I can imagine that is how I looked when I got my “new” Juniper SRX from (insert favorite auction site) and booted it the first time.  All ready to play with my new toy – lab some new ideas – and boom, it has a password on it already.  Grrrr…. Since I had to recover the root password, figured I would post the procedure here in case others are looking for it.  Not only in case others are looking for it, the next time that I need it as well! 🙂 So the first thing we need to do here is to make sure the device is powered off and we have a console cable connected to it.  I will assume you know how to use your terminal program and access the console already for this post otherwise I suspect you would not be here. Now that you are connected we can go ahead and power the SRX on and watch it boot.   In order to boot the system into single user mode, we need to press the space bar when prompted. It will be right at this point in the boot process – right when you see _Hit [Enter} to boot immediately, or space bar for command prompt.  _Here you need to press the SPACE BAR quick to interrupt the boot process.

FreeBSD/MIPS U-Boot bootstrap loader, Revision 2.5
(slt-builder@slt-junos15.juniper.net, Tue Apr 2 12:36:46 PDT 2013)
Memory: 2048MB
[0]Booting from nand-flash slice 1
Un-Protected 1 sectors
writing to flash…
Protected 1 sectors
Loading /boot/defaults/loader.conf
/kernel data=0xb99284+0x13c8b4 syms=[0x4+0x91b00+0x4+0xd5dfb]

A few days ago I received an email from Juniper that Junos Genius had been relaunched.  If you have never used the old version, no worries as I rarely used it as well.  With the new version, you have to setup a new account anyway.  This re-launch however, looks a bit more interesting as it is more geared towards online classes and training and education.  In fact, you can actually purchase real courseware (very limited at launch) on this site and attend a “virtual presentation” of the material. There are two variants of Junos Genius available.  One is free and comes with limited content, the other is subscription based and has some additional content. You can access the new Junos Genius at www.junosgenius.net. Besides just the web interface, you can also get an iOS (iPad and iPhone) and Android app to help you learn wherever or whenever you want. [slideshow_deploy id=’4993′] The Free version grants you access to some practice tests (JNCIA-Junos, JNCIS-ENT, and JNCIS-SP), over 80 learning bytes (short and concise video tips), and hardware overview and deployment courses. While the content is still limited, it is a nice start and looks to have a promising future. [slideshow_deploy id=’4968′] I took a brief look at the free practice tests and was pleasantly surprised.  There were 65 questions in total that reflected what one will find on the actual test. They were presented in a similar way to the actual test and do test your knowledge (I got a bunch of Binary questions, yech!). If you are planning to take any one of those tests soon, the free version can help you gauge yourself on the material that is tested. I also took a look at one of the free Learning Bytes, _Route Sharing on Junos Devices Using RIB Groups._  It can be a complicated to understand at first and is one that many have a problem with. I was impressed to see it as one of the free Learning Bytes.  I won’t go into detail as to what it is, I will save that for to watch and learn on Junos Genius (or perhaps a future blog post).  It was nice to see it there – it can be a tough one for people to grasp. The subscription model is available in 6-month and 12-month options currently priced at $200 and $250 respectively.  The subscription provides you with an additional 80+ Learning Bytes (160+ in total) and additional JNCP practice tests (JNCIS-SEC, JNCIS-SDNA, JNCIP-ENT, JNCIP-SP, JNCIP-SEC, and JNCIP-DC). There are plenty of free preview videos for the paid courses, so you don’t have to go blindly to see what is available.  They play the first few minutes of the video for you to see what they cover.  From looking around, it is easily worth the $250/yr for the content if you want to learn new Juniper skills. [slideshow_deploy id=’4969′] Also, if you are planning to take any one of the mentioned JNCIS ($300/test) or JNCIP ($400/test) tests, spending the $200 or $250 for this subscription is not a bad option to help ensure you are ready.  While they won’t guarantee a pass, the tests should help you gauge your level of competence and readiness for the test. Lastly, there are some actual courses that you can purchase on Junos Genius.  These are separate from the Plus subscription, these are actual classroom type courses.  Currently, they offer:

1. Introduction to the Junos Operating System (IJOS)
2. Junos Intermediate Routing (JIR)
3. Junos MPLS Fundamentals (JMF)

[slideshow_deploy id=’4971′]
 
All these courses are the full courseware you would get if you attended in-person training and you also do get access to the labs remotely for the course.  The prices for these courses is $5 more than attending an instructor-led course of the same title. One other important item to be aware of is that you only get access to the courseware for 30 days and 20 hours of lab access.  You do not get any physical books, everything is delivered via the Junos Genius portal.
In my opinion that is very odd – the price is actually $5 more for the recorded content for some reason.  The 30-day limitation on course access and 20 hours of lab access seems a bit light to me as well.  I hope they consider extending the access to at least 120 days and increase the lab time to 40 hours.  I also do not know how they course books are delivered; are they secured PDF; are you able to also order them if you want? I do not know the answers and if I find out I will be sure to update the post.
Overall though, if you want to learn Juniper or increase your Juniper skills, I would be sure to go and sign up for Junos Genius and kick the tires. I would focus on the free courses if you are starting out, and subscription if you are going for JNCIP level certifications and knowledge.
Update Sept 2017 – Juniper reached out to me on the price difference. The list price of Juniper classes is $2400.  There is a training partner that discounts their classes by $5 and that is why we see the price difference.  
 
 
 
 

Late last month (wow, has it been that long already?!) I had the honor of attending Tech Field Day Extra at Cisco Live 2017, as well as recording an episode of Network Collective. For Tech Field Day Extra, we had OpenGear (Love their stuff), Paessler (PRTG), and NetApp present to us and share their latest solutions. I am working on getting some posts up around these vendors, but work, travel, and an upcoming vacation have taken some priority (need to pay the bills and Happy Wife, Happy Life!). I just wanted to take a moment and share those recordings in case you may have missed them when Tech Field Day shared them. You can find much more recordings over at Tech Field Day as well. First up – Tech Field Day Extra: **OpenGear with Marcio Saito and Rob Waldie:** OpenGear Introduction:

It has been a few weeks since Geek Summer Camp has ended, oh how I miss seeing everyone.  Now that I have somewhat recovered from the whirlwind adventure, I figured it was time to put my thoughts into html. It was great to see everyone again – and see how much many of them have grown professionally over the past year. As you can see from the image at the top of this article, there is an amazing group that makes Cisco Live what it is.  It is not the education, not the vendors in World of Solutions, not even the keynotes – but the people you meet.  This group goes beyond just other attendees, there are people from the vendors (Cisco and others) that are great to see and catch up with.  Granted we all keep in touch primarily via Social Media (twitter, facebook, etc), but nothing beats a face-to-face talk.

This is an update to my original post that can be found here: LINK I just received an e-mail (below) in regards to the CCIE/CCDE NetVet reception that was originally scheduled for Wednesday, June 29th.  Per the e-mail, the reception is now scheduled for **Thursday, June 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m**.  Below is the context of the e-mail in case you miss it or have not registered. This event is invite-only and only available to CCIE/CCDE NetVet attendees. In case you are wondering what a NetVet it, it is a person who has attended at least three previous Cisco Live conferences in the last five years (making CLUS 2017 your fourth event attended in that timeline). E-mail image is below:

Cisco Live is just a few days away and I wanted to blog about the Pearson Vue testing center location.  I waited a few days to release this post until I was able to confirm with Cisco Live Support my suspicions on the location. In the past, the testing center has been located in the lower levels of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, but this year we see a departure from that routine.  If you review the Cisco Live Certifications Page (Link Here), you will notice that one section mentions that the_** testing center is located over at the MGM Grand Hotel.**_ Yes, the testing center is at a different hotel this year.

Cisco Live is just a few days away and I figured it was a good time for a Know Before You go type post. Here are some important things to know before you go:

• Know the Wireless info!
  Wireless SSID: #CLUS
  Protocol: WPA2 – personal
  Passcode: @ciscolive

• It’s going to be HOT HOT HOT.
  Pack accordingly, but also don’t forget that we will be inside for most of the conference. This also means drink lots of water!
  Here is a 14-day forecast for Las Vegas taken from Time and Date.  To sum it up, we are looking at high temperatures over 100**°** F / 37**°** C every day.

• Know the bus schedule!Here is a link to the bus schedules and their pickup/dropoff locations.

It amazes me that in just a few more weeks it will be time for Cisco Live 2017 to begin in Las Vegas, NV.  If you are a CCIE / CCDE, you know that one of the highlights for us is the CCIE Party.  Some of the places that they have had the party at have been amazing – that beach in San Diego was just amazing! I have not heard any solid information as of today (6/11) about the location of the part, just that there will be a party on the standard Tuesday evening.  So if you are still making plans for the week, just remember to keep Tuesday night open for this. **———————– UPDATE 6/14/17 ———————– ** I just received my CCIE Party invite in my e-mail and have heard others have as well.  It is confirmed that the party is on Tuesday, 6/27 from 7 PM to 10 PM.  Shuttles will be picking us up at the Shark’s Reef Entrance (same place as last year) and taking us over to where the party is.  Return shuttles will run to Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Cosmopolitan. To enter the party you will need your Cisco Live Badge and proper government-issued photo ID for entry. So if you bring a guest (one guest per person allowed), make sure they have their badge and their ID. See you at the party! ————————– END UPDATE ————————–

This morning while looking at new blog posts I came across one that grabbed me.  For forever and a day the Cisco CCIE recertification policy was that you are required to take a CCIE/CCDE level written exam every two years to stay active.  Well, reading Daniel’s blog over at LostInTransit, it seems that has finally changed. Seems today (6/6/17) Cisco has updated their recertification policy to also include a Continuing Education Program where you earn credits that will count towards recertification. This brings their recertification policy in line with other certification tracks (CISSP, CISA, ISC2, etc.). Reading the Cisco Continuing Education Program site, it seems that the program is based on three principles – Flexibility, Diversity, and Integrity.  Flexibility means that there are now additionals ways for CCIE/CCDE to recertify besides the written exams.  Diversity is by allowing individuals to take approved courses and training, as well as Cisco Live offerings.  Integrity is based on having Cisco authorized providers to validate the class and credits that a person takes. Here is a bulleted list of the information that I have been able to find: