAG-CONFIG has been replaced with a new format. There will be two modules.
Module 1 is the DESIGN module and is not hands-on. The candidate will have scenarios much like the diagnostic section in the current blueprint and will be expected to choose an answer (multi-choice) based on provided network designs, traces and other documentation. This module lasts 3 hours.
Module 2 is more in line with the current configuration section. There are a set of tasks that need to be completed with hands-on access to devices. This module lasts 5 hours.
As we get nearer to the time we will provide more updates of our plans and roadmap. For now our advice is if you have started preparation, try and complete CCIE Collabv2 this year (2019) before the changes. Obviously we will be creating preparation materials for CCIE Collab v3 but this will take a little time. The topics are not drastically different but nonetheless we will need to go back to the drawing board and have a new plan of attack.
ILS/GDPR Bug in Lab Exam
Folks sitting the CCIE Collabv2 Lab exam should be aware of this potential bug in UCM 12.0. Enjoy watching.
CCIE Collab version 2 Pass!
CollabCert would like to congratulate Piotr Puchalski, freshly minted with CCIE #61324, for passing the CCIE Collaboration version 2 Lab exam. He is definitely the first person to pass in the Richardson testing center– we cannot be 100% sure but Piotr may well be only the second person to pass the version 2 lab (apologies if this is not accurate but he is definitely one of the first few).
We ran our first bootcamp in December 2018 (student picture below). Piotr was one of 6 students to attend and the class was a success although there were definitely a few hiccups along the way.
Hopefully all of these guys will clear the lab sooner rather than later.
We met up for a small celebration – two of the very few CCIE Collab version 2 passing students forming a very select group!
“For anyone determined to achieve CCIE Collaboration V2 lab, CollabCert should be the natural choice. He has worked with UC for decades and is very familiar with CCIE Collaboration track, formerly CCIE Voice. In his bootcamps he does not really teach the exam, he teaches the technology itself and makes it easy to understand. Even after the course ended he was still available to answer any questions and accommodated me for practice exam.
In my eyes, passing the exam takes two things – being efficient at working with products and knowing the technology completely. I knew I had to put in a lot of effort into time-efficiency and attention to detail which cannot be taught and must be practiced, I trusted Vik to help me with the first and he surpassed my expectations. I would say I was very well prepared for the lab, even though it took me two attempts; the first attempt simply revealed my shortcomings and areas of improvement. The second attempt I took with confidence and succeeded. Thanks to Vik!”
Piotr Puchalski – CCIE #61324
Webinar Recording: Diagnostic and Troubleshooting ticket examples
In case you missed our webinar please find the recording below. We talk about 2 example Diagnostic tickets, 1 Troubleshooting ticket and at the end we wrap up with some Q&A.
Vik Malhi, CCIE#13890
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VikMalhi
Twitter: @vikmalhi
www.collabcert.com
End of an Era: SJC and RTP CCIE Testing Centers to close?
This is not official but it looks like both the San Jose and RTP CCIE Testing centers are being consolidated into a single testing center that will be located in Cisco’s Richardson campus which is close to Dallas.
The only location a candidate can sit for a CCIE Lab in the North America in 2019 (not including mobile testing centers) is Richardson.
Continue reading End of an Era: SJC and RTP CCIE Testing Centers to close?
Webinar to get you started on CCIE Collab version 2
As mentioned in the previous blog post, the team at CollabCert will be hosting a webinar to discuss CollabCert and CCIE Collab v2. This event will take place on Thursday October 25 2018 at Noon San Jose time (PDT / UTC-7h). If you cannot make it then do not worry we will be posting the event on this blog within a few days.
To register for the webinar please click here to sign up.
Look forward to seeing you all.
Vik
The journey to become the first person (I think!) to pass CCIE Collaboration version 2
Walk the Walk
My journey started back in October 2016. I had just failed to clear the CCIE Collaboration Written exam in order to re-certify my Cisco credentials. This had been a biennial occurrence since 2004 when I had first passed the CCIE Voice lab exam.
In case you are unaware of what happens to an active CCIE after the recertification deadline has passed – Cisco doesn’t waste any time in telling you that your CCIE goes into the SUSPEND status. This is a snippet from the email I received a few hours after the deadline has passed:
“Our records show that your recertification deadline was October 4 2016 and your CCIE now has a Suspended status. If you have suspended status for more than one year, you will be required to take an the CCIE written exam and the corresponding CCIE lab/practical exam to restore active CCIE status.”
I found myself visiting the Person VUE website organizing the logistics of re-sitting the Written exam when it suddenly occurred to me- what happens if I don’t re-certify? Surely the CCIE Collab blueprint is due a massive upgrade. What if I accidentally on purpose forget to re-certify? Wouldn’t it be so beneficial to both me and my customers if I had the opportunity to go through the entire process myself?
My skills were out of date and surely this was a great way to give myself a refresher and also stay up to date with changes that were about to happen behind the scenes. Enough talk Vik- time to Walk the Walk.
Throwing Everything Away
I still had a year grace period remaining in case I wanted to reverse my decision should common sense prevail. I had a year to simply pass any Written exam and re-certify. Nothing lost nothing gained.
In the 365 days that followed I questioned myself- was this necessary? Was I being stupid? I talked it over with several previous customers with whom I had built up a friendship and opinion was divided.
Continue reading The journey to become the first person (I think!) to pass CCIE Collaboration version 2
CCIE Collab v2 Announced
Finally the day is here- CCIE Collab v2. The new blueprint goes live on July 23 2018.
As expected it seems like the lab will not have any physical devices with everything being virtualized. The clients are remote control of 8845 devices, Spark, Jabber and Cisco Meeting App (old Acano client).
We have the Expressway make its way into the lab along with an Active Directory. Cisco Meeting Server (formerly Acano) is being tested (ouch!) and the traditional UC products are using version 12 (UCM/IMP/Unity Connection and 11.6 in the case of CCX.
For more details take a look here
More details to come! If you are mid-studies on CCIE Collab version 1 don’t get caught in the middle. Get yourself to a workshop and get it done asap.
CCIE Collab- Test Day experience
If you are sitting the CCIE Collab v1 lab for the first time, take a look at this video to familiarize yourself with the live testing environment.