Data Center Talent Program

We transform talent into certified and highly qualified data center experts!

The Talent Program aims to recruit and qualify multi-vendor data center specialists. Our qualification initiative affords graduates who have earned technical degrees as well as Cisco Networking Academy graduates excellent career opportunities with a top Cisco Partner. Training is free for candidates.

Your benefits as candidate of the Data Center Talent Program:

• Transparent and speedy selection process
• Good salary, even during the training period
• Excellent professional qualifications within the shortest time
• Future-proof job with a top Cisco Partner
• Comprehensive certifications: CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate, CCDA - Cisco Certified Design Associate, CCNP - Cisco Certified Network Professional, Cisco Data Center Networking Infrastructure Support Specialist, Cisco Data Center Storage Networking Support Specialist, Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist, Cisco Data Center Networking Infrastructure Design Specialist, Cisco Data Center Storage Networking Design Specialist, Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Design Specialist, Cisco Data Center Application Services Support Specialist, VCP - VMware Certified Professional, VCP5-DT - VMware Certified Professional Desktop, NCDA – NetApp Certified Data Management Administrator

Interested?

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions:

Fast Lane Institute for Knowledge Transfer
Centro Corporativo Plaza Roble, Escazú, San José, Costa Rica
+(506) 2201-9700, info@flane.co.cr

Do you wish to apply for the Data Center Talent Program?

Then please send your complete application in English to info@flane.co.cr in one PDF file no larger than 5 Mb. Please include the following contents in this order:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae or résumé
• Certificates (if applicable)
• Educational and professional qualifications/ references

Our recruiting team will review your documents straightaway to assess your options and determine if you are a candidate for our program, with further training to be financed by top Cisco Partners.

Please note that for selection purposes we will only consider attached files in Portable Document Format (PDF) as described above.

The program at a glance

What we expect of you

The Data Center Talent Program for tomorrow’s data center specialists caters to people who relish the challenge of dealing with complex and intelligent technical solutions and tackle such tasks with enthusiasm. Your goal is to engage in training to earn internationally recognized certifications and join one of the leading Cisco partner enterprises. To this end, you must be eager to learn and bring to the table the following traits and skills:

• By the time training commences, you will have earned a (university) degree with a good grade point average or completed with distinction comparable training in a technical field or computer science.
• You want to move up the career ladder and are ready to complete a challenging training program.
• You show initiative and commitment, have a healthy measure of self-confidence and good communication skills, and are a team player.
• Technology is your passion. Professional experience is not absolutely necessary. Ideally, you will have gained initial practical experience with projects.
• In the ideal case, you are already Cisco-certified or currently earning a Cisco certification.
• You are very much willing to travel.

Does this sound like you? Then we are looking forward to your application!

Send your complete application in English to info@flane.co.cr in one PDF file no larger than 5 Mb. Please include the following contents in this order:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae or résumé
• Certificates (if applicable)
• Educational and professional qualifications/ references

Our recruiting team will review your documents straightaway to assess your options and determine if you qualify for our program, with your further training to be financed by us and top Cisco Partners.

Please note that for selection purposes we will only consider attached files in Portable Document Format (PDF) as described above. Training is free for candidates.

The selection process

Our recruiting team will review your documents. If it finds that you are a candidate for our program, we will select a suitable company for you and, in the next step, introduce you to one of the leading Cisco Partners. This company can then arrange an interview with you to get to know you in person.

Once you have successfully completed the evaluation phase, you will qualify to take part in the Data Center Talent Program. Then, after you sign an employment agreement with one of the Cisco Partners, you will first part in a six-month training program before joining the company. You will be paid a good salary while in training.

Training program

Level 0

Evaluation Class, 1 week

• Welcome Package
• Technical Foundation Review
• One-to-One and Online Assessments

Level 1

Networking Fundamentals Workshop, 4 weeks

• No prerequisites
• Target Audience: students having no or limited networking background
• Networking Basics
• Networking Advanced Routing & Switching
• Networking Design & Troubleshooting
• Catalyst 6500 Series

Level 2

Virtualized Hosts & Storage Workshop, 4 weeks

• VMware vSphere
• NetApp Basics and Advanced Concepts (e.g. MetroCluster)
• Integration of NetApp and vSphere

Level 3

Data Center Virtualization Power Workshops, 6 weeks

• SAN Switching
• Unified Fabric
• Unified Computing
• Application Networking

Level 4

Integrated Multivendor & Virtual Desktop Solutions, 4 weeks

• Cloud Technologies
• NetApp FlexPod Implementation
• EMC Vblock Implementation
• Virtual Desktop Implementation

Curriculum

Fast Lane conducts training in several blocks to ensure candidates are well prepared for their future job assignments.

Over the course of six months, candidates will work with self-study materials, receive additional mentoring, and participate in the following workshops.

Networking Fundamentals Workshop

Level 1, Duration 4 weeks

• Building a Simple Network
• Switching
• Wireless LANs
• LAN Connections
• WAN Connections
• Network Environment Management
• Medium-Sized Routed Network Construction
• OSPF Implementation
• EIGRP Implementation
• BGP Implementation
• Access Control Lists
• Address Space Management
• Planning Routing Services to Requirements
• Connection of an Enterprise Network to an ISP Network
• Analyzing Campus Network Designs
• Minimizing Service Loss and Data Theft in a Campus Network
• Accommodating Voice and Video in Campus Networks
• Integrating Wireless LANs into a Campus Network
• Troubleshooting Processes for Complex Enterprise Networks
• Maintenance and Troubleshooting Tools and Applications
• Performing Maintenance & Troubleshooting
• Designing Methodologies and Processes
• Designing Campus and Data Center Networks
• Designing Security Solutions
• Implementation of Private VLANs
• Core Switch Features, incl. NAM, CEF, Firewalling, Server Load Balancing
• Catalyst 6500 Series, Catalyst 4900 Series, and Blade Switches

Virtualized Hosts & Storage Workshop

Level 2, Duration 4 weeks

• NetApp Storage Environments, Data ONTAP 7-Mode
• NetApp Data ONTAP CIFS Administration
• NetApp Data ONTAP NFS Administration
• NetApp Data ONTAP SAN Administration
• NetApp Data Protection Software Administration
• NetApp MetroCluster & High Availability
• VMware Virtualization, Virtual Machines
• VMware vCenter Server
• Configure and Manage Virtual Networks, Configure and Manage vSphere Storage
• Access and Authentication Control; Resource Management and Monitoring; Scalability
• High Availability and Fault Tolerance; Data Protection
• Installing VMware vSphere 5 Components
• Special Emphasis on Integration of vSphere and NetApp in a virtualized Environment

SAN Switching Workshop

Level 3, Duration 2 weeks

• MDS Product Range and System Architecture: Deep Dive including Oversubscription, Buffer Credits etc.
• Host Connectivity, Application Performance, Storage Capability
• SAN Design: Redundant Fabrics, Storage Consolidation, Storage Virtualization, Extension Solutions, DR/BC, FCIP, CWDM, DWDM and SONET/SDH, VSANs, IVR, Performance, Availability, and Security
• Installation & Configuration: MDS Switches and Directors, Software Upgrades and Licensing, Fabric Manager, Device Manager and CLI Options, Advanced Features including SME, DMM, and Secure Erase, Fabric Manager Server and Databases
• LAB Exercises: Interfaces, Zoning, VSANs, IVR over FC, FCIP for SAN Extension, Transit VSANs, IVR over FCIP, Advanced Security and Management VSANs, iSCSI and iSCSI Gateway, Advanced Troubleshooting Techniques and Tools

Unified Fabric Workshop

Level 3, Duration 7 days

• Data Center Design Models & Strategy
• Data Center Network Design
• Implementing High-Availability Data Center Features
• Understanding Fiber Channel and Fiber Channel over Ethernet
• Nexus 7000, 5000, 4000, 2000: Hardware & Software Architecture, Features & Capabilities, Configuration & Troubleshooting

Unified Computing Implementation Workshop

Level 3, Duration 8 days

• Converting existing Data Center to Cisco Virtualized Data Center
• Cisco UCS C-Series HW Installation and Management
• Cisco UCS B-Series HW Installation and Management
• Service Profiles, Templates, Resource Pools, HA Failover Scenarios
• Cisco UCS B-Series Monitoring and Troubleshooting
• Design/Sizing VMware vSphere Solutions with UCS and Nexus 1000V
• VMware vSphere Integration with UCS and Nexus 1000V
• Design Automated Provisioning with BMC Blade Logic

Data Center Application Networking Services Workshop

Level 3, Duration 1 week

• Implementation of Data Center Load Balancing Services
• Virtualizing Load Balancing and Firewall Services
• Implementation of WAN Acceleration Load Balancing
• Troubleshooting virtualized Application Networking Services
• Implementation of Global Load Balancing between Data Centers
• Management and High-Availability for Application Networking Solutions

Integrated Multivendor & Virtual Desktop Solutions (Cloud Computing)

Level 4, Duration 4 weeks

• Cloud Computing Models
• NetApp FlexPod: Enhanced Secure Multi-Tenancy, Server and Network Virtualization in a Multi-Tenant Environment, NetApp Storage in a Multi-Tenant Environment
• EMC Vblock: Vblock Storage, Virtualization, Provisioning
• Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XEN overview
• HP, Dell, IBM Solutions overview and competitive discussion
• Advanced cabling technologies in the virtualized Data Center
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Implementation (VMware View)
• Virtual Desktop Solutions integrated with Cisco UCS

Feedback from Participants

Participants of earlier Data Center Talent program seasons are today employed by major Cisco partners. Commenting on the program’s benefits, Michael Chrobok, National Leader Networking Engineering, Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, says, "Computacenter needs data center and networking engineering service specialists to set up private clouds. They have to be able to integrate complex solutions from different vendors into customers’ infrastructures to standardize, virtualize and automate their data centers. The qualification initiative launched by Fast Lane and Cisco - the Data Center Talent program – enables us to train five new ambitious and motivated colleagues to become top specialists for dynamic data centers within just six months. This is how we keep the quality of projects up to standard."

We asked a sampling of three graduates to share their views on our program.

What do you see as the highlights of the Data Center Talent program?

Dennis: The highlights are undoubtedly the comprehensive certifications that are the backbone of the program. They are the excellent result of the experience and knowledge we gained during the program. You also get to see some interesting cities and get to know new people.

Jan: The many high-quality certifications to be earned are definitely among the most important highlights. They provide a big boost to one’s self-esteem, particularly for young participants, and they afford you incredible opportunities in today’s job market. These were the main reasons why I chose to take part in the Data Center Talent program rather than pursuing a master’s degree after earning my diploma. The social contacts with all the other participants are also very valuable on both the professional and the private level. And the salary paid by the employer while you’re still in the program is pretty good too ;-)

Philipp: The Data Center Talent program offers a unique, fast-tracked opportunity to get acquainted with a multi-vendor data center environment.

How did you manage to acquire all the knowledge provided by the Data Center Talent program in just six months?

Dennis: The most important factor in acquiring and processing this knowledge is your own ambition. If you have the will and the ambition, you can really immerse yourself in learning. The coaches here are not only certified trainers; they also bring practical experience to the table. So training is realistic, supported by actual experience, labs devised by coaches, and suitable learning guides and materials. Collectively, all these factors help you gain knowledge of the given topic quite quickly.

Jan: What matters most is, of course, your own ambition to reach the finish line, and to stay alert and focused despite the pressure of such a fast-tracked knowledge program. The coaches are all highly qualified, experienced, and can immediately provide an authoritative, easily understood answer to almost every question. They know what the customer’s focus is, and they get the message across. What’s more, the infrastructure facilitates learning success. For example, the technically sophisticated Fast Lane labs work very well. The catering is excellent. The Hamburg training center provides a learning environment with plenty of natural light and good climate control with lots of oxygen ;-)

Philipp: It is very helpful that the coaches use charts to show how things work before or while they present topics. One wouldn’t be able to retain the subject matter as well with just slides alone. All Fast Lane coaches that I got to know during training are real gurus! The labs are also very good. Last but not least, the good catering during the training helps. And, I can gain hands-on experience at my company between training sessions.

What professional opportunities do you expect for yourself; what are your goals for the Data Center Talent?

Dennis: The program provides all the preparation I need for the work I will later do in data center consulting. The certifications afford you many opportunities in the networking/ data center environment. It enables you to put theoretical knowledge into practice and set the cornerstone for a good career. With increasing experience, you can earn more advanced certifications and maintain your status through recertification. At least that’s what I plan to do. I want to build the foundation and over time gain experience that will drive my personal and professional development.

Jan: I found an interesting and challenging job as a DC engineer in Switzerland. The focus is on projects involving NetApp storage, Cisco MDS, Cisco Nexus, Cisco UCS and VMware. I expect to steadily increase my knowledge and earn further certifications to attain a good professional position. I have created a good basis for this by taking part in the program. One of my next objectives is to become a CCIE Data Center.

Philipp: I expect an exciting and varied scope of tasks that demands diversified knowledge, and a very well paid job.