EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!!! : Cisco Brand Protection

This is an EXCLUSIVE from Eman, my chief at the CCIE Flyer! This is an interview on Cisco Brand Protection. The interview was done with Karim Kattouf who is the Program Manager, Brand Protection for Saudi Arabia, Gulf & Pakistan.
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Cisco Brand Protection

I have written of the work I am doing with Monica (my best friend at Cisco) in helping CCIEs regain control of their IE numbers. Her work has led me to interact with the Brand Protection team at Cisco. They are a group of professionals who are scattered around the globe looking out for your welfare. Who is there to recover your stolen hardware? Who is there to stop the obsolete counterfeit products at the border? Who is there to warn you off of buying dumpster diver unlicensed or authorized refurbished gear? Cisco Brand Protection that’s who!

I was curious about this group when I heard they had done some high profile sweeps in the past with various agencies like border patrols, customs and police. Counterfeit Cisco gear? Yup even the DoD was worried and it has been stopped at borders. Stolen Equipment is also a concern as well and the policy from Cisco is to deny support for products that might be stolen. Used gear is a hot topic for debate. Those who sell it want it supported by Cisco like all other gear. But think about it, who can vouch for what kind of shape it is in? There are some reputable and honest companies doing this now but there are also dumpster divers and thieves out there who have spoiled this business for the whole lot. I have been told by CCIEs about a couple of bad deals as they tried to build labs. Cisco recertifies some gear and then they will support it. That’s a tough spot to be in for Cisco because they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

Karim Kattouf and I first spoke back in February when we had worked on a case together. He is a Program Manager for Brand Protection covering KSA, Gulf and Pakistan. Karim called me concerned for the CCIEs in this particular case, and quickly got to the bottom of the scenario. Karim and I spoke again this week and he agreed to share some of his work with the CCIE Flyer readers.
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Q & A with Karim Kattouf

Q: Karim, can you tell me a little about how your group was formed?
A: The global Brand Protection team, with team members located worldwide, was established to drive Cisco's ongoing, proactive, and company-wide efforts to minimize the potential for damage to the Cisco brand as a result of counterfeit and unauthorized market activity, as well as other related activities.

Q: With all the growth within Cisco Systems it must have been inevitable that manufacturing would end up in another country. Is counterfeiting a serious problem?
A: Counterfeiting is not a new phenomenon for the IT industry. It is a global business issue that targets market leaders—especially those with high demand products. We recognized counterfeiting as a global market issue and have been proactively addressing the issue.

Q: What kind of penalties result from criminal counterfeit cases?
A: Cisco works in cooperation with internal law enforcement and government agencies, and pursues appropriate legal action when necessary, in order to prevent the trafficking of counterfeit Cisco products. Law enforcement anti-counterfeiting efforts, such as the collaborative international initiative against traffickers in counterfeit network hardware, result in prison sentences, fines and forfeitures, and orders for restitution, among other things, and have a deterrent effect on would-be counterfeiters. These cases also serve as an important reminder of the risk of purchasing outside of Cisco’s authorized sales and distribution channels. The integrity of a customer’s network begins with the purchase. When the equipment they are buying is mission critical, quality and authenticity should always be top of mind. There is no denying the peace of mind that comes from purchasing genuine, quality Cisco products from authorized Cisco channels.

Q: Stolen gear has a market too. You can sell almost anything on eBay these days so I was not surprised to read about a conviction for one guy taking the gear from his employer and selling it there. He made over $500,000 from this activity. How do you usually identify stolen hardware?
A: We evaluate each matter on a case-by-case basis to identify the specific issues. We also work in close collaboration with various groups within Cisco to appropriately handle each matter.

Q: In doing my research on used equipment, I found reams of companies selling it and dozens of articles supporting the practice. At the same time, I’ve seen an equal number of articles warning of the pitfalls of buying used equipment particularly regarding support of the gear, reliability of the sources, etc. What advice does Cisco provide regarding used equipment?
A: While there may be many reasons for considering the purchase of used equipment, Cisco’s advice for our customers is to understand the risks involved with used equipment. These risks may include business continuity, security, legal and regulatory, and financial. A complete description of these risks is detailed here in an IDC white paper at http://idcdocserv.com/735.
Once the risks are understood, Cisco advises customers to utilize our “Think Smart” framework when considering the purchase and installation of used network equipment. This framework consists of three steps – Plan Smart, Source Smart, and Buy Smart. A key component of this framework is Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment, which is equipment that has been remanufactured to like-new condition by Cisco, and carries the same warranty and support options as new Cisco equipment. For more information on this framework or for additional information about the Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment program, please visit www.cisco.com/go/refurbished or send an e-mail to refurbquestions@cisco.com.

Q: Are there any companies authorized to sell refurbished Cisco gear?
A: While there are many independent resellers offering used and 3rd party refurbished Cisco equipment, Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment is only sold by Cisco’s network of 40,000 authorized partners worldwide. In addition to new Cisco equipment, any Cisco authorized reseller can sell and install Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment. To verify that you are buying from a Cisco authorized reseller, please go to www.cisco.com/go/partnerlocator/

Q: Do you read the CCIE Flyer?
A: Unfortunately, I do not read the CCIE Flyer. I have heard of it amongst my colleagues, who are CCIE certified, and they have spoken very highly of it.

Q: Do you like it?
A: Browsing through the site now, I think it is very interesting and has a lot of useful and insightful information. I will make sure to bookmark it so that I can keep checking it in the future.


BIO / PICTURE: KARIM KATTOUF
Name/Title:
Karim Kattouf, Program Manager, Brand Protection – Saudi Arabia, Gulf & Pakistan

Bio:
Karim is part of Cisco’s Brand Protection team for the Middle East, in the overall Emerging Markets Theatre.

His role is multifaceted encompassing governance, audit, investigations, education, and internal and external liaison with law enforcement and the Cisco partner community. He works on Brand Protection related tasks for the Arab World.

Karim joined Cisco in 2007 as part of Partnership for Lebanon and participated in a 6 month program in San Jose, California. After this, he joined the Cisco Brand Protection team for the Middle East based in Beirut, Lebanon.

Karim holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from the American University of Beirut and is currently pursuing his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the Lebanese American University in Lebanon.

Picture:

Additional Contact Information / Links:
Protecting our corporate brand and reputation for quality is a serious issue for Cisco. Please notify the Cisco Brand Protection team if you suspect a breach of intellectual property by sending an email to brandprotection@cisco.com.

For more information on Cisco Brand Protection, please go to www.cisco.com/go/brandprotection.

For more information on the Partnership for Lebanon program , please go to www.partnershipforlebanon.org.

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So there you have it folks! Be sure to tune in to October 2009's CCIE Flyer edition coming to you mid of October for more interesting and hot news!

CCIE Flyer Reader Exclusive Soup-To-Nuts for FREE!

For some of you who is still thinking of whether to pursue the CCIE or not and even after some 'pushing' you are still thinking, think no more. Here's one for you loyal readers for the CCIE Flyer. Now don't start giving excuses and go study! :-)
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CCIE Flyer Reader Exclusive Soup-To-Nuts for FREE!

Why Pay More?

The journey to become a CCIE is an expensive one and in my everyday interactions I always look out for bargains. Recently Micronics, Voice Boot Camp, Global Knowledge and SkylineATS all reduced rates or agreed to for their CCIE boot camps. I thought I had really done something for future CCIEs with those announcements. The ads for training companies in the CCIE Flyer for September made history as well. Come on, have you ever seen those training companies all advertised on the same page before?

Well now the CCIE Flyer has really done it. We are offering Narbik’s Soup-To-Nuts workbook for FREE in the October issue of the CCIE Flyer. Yes you can get the hottest deal on one of the industry’s best workbooks to use as a guide book for your journey to become a CCIE from the CCIE Flyer. So for all you who have been visiting the CCIE Flyer this is our way of saying thanks!

How can you go wrong with free?

How to order? Go to the CCIE Flyer www.ccieflyer.com October issue out around the 17^th and see.

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Be prepared for a big October issue thanks to Eman and the CCIE Flyer team! :-)

Cisco IOS Release 15.0

Cisco is playing with numbers again and this time its IOS is the victim ;-). Jumping from 12.4 to 15 lets you know that Cisco is 'afraid' of the numbers 13 and 14 (number 13 is considered unlucky in the Western culture and number 14 (because of the 4) in Asian culture). This is taken from Ivan Pepelnjak's site (http://blog.ioshints.info/2009/10/ios-release-150.html). For more information you can also visit Michael Morris's blog post at NetworkWorld (http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45883).

IOS release 15.0

This is not an April 1^st post: I’ve just realized that Cisco quietly released IOS 15.0M (mainstream). Haven’t tested it yet, but the images for a large variety of platforms are already available on CCO. The new features listed in the documentation include:

• Full BFD support, including static routes, BFD-in-VRF and BFD-over-Frame Relay (next step: test it on a 2800-series router);
• DHCP authentication;
• DMVPN tunnel health monitoring;
• EEM 3.1 (whatever that is, the EEM documentation hasn’t been updated yet);
• Interaction between IS-IS and LDP;
• BGP local convergence in MPLS VPN networks (the feature has already been available 12.2 SRC, now it’s available on more platforms);
• OSPF graceful shutdown and OSPF TTL security check features are available on more platforms;
• Intra-zone traffic inspection in zone-based firewall.

It looks like (as expected) the 15.0 release is a grand merge of all previous IOS trains (with a few extra features). Good job; finally we have something new to play with :)

CCIE Agent Economic Stimulus

Here are some good news for you guys and girls who want to do the Cisco 360 program. This just came in from my chief, Eman.

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CCIE AGENT ECONOMIC STIMULUS

Yeah it’s an overused term the whole Economic Stimuli theme, but in some sectors it is working. Take as example the surge in hiring in the USA for Network Engineers we have seen. What has made the Cisco Channel Partner community open up their purses? The answer I think is that money is being spent and spending promotes spending. I am a simple man but I do understand that basic concept. The fact is we have been seeing brisk interviewing and hiring and we are feeling very strong heading into the last quarter of 2009. I will be just as glad to say good bye to 2009 as I was to 2008 even though we are seeing an improvement through end of this year.

CCIE Agent Economic Stimulus for Channel Partners

As the CCIE Agent™ I have enjoyed a lot of success so I am offering clients reduced rates for staffing. What should you care as a CCIE or candidate we represent? Because hiring companies often make a decision on whom they are hiring with the fee they are paying the recruiting company in mind. If the fee adds too much to the bottom line then the candidate could see themselves eliminated. Have you ever been rejected for a role you thought you had in the bag? Think about your agent, what are they charging your prospective employer? I wish I could get all the CCIEs I know who are unemployed new jobs. So to help them we are reducing our fees to prospective employers to 12% with a maximum fee of $10,000. These low rates will help prospective employers make a decision. (contact eman@ccieflyer.com)

CCIE Agent Economic Stimulus for Training

Many phone calls have transpired since my conversations with Learning at Cisco representatives. Since then I have visited with Bruce Caslow and spoken with SkylineATS and Global Knowledge representatives about the program and the pricing. I have been successful in getting CCIE Flyer only discounts for my readers from Micronics and Voice Boot Camp and now I am very pleased to say I have negotiated rates down for 360 program CCIE training. Now I have been told I will see special rates in the $3,000 range for this offering.

CCIE Flyer Boot Camp EXCLUSIVES

Mirconics

Narbik’s special brand of CCIE R&S boot camp training is world renowned as the most effective and comprehensive of its kind. (www.ccieflyer.com)

Voice Boot Camp

Faisal Khan has now added his name to the list of trainers authorizing me to offer CCIE Flyer only pricing for his world renowned CCIE Voice. (www.ccieflyer.com)

SkylineATS

Narbik and Paul Negron 360 learning provider SkylineATS has begun negotiating with the CCIE Agent to provide the 360 learning program for CCIE in the $3,000 range. There will be a lot more to say about this very soon in the CCIE Flyer! (www.ccieflyer.com)

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There you have it folks. Seems like after the lair of Narbik Kocharians had some juicy news, the CCIE Flyer lair had some juicy news of its own! I am pretty sure the IPExpert and Internetwork Expert team will not be left behind ...

Something Brewing In the Lair of Narbik Kocharians

Yours truly have been donning his Cisco Ninja suit and stalking Narbik Kocharians and after a successful stalking, here's what was found.

Narbik is working on FOUR major projects. Four??? Yes. Four.

Narbik is working hard on getting his troubleshooting workbook for the CCIE R&S track out. If you have purchased his 2.0 workbook, you will see that it is labeled vol 3. This workbook is provided FREE for those of you who had bought his 2.0 workbook. Because of Narbik's high and stringent quality requirements to only release the very best to his students, he will have someone good to help him out so we'll see the surprise soon enough.

Narbik is also working hard on releasing his CCIE SP workbook out. The schedule for his CCIE SP bootcamp will be out soon and will be taught all over the world. If you know the quality of his R&S workbooks then expect the same best work for this track as well.

Don't be surprised if you see Narbik releasing workbooks for the other tracks as well. When I stalked his lair, I happen to see a glimpse of books starting with SE there. SEcurity or does SE means Special Edition? Maybe he has a Special Edition for R&S? Time will tell.

Let us not forget that the OSPF COD is nearing completion (it seriously is almost completed!). If the quality is the same like how we experience for the free OSPF Filtering sample we saw, then I believe we will be blown wide open with the quality of the CoD videos.

Last but not least, before I left Narbik's lair, I heard him snoring about finishing editing the CCIE Written Exam Certification Guide 4th Edition which is due out in October 2009. Hence I believe Narbik will now turn his energy when he wakes up to releasing some of the stuff that I mentioned above.

I would have stayed longer at Narbik's lair but you see he has this sweet lady named Janet who patrols the lair for pesky intruders so I don't want to get caught. You know how it is when you are caught spying on people. Hence I left after about 3-5 minutes.

There you have it folks. Fresh news from Narbik's lair. Remember you heard it here FIRST. Please also remember one thing. Again I would like to remind you that Narbik is a ONE-MAN army. He works alone most of the time on releasing his workbooks and also teach classes. We have 24 hours in a day so if you get a slow reply or no reply from Narbik, you could perhaps try again in 4-5 days. He receives tonnes of mails last I heard so it's already tough filtering mails from us and also requests on getting him to appear on the David Letterman show.

As per popular request, I have included the .NET file on the topology for Narbik's workbooks which can be found at this RapidShare link. I have also included a link to his OSPF CoD since I had requests on this from a couple of people who visited my blog. His CoD can be found at this RapidShare link.

CCIE Flyer September 2009 Edition

The CCIE Flyer September 2009 Edition is now out!!! As usual, it has great content! Get it while it's just out of Eman's oven at http://www.ccieflyer.com.

A CCIE Widow's Request

Today I received an e-mail from Eman, my chief at CCIE Flyer. The mail was about a CCIE Widow's request. It is very touching and even though I did not know Dave in person, how his wife, Lee, described about him touched me very much. Time does not wait for us. We must appreciate whatever time we have whether it is for personal stuff, family gatherings, CCIE studies, etc.
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A CCIE Widow’s Request

CCIE # 5804 was one of the very few CCIEs in Alaska. I met him at Networkers in 2008 the month before his death. I did not find out about his passing until March of 2009 when a friend and co-worker sent me a message about him after seeing his picture on my blog. I had exchanged emails with him prior to Cisco Live 2008 so when we met I was pleased to make the acquaintance of one of only 4 CCIEs in Alaska that I knew of. After Cisco shut down the NASCAR Grille CCIE party, I hosted a bunch of CCIEs at the Hard Rock Café near there at Universal Studios Orlando. The band Modest Mouse was just finishing their last set for the night and we had a few beers together along with seven or eight other CCIEs. The other guys were from Holland, Texas and a few other places. But Dave and I talked a lot that evening and I am happy now, looking back that I had that chance.

At the end of August 2009 I received this email from Lee Gahm, Dave’s wife;

Dear Eman,

My name is Lee, I am Dave's wife. Tonight I spoke with his parents and they told me about what you had written and I looked it up. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to share your kind words about Dave. The proudest day in his life was when he passed his CCIE test. Actually we were all very proud. Dave LOVED his job and by what I could tell he was very good at it. I miss the middle of the night calls from his work..I never understood a single word he said but I was always impressed. His trips to those conventions were always important to him. He was proud to be a "techno geek". He was looking forward to the next CCIE gathering as he was going to speak.

I am not ready yet but I will be putting together a memory book for Abby. I would be grateful if you and some of the others would share some of your memories or stories about Dave with me. If you have any other pictures too, I would love to have them. I know his parents would like to see them also.

He truly was doing something that he loved. I was so fortunate to speak to him the night before and could hear the happiness in his voice.

Sincerely,
Lee

So I am posting this so that anyone who knew CCIE # 5804, Dave Gahm will share in photos or in writing their experiences with Dave. CCIEs have a way of influencing others across borders so I am happy to help Mrs. Gahm and Dave’s parents in gathering what I can through this medium Dave loved so much.

If you have anything you would like to share about Dave Gahm please respond to eman@ccieflyer.com

Thanks

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So if you guys know or have any memories with Dave whether in words or in pictures, please contact Eman. This means a lot to Dave's wife so let's try and do what we can to ease her pain.

Narbik Kocharians's Advanced CCIE Routing & Switching 2.0 Workbooks FINALLY OUT

The wait is over. For those of you who have been waiting and asking when these great workbooks will be relased hear me out! Narbik Kocharians's excellent Advanced CCIE Routing and Switching 2.0 workbook is FINALLY OUT! You can purchase them at Narbik's website at http://www.micronicstraining.com. You should see a banner there informing you of the workbook but if not try clicking on this direct link --> http://www.micronicstraining.com/classes/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=29816.

I can't wait to get my hands on these! As previously said, Narbik will dismantle you with his labs so I would like to see the newly content added to his workbooks will do the same. At this rate of dismantling, it's a wonder how I can still type with my fingers intact ...

Internetwork Expert's CCNA Audio Bootcamp

It's rare that you will see postings on CCNA products on a CCIE blog but hey I am one of those 'rare' people then. Internetwork Expert has released a few CCNA-related audio files. The CCNA Audio Bootcamp files are located at http://podcast.ine.com. These audio files are done by Anthony Sequiera and they serve as a warm-up to your CCIE studies.

I personally find them entertaining. However please bear in mind that if you are well into your CCIE preparation, you will find that these subjects are at CCNA-level and touches the surface only. Still it is fun to listen to them and then wonder "yeah but there's more to that" and indirectly, you 'force' yourself into thinking more of the technology that was said on the audio.

My CCIE Written Exam (Beta) 351-001 v4.0 is at this coming Wednesday, 9th September 2009 so wish me luck. I have the mentality that IF I fail this exam, I am going to resit it again in due course. This however will not prevent me from preparing for the lab. I am feeling nervous at this point of time. I don't know whether it's because I feel unprepared or just the normal 'exam' feeling. I hope I don't do something stupid like send a mail to my boss and say "Wassup dawg?"

Narbik Kocharians's Advanced CCIE Routing & Switching 2.0 Workbooks Update #3

In case some of you have given up on seeing the v2.0 workbooks and CoD series from Narbik Kocharians, don't give up. Here is the latest update from Narbik and it's fresh from the oven mind you :-).

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To All,

Man what a week...... On Saturday morning i had a small procedure (surgery) which turned out to be fine (Thank god), my family and my doctor were worried, so i had to cancel the Dubai Boot Camp, Doc told me to take 4 days off and it should be good as gold.

I thought to myself well....I will use the time to finish off my COD and the 2.0 work book, but guess what......The freaking fires in LA (La Crescenta and La Canada hills) which is where i live, forced us to evacuate twice.

I am hoping things will settle down by tomorrow so i can finish the work book and the COD before i fly to London for a boot camp.

Sorry everyone, it was out of my control. It should be done very soon (With my luck, earthquake is next). My neighbors tell me to shut up whenever i mention earthquake, hahahahaha you have to laugh, you can't take this 2 seriously, its funny, mate its all funny.....

Narbik Kocharians
CCSI#30832, CCIE# 12410 (R&S, SP, Security)
www.MicronicsTraining.com
Sr. Technical Instructor

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StormTrooper Headache

I am sitting for my CCIE written very soon. With so much information on the new blueprint (this is not to say that the current 3.0 version has little information), I am finding myself having more headaches trying to really understand and grasp the technologies being outlined. Hence at this point of writing, I have "StormTrooper Headache" syndrome :-)

Narbik Kocharians's Advanced CCIE Routing & Switching 2.0 Workbooks Update #2

I just woke up, my iPhone beeped telling me of e-mails from GS and one particular mail caught my attention and here's the mail.

From Narbik Kocharians's own words in Group Study,

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*Advanced CCIE R&S Work Book* - Version 1.0 is the OLD "Advanced CCIE R&S Work Book" and its been sold for $150. There will be no updates to this work book.

*Soup-To-Nuts*, this work book was what the students used to get when they signed up for a boot camp. Basically it prepared the students for the BOOT CAMP and NOT the lab. This work book is being sold for $35.

*Foundation 2.0* - This work book replaced the old soup-to-nuts, and when you register for a boot camp, you will get an E-copy of this work book, its designed to prepare you for the boot camp ONLY. Its being sold for $100.

*Advanced CCIE R&S Work Book 2.0* - This work book covers everything in the currect version of CCIE R&S + version 4, which is the new version of the test that will be enforced starting Oct 18th. This work book will be sold for $350, and covers things like LDP/MPLS L3VPNs, an updated section of IPv6 to include Eigrp, OER, and many more. This work book is almost finished and should be ready for purchase starting Monday 24th.

*Boot Camp 2.0* - A work book that will be ready by Oct, this work book can NOT be purchased, you can ONLY get this work Book if you attend a boot camp, it contains some serious labs on all the items and i mean on ALL items in the blue print.

*The SP work book* - This work book is finished but i need to go through it one more time to see and fix the typos and add more explanation. Real quality work book, probably the BEST one for SP.

*The Class On Demand series* - The OSPF Filtering is already added and you can download the FREE sample from the website and the complete version of this product can be purchased for $50, i will be adding more CoDs to the list, my goal is to have a complete selection of R&S, SP, Voice and Security. We will be adding things like CCNA, CCNP, CCSP, CCIP, CCVP stuff there as well.

I hope i answered all questions. Once again i am very sensitive to people's money, i WILL NOT PUSH THE PRICES HIGHER, but the quality will be the BEST I CAN PRIVIDE, as far as content, it will be the most complete CoD.

--

Narbik Kocharians
CCSI#30832, CCIE# 12410 (R&S, SP, Security)
www.MicronicsTraining.com

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That's a huge update if you ask me :-). Narbik now is finally going to offer a whole range of CoDs and also his updated 2.0 workbooks. With his outstanding bootcamp, I'll say things are going to get pretty interesting in the CCIE world.