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LeisureSuitLarry · June 2015

I'm interested in the JNCIA-IDP cert, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of prep materials for it. There's a three day course for $2500

which is a big fat no. I found some websites that seem questionable that offer prep software (looks like just practice tests) in the $100-$150 range. Other than that, can't find any books or documentation (aside from the minimal documentation on Juniper's site).

Does anyone know where to get inexpensive prep materials for this cert? Does a book even exist?

zoidberg · June 2015

I need to ask..... why? Do you work with the Netscreen IDP appliances? If not, it may not be the best use of your time to study up on them. The remaining devices from that product line were all announced as End of Life in mid-2013, and went End of Sale at the end of 2013. There is still support for these devices for the next few years, but it's scaling down. I'd expect many companies may have already replaced these devices, and if not, will be doing so in the near future.

If you do work with these, then you should have a good base to start with and you may not need to study too much. You could use the technical documents from juniper.net to brush up on the exam topics. I think you can even order the student guide for that class, but it would likely cost several hundred dollars.

If you haven't done Juniper exams before, this should be pretty entry level. Generally, the JNCIA exams are very high-level. An understanding of what an exam topic is, and maybe 1 or 2 commands on how to configure or verify it. Usually optional configuration steps for the features are not covered.

This is completely made up here, and I haven't done some of these exams in ages, but if memory serves me right these 3 questions may help you understand the possible level of difficulty for each certification level. If I'm way off base with the difficulty of the current exams I'm sure the people here will reply with better examples.

JNCIA: Where would you configure a new BGP neighbor?
JNCIS: What is the default hold time for a BGP peer?
JNCIP: If Router A is configured with a BGP hold time of 30s, and Router B is configured with a hold time of 60s, what will be the keepalive interval used by Router B?

And ya, sorry these are not IDP questions. It's just want popped into my head.

zoidberg · June 2015

Now, if you don't work with the Netscreen IDP devices, but you still want to learn about Juniper IDP solutions, you need to look into the SRX product line and JNCIx-SEC certification track.

There are some resources to help you out there. You could start with the FastTrack program to get free study resources, and I believe you can still get vouchers to take the exam at a discount or maybe even free. The FastTrack will help you get the JNCIA-Junos and JNCIS-SEC. The JNCIS-SEC will cover UTM (Unified Threat Management) features, such as web filtering, antivirus, anti spam.

https://www.juniper.net/us/en/training/fasttrack/

Unfortunately, the true IPS functionality of the SRX is not covered until you dive into the JNCIP-SEC material, which means it is not available for free via the FastTrack program. There is a 2-day course for the IPS features, but like the IDP one you found, it will be pricey. You could order the student material, but again that would be a couple hundred. Fortunately though, there are 2 very good books on the SRX platform from O’Reilly that are reasonably priced; Junos Security and Juniper SRX Series. Both of these go into IPS, as well as all the other functionality of the SRX platform.

Hope this helps!

LeisureSuitLarry · June 2015

The JNCIA-IDP was suggested to me by someone as a means to show I'm familiar with a particular IDS. I suppose if it's not being used much anymore then it really wouldn't be worthwhile.

zoidberg · June 2015

Ya, unless you use those particular devices from Juniper or have a prospective job opportunity with a company that does, it wouldn't be too worthwhile.

Definitely check out the other exams and training resources from Juniper though. The study material from the FastTrack program is great and will give you some solid training in routing, switching, and security. You can also get vouchers for 50% exam discounts. Sweet deal.

LeisureSuitLarry · June 2015

I was planning on trying for Cisco CCNA security. Would it be better to go with one of the Juniper tracks for job prospects? I'm unemployed now so I can't spend a ton of money on a myriad of certs. I just need to pick a couple that will help the most.

zoidberg · June 2015

Sorry, I don't know what the current job market is like to give you advice one way or the other. Juniper has plenty of free resources and discounted exams, but Cisco does have some powerful brand recognition.

If you were targeting jobs in Service Provider networks, I would say Juniper all the way. But, as much as I hate to say this, if you're looking at small to medium businesses, Cisco may be the better route to start.

Either way, you're going to learn some valuable skills. In the end, the technology is the same (ya, broad generalization) and it's mainly the commands that are different. Even if you learn networking and security via the Cisco route, you're still going to have valuable knowledge and experience that can transfer over to working with Juniper, or ALU, or PAN, or Fort, etc (albeit a different CLIs and GUIs).

LeisureSuitLarry · June 2015

Thanks for all the info. I decided to focus on the Cisco CCENT for now and then reevaluate once I'm finished. I may go with the JNCIA-Junos/JNCIS-SEC track eventually. The 50% discount is attractive, especially since there don't seem to be any discounts for Cisco certs.

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