JAMF 400 course

[rkeleghan]

Hi All,

Im thinking about taking the JAMF 400 course but I have heard its pretty tough and requires as high level of scripting .. is this true?
how have other found it?

RK

[sdagley]

@rkeleghan The Jamf 400 does place a lot of emphasis on scripting and utilizing the Classic API. I'd recommend you have some familiarity, if not comfort, with both subjects before taking the course if you're looking to pass it on the 1st try. The Jamf Course Resource pages (https://docs.jamf.com/education-services/resources/) will give you an idea of some of the material that is covered.

Edited 2021-09-10 - Changed date specific course resources link to one which should reference latest available

[Tribruin]

Echo the previous post. Jamf 400 is very scripting heavy. You will have challenges that will require you to create scripts to perform certain tasks. You should also be familiar with Launch Agents/Daemons as those are pretty popular.

When I took the class (about 1 1/2 years ago), there was a section on accessing the mySQL Database directly. Not sure if that has changed since the classes have moved remote.

Just a suggestion. One thing I did in preparation for the class, I built a "toolkit" of various code scripts. I had scripts for getting the logged in user, templates for using the API, etc. That way I was not scrambling to find this information during the challenges. It helped a lot and gave me more time to actually work on the challenges.

[cdev]

I took the class about 2.5 years ago – it's definitely heavy on scripting, data analysis, and creative problem solving. One of the most demanding courses I've taken in a few years. Building a library of code snippets is good, but general familiarity with the Jamf APIs and how to parse the output (XML and JSON) will help you succeed.

[howie_isaacks]

I will be taking this course in March 2022. I'm strong on scripting, but the API is still foreign to me. The topics listed for the course include the API so my assumption has always been that this is the course to take if I want to learn the API. Before the course starts I will get as familiar with it as possible. That said, I'm counting on this course to teach me the basics of using it. Otherwise, what's the use of paying for the course? 

[sdagley]

@howie_isaacks  It looks like you've got the CCA certification, not the Jamf 300 certification that replaced it. While the CCA didn't really do much with scripting the 300 does, so you will find the 300 course materials (https://docs.jamf.com/education-services/resources/20210729/300_Resources.html) helpful. If you've got a Training Pass you might want to take the 300 before the 400 so you've got the current pre-requisite covered.

[howie_isaacks]

We don't have a training pass. Thanks for the link. I will go through everything and make sure I'm up to speed. Someone at Jamf recommended the Jamf 400 course as being the next step for me. I have spent the last year or so teaching myself more advanced scripting skills. After learning new scripting skills I invented problems to solve so I could build up a library of scripts. My challenge right now is creating a totally new script to replace the DEPNotify starter script that I have been using for Mac enrollments. I am building modules for the script to give me the same functionality but with enhancements that I want to add that are not easily possible with the starter script. 

[sdagley]

@howie_isaacks  Sounds like you should be fine for the scripting experience. For the API portions of the 400 I'd recommend looking through some of the examples posted on Jamf Nation and reviewing Jamf's Classic API docs: https://developer.jamf.com/jamf-pro/docs I'd also suggest  building yourself a simple script framework to make API calls so you can concentrate on the details for the tasks the API will be used for in the course instead of building a script from scratch for each.

[howie_isaacks]

Thanks for the advice. It's much appreciated!

[cdev]

@howie_isaacks I'd also look into doing basic parsing of those API queries, whether that's via xmllint or jq so you can do basic parsing of the data to narrow the results.

[howie_isaacks]

Thanks! I will do that.

[gabester]

I actually took the Jamf 400 with @sdagley in early 2021. His advice is as usual sagacious and should be heeded. 

I passed the CCE back in 2017. I didn't think the Jamf 400 would be easy, but I was very challenged by it. If you can take and pass the Jamf 300 before it, I highly recommend doing so (I thought I could skip it and work backwards.) 

Another thing to be aware of is the format for the 400 is different. As opposed to 4-5 days of study with a final exam of several hours, there is a daily 2 hour practical exam with each worth a quarter of the course (unless it's been changed again since February 2021.) 

[MikaelDez]

I'm about to take this in June. What happens if you fail a daily practical? Is there a make up time for it at the end? 

I got myself all kinds of worked up and stressed about Jamf 300 (fear of wasting my department's money basically) and went through their scripting and advanced scripting series twice and was more than prepared for 300.

[Tribruin]

Warning, this information is based on my experience in 2019 and may have changed. 

There are 15 total points available during the week, you need to earn 12 to pass the class. Each practical was worth 3 points. You got 1 point for having a plan, 1 point for having a framework in place (essentially a script that can run, but maybe doesn't get the right response, and 1 point for having a functional script that results in the proper response.) 

In general, you should be able to get 1 point on each just by communicating your approach. The 2nd point is a little harder, but, as long as you have some good scripting experience, it is very doable. The 3 point is where it gets hard. You have to be able to write a fully* functional script in 2 hours. (My instructor was somewhat flexible. If the script was essentially complete, but you are had a few typos causing issues, he generally gave full credit. But, each instructor may be different).

To answer your question, you can survive one bad daily exam, but you will pretty much have to ace everything else.  400 is not easy. Definately review the study materials ahead of time and use some of the tricks in the thread.