CCME Certification Exam

[JSingh_N]

Hi,

I want to give CCME certification Exam.

I do not have CCSA certificate but have more than 5 year exp. with Checkpoint NGFW.

Do I need CCSA certificate before giving CCME or I can directly give CCME exam ?

Regards,

Jaspal Singh

[Wolfgang · Accepted solution]

Have look at the Prerequisites Maestro Expert R81.1 (CCME) and the certification path faq 

[Chris_Atkinson]

PREREQUISITES

Solid knowledge of: Unix-like and/or Windows OS, Internet, Networking Fundamentals, Networking Security, TCP/IP Networking.

Check Point training/certification: Check Point Certified System Administrator (CCSA), Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE).

Useful but not required: Check Point Jump Start Maestro Hyperscale Network Security, Check Point Certified Virtual System Extension (VSX) Specialist (CCVS), and Check Point Certified Multi-Domain Security Management Specialist (CCMS).

Source: https://www.checkpoint.com/downloads/training/ccme-maestro-expert-r81.10-course.pdf

[JSingh_N]

Ok, so CCSA & CCSE certification is required. For now, I do not have either of them.

[JSingh_N]

Maestro Expert (CCME) Course (checkpoint.com) In URL I think Checkpoint want to say Check Point training OR certification:

Check Point Certified System Administrator (CCSA), Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE).

(Check Point training / Certification) - They are using forward slash /  (means either of them)?

[_Val_]

CCSE certification requires CCSA certificate as a prerequisite. So basically, you need to pass both certification exams before you can go to CCME.

[Chris_Atkinson]

Attending the training is one thing, booking / passing the exam and being credited with the certification is another. 

@Jason_Tugwell thoughts?

[_Val_]

AFAIK, everyone can take a certification exam, attending a course prior to that is not a requirement.

[the_rock]

Thats my understanding as well...I dont recommend it, but I took couple of exams without attending any sort of course : - )

[Chris_Atkinson]

Correct that's my point, if you just need the knowledge do that but if you want the certification the prerequisites would apply to qualify 

[Timothy_Hall]

Do you have significant hands-on experience with Maestro?  If not it will be quite difficult to pass the CCME exam without taking the official course since it focuses on the differences between Maestro and "regular" gateways.  Maestro is not something that can be simulated in VMWare for learning purposes (yet), so unless you have some demo/loaner Maestro hardware you won't be able to do any lab work in preparation.

[JSingh_N]

Yes, Maestro cannot be simulated, and I do not have prior exp in maestro till now. However, I have been working on Checkpoint NGFW for more than 6 years.

Our customer is going to handover their Maestro environment to us so need to learn that.

[the_rock]

I think best person to confirm that is @Jason_Tugwell 

Andy

[Lesley]

I would also recommend to follow the (hands-on) training.

So find a training center that does this training with a physical lab. This is quite important to get better understanding.

You can do a training with virtual lab, but that is not the way in my opinion. 

I have done the exam and had to quite some study, all the questions are related to Maestro. So the current experience with only FW is not sufficient.  

[Jason_Tugwell · Accepted solution]

@JSingh_N 

The CCME exam does not have a prerequisite; it can be taken without the CCSA or CCSE.

However, the recommended path for certification would be:

CCSA -> CCSE -> CCME

This also would be supported as a knowledge/training path as well.

If you had an interest in working to CCSM or CCSM Elite, that path is required.

But we do have some engineers that get the CCME and no other certifications.

As always, feel free to email me if you have further questions.

Best regards,

Jason

[JSingh_N · Accepted solution]

Hi @Jason_Tugwell

Greetings !

Thanks for the clarifications. It is helpful to me.

Regards,

Jaspal Singh