SANS course Pre-requisites

cjthedj45

Hi All

I will be attending the SANS GCIH course in London. Has anyone attended and have any feedback on the course. I was hoping to do a load pre-study and then sit the course and take the exam. However things have not gone to plan. Im guessing the course alone probably is not enough to sit the exam straight after. Although I have heard that the SANS training is supposed to be excellent. Looks like they are packing a lot in as well because its a 6 day course and fairly long hours some days.

I have looked at the prerequisites and I thought you needed a pretty good grasp of linux, but these are whats listed as pre-requisites

A strong desire to understand hacker tools and techniques
A foundational understanding of the Windows Command Line
A foundational understanding of core networking concepts such as TCP/IP
A strong desire to understand how key defensive tactics can thwart advanced attackers

I have all the above. My concern was that if a lot of the practical labs were linux then I may get left behind because I dont know the command line.

Can anyone confirm?

Thanks

xxxkaliboyxxx

On the first day there will be a Linux bootcamp after class. You should just read up on the basic Linux commands in Debian (kali). Yes, read up on the fundemental of linux so your not completely lost like the rest of the managers that get pushed into the class from their jobs. I would say about half my class didn't know Linux and were a little lost during lab sessions, doable, but not recommended.

Start off with https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-the-command-line

Then dig deeper. Not a deal breaker, but I would get a virtualized environment going and just install Kali and play around.

cjthedj45

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

On the first day there will be a Linux bootcamp after class. You should just read up on the basic Linux commands in Debian (kali). Yes, read up on the fundemental of linux so your not completely lost like the rest of the managers that get pushed into the class from their jobs. I would say about half my class didn't know Linux and were a little lost during lab sessions, doable, but not recommended.

Start off with https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-the-command-line

Then dig deeper. Not a deal breaker, but I would get a virtualized environment going and just install Kali and play around.

Ah maybe that is why the first day finishes a lot later than the rest. Awesome sounds good. I have had to use a lot of command line for Cisco, but I know Linux is different. Come to think it of I had to login to the back end of Cisco IPS which was Linux to disable a version of SSH Lol! Thanks for the advice I will have about 2 weeks to do some study prior to the course

NetworkNewb

It might be a little helpful to go over those command lines. I found you pretty much learn everything you need to use though.

Like Kaliboy said, there is a short Linux session after the first day. I believe I stuck around for that, goes over the basics. The Codeacademy link Kaliboy showed would probably cover more than enough for the class.

cyberguypr

The only real pre-requisite for SANS classes in $5-6k

Having said that, at least be sure you have basic understanding of key concepts. I am no Linux master but was able to follow with no problem. In my SEC 504 class we had a "network administrator" who had no idea what a layer 3 switch was. He struggled with everything from basic network stuff like ARP and DNS poisoning to both Windows and Linux basic commands. This guy held the whole class back at the beginning but luckily the instructor did a great job defusing that. Otherwise it would've been painful.

I also have a coworker who signed up for whatever the GREM class is a few years ago. He had zero background in this area. He basically sat through the course and tuned out after the first hour of the first day. SANS is very good at moving you to another class if you think you are out of your league, so always keep that in mind as a last resort.

JasminLandry

cyberguypr wrote: »

The only real pre-requisite for SANS classes in $5-6k

Or 7640.27$ CAD... I could buy a used car or go to Cuba 7-8 times with that money!

SteveLavoie

and at 7640$, you still have to pay for hotel, food, transport. So you can easily add 2000$ depending on location. 10K$ for a single training week.. it is an awful amount of money.

cyberguypr

I am at some other training right now and my colleagues and I were discussing the food issue. We paid $3k each for this training and they provide us hot breakfast, good lunches, and a wide assortment of drinks/snacks available all day long. I think SANS needs to step up their game at least provide decent lunch. When I go to their events I find myself stuck with overpriced hotel food because venturing out of the hotel could take a while.

supasecuritybro

To be honest, their fees keep going up as the demand grows. Its to help reduce the overflow of people showing up. A friend of mine says that its really to just get the businesses to pay for these training events. Rough.

TechGromit

cjthedj45 wrote: »

Can anyone confirm?

The only SANS course Pre-requisite I'm aware of is MONEY at $6,000 a course, it's pretty much the most expensive courses in the marketplace.