Author: John

CWAP on the backburner and CWSP on the books – Update: Certified!

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On February 4, 2021

In Certification

My attempt to take CWAP in person has been pushed all the way until May 3rd, 2021. It seems like most of the local test centers here are closing out slots and availability due to an abundance of precautions.

I could switch it to the online format but at this time, I do not think I want to put forth the effort of contacting customer service to convert the voucher.

Mood = ?

Instead, I have decided to move forward with scheduling for the CWSP following the typical progression of CWNA > CWSP > CWDP > CWAP. The hard date to take this has been set for March 5th. I have given myself exactly twenty nine days to study for this.

Who knows, maybe I will feel more confident once I get my paws on the book and eyes on the official practice exam and move the date up!

Update – March 31st, 2021

It has been quite a minute but writing it here that I walked away with the PASS! I would rate the CWSP-206 as 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. The Certitrek book is a good read and the practice tests that came with the bundle were helpful but are in no way similar to the actual exam.

I would have said that CWNP practice tests overlay with the exam before but that has changed. I say this from my observation of CWNA-106/CWNA-107 practice questions that appeared in the CWNA exam with slight changes. However I will note that those practice tests were before the new LMS.

CWSP is a great refresher and I have a way better understanding of the 4-way handshake! Here are a few videos that are old but gold!

Scheduled for Cisco System’s CCNA Exam – Update: Certified!

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On November 29, 2020

In Certification

Since I was notified of my exam cancellation for the on premise testing of CWNP’s CWAP certification and my subsequent reschedule to January of 2021. I have decided to pursue the latest Cisco Certified Network Associate (200-301) certification. I booked the exam for December 29th, 2020.

Note: The list below contains affiliate links to products and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Resources:

Admittedly, I have taken the Cisco Certified Network Associate (200-125) before in early 2019 and barely made it to the passing score of 810 with an actual score of 770.

I should have kept studying and attempted a retake while the information was still fresh in my head BUT after that failure I was disheartened to pursue the certification again.

Should have. Could have. Would have. All in the past now. Lessons were learned and I think I’m ready to reach for it again!

Update – February 4th, 2021

It has been a while since I last updated so here I am with a PASS! I would rate the CCNA 200-301 as 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. I do have to say that this iteration felt a lot easier than the previous one with the caveat being a lot lengthier in both question bank and duration.

Guide: Ruckus AP Not Broadcasting WLAN SSIDs

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On October 27, 2020

In How to

Do you have a Ruckus AP on a vSZ/SCG that refuses to broadcast any WLAN SSIDs even if the Zone Configuration and AP/WLAN Groups are correct? This typically occurs because the WLAN service is disabled under Radio Options.

Solution:

GUI:

Step 1. Log into controller and go to the Access Point configuration page.

Configuration > Access Point and select AP that is not broadcasting.

Step 2. View the Radio Options and check if the WLAN Service is enabled on the radios.

WLAN Service is disabled

Step 3. Enable the WLAN Service by checking the box on the necessary radios.

WLAN Service is enabled

Step 4. Click Apply.

Step 5. Verify WLAN SSIDs are broadcasting.

CLI:

Step 1. SSH into the AP.

Step 2. Display the WLAN listing.

get wlanlist

Take note of the wlan name/wlanID e.g. wlan0 with the down status.

Step 3. Enable the wlan state.

set state <wlan name> up

Step 4. Repeat Step 2 and verify if WLAN SSID is broadcasting and confirm with a test device.

CWNP Analysis Professional Up Next? – Update: Rescheduled!

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On October 26, 2020

In Certification

Four days ago, I received a friendly reminder from CWNP regarding my CWNA certification expiring in April of next year. Since I finished taking my Juniper exam today, I am now moving forward and devoting some processing power toward the CWAP.

I purchased a self-paced training kit direct from CWNP almost a year ago for the CWAP which included the following:

  • CWAP-403 Study Guide
  • CWAP-403 Practice Test
  • Exam Voucher – One Pearson VUE exam voucher for CWAP-403

I am probably going against the grain here as the route that is recommended from others is typically CWNA > CWSP > CWDP > CWAP but I figured it is best to get the packet analysis down especially for security purposes and to see the nitty gritty of how Wi-Fi works.

The double whammy here for me is that I am also inclined to aim for the WCNA (Wireshark Certified Network Analyst) certification to increase skills at my current job and fatten the personal portfolio for marketing purposes.

Prior experience with the CWNA practice tests has given me a good idea about how the test is to be handled. I have to say that CWNP’s practice tests are definitely a must have for self-study.

I scheduled the exam to be administered at a local Pearson Vue test center near my work for December 22nd. Hopefully it will be an early Christmas gift to myself to gain the cert and therefore renew my CWNA along with it.

Update – November 27th, 2020

Just got notification from Pearson Vue and my selected test site that my appointment for the 22nd has been cancelled. I rescheduled the exam to be taken on January 21st of next year.

I could cancel the in-person test and get it remotely proctored but I think I can fill that December 22nd appointment with something else… maybe the CCNA?

Time for Juniper’s JNCIA-Junos Certification – Update: Certified!

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On October 9, 2020

In Certification

The career progression chart has changed in my organization and has listed the JNCIA as one of the many certifications required to progress to the next tier. I started in a primarily all Juniper shop and then moved over to an almost all Cisco shop. There are a spattering of Juniper devices across the network but I do not touch those as often as I touch Cisco devices.

I have always been meaning to certify in this track but as I moved away from Juniper devices, I figured it wasn’t in my best interest to diverge from the path that was ahead of me at the time.

But in the wise words of Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changing and in this field, it’s adapt or die. Juniper’s associate certification is back in my sights, the only unfortunate thing is the lack of self study material but from what I have read, the deprecated exam books are more than enough to get people through the latest iteration.

Note: The list below contains affiliate links to products and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Resources:

If you’re looking into some information on this, check it out at https://www.juniper.net/us/en/training/certification/certification-tracks/data-center-track/?tab=jnciajunos.

The exam costs $200 and can be either delivered remotely or at a test center. After experiencing the remote content delivery with CompTIA’s Cloud+ beta, I think I will opt into doing it again. It is pretty convenient and the major plus here is that I don’t have to wear a mask during the entire session!

So off I go down the path of the Juniper Associate.

Come gather 'round, people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
- Bob Dylan

Update – October 10th, 2020

Scheduled the exam to be delivered remotely on October 19th..

Update – October 17th, 2020

Re-scheduled the exam to be delivered remotely on October 26th. My on-call week has been rough and I just have not had the energy to devote towards studying as I have also started a fitness challenge this week presented by one of our vendors for a charity of the winners choice.

Update – October 26th, 2020

Just finished taking the exam and have earned a PASS! I would rate the JN0-103 as 3.0 out of 5.0 stars as you really need to know Juniper Syntax.

Juniper Networks Genius JNCIA-Junos course provides everything one needs to know to pass. I recommend it fully and as well as reading through the practical guide as it highlights a lot of information that you would otherwise overlook!

CompTIA Cloud+ Beta Thoughts

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On October 6, 2020

In Certification

Whenever CompTIA beta exams become available, I tend to ignore them as they do not interest me, however I had taken the bait for the Cloud+ instance. What got me hooked? I am gonna be honest, the cost to attempt the beta exam was only $50.00 compared to a whopping $329.00 (not accounting for academic discounts) for the commercial exam.

Besides, a lot of things in my field are moving towards virtualization so learning about the Cloud and it’s technologies are definitely a huge benefit to myself. I mentioned in a previous post that I am looking to gain a VMware Professional certificate and despite CompTIA being vendor neutral, it does show you what you need to know in general.

I registered for the exam on June 17th. CompTIA fortunately had already started offering the remote proctoring of exams in that timeframe. I scheduled the appointment for today, October 6th knowing that I will need to have a better grasp on the fundamentals.

With work being all encompassing and an on-call rotation once every month, I naturally procrastinated with zero care in the world. I ended up using and devoting the entire weekend towards reading and practice exams. See below for eBooks I used for self-study.

Note: This list below contains affiliate links to products and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Resources:

Before I give my thoughts on the Beta exam, I would like to share my experience regarding Pearson Vue’s remote proctoring.

I will spare you a wall of text and guide you with a direct link on what to expect over at https://home.pearsonvue.com/Test-takers/OnVUE-online-proctoring.aspx.

NOTE: You can check in thirty minutes prior to your actual appointment time.

The check-in process was relatively smooth and I had absolutely no hiccups toward exam content delivery. My only gripe was that I could not use any external device such as a monitor and USB keyboard. I do see why they would refuse the other peripherals. In any case, they did allow the USB mouse so that was nice! All in all, Pearson OnVUE works and works well.

Now onto my thoughts on the Cloud+ beta exam. As this was my first ever beta exam with CompTIA, I did not know what to expect. After going through the typical user agreements and beginning the exam, I was choke slammed with the maximum amount of questions!

110 to be exact! I saw on some Reddit and other forum threads that some people had 90 or so, so I guess I was one of the lucky ones! Oh well! This was just me looking at the top right hand corner. When I looked at the bottom left, BOOM! Simulation! I was not expecting any SIMs to be in this exam but I digress, the objectives did mention “Given a scenario…” heh.

The SIMs were definitely head scratchers and I think they could use a little more explanation but I was able to make sense of it after a while. Luckily test takers are given ample time to think about it! Am I right? Haha!

I was hit with two SIMs right off the bat but I am thankful that they were first up to the plate. Like a pitcher, I struck them out. Did I get any good stats from that? I won’t know until May 2021 when the actual exam is released.

After the two SIMs, it became a typical CompTIA exam with multiple choice questions. Just 108 of them! I did see some repetition but not a whole lot. After plugging away at the questions and submitting the answers to end the exam. I have got to say that the stigma with CompTIA exams has got to go and would rate this exam as mid-level (2.5 out of 5.0 stars) in difficulty.

For me? I would say this is a great stepping stone into the cloud arena with useful information all around.

Hopefully my contribution to CompTIA in finalizing this exam was meaningful. If not, here is to hoping I walk away with a PASS next year! ?

Image by Bethany Drouin from Pixabay

Success in Failure – Update: Passed!

By

On October 4, 2020

In Certification

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.

— George S. Patton

I write this post to highlight a failure on my part as I had scheduled to sit the VCP-DCV 2020 on October 2nd. Admittedly, I planned this months ago and failed to place a reminder and thus, simply have forgotten all about it. It was almost by providence that I happened to login to the separate VMWare certification dashboard and to my abrupt horror, I saw the appointment thirty minutes out.

I had not devoted time to study for this exam and I touch Virtual Machines lightly in my profession as my team reorganized away from the Implementation aspect and adopted wholly the Operations aspect.

As you all know, Pearson Vue requires a minimum of twenty-four hours prior to your exam to be able to change the appointment time. I had two choices, skip the exam and take the loss or attempt it and get to know thy enemy.

I wrestled with the idea of skipping it all together as I was very unprepared and then within ten minutes, I had a change of heart. I got ready as fast as I can and booked my rear end to the testing center. Thankfully, it is only minutes away from my place of residence.

Due to traffic, I arrived fifteen minutes after my original appointment time and my proctor (bless her heart) was about to give me a call. I should mention as a side note that I am a frequent visitor of this particular establishment as all other test centers I have been to seemed to hire emotionless robots who wouldn’t think about giving a courtesy call to remind me.

My proctor is absolutely personable and I could always count on having a good chat with her. She called VMWare and got the OK for the delay where she moved quickly to get my session going. During that hustle and bustle, I flat out told her I fully expect to fail this exam but will sit it out to get a good grasp of what to expect so that I may return with the right mindset.

She sat me down at the test station with the largest monitor and said she saved this one just for me. As the session was green-lighted, I read through the usual User and Confidentiality agreements and agreed to the terms. For one whole hour, I went through the seventy exam questions.

Some I knew of on the off-hand however on a majority, I resorted to science with educated guesses ?. I marked some off for review as a just in case but what good would that do if I had arrived fully unprepared.

I ended the exam with a slight sliver of hope that may be, just may be I some how did the impossible and passed. I failed. I was expecting a score of 150 or below but to my surprise, I scored a 210. The minimum passing score for the exam is 300.

Only 90 points away. Not bad, at least I think it is not bad. I exited the room and engaged with my Proctor per usual. She laughed as I told her “I didn’t do so bad!” and she mentioned that I am probably the only one she has seen wearing a smile with a FAIL printed on the score report.

I needed this failure as it ignited the flame that has lain dormant in my mind, body, and soul. With full motivation, I am now committed to earning this certification along with a few others by the end of the year. In fact, I am sitting for the CompTIA Cloud+ Beta (CV1-003) Exam this Tuesday, I won’t know the results until mid-2021 but I remain confident all the same.

Thank you failure! From your ashes rise the sweet smoke of Success! I don’t have the certification yet but to quote the overly cautious Hero, I will be “ready perfectly” in my endeavors.

Update – December 7th, 2020

Sat the Professional vSphere 6.7 Exam 2019 (2V0-21.19) today and ended up walking away with a PASS! I have to say that Vladan’s and Veeam’s VCP-DCV study guides were both great resources in taking and passing the exam.

At this point in time, I have met two of the three requirements to actually earn the VCP-DCV certification. The only thing that remains now is VMware approved classroom instruction.

Guide: Upgrade/Downgrade Cisco WLC 8500 in an HA-SSO Enabled Pair with Software Mismatch

By

On May 1, 2020

In How to

Has your Cisco 8510 WLC failed in a High-Availaibility configuration and you just received your replacement from RMA? Did you already set it up and are now stuck with the output below due to a software mismatch?

(Cisco Controller) >show redundancy summary
Redundancy Mode = SSO ENABLED
Local State = MAINTENANCE
Peer State = UNKNOWN - Communication Down
Unit = Secondary
Unit ID = 00:00:00:00:00:00
Redundancy State = Non Redundant
Mobility MAC = 00:00:00:00:00:00
Redundancy Port = UP
Maintenance Mode = Enabled
Maintenance cause= Secondary unit has booted without pairing up with peer

Fear not! Follow these steps if you have already enabled HA during the initial setup while under the impression that the new box with a different version will download the code from the primary WLC.

Solution:

Step 1. Disconnect the RP port cable from the controller that you just replaced.

Step 2. Execute the following command: 

config redundancy mode disable

which will prompt you that the system will reboot.

Step 3. Once the controller boots up, you will have to change the management IP of the controller and make it a standalone WLC. To make those changes, execute the following: 

config wlan disable all
config interface address management &lt;IP ADDRESS> &lt;NETMASK> &lt;GATEWAY>
config port adminmode all enable

Step 4. Login to the newly minted standalone controller and upgrade/downgrade the image either through CLI or GUI. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes to flash the controller.

Step 5. Once upgrade/downgrade has completed. Reconnect the RP port cable back to the controller and execute the following command:

config redundancy mode sso

You may be prompted “Mandatory parameters to make redundancy are not configured. Please configure Local and Peer Redundancy Management IP addresses before enabling redundancy.” You know what to do. That is self-explanatory!

Step 6. Profit!

Why I Started a Personal Blog

By

On April 30, 2020

In Life

Hafa Adai! Pronounced “Ha-fuh-day” is a Chamorro greeting that you will hear when you visit Guam or one of it’s sister islands in the Marianas. It is generally used as both a formal and informal greeting something along the lines as “Hello”.

In any case, I am not here to put you through a language lesson and I am in no means qualified to do so. Hehe… I am writing here today to briefly explain why I started a personal website for my professional development. I have five points that I will outline below:

  1. Sharpen my writing skills in a fun way.
  2. Track my personal and professional growth.
  3. Share my travel stories and experiences.
  4. Share some knowledge that I’ve gained over the years on Wi-Fi and Networking.
  5. Help to improve insight and further my understanding of events that come and go.

I’ll share a little tidbit about myself. I am just a man from the beautiful island of Guam living in the mainland United States trying to navigate the complexities of life and the internet. I mean who isn’t? At least I’ll be tracking the crazy from now on. The science behind journaling is no secret and today is officially my first step into this world.

Wish me luck!

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