Time to spend in the lab during written exam preparation

PStefanov

Hi guys,

I was wondering how much you spend/used to spend in the lab when you are/were preparing for the written part of the exam. Did you go through the Cisco Doc configuration guides for every topic? Should I do lab exercises for every topic or just find out how the technology and the respective command works?

Up to know I try every command encountered in the books and try different topologies. I make sure I understand everything and if something is unclear or if I cannot find it anywhere on the net, I just lab it out.

Thanks in advance!

dtlokee

I typically spend about 50% of the time studying texts/Doc CD and the other 50% in the lab. While it's helpful to lab up scenarios to help remember them, there are some things that are not easily tested, and some that you can spend 3-4 hours labbing up, when it can be a simple process of reading, understanding and memorizing the theory and commands that takes 30 minutes.

The Doc CD is a good resource and it's free. It shows the "Cisco" way to do things and that is what is expected on the lab. The problem is the Doc CD is often short on explanation and full of facts. That's where the books come in (Cisco Press and others), and Instructor led training (I know one can drop a huge chunk of money on training, but you can gain vast amounts of knowledge in a short amount of time). Some of the class on demand training can be good because it costs less and you can watch it many times, although it is difficult to ask questions when it is basically a video.

I think the best approach is to develop a study plan and stick to it, set up times when you're going to study and treat it like a job; you need to be there on time and stay until the end. Also as you study you'll find a lot of times when a link will take you to other topics, this can quickly cause you to leave a topic like LAN switching and land you in the realm of multicasting, resist the urge and stay on your topic.

Most importantly - BE REALISTIC! You’re not going to go from CCNA to CCIE in a couple months, and remember to review old topics, if it's been a few months since you've looked at frame-relay, it may be good to go back for some review.

Turgon

littlegrave wrote:

Hi guys,

I was wondering how much you spend/used to spend in the lab when you are/were preparing for the written part of the exam. Did you go through the Cisco Doc configuration guides for every topic? Should I do lab exercises for every topic or just find out how the technology and the respective command works?

Up to know I try every command encountered in the books and try different topologies. I make sure I understand everything and if something is unclear or if I cannot find it anywhere on the net, I just lab it out.

Thanks in advance!

At this stage a little labbing up does you good, but it is time consuming and good books like Doyle offer lots of examples you can work through at a desk with just a book. You will have to assess for yourself how much lab time is really necessary for written prep. In the main, you will be reading books and whitepapers, studying examples and reflecting on the how and the why. There is certainly a lot of reading to be done to get immersed in the protocol mechanism before you try labbing them so try not to skip essential reading time by getting stuck on practical setups and worked examples.

It can be beneficial but mainly after you done enough theory reading. You won't learn it all from the prompt or just pouring over final configs, ask many CCIE candidates!