Vadim's CCIE Journey

downwithbgp

Hello everyone,

After reading a few threads here, I decided to join the club and take a methodical approach to the certification.

In early 2013, I started studying networking. Odom's guides, Jeremy's videos, and a load of Packet Pushers podcasts. It took me until that Christmas to build up the confidence and in January 2014 I earned CCNA. Shortly thereafter, I branched out and got a Brocade certification. The position I had at the time could not fulfill my ambitions, so I left. I had some savings, quit the job and started job hunting full-time. My goal was a NOC position anywhere in the country. After 4 months, I found a perfect job, ironically only a few miles away from my house.

At this point, I had been with the NOC for 3 months and consider myself settled here. I love the variety of technologies and topologies I get to work with every day, and I constantly earn something new. This is the very exposure I was aiming for in the first place, and I feel that it's giving me the perfect foundation to kick off my very own CCIE journey.

Now, let's be reasonable. I know I'm not a CCNP with a fancy NetEng job at a Fortune500 company. So, I don't have that much experience. But, just like in any other NOC, I have lots of downtime.

The plan is to put 2000 hours of studying in the next 2 years. 700 reading + 1300 labbing seems like a good target. I want to try to put at least 300 hours of reading in the first 6 months, take (and hopefully pass) the Written, then concentrate on labbing with reading books/guides/RFCs, optionally attend a bootcamp, then take the lab in Mid-2016, probably get crushed, take all the PTO I can, run out of it, quit life for half a year, attempt the lab again in early 2017.

I will start with Narbik's Official Cert Guide that, conveniently, just got released + Brian McGahan's Advanced Technologies Videos. The videos are ~100 hrs (make it 130 if I count pausing, rewinding and taking notes), the books should not take more than 270 hours, but the goal is quality, not quantity per se.

I guess, it's time to type this:
The CCIE journey starts today.

lrb

First of all, good luck Vadim (assuming this is your name BTW) and welcome onboard Post often, be consistent with your studies, and never be afraid to ask questions as this is all part of the journey to become an expert.

For the written you are going to want to read at a minimum:
1) TCP/IP Volume 1 and 2
2) MPLS Fundamentals
3) QoS cert guide
4) Cisco docs for DMVPN, Per-tunnel DMPVN QoS, and whatever other features
5) Cisco LAN Switching or CCNP SWITCH or something to that effect
6) Inter-domain multicast routing or Developing Cisco IP Multicast Networks
7) Some book on TCP/IP basics

For me personally I didn't read an official cert guide for the Written.. at best these books are cliff notes for the Written.

Also, my recommendation is to take the written towards the end of your studies. All the written really gets you is access to teh online lab schedule tool and you would rather not be under time pressure to get the lab smashed out within 18 months. Remember that life ALYWAYS trumps study, so factor in some wiggle room wherever you can to account for this.

Will you pick up the CCNP along the way? The ROUTE and SWITCH exams might provide you some small milestones along the way.

Good luck again!

gorebrush

Welcome aboard! Very pleased to see that you are serious about taking up the challenge. There are quite a few of us active now

Remember, as lrb says, life always wins, but you must be able to adapt and find your time to study. I'd echo the comments about the written guide and the written exam itself - take it towards the end. I took mine in August 2013 and my deadline is only 13 days after my lab date. But life got in my way a bit.

I'd learn to love the DocCD (Cisco online documentation) because you get this in the exam - if you learn how to use that and know where everything is then it is not difficult to look things up should you need it in the lab if you haven't remembered absolutely all connetations of configuration etc.

I'd also get the CCNP on the way too - some milestones and something to aim for on the way - the learning will not be for nothing.

Good luck!

bermovick

As a followup to gorebrush's mention of the DocCD, start using it as soon as possible. I'm STILL having trouble finding what I need in it. Knowing where the information you need is located and being able to access it quickly is important considering the time restraints of the exam. I didn't listen when it was suggested and I'm regretting it some now.

gorebrush

Yeah, I wish I used it from the start, but I can find most things...

My memory is farily handy for the configuration though, stuff I haven't used for months I can pull out of nowhere sometimes!

lrb

Link in case you haven't been here before: Select Your Product or Technology - Product/Technology Support - Cisco Systems

This is the page I believe you will probably get in the lab, minus the search functionality

downwithbgp

Hey guys,

Yes, my name, indeed, is Vadim. Thanks for the warm welcome, it's very pleasing to read

I think picking up CCNP on the way is a good idea, actually. I read that the switching part of the IE is not much harder than the SWITCH exam, so that would definitely be a good milestone. It will also provide me with an opportunity to structure out the studies better time-wise, and gain moderate understanding before diving in too deep. Perhaps, aim for 3 months for the SWITCH, 3 months for the ROUTE, 2 months for the TSHOOT, then rotate back to the start and start going into the deepest of the depths?

I feel like life is already getting into the way a little. Last two nights were the busiest in a long time, so I only put a couple hours into INE videos. On top of that, I couldn't sleep in-between, but replayed the Class-C Block podcast on studying. I very often play networking podcasts when going to bed, it's always a win-win. I either fall asleep to the nerdiness, or learn something. When I was studying for CCNA, I would fall asleep to Jeremy's videos and dream of the spanning-tree. I'm not sure how much I learned that way, but it made the way to some very interesting dreams.

I only slept for about 3 hours yesterday, but woke up to Mr. Pepelnjak winking and reassuring me in reply to a CCIE-oriented tweet. That felt very, very good

Tomorrow is the last night of work until the 22nd and, while I try to spend as much time as I can with family (my daughter is only 1.5 years old), I will scope out what time slots would be available for studying when off-work.

Oh, and thanks, DocCD is my new homepage

Alex90

downwithbgp wrote: »

Hey guys,

Yes, my name, indeed, is Vadim. Thanks for the warm welcome, it's very pleasing to read

I think picking up CCNP on the way is a good idea, actually. I read that the switching part of the IE is not much harder than the SWITCH exam, so that would definitely be a good milestone. It will also provide me with an opportunity to structure out the studies better time-wise, and gain moderate understanding before diving in too deep. Perhaps, aim for 3 months for the SWITCH, 3 months for the ROUTE, 2 months for the TSHOOT, then rotate back to the start and start going into the deepest of the depths?

I feel like life is already getting into the way a little. Last two nights were the busiest in a long time, so I only put a couple hours into INE videos. On top of that, I couldn't sleep in-between, but replayed the Class-C Block podcast on studying. I very often play networking podcasts when going to bed, it's always a win-win. I either fall asleep to the nerdiness, or learn something. When I was studying for CCNA, I would fall asleep to Jeremy's videos and dream of the spanning-tree. I'm not sure how much I learned that way, but it made the way to some very interesting dreams.

I only slept for about 3 hours yesterday, but woke up to Mr. Pepelnjak winking and reassuring me in reply to a CCIE-oriented tweet. That felt very, very good

Tomorrow is the last night of work until the 22nd and, while I try to spend as much time as I can with family (my daughter is only 1.5 years old), I will scope out what time slots would be available for studying when off-work.

Oh, and thanks, DocCD is my new homepage

Best of luck, I look forward to seeing how you get one with this journey. I've got a similar plan myself but I'm slightly behind you as I only have CCENT but not CCNA yet.

Anyway my plan is to get CCNA R&S done in January (exam booked) and then start on the voice track, the hope is to have CCNA/CCNP voice done by the end of next year (in fact I WILL have it done by the end of the year!). Ultimately I'm heading towards CCIE Collaboration, it will be a long journey (very long in fact) but I like a challenge

I've already committed in terms of investment, I don't know if you know but INE had a recent sale on. I purchased a package where I get a 2 year all access pass, 500 rack rental tokens, the voice/collaboration mp4 downloads, all the work books and a place on one of the classroom 10 day collaboartion bootcamps. It cost me $3900 which is about £2300 for me. Sounds a lot but considering how much a company like global knowledge charge for just a CCNA course, I think the price I paid is excellent.

Anyway now that I've paid for it I am well and truly committed to earning my CCIE Collaboration

I don't think I ready to post a CCIE Collaboartion thread yet because I'm not even a CCNA voice atm but when I've passed CCNA R&S and I start on the voice track, I will be doing a CCNA Voice to CCIE Collaboartion post...it will probably be the longest thread ever but still it will be interesting!

Good luck again

Cheers

Alex

gorebrush

Alex90 wrote: »

Best of luck, I look forward to seeing how you get one with this journey.

Journey is the absolute key word here - It isn't a mad dash to the finish, it's a very long marathon.

Alex90

No I completely agree, as someone who is new to the world of Cisco certification I don't think I can quite comprehend what an ultra marathon task earning a CCIE is. It's one thing to say "oh I'll lab 1000 hours", but actually translating words to actions and doing it is something completely different.

I don't know about Vadim but personally I'm keen to push through the CCNA/CCNP Voice material and set a strict time limit of when I want it done by. By my own admission I can be distracted easily so I need to focus 100% on getting it done otherwise it will never happen.

Luckily I'm working in a voice role and I think this will certainly help to keep me motivated, nothing like knowing more that your colleagues when you're on a contract

downwithbgp

The "weekend" proved to be unproductive. Tonight is the first night back at work, I managed spend couple hours trying to virtualize switching. Apparently, GNS3 is still not very good at it.

Another 2 hours were put into reading "Your CCIE Lab Success Strategy: The Non-Technical Guidebook". The book is highly motivating and is full of great tips. I feel more committed and empowered than ever.

The next step is to come up with a solid schedule and stick to it. That number will be mine.

Lucas21

For switching try iou-web. Only a few features don't work on the L2 IOU images.
See this page for details on the unsupported features: Features not supported by IOU/IOL | Route Reflector

downwithbgp

I am not a smart man; but I'll get to that later.


Hey guys, I didn't give up on the challenge. Shortly after starting the thread, my job moved me to work on different networks; I had to cut my study hours significantly. I was able to jump back in after about a month. I gave a lot of thought to getting a CCNP on the way, and it definitely made the most sense. So I studied for the SWITCH exam.


I tend to exhale deeply every time the spanning-tree comes up, and the topic is such a big part of the exam blueprint. I probably spent half of the study time in the effort to master STP, so I wouldn't have to later on. And, you know, at some point everything clicked together. I understood it, and it felt amazing! That being said, you see, I'm not a smart man. The closest testing centre is open one day every two weeks. The end of my studies, an available testing date, and my birthday coincided. It’s obvious now, the exam should’ve not been scheduled for that day. The exam was tough. The blueprint for SWITCH is very close to the switching part of CCIE, and Cisco has ensured if it’s on the blueprint — it’s on the exam. Most questions were relatively easy, but I spent so much time on the topics I didn’t study extensively (because their presence in the books/videos was minuscule). I spent around 25 minutes on one of the simulations and had to give in as it didn’t make any sense and my brain started melting. A couple quick questions later I regained the confidence and finished the exam with about 15 minutes left to spare. From previous experience, I remembered the notorious delay before you see the Pass/Fail grade. For some reason, it wasn’t there this time and I found myself blankly staring at the screen before I realized that the word Pass is on it! A word of advice - never choose to take an exam on your birthday.


That was a little over two months ago. Next week I’m taking the ROUTE exam. I’ve been using INE, their workbook, and the official certification guide. VIRL is a lab environment that I’m starting to appreciate more and more. It runs very well on a 15” MacBook Pro and switching between config packs is a breeze. At this point, I feel that I’m good on core topics: OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, redistribution, and such; so until next Friday the plan is to brush over the small topics: TCP/UDP Operations, PPP/FR, EVN, DHCPv6, NATv6, and EVN.

gorebrush

Slowly slowly catchy monkey!

Good luck with the route exam.