For those of you who are in the Collab game- Cisco Meeting Server (CMS) is a popular topic for discussion. Enjoy!
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.
Success! Congratulations Zack Stanek!
The CollabCert team would like to congratulate one of our students, Zack Stanek, in passing the CCIE V2 Collaboration lab exam. Here’s what Zack had to say about his experience.
The knowledge, experience, and troubleshooting skill-set that Vik displays is exceptional. I utilized several resources in this extremely difficult cert process, but Vik’s assistance was vital to my success. Vik’s ability to teach the complicated material, and give you a thorough understanding of the content, is something that I believe separates him from others in the field. I have gained a lot from my journey to obtaining my CCIE; but the information, skill-set, and relationships built throughout the in person CollabCert Bootcamp was immeasurable.
I cannot say enough how much I appreciate the guidance, support, and time that Vik and the team invested in assisting me to fulfill this achievement. Thank you!
Zack Stanek – CCIE #61930 (Collaboration)
Zack – it was a pleasure to have you in class and we appreciate the kind words. Hard work and lots of practice definitely paid off. Now, relax and enjoy the success! -Vik
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.
More CCIE Collaboration V2 Successful Students
Congratulations to the latest group of engineers to pass the daunting V2 CCIE Collaboration lab exam. Joining Vik and Piotr in knocking out this beast are Karla and Dmytro, along with one more person who would like to remain anonymous. Here are their stories…
Dmytro said:
Just wanted to express my gratitude to Vik and whole CollabCert team for this wonderful work and resources that they are providing.
The video lectures are great way to quickly grasp the technology concepts, build the lab and see some examples of troubleshooting. And the Workbook is an excellent way to prepare for the Lab itself, as there are some example tasks, with explanations, and steps to follow to do a proper configuration.
Honestly, CollabCert materials were the integral part of my success.
Thank you!
Dmytro Kravchenko – CCIE Collaboration #61654
Karla stated:
Wooooow! I still can’t believe it, it was surreal when I received the news of passing my CCIE lab exam. Let me tell you something, you always hear that CCIE Collaboration lab exam is hard to pass and I really experienced it with two failures before in this new version 2.
So CollabCert training was vital in my training, Vik is truly a teacher very knowledgeable of UC technologies and the way he teaches with hand-on labs it makes it easier to deep dive on the concepts. Also Vik always helped with any questions after the boot camp and follow up, this really makes a difference and I don’t there is anything similar to CollabCert regarding quality and personalized attention.
I was practicing almost every night of the week, week after week, I never felt defeated when I received twice the bad news when I didn’t pass. Instead I felt more encouraged and I knew that I was capable of doing this. The journey is tiring but the result very satisfying!!!
Karla Reyes – CCIE Collaboration #61777
Again – We offer our congratulations on all your hard work and success. It was our pleasure to be part of your journey!
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
Upcoming CollabCert Webinar!
Join Vik and Mike, Wednesday, January 16th, 2019 at 12:00PM PST for a live, online webinar in which the CollabCert team will go over how to plan and study efficiently, where to focus your energy and Vik will walk through some troubleshooting and diagnostic tickets.
To register, simply follow this REGISTRATION LINK and fill out the form!
Hope to see you there!
Mike Down
mike@collabcert.com
810.334.8385
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