CCNP R&S - where to go from here? ASA skills? CCNA Security?

I passed CCNP Route/Switch back in June. I love routing and have been pretty good with it in practice in my career. My current contract is about to come to an end, and many of the new jobs I'm seeing have Cisco ASA experience as a requirement along with routing/switching. I'd like to be able to add ASA skills to my resume.

I wish I could do the Cisco ASA Specialist cert or the CCNP Security without the prerequisites. The CCNA: Security book's first few chapters are absolutely boring me to death, and I'm not sure if I will be get much value out of the certification, as it seems it just barely scratches the surface on ASA's anyway...
Do you guys think CCNA: Security would be valuable to someone with CCNP: R&S, and wants to continue on that track?

I would definitely like to pursue CCIE: R&S in the future, but I want to hold onto my CCNP for at least a year first, and then consider studying CCIE after they update the test.

Does anyone have ideas on a certification to learn and prove ASA knowledge without going through the entire CCNA/CCNP SECURITY track? I had also considered doing JNCIA because I enjoyed working with Junos a few years back. I also considered a wireshark certification, because I love the tool, but I wasn't sure there would be much value in that either..

Any suggestions or similar experiences would be really helpful!

Thanks!

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networker050184

Why not just learn the ASA without worrying about getting certified? Everything I know about ASAs I've learned from using them and reading Cisco docs.

crrimson

I was able to get an ASA image running on GNS3, and I do have a Cisco ASA book, so I can do that, but I would prefer to have something to back up my claims to an employer!

networker050184

I wouldn't advise getting certified in anything you don't have experience with. If you must I guess CCNP Sec is the only way to go.

Legacy User

Well the first few chapters go over the fundamentals. You could speed up the process and watch videos i.e. Cbtnuggets, Trainsignal, chris bryant series videos. I personally liked trainsignal(pluralsight) even though it didn't go as deep as cbtnuggets but it was good for a nice overview and went deep enough to explain everything you needed to know for the exam. The cbtnugget series has you build a security topology from the ground up its good if you don't have much experience implementing those technologies. Since you have your ccnp I doubt the ccna security would be a difficult exam for you. Good luck!

crrimson

dmarcisco, I will likely keep studying it since I have the time, thanks for the reviews of the videos. Generally speaking, what was the exam like? I mean, should I expect to see questions over the first few chapters like "What is the Security Life Cycle"?, or should I expect mostly technical questions like the CCNA/CCNP route/switch exams?

Legacy User

Think of it more of a a ccent exam then a ccna level exam. If you took icnd1 as a separate exam you would know what I'm talking about.

instant000

crrimson wrote: »

Do you guys think CCNA: Security would be valuable to someone with CCNP: R&S, and wants to continue on that track?

I feel that the CCNA:Security covers a lot of the basics of router and switch security, if you're looking for that.

I would definitely like to pursue CCIE: R&S in the future, but I want to hold onto my CCNP for at least a year first, and then consider studying CCIE after they update the test.

v5 is already coming out. Just start studying for it now.

Does anyone have ideas on a certification to learn and prove ASA knowledge without going through the entire CCNA/CCNP SECURITY track?

Nope.

Any suggestions or similar experiences would be really helpful!

Hrm. If your core experience has been in routing, then the routing and switching track would be good for enterprise, or the service provider track would be good for ISP.

I feel that you could potentially dilute your strength in routing, if you backtrack into something that you have no experience in.

You did mention Wireshark, and I wouldn't say to get a cert in it, but I would recommend being familar with reading packet captures, because it can help you get to the bottom of things.

fredrikjj

It's my understanding that you can still take a P-level exam without the CCNA prerequisite, but you won't become officially certified until you get the CCNA (or any CCIE). So basically, if you are more motivated to study if there's a certification on the line, you could just study for the Firewall exam, pass it, and then go from there.

crrimson

instant000: I just discovered yesterday that CCIE v5 was officially announced a few days ago. I will probably let the dust settle on it, but have it in mind for future.

I really enjoy scripting and hacking, learning to break networks and how to secure them, so security falls within my interests although maybe not my career's interests. I guess CCNA: Sec really doesn't get me the ASA knowledge certification I was hoping for. I have always loved digging into packet captures, and improving my TCP/IP analysis could probably help lay some foundation for CCIE TCP/IP knowledge at some point.

fredrikjj: This is an interesting approach, I hadn't considered that. I may have to look into it.

So many choices, so much good feedback in this thread, I appreciate all of it.

gorebrush

fredrikjj wrote: »

It's my understanding that you can still take a P-level exam without the CCNA prerequisite, but you won't become officially certified until you get the CCNA (or any CCIE). So basically, if you are more motivated to study if there's a certification on the line, you could just study for the Firewall exam, pass it, and then go from there.

This is absolutely correct. A colleague of mine recently did the CCDP exam and passed in order to refresh all his other 642-xxx level exams (CCNP). He actually isn't certified as a CCDP until he passes the CCDA though.

crrimson

OK, this may be the way to go then. That is a nice benefit that I will refresh my CCNP R&S, and was part of the reason I had considered going this route instead of a non-Cisco exam.

gorebrush wrote: »

This is absolutely correct. A colleague of mine recently did the CCDP exam and passed in order to refresh all his other 642-xxx level exams (CCNP). He actually isn't certified as a CCDP until he passes the CCDA though.