"Core" Knowledge

So I've been doing some research on many things leading up to the CCIE. I realize where I currently stand I have a quite a long way to go.. but the journey well be exciting and rewarding in itself. Now in some of my preliminary research.. people have said really possesing the "core" knowledge of a protocol or a process is really a huge key factor in the CCIE. I also believe that a lot of books are not meant to be read cover to cover(with exceptions of course). So this leads me to think.. maybe I can read/look at the RFC for the protocls such as TCP, IP.. and so forth and maybe that will really help me solidify some of the "core" knowledge. I know the RFC's tend to be fairly dry and boring.. but they are relatively short in comparison to many books I see on the market about said protocols.

So in short I guess I was wanting to see if this was a sound way of thinking or perhaps I simply am way off base. Keeping in mind that I realize this is FAR from a be all/end all weapon in my arsenal of knowledge.

Thoughts?

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Turgon

Plazma wrote:

So I've been doing some research on many things leading up to the CCIE. I realize where I currently stand I have a quite a long way to go.. but the journey well be exciting and rewarding in itself. Now in some of my preliminary research.. people have said really possesing the "core" knowledge of a protocol or a process is really a huge key factor in the CCIE. I also believe that a lot of books are not meant to be read cover to cover(with exceptions of course). So this leads me to think.. maybe I can read/look at the RFC for the protocls such as TCP, IP.. and so forth and maybe that will really help me solidify some of the "core" knowledge. I know the RFC's tend to be fairly dry and boring.. but they are relatively short in comparison to many books I see on the market about said protocols.

So in short I guess I was wanting to see if this was a sound way of thinking or perhaps I simply am way off base. Keeping in mind that I realize this is FAR from a be all/end all weapon in my arsenal of knowledge.

Thoughts?

You need a good mixture of three things to get the core down..reading, hands on practice and elapsed time. The theory is helpful but you can't solidify it from books you have to do lots and lots of hands on practice with protocol configurations to really get things down. You need elapsed time as well, not just the time you spend doing practice but elapsed time to let it all sink in. Somethings come easier than others.

Regardless of how long in elapsed time it takes to cover the core the amount of time you spend actually reading and configuring doesn't vary that much with candidates. All candidates have to cover the same footprint of work and doing that to reach the required standard is a bell curve. Most people need more or less the same time there. How quickly you get there depends on time available to study and priorities in life. In my case I work fulltime in an occupation that keeps me very busy and our first was born last year. With no family nearby to help out Im certainly needed at home after work. Those things combined have required me to have a realistic approach to my studies, one that is very flexible but at the same time regular without the 9 hour live in a cave situations on racks like some candidates have time to do relentlessly. Im certainly ramping up my hours as I get closer to the lab, but it isn't practical in my situation to spend such long stints on racks on a very regular basis. I have had two weeks off all year so the Xmas break will provide relief from work and more rack time opportunity. It takes a while longer studying like this but I do believe it is paying off on many levels.

cisco_trooper

I can't speak too much on CCIE study just yet, but I would agree whole heartedly with Turgon on "elapsed time." Your brain can only absorb so much material at a time. Even if you did have 9 hours a day to spend on a rack, you wouldn't progress too much faster than the guy with 4 hours of time. I've said this more than one, "the brain just doesn't work this way." You will need REPEATED exposure of topics over a decent period of time before they become second nature.

GT-Rob

There really isn't a right or wrong way to approach the material, since there is so much of it to cover.

I'm not a fan of reading a book cover to cover either. You wouldn't study for a math test by picking up a math text book and reading it cover to cover. You would pick out the topics you need to learn, and read and practice them.

The RFCs are a good source, but I think you would be better reading http://www.cisco.com/web/psa/products/index.html

For starters, its what you get in the exam. Its also a massive source for just about everything you can do on these devices, with (usually) pretty good explanations, and more importantly, examples.

Turgon

GT-Rob wrote:

There really isn't a right or wrong way to approach the material, since there is so much of it to cover.

I'm not a fan of reading a book cover to cover either. You wouldn't study for a math test by picking up a math text book and reading it cover to cover. You would pick out the topics you need to learn, and read and practice them.

The RFCs are a good source, but I think you would be better reading http://www.cisco.com/web/psa/products/index.html

For starters, its what you get in the exam. Its also a massive source for just about everything you can do on these devices, with (usually) pretty good explanations, and more importantly, examples.

Those will help. The commitment to pass CCIE is a very big ask for people. There are many wannabes but this just isn't NP level stuff. You either are or you are not CCIE. I have been on this forum for 18 months and I think just three people have earned their bomber jacket in all that time. That doesn't surprise me at all. The track has been going what 15 years or so and I reckon probably a million people have aspired to being a CCIE by passing or attempting to pass just the written exam over the years. A small return when you consider we have 22xxx numbers worldwide after all that time.