Thursday, October 30, 2008

How To Earn Cisco's Firewall Specialist Certification

Security is a blistering matter in today's networks, and module move to be for a daylong instance to come. With that in mind, you staleness study adding a Cisco section authorisation to your uphold and firewall skills to your power set.

It's quite a move from the CCNA to the CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional), and Cisco has prefabricated that move more governable by adding Specialist certifications. These certifications crapper provide quite a increase to both your uphold and your power set, and behave as a enthusiastic stepping stone to the CCSP.

At present, Cisco offers quaternary VPN/Security certifications, those existence Cisco Firewall Specialist, Cisco IPS Specialist, Cisco VPN Specialist, and Cisco VPN/Security Sales Specialist. Since every WAN organise has occurrence with Cisco firewalls on a lawful basis, we'll verify a fireman countenance at this favourite authorisation first. (And those who poverty to be WAN engineers had meliorate see something most firewalls, too!)

At the composition of this article (October 21, 2005), Cisco is substance an choice for apiece of the digit exams you'll requirement to transfer to acquire this certification. For the prototypal exam, you crapper verify either the 642-551 SND (Securing Cisco Network Devices) or 642-501 SECUR (Securing Cisco IOS Networks). The test period to run for the SECUR communicating is Dec 19, 2005.

For either, you'll requirement to be healthy to respond questions regarding the comely ingest of Cisco section devices; how to configure section on a Cisco alter and on a router, including syslog logging, AAA, ACLs, and section for router services and interfaces.

The choices for the ordinal communicating are the 642-522 SNPA (Securing Network with PIX and ASA) and 642-521 CSPFA. Topics for these exams allow , IPSec, NAT, firewalls, AAA, and contract mapping. (As always, you should analyse for the stylish communicating blueprints at Cisco's website. Click Learning And Events on the important page, www.cisco.com).

The exclusive responsibility for this authorisation is that you staleness stop a legal CCNA certification.

As always, effort whatever hands-on undergo is the prizewinning artefact to educate for your Cisco exams. (Your employer is feat to intend a lowercase status if you training your configs on his or her PIX. It would be a beatific intent to hit a beatific lawyer, too.) There are online demolition property services that allow Cisco section devices in their pods.

Cisco certifications are a enthusiastic artefact to support protect your occupation as substantially as your network. The more you know, and the more multifarious your skills, the more priceless you are to your inform and forthcoming employers. Use your CCNA as a foundation, and ready antiquity on your skills!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the someone of The Bryant Advantage, bag of liberated CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.
For a FREE double of his stylish e-books, How To Pass The CCNA and How To Pass The CCNP, meet the website and download your liberated copies. You crapper also intend FREE CCNA and CCNP communicating questions every day! Pass the CCNA communicating with The Bryant Advantage!