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How to Become an Aruba Certified ClearPass Expert

by

Gary McCauley

|

June 12, 2019

What is ACCX?

ACCX certification, or Aruba Certified ClearPass Expert V6.5 certification, is an official industry certification that proves to potential clients that you have basic skills across a range of ClearPass products.

Companies need freelancers and technical professionals who can help them implement ClearPass solutions across their networks, providing them with a robust way of controlling user access to sensitive company software, data, documents, and email. With ACCX certification, you show clients that you know how to use ClearPass products and can help them with a range of tasks, from device onboarding to complying with ClearPass policies.

How ACCX Certification Helps an IT Engineer?

ACCX certification offers freelance IT engineers a range of benefits. Perhaps the most important is that they can demonstrate that they can integrate ClearPass into complex enterprise situations. Often, organizations have specific network access requirements, and so they need people with particular skills to help them apply ClearPass across their network.

ACCX certification also helps freelance engineers develop ongoing client relationships. Businesses need experienced individuals with the skill and knowledge to help them implement changes to their ClearPass settings that support their current operational and IT needs. Companies rely on freelancers with the skills to get to the bottom of problems that they might be experiencing and correct issues with the software itself.

Finally, ACCX certification makes engineers Aruba Certified ClearPass Experts, something that can open up new career opportunities and increase job satisfaction. With ACCX certification under your belt, you have one more industry recognition to your name.

The Benefits of ACCX Certification

As a freelancer, you may already understand ClearPass. However, without Aruba Certified ClearPass Expert certification, clients won’t have any proof that you know what you’re doing. By obtaining ACCX certification, you demonstrate that you can manage enterprise-level, open standards-based networking solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as university campuses.

ACCX shows companies that you have an understanding of secure access, redundancy technology, and Aruba’s Virtual Switching Framework. With these skills, companies will be more willing to hire you and use you to help them implement their ClearPass projects.

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Skills Measured by ACCX Certification

The Aruba ACCX exam tests four specific areas of knowledge. The first is ClearPass design, basic setup, and redundancy. Here, you’ll be expected to understand ClearPass clustering, certifications, integration, and how redundancy works across network devices and ClearPass servers.

The second and most substantial part of the exam concentrates on Aruba Controller Employee, BYOD, BAC, and Guest. You’ll have to prove your knowledge of Microsoft Active Directory integration, machine authentication, and MDM and SQL server integration.

The third and fourth parts of the exam tests your knowledge of Cisco wired and WLAN controllers and admin accessing and reporting. You’ll need to understand ClearPass works as a management authentication server for network devices.

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ARUBA ACCX Certification Exams (How to Prepare for ARUBA ACCX Certifications?)

Preparing for Aruva ACCX Certification Exams is easy. First, you need to acquire access to The Learning Center, the source for Learning Training and Hewlett-Packard Enterprises certification. To do this, go to The Learning Center and then get A HPE Learner ID, your unique identifier that allows you to access Learner services.

Then, create a profile with Pearson VUE so that you take exams when the time comes.

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ARUBA ACCX Certification Prerequisites

There are several prerequisites to acquiring Aruba ACCX certification. Most candidates are IT professionals working in the industry with at least three to five years of experience designing and integrating complex network solutions.

HPE requires that people learn how to use a range of ClearPass features and products, including multi-server ClearPass deployments, Onguard, Onboarding, ClearPass Policy manager, and Guest.

ARUBA ACCX Certification Training (How to Get the Training?)

Getting Aruba ACCX Certification requires going through several steps.

Before you get started, you’ll need to access The Learning Center through HPE and acquire your unique learner ID. As discussed above, you’ll also need to get a Person VUE profile, a vendor that provides the exam software used by HPE.

There is no upgrade path for ACCX certification, so the next step is to register for the certification in The Learning Center.

Once you’ve registered, the system will then prompt you to verify that you have completed the prerequisites for the course. To get onto the course, you must prove that you have completed one of the following:


Aruba Certified ClearPass Professional (ACCX) V6.5

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Aruba Certified ClearPass Professional (ACCX) V6.3 (inactive)

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Aruba Certified ClearPass Professional (ACCX) V6.3 (inactive)

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Aruba Certified ClearPass Professional (ACCX) V6.2 (inactive)

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Aruba Certified ClearPass Professional (ACCX) V6.0 (inactive)

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Once you’ve proved that you have a valid prerequisite for the course, it’s time to start learning. The Learning Center calls the learning segment “training,” but you don’t have to complete any of the training before taking the exam if you don’t feel that it is necessary, although it is recommended.

The final step is to take the exam. Before you take the exam, you’ll need to register for it. Then, if you pass, HPE will send you an email telling you that you are certified and update your profile in The Learning Center to reflect your new certification.

ARUBA ACCX Certification Jobs

Once you’ve acquired Aruba ACCX certification, you’ll be able to take on a wide variety of networking jobs, helping businesses integrate ClearPass into their existing enterprise software stacks. With ACCX Certification, you’ll be able to help firms troubleshoot their networks, set up permissions, and support them in their continued use of ClearPass products.

Field Engineer is an on-demand marketplace for freelancers with ACCX certification looking for jobs in firms that require their services. With FE, you can work as little or as much as you like and gain dozens of clients in a short amount of time. Many businesses use FE’s freelance marketplace to find people just like you with the skills that they need to implement ClearPass solutions in their company.


ARUBA ACCX Certification Salary

The average salary of an Aruba ACCX certified engineer is approximately $67,351 per year, according to SimplyHired. The top ten percent of ACCX ClearPass experts earn more than $136,489 per year. Even so, with freelancing, many ACCX certified professionals find that they can make more. Clients are often willing to pay higher prices for one-off jobs than they are for full-time professional staff with similar skills.

Field Engineer is helping ACCX certified engineers find lucrative roles across a range of companies using skills learned through ACCX accreditation. With Field Engineer, you can charge higher prices and build freelance relationships with a portfolio of companies, something that you could never do while working for a single firm. Sign up to Field Engineer today and start experiencing the benefits immediately.

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