Pavel Stefanov’s Blog

As things have finally settled for me in Glasgow, I get some time to write a few words about Juniper Networks Technical Certification Program.

Juniper used to offer 100% off vouchers for five of their certifications until November, 30th and recently reverted back to 50% off. This was and is still a good opportunity to take advantage of this offer because that can save you a lot of money and increase your value in the job market if you’ve had any previous experience with this vendor. One of the main reasons I decided to put off my CCIE SP preparation for a few months was that I want to be able to work in a multi-vendor rather than just a pure Cisco environment. Networks are very diverse nowadays and it is common to see equipment from multiple vendors in the IT infrastructure as every vendor has its strengths and weaknesses. I usually laugh when someone says “Cisco is the best and I only like and work with their equipment” or “Juniper is to rule them all”. The interaction between vendors is very important and this is what I am hoping to experience and get a grip on in the next couple of months.

The certifications that are offered at a discounted price in the Fast Track program include:

• JNCIA-JUNOS & JNCIS-SEC (security)
• JNCIA-ER & JNCIS-ER (enterprise routing)
• JNCIA-EX (enterprise switching)

First, you need to pass a free online pre-assessment exam (can be taken as many times as you want) in order to receive the voucher. The materials that are provided in the Fast Track programme, which include pdf docs, videos, and lab exercises, are sufficient if your only goal is to pass the pre-assessment and live exams.  However, if you really want to be able to work with this equipment and understand how JunOS works, then you need a lot of practice. Like Dynamips for IOS, Olive is the  best choice if you don’t have access to real Juniper boxes.  Although Dynamips and Olive are not officially allowed by Cisco’s and Juniper’s policies, respectively, it is common knowledge that a lot of people use them and are widely available. All you have to do is do a few searches in Google and you will find what you need (for example, here is a good guide for creating an Olive).

JNCIA-ER & JNCIA-EX

These exams are fairly easy and straight-forward, but keep in mind that Juniper certifications are very much vendor-oriented. You will normally not’t find as much questions about technology as you would in Cisco exams.

JNCIA-JUNOS

This is the first IT exam that I have failed. With a score of 81! Embarrassing, huh? :) The passing score is 85%, which is pretty high for an exam with 85 questions for 90 minutes! To be honest, I didn’t really study much for this exam  (less than 3 hours) as I had already passed IA-ER/EX, which are valid prerequisites for JNCIS-SEC, and went just for fun :) Well, as it turned out this failure motivated me even more and although I was not really planning on taking the IS exams, this turn of events completely changed my mind.

JNCIS-SEC/ER

These exams might look difficult to some, but are not really such if you have studied hard. Be prepared to deal with lots of Juniper implementation specific stuff and play word games. I have to admit saying “This  exam is an absolute joke” after taking the JNCIS-ER as there were some ridiculous questions that tested my memorization of command syntax rather than my knowledge.

At last, I can easily say that you are not going to acquire much knowledge about technology as these exams are pretty much vendor-oriented for the most part. But if you really want become familiar with Juniper equipment, these certifications are a good way to push yourself and explore JunOS.