VMware vSphere 4 ICM Training

Next week I’ll be attending VMware vSphere 4 Install,Configure & Manage class with an end goal of obtaining the VCP certification.  After some consideration I decided to do the training via Webex.  This saves me travel and hotel costs as I would have had to go to KC, Dallas or St. Louis to do classroom training.

On Thursday, I received a Webex invite from the instructor and a link to test connectivity to the lab gear.  The student and lab manuals arrived in the mail yesterday.

I’m anxious to see how good the Webex training experience will be.  I talked to some folks at VMware and they indicated that almost 50% of the ICM training is done via Webex.  That seemed a little high to me but in this economy I suppose everyone is trying to control costs.

Obtaining the VCP has been a goal of mine for some time.  My plan was to finish the CCNP and CCIP, then move on to the VCP.  However, about a month ago I stumbled on an opportunity to attend the class for about half the regular cost.  Those of you familiar with the VCP certification process will know that you have to attend the class in order to qualify for the certification.  After getting the ok from my employer to take the time off I decided to go ahead and book the training now while I’m between projects.

Another vulnerability puts further pressure on WPA (snore….)

Ars Technica has posted an article about a not-so-new WPA vulnerability.

Under a perfect set of conditions, researchers have been able to falsify an encrypted short packet (an ARP packet) by deciphering the 64 bit Message Integrity Code (MIC).  This allows them to effectively establish a “man-in-the-middle attack ” situation.  Quoting the article, “the attacks can certainly present problems, but they do not threaten the overall encryption of the wireless stream”.

So, I have to ask, why is this newsworthy?

Wifi Protected Access (WPA) was never intended to be a permanent solution to the vulnerabilities in WEP.

WPA was released in 2003 before the IEEE 802.11i (WPA2) standard was ratified.  WPA implements most (but not all) of the 802.11i standards.  WPA doesn’t implement AES encryption, one of WPA2’s strong points and the biggest reason why WPA2 is still considered a viable, very secure solution.

Like WEP, WPA is one of those “use it only if you have to” solutions.  Most, if not all AP’s manufactured in the last five years support WPA2.   Despite the findings published by these researchers, they are still not able to break the encryption on the WPA packet.  At worst case, the exploit might be able to cause a denial-of-service situation in a WPA implementation.  Judging from the set of conditions they had to set up in the lab, even that may be unlikely.

Passed the CCNP ONT Exam

Wow, this was one of the more difficult Cisco exams I’ve taken so far.

I felt I had a good grasp of VoIP and QoS from going through the CCVP track.

Despite that I barely squeezed out a passing score of 801.  I actually did the best on the wireless section (go figure)

Fifty-two questions and a ninety minute time limit.

Primary study material:
Cisco Press CCNP ONT Exam Certification Guide
Chris Bryant’s Ultimate CCNP ONT Study Guide
QoS cheat sheet from packetlife.net
Cisco Press QoS Exam Certification Guide
Cisco Press Wireless LAN Security

Total preparation time – four weeks.

This exam really tests your knowledge of VoIP, QoS, Cisco wireless solutions and wireless security.  I knew I was pushing the envelope with only four weeks of preparation but I wanted to get this one out of the way because……

Next week I’m attending VMware Vsphere training.

More on that later.