Preparing for CCIE (best way/strategy) 4

[abidg]

Hello Guys,

I am planning to go for CCIE. Have done CCNA, CCNP and CCAI. Now I need to devise a strategy to go for CCIE written and then the lab. In this regard, I need some help from those also preparing for it or those lucky ones who have done it.

I have bought some books including Jeff Doyle and CCIE routing and switching exam prep guide. I first tried with the Doyles but then soon found that it was an over kill to prepare from them for the written exam. Hence switched to the exam prep guide. Now I am trying to set a time period for the written.

I would be most grateful if you could help me out in coming up with the steps, time period, books, training, in short the strategy.

For the labs I have been using dynagen/dynamips and have found it sufficient for routing and related. For switching I am afraid that i might have to buy a few switches. Please guide me on this as well.

Just to let you know, I am currently working as a network engineer and these days am on the Extreme platform (which am not fond of very much).

Thanks and regards,

Abid Ghufran.

 

[lerdalt]

I haven't officially started my studies, but have been starting my collection of material to get ready to start. I personally don't believe anything can be overkill when preparing for the CCIE exams. I used part of Doyle's book for the CCIP and found it very beneficial.

I've been slowly reading an older copy of Wendell Odom's CCIE Exam Cert guide, and wish I would have had it for the CCNP courses. I think it's a good overview, but definitely not enough on it's own to feel ready for the written.

Some tips I received from other CCIE's and other sources:
1. Don't take the written until you are closer to being ready to take the lab. I think this is going to be hard now, since the last I heard scheduling the lab is tough since it's pretty booked up any more.
2. Follow some of the CCIE blogs that people are posting. There are some really good ones out there. Not everything is specific to CCIE material, but a lot of good stuff out there.
3. Internetwork Expert has some excellent material out there for Lab prep. They also have some lab prep boot camps that I've heard great things about. The instructors there are top notch, and from what I've seen them post in other forums, are exceptionally knowledgable.
4. Create a study plan and give up your social life. Probably the 2 biggest things. Have to truly dedicate yourself to the studies. This has been part of my problem with truly devoting myself to it. Too much going on right now to be able to set aside the necessary time to study.

For hardware, you will probably want at least 3 2950 or better switches. Could substitute one of them for a 3550 or 3560. I'd look at Cisco's site for the CCIE exams and see what models they have in the lab, and use that as a guide for what to get.

 

[abidg]

Thanks a lot Lerdalt.

Taking the written close to when you are prepared for the lab means that even your written is going to take a lot of your time. I was thinking of first getting the written off the list and then go for the labs. Also, a friend of has passed his lab suggested that the preparations should be taken differently. Written is an online exam that you should prepare like an online exam. For the lab you should put is as much as you - truly exhaustive and no social life.

Can you suggest a few forums/mailing lists appropriate for this purpose? Also, where would you suggest I could buy my lab stuff? As I have just started preparing for it, I have not got a clue where to go for buying cisco equipment.

Further, how much time period do you think should be suitable for someone who is working as well.

Thanks and regards,

Abid Ghufran.

 

[DallasBPF]

EBay =) That will be your best friend for find decent deals on used equipment.

Good Luck!

------------------------------------
Dallas, Texas
Telecommunications Tech
CCVP, CCNA, Net+

CCNP in the works

 

[lerdalt]

Here is a pretty global listing of some blogs:

http://www.netvibes.com/ccie#CCIE_Blogs

For equipment, the sites probably most recommended by everyone here are:

http://www.ebay.com

http://www.cablesandkits.com/

http://www.anthonypanda.com/

As for a time frame, since you have 18months from the time of passing the written to make an attempt at the lab, I'd say plan on at least that long to fully prepare.

I'd agree on the difference between the written and the lab exam preps. It was just a piece of advice I got from someone along the way that I just kept tucked in the back of my mind. I also heard that if you have passed the CCNP courses, then the written is a quick followup afterwards.

 

[maczen]

abidg,
I am still fairly new to Cisco but everything I have read fall in line with what Lerdalt and the guys have posted here. I fully intend to utilize internetworkexpert when the time comes. Scott Morris has helped me a lot with my CCNA Security studies. That is one good resource. They have highly recommended lab guides and you may want to look into renting rack space as opposed to purchasing those switches.. That is your call! I don't like to post links to other forums in here normally but you may want to try the Cisco Learning Network.. Just google or cuil it! Scott Morris posts regularly over there as does Brian McGahan.. They could probably help out as well!

Good Luck!

B Haines
CCNA R&S, ETA FOI

 

[Belushi]

I am in the process of lab studying right now. Here is the deal, go ahead and pass your written as soon as you possibly can. Word of mention here, it is not easy at all. You better know the ins and outs of every IGP as well as BGP Multicasting, spanning tree etc because they will hammer you on the intracacies of each. I studied for a month or so just on the written but I have to say that I also have a CCIP and CCNP and that helped out alot because I know how to study for Cisco written exams. Good books include Routing TCP/IP volumes 1 and 2, Sam Halibis BGP books, as well as the Cisco Press exam cert guides. However, the exam cert guides don't go into too much detail and very broad. The onus will be on you to go ahead and seek out what subjects you need help with. CCO is great too!

As for the lab, in my humble opinion go and set yourself up with one of the major companies (Internetwork Expert or NetMasterClass i.e. - Cisco360) and follow their curriculum. They will tell you everything you need to get your lab setup and ready to go as well as the plan of action you should follow. There are many different methodologies but I personally beleive the real equipment (and not Dynamips) is the best way. My lab has:

7 routers (1 3640 and 5 2811s, plus 1 2610 for a frame switch)
4 switches (2 3560s and 2 3550s) Yes you need the 3560s to run Ipv6 routing.

I have these wired up and ready to go and use them daily. I terminal server into all of them simultaneously and flip windows constantly as I go through labs and exercizes.

The average CCIE candidate studies 600 hours to pass the lab and should get in at least 12-15 hours a week to remain on track. I personally study most evenings and find that good for me.

Not that you shouldn't just go off and study on your own because you need to do that for the lab, but you need structure to your studying or else you are wasting your time and that is where the classes will help. My reccomendation is NetMasterclass (Cisco 360) but it will come at cost so hopefully work is helping out with that. The lab is as much a test taking methodology as it is understanding the technology itself. You need to take a seemingly insurmountable task and break it up into manageable parts. Furthermore you need to understand all your options and answer the questions with minimally given information to do so given the requirements.

The first time you see a true well written practice lab, it will open up your eyes because the questions are unlike any test I've ever seen.

Lastly I must say I enjoy studying for the lab so much more than the written.

 

[Jsteve]

Here Is My two cents

The written and Lab are two completely different animals. However depending on how well you prepare for the written, you will have a better chance on doing well in the Lab. A quick example for me was that I read everything I could on OSPF and than during the heat of the moment in the Lab I had a simple task to summarize some routes on a router in a non-area0 domain a couple of hops away from the ABR, into Area 0. I configured it on that particular router, but the routes were not summarized down stream. I decided to skip that section. I then was back tracking and took a min for a break and it dawn on me that I have to summarize on the ABD and not directly on the router it’s self. There was several other situation like that for me I the Lab and I made it through.
My suggestions are.
Written
1. Put together a book list and set a timeframe for completing all of them.
2. Read the CCIE forums and see what others used for practice exams to pass (sadikhov.com and ccieforum.com). Most of the Questions from those exams are exactly what’s on the real exam, but don’t fall into the trap of just memorizing the questions. Use it to find out which subjects you are weak in. This method also help me in retaining what I read in the books, because when I got to a section in the book that I couldn’t answer in the practice test, I found that when I went back to the practice question I retain a better understanding of the topic.
Recommended books:
Doyle Router TCP/IP 1 & 2 is the bible
CCNP Switching and Routing books
CCSP SNRS (a must for AAA and CBAC)
IP QOS Cert guide
Optimal Routing Design
CCIE Practical Studies Vol1 (good FrameRelay section)


For the LAB:
1. Speed, Speed and more Speed. When I got in the lab and read the LAB, I thought WoW this is going to be easy. Next thing you know it was close to 2pm and I have one our left and had to rush through the rest. So of course I fail my first attempt. Most people fail the first attempt so be prepared to take it again as soon as possible. I took it a month later and aced it. There was a lot of tips I got from the forums I listed above that helped me out, like tcl scripts on the routers that you could set up o one of your edge routers to ping a IP in every subnet in the network to test connectivity. This will help you out by verifying that 1) your routing is working 2) you didn’t configure a task that broke another previous config task. Also I set up a macro key on the F5 key for the shift+6+x break seq, then I set up a reverse telnet for R1=2001, R2=2002,etc.., so from one terminal window I was able to switch between the routers/switches by just hitting F5 1 for R1 than F5 3 for R3 and so on.

2. You MUST condition you self to sit in front of you terminal for 8-10 straight hours. That was another problem for me on my first attempt. After 4 hrs I was shoot and wasn’t thinking cleanly. So the second time I downed 2 Red Bulls before I left the hotel and I was wired. Also the night before in the Hotel, just watch some TV relax and get at least 8hrs sleep.

3. When you get to the LAB, read the Entire LAB before you even touch the computer and take some notes as you read. One thing I did was write down all of the subnets/loopbacks in a note pad. This help me create my tcl ping script. I also made a quick section check list and checked off the sections that I know I nailed and which ones I have to go back to. I also tried to set a timeframe of 15mins to complete each task and If I was not done within that time I moved on to the next question. The best thing to remember is that you don’t need to complete ALL of the task, just enough to pass the LAB, for example if it took you 40mins to complete a task for just 5points and could not finish the exams because of the time you wasted, you could have skipped that task and completed three other simple task In that same time frame for 20 points.

4. Also look to get or go to a good bootcamp. I used Internetwork expert and completed about 10 out of 30 practice LABs. They opened my eyes to a lot, I still made a promise to myself to go back and complete the other 20 Labs some day. (But right now a studying for the CCIE Security LAB, so that is on the back burner). Without this it would have probably took me about five attempt before I would have passed or gave up.

5. Last but not least, know your way around cisco.com/univercd. You will have access to this during the lab without the search function, so you will need to know how to find things quickly. The were about three task that I never even heard of, but was able to find in two mins. For example “fallback bridging”. Before the lab I never configured or heard of it, but found it in 2mins in the “3560 Catalyst Switch” section. I picked up about 15 points this way. You must know the IP Service and Security sections well.

Good luck guys, hope this helped.

 

[DallasBPF]

wow THANK YOU Jsteve!

I plan on working towards my ccie voice at somepoine in the future and this has opened my eyes on a few questions I had myself.

Again, thanks!

------------------------------------
Dallas, Texas
Telecommunications Tech
CCVP, CCNA, Net+

CCNP in the works

 

[burtsbees]

Dallas---email me at tim and liz h at gmail dot com---I'll hook you up...

Burt

 

[maczen]

Hook me up! I wanna be hooked up too! LoL

B Haines
CCNA R&S, ETA FOI

 

[abidg]

Thanks a lot Steve,

I beleive this is the most concrete advise I have received so far on this issue.

I am really glad that I asked this question and got a reply from you.

Regards,

Abid Ghufran.

 

[Jsteve]

NP

here is a quick tcl ping script that is easy to remember.

enter the shell:
tclsh

cut and paste script:
foreach ip {
1.1.1.1
2.2.2.2
3.3.3.3
4.4.4.4
5.5.5.5
6.6.6.6
} {ping $ip}

to exit out of the shell:
tclq

 

[lerdalt]

I saved this page awhile ago when I first read about TCL scripting and using it on the CCIE lab:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/12_3t/12_3t2/feature/guide/gt_tcl.html

 

[burtsbees]

MAC---I emailed you...

Burt

 

[maczen]

K. Thanks!

B Haines
CCNA R&S, ETA FOI

 

[maczen]

Just sent you an email (or three) LoL

B Haines
CCNA R&S, ETA FOI

 

[abidg]

Hello Guys,

Is there anyone wanting to do CCIE R&S (both theory and written) and who would want to join me? This could help us both (all) build up a tempo and work together.

If you think this is a good idea just let me know. You can also contact me at abidghufran@hotmail.com.

Just to let you know, i dont want to hurry and miss it, rather take it slow and get it right.

Thanks and regards,

Abid Ghufran.

 

[lerdalt]

I'd really like to start a little study group, I'm just not at the point I'm really at a point I can give it the time and attention it needs. Too much else going on right now that I have to get taken care of before moving on.

 

[burtsbees]

Me too, including the busy part!

Burt