October | 2014 | Mount Virtual

This might be old news for some, but I recently came across several promotions for free Brocade training and exams for the following certifications (contact information required):

Brocade Certified Ethernet Fabric Professional
Brocade Certified vRouter Engineer
Brocade Accredited Network Advisor Specialist (free training only – no promo for exam)

Brocade has been offering these promotions for the past several months. As of today’s date (Oct 8, 2014) it appears the promos are still good, but I’m not sure how much longer they will last. So hurry and register if these are relevant. They’re quite the deal if you’re a Brocade customer or partner.

A little info on each:

Brocade Certified Ethernet Fabric Professional

For engineers seeking to validate fundamental through advanced level skills on Brocade Ethernet fabric concepts and products. Specifically designed for BCNP, CCNP, and CCIE professionals with field experience.
Web-based training course is Bridge to Ethernet Fabrics for Network Professionals (CEF 250-WBT). I discovered it’s easier to do a search for this instead of following the link in the Quick Start guide.
Certification exam is free using the promo code in the Quick Start guide.

Brocade Certified vRouter Engineer

For those already certified in Ethernet concepts looking to become familiar with the Brocade NFV solution, as well as anyone active in installing, configuring and troubleshooting Brocade Vyatta vRouters.
Web-based training is Bundle for Brocade Certified vRouter Engineer (SDN BCVRE).
Promo includes a 60-day fully functional evaluation of the Vyatta vRouter to get hands-on experience.
Certification exam is free using the promo code in the Quick Start guide.

**Passing the exams for the two certifications above meet the requirements for the Advanced Level Certified Professional Converged Networking Track.

Brocade Accredited Network Advisor Specialist accreditation

For engineers who use Brocade’s Network Advisor to manage their networks.
Web-based training is BNA 150 Brocade Network Advisor Implementation, Migration and Configuration. Another free course is BNA 101 Introduction to Brocade Network Advisor.
Limitations: The accreditation exam is not free (cost: $20) and the offer is only available until October 26, 2014.

In addition to the above free training, Brocade also has plenty of other introductory level web-based training courses offered free of charge. The course catalog can be searched here. For web-based training, just choose “Self-Paced Web-Based (WBT) under the Delivery Type. A “My Brocade Training Login” is required.

Gotta love free training!

The vExpert 2014 Q3 Announcement of inductees was made today. Congratulations to all who were added to the number!

I am super excited to share that I made the vExpert list for 2014! It truly is an honor to join the family of experts, leaders, and evangelists that I’ve looked up to over the years. What an amazing group of individuals who have each given so much to the community. So many of us in this industry are where we are today, much in part to the efforts and contributions of these talented folks. I can’t imagine what the community would be like without their efforts. I personally have benefited tremendously from the knowledge, the guidance, the troubleshooting tips, the study guides, the product updates and announcements, and certainly the personal experiences and opinions these folks have shared. They are leaders and giants.

And thankfully, giving begets giving. Their generosity has encouraged many others to share and offer their own slice of expertise to build what we have today – a vastly mixed community covering all areas of the software defined spectrum. The enthusiasm for this technology is contagious and continues to spread. The number of vExperts continues to grow year after year. And it’s exciting to be part of this!

Again, congratulations to all who joined the family this quarter! I’m honored and humbled to be counted among you.

A special thanks go out to VMware, Corey Romero and the vExpert team, and of course the man who started it all and passed on the torch, John Troyer. Bravo to you guys for YOUR efforts!