Tag #AsteriskGate

Some of you may have read my original post back in November, The VCP-NV is your ticket to escaping the VCP “Class requirement” for VCP-DCV! which had basically stated that until February 28, 2015 you’d be able to get your Cisco CCNA/CCNP and then take the VMware VCP Network Virtualization with no course requirement, and that made you eligible for taking ANY other VCP (Such as Data Center Virtualization (DCV) or Cloud) without having to pay for the Course requirement applicable to those other certifications.

Then within the last week, an Asterisk appeared OUT OF NOWHERE, LIKE WTF?! Which prompted this blog post #AsteriskGate VMware feels the ‘pinch’ and “invalidates” the VCP-NV as a “valid VCP Certification” #AsteriskGate – And the general gist was, all of a sudden the stance appeared that the VCP-NX wasn’t as valuable as the other VCP Certifications (This prompted outrage from the community, to where people were being told by VMware Education that no, the VCP-NV did not ‘count’ basically) among other things.

Well, the latest on this trend of things is… This is no longer the case! I don’t want to say our community outreach and outrage respectively was the  ‘cause’ of this resolution but it likely was. :)

Here is an email I received from VMware Education when I contacted them on this matter;

As I understand, you need to know if  a VCP-NV certification taken through Cisco credential, can take certification in different track.

I would like to inform you that, yes, you could take VCP certifications in any track based on the VCP-NV certification taken through Cisco credential. There in no course requirement.

So there we go! Mission Accomplished. Oh and might I add an update from my original blog post which mentioned that the CCNA/CCNP route would expire 28FEB2015…

You can go this path until 31JAN2016!!!

So my dear friends, colleagues, network junkies and other industry brouhaha’s… Go out there, Get Certified! Whether that be by getting your CCNA R&S / CCNA DC, then getting your VCP-NV and on to VCP-DCV or you choose another path, the power is in your hands… Don’t let it pass you by! <3

Wait, what what what?! Are you just trolling? What the hell is this post supposed to mean?!

Interesting point, I’ve gotten some (justifiably) upset emails from some people who had read one of my previous posts; The VCP-NV is your ticket to escaping the VCP “Class requirement” for VCP-DCV!

For those who haven’t read it, the gist is (or well, was) If you have a valid VCP credential you’re eligible to take ANY OTHER VCP Certification without being required to have the expensive (time and cost) classroom requirement.   That’s pretty awesome, especially for people who already had their CCNA/CCNP and were invested in the ‘family’ but didn’t want to pursue the classroom because your employer wouldn’t pay for it, or give you up for the time required to take the class (A common issue which plagues MANY)  Thus (until 28FEB2015) this was an awesome opportunity that VMware had left available for people to pursue!

Apparently this wasn’t an opportunity!

I mean, I haven’t seen VMware directly come out and SAY this but we’ll assume for the moment this was a ‘loophole’ or an opportunity they presented without realizing that OMG WE’RE CUTTING OFF ALL OF THIS CLASS REVENUE BY PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR ADVANCEMENT. Yea. Thanks VMware Education or whoever we have to thank for introducing THIS little gem. And just to give you a little context… I’ll quote some elements from the VCP-DCV Certification page…

BAM! Right there it says, if you have a valid VCP Certification* – You can just go on ahead, request authorization and take your exam! Bam, done! No problem!  This is very similar to what it was back in November, minus the *.

Scroll on down to the * section though, and lo and behold this beautiful little IN YOUR FACE NETWORK PEOPLE rears its ugly head.

I’m sorry, but WHAAAAATT???!

So, let me get this straight. I can take the VCP-DCV without requiring a Classroom requirement IF I have a valid VCP Certification, and I could have gotten my VCP-NV without a classroom requirement (until 28FEB2015) if I had an existing CCNA/CCNP, yet of all of the VCP’s available, the VCP-NV suddenly isn’t a “Valid Certification” ?  AM I BEING PUNKED?!?   I mean, let’s be honest here, this isn’t the first time that VMware Education has done something which is perceived and rightly so by the community to screw us over, so I doubt this will be the last time.

That said, I do apologize for those who (Post Asterisk) pursued their VCP-NV via the CCNA path (which was only available for a few months) and found themselves screwed by VMware here.  Having known several people who pursued their VCP-DCV through the Network Virtualization path, I know it to be a reality and for them I’m glad they got it before the ‘man’ has abruptly put us down.

It just goes to show, we can’t have nice things.