If you’re studying for a Cisco certification, you might be debating what to do for your hands-on practice. Will you buy a home lab? What about using a simulator or an emulator?

Well, before spending any money, consider Cisco’s DevNet Sandbox. For example, let’s say you’re studying Collaboration technologies. You can (for FREE) access a Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) cluster (in your choice of CUCM version). You can even (virtually) get your hands on an IM and Presence server.

When I first discovered this, I actually felt guilty using it. After all, this resource is at Cisco’s DevNet site, and I’m not a developer. Fortunately, I was talking with one of Cisco’s DevNet folks at Cisco Live this year, and they told me it was not limited to developers. In fact, they encouraged me to let certification students know about this resource, and I’ve got to say it’s remarkable.

Please check out this new video I created to show you how to get access to this incredible resource.

If you want to go even deeper, I recently came out with a video course what walks you through seven Collaboration lab exercises you can perform in the Sandbox. You can check it out HERE.

Kevin Wallace, CCIEx2 (R/S and Collaboration) #7945