Certified Network Training For IP CCTV

If you are looking for a certification to establish credibility with IT people, then the CCNA (Routing and Switching) will help. It's entry level (for networking) but, at least, you show a sign of not being a guy off the street. On the other, I think you will spend a lot of time learning routing and Cisco specific details that are not applicable / useful for what you do.

I think the Network+ certification is a good alternative. It does not have the overall 'prestige' of Cisco certifications but it gives a broader, less manufacturer centric, take on networking.

Btw, we are launching our first Networking course in March. The goal will be to provide a focused networking course that emphasizes and explains networking for video surveillance specific issues (bandwidth, connecting IP cameras, troubleshooting cameras and recorders on networks, etc.).

BICSI has their Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) Certification. See this page. The www.bisci.org site says that the Cert is required by the DoD for networking contractors. I don't have it, but it's on my 'To Do' bucket list. My next step toward that goal will be the IPVM class (good to hear about it, John!)

Thanks for the feedback and look forward to the training in March John.

The RCDD is a (relatively) old and pretty well respected cert and it's no small amount of material to learn, but it's focused on network infrastructure design. Cabling, cable trays, supports, equipment rooms, all of that. There are definitely parts of it that I think almost anyone doing network work should know, but overall you'll never use the vast majority of it in surveillance. They have an electronic safety and security credential, but it's fairly new and no one outside of BICSI really cares about it. The material is also questionable in places, but each revision is getting better.

I agree with John overall. CCNA and Network+ are both valid credentials to have. And if you've been at this for 7 years, chances are neither would be too difficult.