Alcatel-Lucent Announces Service Routing Certification Program Changes

1. Introduction of a New Certification: Alcatel-Lucent Network Routing Specialist II

The Alcatel-Lucent Network Routing Specialist II (NRS II) certification builds on the strong foundation established by the NRS I (previously named NRS) and is a stepping stone to the more advanced, revenue-generating service opportunities that can be deployed with advanced IP and Ethernet technologies based on the Alcatel-Lucent Service Router portfolio.
The NRS II certification will be of great value to engineers and operations support staff who want to take the next step in their careers. On completion of the NRS II certification, participants will understand basic protocols and how Alcatel-Lucent IP solutions enable profitable new triple play residential services and mission-critical business services.
To obtain the Alcatel-Lucent NRS II certification, individuals need to successfully pass the following exams:
· 4A0-100: Alcatel-Lucent Scalable IP Networks
· 4A0-101: Alcatel-Lucent Interior Routing Protocols and High Availability
· 4A0-103: Alcatel-Lucent Multiprotocol Label Switching
· 4A0-104: Alcatel-Lucent Services Architecture
· *NEW* NRSII4A0: Alcatel-Lucent NRS II Lab Exam

2. Exam Prerequisite Changes
Written Exams: Alcatel-Lucent has removed the prerequisites for the SRC written exams (4A0-100 through 4A0-110). Effective today, there are no exam prerequisites for these exams. You can write these exams in any order. As a result, you no longer require a voucher to register to write these exams at Prometric.
Practical Lab Exams: With the introduction of the Alcatel-Lucent Network Routing Specialist II certification, the NRS II Lab exam (NRSII4A0) is now a prerequisite exam for the Alcatel-Lucent 3RP and SRA certifications.

3. What do these changes mean to you as an existing Alcatel-Lucent SRC Program participant?
With the removal of the prerequisites for the written exams, you can now write these exams in any order. We encourage you to visit Prometric's web site to register for Alcatel-Lucent SRC written exams: www.prometric.com/alcatel-lucent.
If you are working towards the SRA certification, the following rule applies: effective June 1, 2009, the NRS II Lab exam is a prerequisite to achieve the SRA certification. Therefore, you need to complete the SRA certification by May 31, 2009, if you want to be exempt from the NRS II Lab exam prerequisite.

4. What do these changes mean to you if you hold an existing Alcatel-Lucent NRS certification?
The NRS has been renamed to NRS I but there are no functional differences between the NRS I and NRS certifications. Your existing Alcatel-Lucent NRS certification is still valid, and you can build off of this certification to work towards the new Alcatel-Lucent NRS II certification.

BGP Decision Process

For every prefix a BGP router receives, the first thing checked is the NEXT_HOP attribute. If the next hop is not accessible (not in the IP routing table), the prefix is rejected. For routes received from an IBGP peer, the next check after the next hop check is to see if the routes are synchronized. Unsynchronized routes are rejected only if synchronization is enabled. The following steps in the BGP decision process apply only if there is more than one route to a particular prefix:

1. Prefer the path with the highest weight

2. Prefer the path with the highest local preference

3. Prefer locally originated routes (Next Hop = 0.0.0.0)

4. Prefer the path with the shortest AS path

5. Prefer the path with the lowest origin type: IGP is lower than EGP, and EGP is lower than INCOMPLETE

6. Prefer the path with the lowest metric or MED

7. Prefer EBGP routes over IBGP routes

8. Prefer the lowest IGP metric to the next hop

9. Prefer the path from the router with the lowest router ID