What is Nortel and why Nortel certification?

Nortel Certification Overview

The Nortel Networks Certification Program recognizes the integration evolution by taking a unique approach to building and developing voice and/or data networking skills in sales, design, and support. It is the first program that addresses distinct data and traditional voice certification as well as melded voice/data certification on a tiered basis. The Nortel Certification program combines networking education and experience with the ability to understand and resolve complex customer scenarios.

The Nortel Certifications are not highly sought after but what I found is that taking an "ALL CISCO" approach at the networking field has caught many new networking specialists with their pants down. Studying in school for the highly sought after Cisco certifications has perhaps gotten you that first job but when you walk into the data center and see tons of gear named Bay, Milgo, Nortel, Wellfleet, Adtran and so on, running right alongside the Cisco gear, you tend to scratch your head. What is that you ask?

Welcome to the new Nortel Certification page. I think with the inception of the Juniper Certifications, you will see a push to get multiple Networking certifications. This is kind of like being dual homed in Netware and NT 3 years ago… you were almost a water walker. Now, you may see the same with Cisco. Cisco and Nortel or Cisco and Juniper, whatever the case… all eggs in one basket is not a good philosophy

Why Nortel? Quite simply, because it is out there and you may be asked to migrate out of it or integrate with it. How do you do this without knowing anything about it? Think of how popular you will be with a Resume bullet like this:

• Migrated all core BLN Nortel Routers to Cisco 7200 VXR's and connected all Nortel ARN's to core in hub and spoke topology

Hey, that doesn't sound bad to me. Please do not think that all there is to networking is Cisco, because it simply is not so. There is a lot of legacy gear out there that is too expensive to replace

As far as the certifications go, I have broken down the major Certs for you and labeled what it required all the way down to the infamous Architect designation.

If you would like to find more information on Nortel certifications, please go to the following URL:

http://www.nortelnetworks.com/servsup/certification/

The certifications are being re-engineered and many new tests are coming out so please visit the site for the latest information on what is required for each track before signing up for the exam

Here is the Breakdown:

• NNCAS
• NNCDS
• NNCDE
• NNCSS
• NNCSE
• NNCNA

All are labeled below:

Nortel Networks Certified Account Specialist (NNCAS)

The Nortel Networks Certified Account Specialist program aims to teach sales and system engineering personnel the basic information they need to effectively position and sell Nortel networks solutions.

Target Audience
Sales Representatives

Pre-requisites
Basic knowledge of Nortel Networks products, solutions, and related technologies

Test Requirements
Students are required to take the following exams:

• One Sales, Technology and Product (STP) exam
• One Unified Network Sales Solutions exam
• Recommended Training

Nortel Networks Certified Design Specialist (NNCDS)

Those who complete the Nortel Networks Certified Design Specialist certification will be able to demonstrate a fundamental level of design expertise. In addition to a knowledge of the Nortel Networks networking technology and products, candidates who achieve NNCDS exhibit the ability to identify and classify customer requirements, position Nortel Networks products in a competitive environment, and design a network topology.

Target Audience
Entry to Mid-Level System Engineers, Professional Services personnel, and Chief Systems Engineers

Prerequisites
Knowledge of the fundamentals of IP networking and the principles of internetworking

Test Requirements
Students are required to take the following exams:

• One Sales, Technology and Product (STP) exam
• Two Unified Networks Design Solutions exam
• One Core Technology exam

• 920-016 Switching NN505 Frame Switching
• 920-014 Routing NN110 Accelerated Router Configuration
• 920-013 Hubs & Shared Media Self-paced SNMP & IP Networking

Nortel Networks Certified Design Expert (NNCDE)

This designation recognizes an advanced knowledge of Nortel Networks products and solutions, particularly in their chosen specialization. In addition, they will show a proficiency with Network design tested upon an ability to: manage multifunction evaluation teams; prioritize customer requirements; optimize a network based on new end-user applications or value-added services, apply advanced knowledge of Nortel networks solutions; and design detailed network topologies.

Target Audience
Senior Level Systems Engineers, Professional Services, Chief Systems Engineers and Consultants.

Prerequisites
Nortel Networks Certified Design Specialist

Test Requirements
Students are required to take the following exams:

• One Core Technology exam
• One Network Design exam
• One Advanced Product exam

• 920-016 Switching NN505 Frame Switching
• 920-014 Routing NN110 Accelerated Router Configuration
• 920-013 Hubs & Shared Media Self-paced SNMP & IP Networking
• 920-015 WAN/Advanced IP Configuration
• 920-017 Installing and Configuring Centillion 100
• 920-018 Installing and Configuring the Accelar 1xxx
• 920-019 Network Management with Optivity 8 Unix

Nortel Networks Certified Support Specialist (NNCSS)

Note: This is similar or on par with the Cisco CCNA designation

This designation recognizes a fundamental level of technical expertise to deploy, operate and troubleshoot Nortel Networks.

Target Audience
Entry to Mid-level Technical Support, Help Desk, and Field Support

Prerequisites
Knowledge of the fundamentals of IP networking and the principles of internetworking

Test Requirements
Students are required to take the following exam:

• One Core Technology exam

• 920-016 Switching NN505 Frame Switching
• 920-014 Routing NN110 Accelerated Router Configuration
• 920-013 Hubs & Shared Media Self-paced SNMP & IP Networking

Nortel Networks Certified Support Expert (NNCSE)

Nortel Networks Certified Support Expert's prove their ability to effectively implement, configure, support, troubleshoot, and optimize Nortel Networks solutions.

Target Audience
Mid-to senior level Technical Support, Help Desk, Field Support, and Network Managers.

Prerequisites
Nortel Network Certified Support Specialist.

Test Requirements
Students are required to take the following exams:

• One Core Technology exam
• Three Advanced Product exams
• Recommended Training

Nortel Networks Certified Network Architect (NNCNA)

The Nortel Networks Certified Network Associate designation represents an advanced level of consulting, technical, and design expertise.

Note: Candidates must pass a rigorous portfolio assessment that allows the illustration and documentation of their professional life

Target Audience
Senior Networking Consultants, Architects and Design Engineers.

Requirements

• Unique to Nortel Networks, portfolio assessments measure the entirety of a candidate's experience
• The Network Architect certification also recognizes the reality of multi-vendor networks and the expertise required by giving credit to other vendors certification in the portfolio assessment process.

The requirements for a NNCNA certification are in two parts
Part I

• Candidates must submit a resume documenting their education and experience
• Candidates must have at least five years of networking work experience with two of these years demonstrating experience in network design or architecture.
• Candidates must provide documentation of five network architecture projects and show evidence of involvement in the following major network architecture consulting areas:
  • Planning
  • Design
  • Implementation
  • Operations
  • Tuning/optimization
• In addition, candidates must demonstrate supplementary experience and education
• Evidence of a candidate's fulfillment of this requirement must be shown by accumulating at least 500 points with a minimum of 150 points coming from previous Nortel Networks Certifications
• The remaining points can be gained from formal education such as a Bachelor's or Masters degree; other IT vendor certifications such as Cisco's CCIE, and any additional work experience beyond 5 years

Part 2

• Formal response to a real-world complex networking case study
• Case studies represent real world situations with multi-vendor scenarios
• Candidates are given 6 weeks to complete the case study within a 35-page limit
• The solution must meet specific format requirements including business needs, network diagrams, technical accuracy and clarity

Scoring Procedures

• Part one Portfolio submissions are scored by qualified Nortel Networks staff
• Four times per year, successful Part 1 Candidates are sent a Part 2 Portfolio Application
• A team of NNCNAs will evaluate Part 2 Portfolio submissions, which will be graded according to an established rating scale
• All ratings will be subjected to rigorous statistical analysis to detect bias or differences in grader severity

Points awarded:

For each additional year of experience you have beyond 5 years 50

Formal Education Points Awarded: (College, etc)
Associate's Degree/Equivalent 25 points

Bachelor's Degree/Equivalent 50 points

Master's Degree/Equivalent 100 points

Doctorate, Professional, Terminal Degree, or Equivalent 150 points

Additional Certifications Certification Name Points Awarded:

Vendor	Certification	Points Awarded
Nortel	Nortel Networks Certified Design Specialist	25
Nortel	Nortel Networks Certified Support Specialist	50
Nortel	Nortel Networks Certified Support Expert	150
Nortel	Nortel Networks Certified Design Expert	200
Nortel	Nortel Networks Certified Magellan Engineer	150
Bay	Bay Networks Certified Specialist	50
Bay	Bay Networks Certified Expert	150
Cisco	Cisco Certified Network Associate	25
Cisco	Cisco Certified Design Associate	50
Cisco	Cisco Certified Network Professional	100
Cisco	Cisco Certified Design Professional	100
Cisco	Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)	150
Acsend	Acsend Certified Technical Expert (ACTE)	100
3Com	3Com 3Wizard	50
3Com	Master of Network Science	100
Newbridge	Newbridge Wise Certification	100
Xylan	Xylan Certified Switching Specialist (XCSS)	50
Xylan	Xylan Certified Switching Expert (XCSE)	100
Wild Packets	Network General Certified Network Expert (CNX)	100
Microsoft	Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)	25
Microsoft	Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE)	75
Novell	Novell Certified Novell Administrator (CNA)	25
Novell	Certified Novell Engineer (CNE)	50
Novell	Master Certified Netware Engineer (Master CNE)	75

As you can see, this is a different path then what you are used to. Nortel does it different. This is not Cisco - it is not the same. Here are a few guidelines: Do not take a test cold on just Cisco knowledge alone. You will be tested on Nortel technologies. In addition, this may be a way for you to understand networking better. Have you ever seen another company implement a networking solution? I honesty picked up a lot of information when I started working with Bay / Nortel gear. It makes you think out of the box.

Good Luck

By Robert J. Shimonski
http://www.RSNetworks.net