CCIE Written

wildfire

This is just a question related to the CCIE R&S Written, After finishing CCNP how much extra study / reading is required to be at a good level for the written. I am about to sit the last CCNP exam and I have read TCP/IP routing I and II

What else should I put on my list to buy and read? how long would it take to be ready roughly?

Ten9t6

wildfire wrote:

This is just a question related to the CCIE R&S Written, After finishing CCNP how much extra study / reading is required to be at a good level for the written. I am about to sit the last CCNP exam and I have read TCP/IP routing I and II

What else should I put on my list to buy and read? how long would it take to be ready roughly?

This really depends on your experience and how much you have retained throughout the CCNP process. I would be willing to bet that you will be over 90% there when you finish the CCNP track. It should not take long from that point. The best bet would be to check out the Blue Print. If you are weak in any of those areas or they do not even ring a bell....haha..start there.

The areas that I had problems with on this exam, have been removed....

You should be able to do it w/ you CCNP books, The blue print, and spending some time on the online doc CD. In combination with that, I used CCNP / IE practice exams from Boson.

Hope this helps some........The hard / expensive part begins after you pass the written.

wildfire

Hope this helps some........The hard / expensive part begins after you pass the written.

Your not wrong, considering the $$$$'s worth of equipment I have is not really suitable for the Lab.

thanks for clearing that up for me I hope to do about 6 months Extra study and go for the written after re-reading Routing TCP/IP II again! (half of that one didnt sink in).

Ten9t6

wildfire wrote:

Hope this helps some........The hard / expensive part begins after you pass the written.

Your not wrong, considering the $$$$'s worth of equipment I have is not really suitable for the Lab.

thanks for clearing that up for me I hope to do about 6 months Extra study and go for the written after re-reading Routing TCP/IP II again! (half of that one didnt sink in).

I usually read books multiple times too. Every time I read them I find something that I didn't see the first time.

mikej412

wildfire wrote:

After finishing CCNP how much extra study / reading is required to be at a good level for the written.

At first I thought Kenny's new avatar was wearing sun glasses, then I looked closer. Now I'm guessing lack of sleep with an attempt to compensate with caffeine -- and the Airborne cap is a motivational tool. HooRah Sgt. Airborne!

Well, this will be shear speculation on my part since I haven't done the written yet -- and I've sidetracked into the Design Certs, Security, and am getting "back on track" with the CCIP. And CVOICE didn't mean anything, it was just one of those things -- it was cold, we were lonely....

My original plan was Routing TCP/IP Vol 1 & 2, Halabli's Internet Routing Architectures and the Caslow/Pavlichenco and Clark/Hamilton books. Rather than re-reading BCMSN CCNP books, Cisco LAN Switching might be an option for you.

With the January changes, I decided to hit IPv6 even harder -- probably some nontrivial written questions, and definitely lab implementation tasks. I'm wondering if Implementing Cisco IPv6 Networks is enough. Its a great book, but I don't like the idea if it being the only real Cisco IPv6 book on the list. I already had the Syngress book, but decided to skip the theory book and just read RFCs. Since CiscoPress's wonderful search update, it doesn't appear easy to search just the title of books -- and searching products brings up lots of stuff. Before the search change, I think there were 3 Cisco IPv6 books -- I'll probably get the other 2, but not sure if I'll read both of them before the written exam.

After the CCNP, I felt I overstudied on QoS, Multicasting, and BGP -- the questions were light-weight compared to what they could have asked. I'm expecting them to finally ask some of those hard questions on the CCIE Written -- so I'm reviewing those topics again by going for the CCIP. Rather than go back over the CCNP books for Multicasting, I went with a new book -- Developing IP Multicast Networks, Volume 1 (and am wondering where Volume 2 is).

The wireless stuff ?!?!!? -- they should just do a wireless certification. But for now, like darkuser hinted at -- be prepared for trivia. The Wireless Network First-Step was a fun read (anything less than 1000 pages is now a fun read) and 802.11 Wireless LAN Fundamentals will be on my last book order that goes out this week.

My original plan didn't include getting the CCSP now -- so my study plan for the Security section has changed to just one day. This is where you might want to page through the Network Security Principles and Practices book. I thought is was a light read before, but it still looks like a good (light) overview now.

The recommended OSPF/BGP-4 Command and Configuration Handbooks were fun. Definite lab study books, but reading these could give you a fresh look at these old CCNP topics, without having to reread the BSCI CCNP books. I started going through the CCIE Practical Studies books while doing the CCNA, but these are definitely lab study books -- and a definite re-read after the written exam.

I knew a new edition of CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Certification Guide was coming out, but I couldn't wait -- I got the old one. I figure if I don't pass the written, this will give me an excuse.

The Frame Relay Solutions Guide was the book I read after Routing TCP/IP (and the Caslow/P book) but before Halabli and Clark/Hamilton. I'll probably re-read it again for lab study, but some of the chapters might be useful for the written. Not a cover-to-cover read for the written is my current guess.

I blew through the Troubleshooting books (I was supposed to be studying for the CCDP then). I would definitely recommend reading them during BSCI (Troubleshooting IP Routing Protocols) and BCRAN (Troubleshooting Remote Access Networks) study for any CCNPs-in-training who know deep down in their souls that some day they will attempt the CCIE. I've got my separate command notes from my CCNP exams and will go through those and save a re-read of the troubleshooting books for lab study.

I'm currently thinking of a date for the written -- but no plan ever seems to survive contact with the enemy -- so I'm not going to say anything about it until work and any shread of a personal life left agree to get with my plan.

Then there will be the lab prep....

My avatar looks like one of my cats -- if she matched my increased caffeine intake for studying.