RE: Opinions on Checkpoint training..

[Russ () cooper com]

I've found the checkpoint training very "slow."  The two day course could
easily be squeezed into 1 day (for both CCSA and E).  Unfortunately, I
believe that checkpoint requires you to take CCSA before CCSE, but you might
be able to get around that if you make friends with someone.  

The CCSA course is designed for the person who will maintaining the
firewall, not setting it up.  It covers user access, and installing
policies, NAT and authentication.

CCSE covers Encryption, VPN, content scanning, load balancing, securemote,
and acct mgmt (ldap). 

The lab is setup with one fw and one web server, and you basically follow a
set of written directions on how to complete the given scenario.  It is very
basic and really isn't worth $2k for either course.  The labs were good to
run through, but very simplistic in nature.

All in all, both courses get a thumbs-down - but they are well worth it if
your company is paying and you want to get certified.

Russ

-----Original Message-----
From: John Nanas [mailto:JohnN () review com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 1999 2:51 PM
To: 'firewall-wizards () nfr net'
Subject: Opinions on Checkpoint training..


Greetings to all-

I am considering taking the Checkpoint training for Firewall-1.  Currently,
I see offered a course on the CCSA and the CCSE curriculum.  I believe that
I'm past the CCSA level, having a working Firewall-1 installation here, and
understanding a lot of it (the security policy, the rules editor, etc.).

Does anyone on the list have experience with either course, and can
recommend one (or both, or neither)?

Thanks,
John Nanas
Network Systems Engineer
The Princeton Review