Which way to go?

[rethelion]

Hi everyone,

a few months ago a Netapp FAS2040 was implemented in our company.

As I had no experiences with Netapp products and Ontap, I started to exploring the Fas2040 with the help of the documentation and I can say that I now can handle the basic features of our Netapp.

But I wanted to learn more about it and installed the Ontap-simulator in order to play around with Ontap without harming our production area. I also watched the Data Ontap 7G Fundamentals Course in the University which was very informative.

Now I thought about getting myself certified with NCDA, but I don't now if I should take the NS0-153 and NS0-163 for Ontap7 or the NS0-154 for Ontap8. The FAS2040 in our company is running Ontap7.3, so it would perhaps be the best to also take the courses for Ontap7?

Which way would you suggest for me to go?

Don't misunderstand me, I don't think that I'm ready for one of those exams, but I want to set the right goal for the future.

Thank you very much in forward!

[BrendonHiggins]

Welcome to the community

We run both DoT 7 and 8 here but I would recommend the NCDA 7 course as it is most relivent to you.  The DoT 8 road map is still shifting around a lot, so what you learn may not be correct for tomorrow, so the DoT 8 course is not as 'future proof' as it first sounds.  DoT 8 is built on the 7.3 code so what you learn in 7.3 will still work in the next versions of DoT 8.

Hope this helps.

Bren

PS - Loads of good threads on this site for help with 153 & 163 and I have not seen much for 154.

[ekashpureff]

Of the two boot camps we teach (7 v 8-7mode) I think there's more material in our our NCDA 7 course. The 8/7mode course seems to have been trimmed down, and geared towards passing the 154 test. I prefer teaching the 7 version of the course with more material in it.

See also: The previous threads on exams, where I encourage folks to study the documentation, and run the a lot for practice. It sounds like you're already on the right track !

At your service,

Eugene Kashpureff

[rethelion]

Thank you very much for your answers!

Regarding what you wrote I think the NCDA7 will be the best for me. I can still later catch up the Ontap8 stuff.

What course would you suggest me to take?

I'm allready doing the "Fundamentals & High Availability" web based training and will also work my way trough the documentations with the simulator.

So would this knowledge be enough to visit the "Accelerated NCDA Boot Camp" or should I first take the DOTF(Instructor led)?

And does the boot camp also include the content of the seperate CIFS-course?

I'll also have to look if and how much my company is willing to pay for me

[ekashpureff]

It sounds like you've already been doing the study work on your own to cover DOTF, you'd probably do well taking the advanced boot camp.

The advanced boot camp includes NFS, CIFS, SAN, and Data Protection. I throw in extra coverage of Metrocluster when I teach it.

You can find course descriptions and schedules at http://www.fastlaneus.com/ .

I'm currently scheduled to teach the ANCDA class the week of 11/29 in Atlanta, and again 12/6 in Sunnyvale. I'd love to see you in class !

Check to see if your company has NetApp training credits ? They're often included with a sale, and then forgotten about.

At your service,

Eugene Kashpureff

[rethelion]

I would also love to attend to your class, but Atlanta is a bit too far away from here. I'm living and working in Munich, Germany, and I think it will be hard to convince my company to send me to the States

Regarding the training credits, where can I check if my company has any? I've looked around on the NOW-Site, but I didn't find anything.

By the way, does anyone know how long it takes till a university course is moved to "My completed courses"? I've finished the Fundamentals on Saturday, but it still appears under "My Current Learning".

[ekashpureff · Accepted solution]

Munich to Atlanta ? I have to travel from Hong Kong to Sunnyvale to teach NCDA8 next week ! We have excellent instructors in Germany as well for you. See the Europe schedule for classes on the fastlane web site.

You can check with your sales rep about training credits, or check with your accounting dept. Training credits should be listed on invoices as a line item.

At your service,

Eugene Kashpureff

[rethelion]

On Friday I've spoken with my supervisor about the course and he will forward my request to our management. So now it can only take weeks till I get an answer

One other thing: If I successfully complete the "NetApp Accredited Sales Professional Accreditation Exam" in the Learning Center, am I then eligible to call myself NASP or do I also have to do an exam at a testcenter?