How To Earn Ciscos Firewall Specialist Certification

Security is a hot subject in today's networks, and will continue to be for a lengthy time to come. With that in mind, you should consider adding a Cisco safety certification to your resume and firewall capabilities to your skill set. It's quite a jump from the CCNA to the CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional), and Cisco has produced that leap a lot more manageable by adding Specialist certifications.ccnp salary These certifications can give quite a enhance to both your resume and your skill set, and act as a great "stepping stone" to the CCSP. At present, Cisco offers 4 VPN/Security certifications, individuals being Cisco Firewall Specialist, Cisco IPS Specialist, Cisco VPN Specialist, and Cisco VPN/Safety Sales Specialist. Given that every single WAN engineer has speak to with Cisco firewalls on a standard basis, we'll take a closer appear at this common certification first. (And those who want to be WAN engineers had much better learn a thing about firewalls, as well!) At the writing of this report (October 21, 2005), Cisco is supplying an selection for each and every of the two exams you will want to pass to earn this certification. For the very first exam, you can take either the 642-551 SND (Securing Cisco Network Devices) or 642-501 SECUR (Securing Cisco IOS Networks). The final day to register for the SECUR exam is December 19, 2005. For either, you will want to be able to answer questions with regards to the correct use of Cisco security devices how to configure safety on a Cisco switch and on a router, like syslog logging, AAA, ACLs, and safety for router services and interfaces. The choices for the second exam are the 642-522 SNPA (Securing Network with PIX and ASA) and 642-521 CSPFA. Topics for these exams include , IPSec, NAT, firewalls, AAA, and policy mapping. (As always, you really should verify for the latest exam blueprints at Cisco's web site. Click "Mastering And Events" on the main page, www.cisco.com). The only prerequisite for this certification is that you have to hold a valid CCNA certification. As always, finding some hands-on encounter is the ideal way to prepare for your Cisco exams. (Your employer is going to get a tiny upset if you practice your configs on his or her PIX. It would be a excellent concept to have a great lawyer, too.) There are on-line rack rental services that consist of Cisco safety devices in their pods. Cisco certifications are a excellent way to help safeguard your career as properly as your network. The far more you know, and the a lot more varied your abilities, the a lot more beneficial you are to your present and future employers. Use your CCNA as a foundation, and maintain creating on your abilities!