Zycko Academy, the first accredited Riverbed training partner in EMEA, now offers a three-day course that equips attendees with all the skills necessary to install, configure and deploy the vendor’s Steelhead appliances. An additional two-day course covering topics such as configuration and operation is also available to end-users.
The courses, which run throughout 2007, require a good understanding and experience of TCP/IP and data networking configurations, a working knowledge of operating system administration and a basic understanding of the OSI 7-layer networking model.
Attendees train in pairs, but on individual PCs, with one configured as the data centre and the other as the remote site. Each is connected together across a simulated WAN using a WAN simulator.
At the end of a course, each attendee will also receive a Riverbed training certificate and vendor recognition of their new Qualified Riverbed Engineer status.
Peter Barnes, head of training services at Zycko Academy, said the courses have already received significant interest from a cross-section of the channel, including pre-sales, technical support and data centre professionals.
“We are responding to the increasing demand for Riverbed solutions,” he said. “Every day we ship Riverbed technology to all parts of the globe and so it makes sense that we enable those in contact with the kit to understand its capabilities and to use it effectively.”
Over the previous 12 months, Zycko has experienced a significant increase in demand for Riverbed’s wide-area data services (WDS) solutions.
“The course provides a fascinating insight into the WDS market’s leading technology and enables attendees to learn in a comfortable environment, with the opportunity to use laboratory equipment and speak individually with tutors” added Barnes.
Mark Lewis, EMEA marketing director at Riverbed, said: “We are delighted to have Zycko Academy offer these new training services for the channel.
Partner training is a real value-add that enables VARs to deepen their understanding of the Riverbed portfolio and increase their understanding of how our technology helps to deliver real business value to customer network environments.”