GlobalConfig.net » News

Good Intentions

Brandon Carroll — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:52:05 +0000

I had good intentions last week of posting to the blog each day. As you well know, that didn’t happen. Why? Because I was busy. There was so much going on at Cisco Live that it was hard to even find time to breathe. Sunday was pretty light. I registered and trolled around with @danedevalcourt. Monday I presented a 4 hour session on Cisco ASA’s. That was a lot of fun, but after presenting a 2 hour session last year I learned quickly that it was very difficult to cover everything I needed/wanted to cover in the time I had. Add to the fact that people had very specific ideas of what they wanted to hear about and you have a very difficult session. Still, it was a ton of fun. I got to hang out with Ascolta student Teren and his wife for some great Scotch and went to a Data Center party at the Mix on the 64th floor at Mandalay Bay with Co-Worker, Geoff Tompson.

Tuesday evening I went to the Cisco Press Party and CCIE party. Both were very good. I had a great time mingling with Jeremy Cioara and Wendel Odom. I also spent some time with Narbik Kocharians and of course, “The Gang” (Jeff, James, Dane, Chris, Bryan). I also spent some time with the IPexpert gang, Marvin Greenlee from INE, and Scott Morris.

Unfortunately I missed the CAE and headed back to Sunny Seattle to help my wife out. I’ve been packing my house in preparation for my move to Irvine, Ca. Tomorrow we load the trunk and Thursday we start the drive.

On a high note, I had the pleasure of joining Greg Ferro and his World Class team of guys on Packet Pushers for their 10th episode. Really loving the show and had a blast. Would be honored to be on another in the future.

Well for now that’s about it. I’ll be back with more news and an update on my R&S studies in about a week once the move is over. Ill also post a little more on my new life back at Ascolta.

Until then…Happy Labbing.

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Cleaning Up.

Brandon Carroll — Sat, 29 May 2010 19:35:45 +0000

Some of you may have noticed that there is a new theme in use here. I don’t know if it’s going to stay but it’s there for now. I’m trying to simplify things a bit and I think this is a start. Besides, I was tired of the old look.

Anyhow, I should add a new banner soon. If anyone has suggestions let me know. Also I am aware that the form on the left is non-functional. It will be soon so bear with me.

Thanks!

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Changes Again

Brandon Carroll — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:48:10 +0000

Well it’s again been some time since I posted. Most of you are already aware, but if you arent, I am no longer with IPexpert. I’m not going to talk about the reasons or the state of the company. It’s not my place to do that. I was paid to do a job there and that has ended. So, the question is….What now?

Simple- I’m headed home. Yep- thats right, I’m returning to Ascolta where I had been an Instructor for the past 8 years. Ascolta is a great company to work for and I view the people there as family. On the professional side of things here are my tentative plans:

Finish the CCIE R&S- not sure how long that will take, but it’s the next major cert. I’m even going to do some blog posts on the CCIE 360 since I personally want to know why people complain about it.

Start teaching the CCNA Wireless class again and work into the CCNP wireless. If all goes well I’ll attempt the CCIE wireless after the CCIE R&S. I think a 3-time CCIE is good enough for me.

I plan on focusing on supporting the Cisco Learning Network much more- since I’m a Cisco Certified Instructor it’s only natural that I support it as much as possible.

Tweet, Blog, Facebook.

I also plan to pick up the Wireless blog again over at Network World

There are obviously more things on my someday-maybe list but thats the immediate to near future goals for me. Well, that is until I talk to the boss.

But until then Ill see you all on CLN and Twitter, and Facebook. Happy Labbing!

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How do you feel about the CCIE Program?

Brandon Carroll — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:03:46 +0000

Well Cisco officially removed the OEQs from R&S and Voice tracks as of May 10th.

I guess this leaves the people that bought the 360 to get the OEQ waiver in a bad place.

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My Take on The OEQ Drama

Brandon Carroll — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:37:59 +0000

I wanted to post my take on things only because I want to start tomorrow with nothing else to say and only great things for me to develop and deliver. If you are involved in the CCIE training space you likely know the announcement that was made by Cisco. If not you can read up on it over on the Cisco Learning Network.

Since the announcement I’ve posted once on GroupStudy and retweeted a few peoples comments. Otherwise I’ve sat back and taken in all the comments. Here is what I see from sitting back and mostly watching:

According to a LinkedIN status, the announcement was REALLY exciting news for Brad Ellis and CCBootcamp. NetMasterClass also tweeted that they were excited about and upcoming announcement but havent posted anything since.

After the announcement there was a TON of negative feedback that apparently Brad at CCBootcamp didn’t think it was real so Brads Status on Linked in read “Lots of hotmail and gmail users complaining about the new OEQ Waiver! LOL.” I think he is inferring that those who post on Groupstudy are fake email addresses created by other vendors to anonymously fuel the fire. While I personally feel that Groupstudy is a waste of time because of the off topic conversations, I do believe that there are MANY legitimate users of the list that would like their opinion to be heard when it actually relates to the CCIE exam. In the end I dont think this announcement had the effect that Brad had hoped for. In fact, check out the post on the Cisco Learning Network. Not too good of a response if you ask me. There is also a post under the 360 program pages that is similar in its negative response.

Also, Narbik Kocharians, a Cisco 360 vendor, related his thoughts when he publicly stated on Groupstudy: “No i don’t think its a good idea, but what can we do?”

I can understand what Cisco is doing and Scott Morris had a nice post on Groupstudy that related the business aspect of the decision. I have to agree with him and his thoughts on the matter.

The IPexpert blog, the first CCIE Vendor that I know of to address the situation, related their thoughts in an post by President and Founder, Wayne Lawson.

In the end I dont believe this makes any different for a CCIE candidate. Those that use a non-360 vendor can rest assured that whichever vendor you do choose will provide you with what you need to succeed (of course I may be a bit biased in which vendor I would choose). The CCIE space is a small and competitive market which is what drives vendors to develop aggressively. We know that you, as the customer, have the final say in what you want and what you purchase.

Anyhow,I’m over this situation. I am developing new material on an aggressive schedule that is designed to benefit you as a student. I do care about whether you pass or not because I know the value of the certification. Dont forget that while I’ve been an instructor for 9 years up until last year I was also a CCIE Student. Don’t let this marketing ploy sway your decision to pursue the certification whatever your choice may be in learning.

By the way, for those of you that are not aware, IPexpert has revamped the web site once again and there are a number of hidden treats in there.

Enough said about that. Back to work people!

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Bad Blogger!

Brandon Carroll — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:46:40 +0000

Sorry for the inconsistent posts as of late. There is no doubt that I am super busy since moving to IPexpert. Recently I have been working on the Volume 1 Video Solutions as well as the Audio Bootcamp for CCIE Security. It’s a ton of fun but consumes almost every free minute. I’m almost done and will be back soon. Until then you can find some other Cisco related posts at http://blog.ipexpert.com
.

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Is your weekend going to Rock?

Brandon Carroll — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:22:02 +0000

Mine is! I have the opportunity to take a really quick trip to San Jose and meet my new Boss and fellow instructors. I am really looking forward to it! 2010 is going to be a great year!

In other news….I have 1 class left at Ascolta- SNAA, which is advanced ASA training. A week of VPN with certificates lies ahead of me.

Also 2 for 1 vRack time this weekend at ipexpert. If you didnt catch their post on Facebook you can Email sales@proctorlabs.com to take advantage!

Time for me to hop on an R&S rack and lab a bit.

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Change in Venue

Brandon Carroll — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:13:46 +0000

As many of you have already heard I have accepted a position with Industry renowned IPexpert. I have had many good years working for Ascolta training and I thank them for all that they have supported me in over the years. They are some of the finest people I have ever met.

I will be finishing up my teaching schedule over the next few weeks at Ascolta but will be more active in the Online Study List for Security and R&S, as well as here on the blog.

As I look forward into 2010 I am excited to see the wonderful changes that will come about. I believe that 2010 is really going to rock.

Stay tuned for posts here related to my new task…CCIE R&S and CCIE Voice.

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Changes to GlobalConfig.net

Brandon Carroll — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:32:09 +0000

I want to take a minute to address the over 450 subscribers here at GlobalConfig.net. Over a year ago when I started blogging I was primarily about my CCIE Studies. Now that I have passed the CCIE Security I am on to the R&S and Voice, kinda at the same time. With that, work, and family it’s been difficult to bring you fresh, useful content. That’s all about to change.

Here are the changes to the blog that I believe will make it a better resource for you:

The Domain Changed to http://www.ascoltablogs.com. The old URL will still work- but it’s not the primary domain name for the Blog anymore. If you have a bookmark you may want to change it.
As you can tell my the new URL, the blog is taking on the name of the company that I have worked for over the last 8 years- Ascolta. If you don’t know Ascolta you can certainly check them out at http://www.ascolta.com/. Ascolta is a Cisco Learning Solutions Provider and has been in the business for a long time. We have a great pool of Certified Instructors that have a wealth of information to share. Over the next few weeks they will be sharing content with you, writing new tutorials, and giving advice on Cisco Certifications.
A new Blogger has been Added. His name is Patrick Geschwindner and I’ll leave his first post to introduce himself to you.
Also, watch for new specials on Cisco training to pop up from time to time that can only be found here on the blog, on twitter or facebook.

These are just a few of the new and exciting changes here at Ascoltablogs.com (formerly Globalconfig.net). We look forward to interacting with you as a team from here on out!

Brandon Carroll, CCIE# 23837 | Senior Technical Instructor |

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New GlobalConfig.net eNewsletter Information

Brandon Carroll — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:45:39 +0000

For a few days now I have been running a lightbox pop-up for those who have just visited my site. The popup asks you to sign up for my eNewsletter. I never really explained it, so here it is:

The Campaign will only run until may 15th.
After May 15th the eNewsletter popup will no longer appear.
Those that sign up for the eNewsletter will be enrolled in a drawing for a free signed copy of my Cisco Press book, CCNA Wireless Official Exam Certification Guide. (Drawing on June 1st)
You will receive a monthly newsletter filled with tips and tricks to help in your certification program.
You will get a special, “sneak peek,” of an upcoming publication soon to be released.

The Newsletter will cover tips for CCNA to CCIE level topics and will be sent once a month. The content in the newsletter will not be the same content you find here on the blog.

Well thats about it. If you missed the popup and wish to subscribe you can use the form on this page.

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