Training, Certification & Career

Hi,

There are probabaly tons of post related but I will ask again any way.

Which one to take?

I read through the Aruba certification website and it does not seem like ACMA is required in order to pass the exam for the ACMP. It does not seem like ACMP has any pre-requisites at all.

I am certified already with CCNA Wireless. To me (correct me if wrong), ACMA is pretty much the same as CCNA Wireless. So just donot want to spend time to re-study what I know already.

Thanks,

/S

The ACMA is not like the CCNA Wireless, I currently hold both certifications.  The ACMA is specific to Aruba.  It does have some questions about general wireless knowledge.  But you also need to know certain  Aruba model and their capabilities.

The same to CCNA Wireless. There are part of generic wireless technology stuff and others are Cisco specific. I would say ACMA does the same.

So from your perspective, start with ACMA first then approaching ACMP?

:smileyindifferent:Still need suggestions, guys...

what is your goal? like you say ACMA is not required for ACMP, so you could just go for ACMP if you feel up to for it.

You used to be able to get your ACMA by taking an online test after attending a bootcamp so I'm not very impressed when I see ACMA on a resume. IMO, the ACMP is the minimum level you should strive for.

Thanks, since my simple goal is to match RFP, either ACMA or ACMP will serve my need...but I just do not want to re-learn the same stuffs over and over again for certifications... I am not that old to have poor memory :)

I am taking the ACMA tomorrow morning. I was initially thinking of skipping the ACMA and going straight for ACMP. However, I backed off and felt I was more prepared for ACMA with some review and what I had already learned from our current network.

I disagree that you would have to relearn items as the ACMP builds on the ACMA. IP mobility, spectrum monitor, S3500 access switch configuration, roaming, and mulit-controller network operation(master/local) are the big differences.

One thing I did that worked great for me was to compare the ACMA and ACMP study guide. I created a spreadsheet with all the ACMP bullets then made two additional columns - ACMA and ACMP, marking an X beside the subject bullet to designate what is on the ACMA from what is on the ACMP. Doing this I can see what remaining topics I have left, given that I pass the ACMA *crosses fingers*.

I figured having an understanding of the fundamentals and passing the ACMA, will allow me more time to focus on the more advanced topics for when I'm ready to take the ACMP. Building the foundation, I guess you would say.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Hope you passed by now :) If so, congatulations!!

I kinda agree with you. It is common form for manufacture cert: part of the generic tech and part of the vendor specific. I probabaly will end-up doing for the ACMA first then join a boot camp (depends on if my boss pays that :)) for higher cert but I am still debating...

Honestly, we got an RFP listing ACMA as one of the preferred certifications. I am trying to get the cert to match RFP but meantime, I am wonder why not get the ACMP directly since I will need to spend time studying the aruba stuffs...

I don't know what your experience level is with Aruba as that might influence which exam you want to tackle.

ACMA (obviously the entry level certification) tests if you have the knowledge to build a single controller environment with 802.1X and captive portal authentication methods.  It also tests your knowledge of firewall policies and roles.  Other topics are covered as described in the study guide.

ACMP builds upon this knowledge by expanding to multi controller environments which creates master/local scenarios, redundancy, roaming and other topics.  Again, referenc the ACMP study guide for a list of topics.

HTH,

Kevin

I took the ACMA exam and I mainly used HERE to prepare myself...

I kinda gambled for this one as I did not really prepare it for long. Since I have been certified on Cisco Wireless for almost 2-years, I want to see how much difference it can be between Aruba and Cisco, exam wise. It turns out not as bad as you guys said :)

Any how, now I am done with ACMA exam, it is pretty clear that ACMP will be next one if I so choose to. Maybe the bootcamp as well?

Thanks,

/S

Get em Both! But ACMP 4 Sure!