Looking down the long road to CCIE - A guide to my insanity

Well I recently passed my CCNP after taking my sweet time with it. I've been talking to some friends from work and have decided to take a shot at the CCIE:R&S.

My day job has me dealing with IOS, IOS-XE, IOS-XR, and NX-OS. I'm in everything from STP to MP-BGP. So far I've picked up everything on the INE reading list for R&S and have started working on a schedule for the written. If all goes well I hope to test the written in February of 2016 with my first lab attempt within a year of that.

So if you have any advice or quips, let me have it. I'm sure I'll need some company.

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phantasm

So far I've picked up the following for reading material:

* Routing TCP/IP, Volume I (CCIE Professional Development)
* Routing TCP/IP, Volume II (CCIE Professional Development)
* Internet Routing Architectures (2nd Edition)
* Cisco QOS Exam Certification Guide (IP Telephony Self-Study) (2nd Edition)

I already have the MPLS Fundamentals book so I don't need to add that. Some of these books are a bit dated so I'll be supplementing them as I go along. Right now I'm in relaxing mode and just skimming the ToC of each book and seeing how I feel about the topics. I plan to start preparing for the written in earnest on August 1, 2015.

Aside from the books listed above I have access to CBT Nuggets and INE through work so I can supplement there as well.

d4nz1g

Cheers, mate. Nice initiative!

They are releasing a new version of Routing TCP IP volume II, you will want this one for sure!

Also, I think you should skip CBT videos (except for the first CCIE's Topic, which I guess they aren't on INE material).

Just don't quit bro. The journey to becoming an expert is long, but for sure it is rewarding.

phantasm

d4nz1g wrote: »

Cheers, mate. Nice initiative!

They are releasing a new version of Routing TCP IP volume II, you will want this one for sure!

Also, I think you should skip CBT videos (except for the first CCIE's Topic, which I guess they aren't on INE material).

Just don't quit bro. The journey to becoming an expert is long, but for sure it is rewarding.

A new version on TCP/IP Vol II? I'll have to go looking for it. Any idea when it is being released?

d4nz1g

Check this out:

http://www.amazon.com/Routing-TCP-IP-Professional-Development/dp/1587054701/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1437174683&sr=8-3&keywords=routing+tcp+ip+ii

phantasm

d4nz1g wrote: »

Check this out:

http://www.amazon.com/Routing-TCP-IP-Professional-Development/dp/1587054701/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1437174683&sr=8-3&keywords=routing+tcp+ip+ii

That link says December 2015:

Publisher: Cisco Press; 2 edition (December 21, 2015)

That's a ways out... I could return the one I have but I plan to be done reading Vol I and II by November. That's before the release of the new edition.

gorebrush

Welcome to the shop floor.

Realise that this is a marathon and not a sprint and you will have conquered one of the main issues of the CCIE.

I had no idea there was going to be a new Vol2 - Might well pick this up myself.

Alex90

Also there is the OCG for CCIE R&S from Narbik, it's probably worth adding this to your reading list:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1587144921?keywords=ccie&qid=1437208949&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

phantasm

Tomorrow is day 1 of studying for the written. So far my reading list looks like this:

2015-07-31 18.35.27.jpg

Marv_Bx_718

phantasm wrote: »

Tomorrow is day 1 of studying for the written. So far my reading list looks like this:

I would take out that QoS book, it is mainly for the CCVP and it is outdated. Watch the CBT nuggets videos on QoS for routing and switching. To me voice QoS and R&S QoS had some differences, I watch the videos on them.

phantasm

Marv_Bx_718 wrote: »

I would take out that QoS book, it is mainly for the CCVP and it is outdated. Watch the CBT nuggets videos on QoS for routing and switching. To me voice QoS and R&S QoS had some differences, I watch the videos on them.

Interesting. It is still on the INE reading list:

Recommended CCIE Books | INE - INE

gorebrush

It's a good book, don't discount it. But add "End to End QoS Network Design" for your lab requirements.

phantasm

So I just had a moment of confusion. Looking through my stack of books and the ToC for each one of them I noticed that none of them cover switching... any recommendations for that or just use the CCNP Switch book? I'm wondering if a deeper knowledge of switching is required than what the CCNP covers.

EDIT: It looks like the OCG for CCIE R&S v5 only has 3 sections on switching and they're listed below:

Part 1. LAN Switching
1. Switched Networking Basics
2. Virtual LANs and VLAN Trunking
3. Spanning Tree Protocol

http://www.ciscopress.com/store/ccie-routing-and-switching-v5.0-official-cert-guide-9781587144929

Based off of that I guess just CCNP SWITCH and maybe some online reading.

networker050184

Cisco LAN Switching used to be the go to, but SWITCH books are likely more up to date these days.

phantasm

Today I spent a good bit of time reading about IS-IS. I made a note to review ISO 10589 (IS-IS Virtual Links). Although not supported by Cisco or many vendors, I feel it would good to review it anyway.

lrb

phantasm wrote: »

Today I spent a good bit of time reading about IS-IS. I made a note to review ISO 10589 (IS-IS Virtual Links). Although not supported by Cisco or many vendors, I feel it would good to review it anyway.

Firstly, good luck with your pursuit for CCIE!

Next, you need to remain very focused on studying only the content that is on the blueprint. If its not on the blueprint, don't use your "CCIE study time" to read/lab it. Some people might not agree with this approach (e.g. "its about the journey not the cert") but at the end of the day, the CCIE written and labs are just tests so you should be focusing only on things that are in the blueprint. If you want to learn more about IS-IS in depth for example, other than the basics required for the CCIE written, you will have plenty of time after you finish your CCIE R&S

Just my thoughts anyway!

rjon17469

lrb wrote: »

If its not on the blueprint, don't use your "CCIE study time" to read/lab it. Some people might not agree with this approach (e.g. "its about the journey not the cert") but at the end of the day, the CCIE written and labs are just tests so you should be focusing only on things that are in the blueprint. If you want to learn more about IS-IS in depth for example, other than the basics required for the CCIE written, you will have plenty of time after you finish your CCIE R&S

I'll second this. The scope of topics on the lab is immense, and the level of understanding you require to be successful is not trivial. In actuality the CCIE is not a finishing point, but rather just another step in the journey to become a better engineer. I would recommend staying as focused as possible, and revisit peripheral topics later.

Dieg0M

I'll support this too. It's easy to get lost and waste time on topics that are interesting but that are not on the blueprint. A big part of the CCIE is to keep focus on what is on the exam.