Internetwork expert

I'm trying to budget here... Is the Vol. 1 Lab Book sufficient? Are the DVDs that import? I learn best by reading and then doing. I'm not sure if DVDs would be that helpful to me, unless they point out things that I wouldn't find in the CCIE reading list.

Any opinions on the various types of material?

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apd123

If you want to go with IE and are on a budget get the package with the three workbooks and the COD's. The videos as well as the later workbooks are invaluable. These materials are designed to prepare you for the CCIE exam the reading list also prepares you, but does so in a less direct manner.

jrs91

Cool, I think i will go with the value package that includes the 3 lab workbooks and the Advanced Tech. CoD (I assume this is the main one... bootcamps seem redundant to me). That plus the books I already have should be enough to get me started. Gonna be unemployed soon so I don't want to spend 3k on the whole package.

Question though... How many pages are the lab workbooks? I'm debating between printed and electronic versions b/c it's an extra $200 for printed.. Will I need to do extended reading in the lab workbooks or will quick glances at it to check work be sufficient?

networker050184

I have the electronic versions of the workbooks and they are fine and I'm not a big fan of ebooks.

The advanced technologies COD is pretty good so far but I haven't been through the whole thing yet.

jrs91

Cool, thanks. Gonna pull the trigger. 25% off today. ^_^

apd123

I would recommend the electronic versions. The printed versions I have ordered seem to just get in the way with their largeness. For the V1 I just used one screen for the WB/cisco.com and the other for the console sessions. For the V2 and V3 I just printed the individual labs that way I could just beat them up and write on them potentially although I never did this as you can't on the actual lab. The value pack will be fine for you as is perfect with your described budget. GL

jrs91

apd123 wrote: »

I would recommend the electronic versions. The printed versions I have ordered seem to just get in the way with their largeness. For the V1 I just used one screen for the WB/cisco.com and the other for the console sessions. For the V2 and V3 I just printed the individual labs that way I could just beat them up and write on them potentially although I never did this as you can't on the actual lab. The value pack will be fine for you as is perfect with your described budget. GL

Ya, I'm browsing through them now. I'm glad that I got the electronic versions. For vol.1 especially it would have been a total waste. All totaled $750 for the books + Adv.Tech class. Not bad at a ll.

dtlokee

If you get them make sure you have them electronically (even if you are using the printed books) because they are updated to correct mistakes on a regular basis.

jrs91

I just got an email for the Vol 4 workbook which will cover troubleshooting. It's essentially half price. I wish it had more than 10 labs in it, but it's better than nothing and I purchased it.

Edit: ok i just got done reading the intro to the troubleshooting workbook and it seems really well planned. Each lab has 10 "loosely related" tickets that you must complete. What they do is provide you with intial configs for the devices and then block certain devices so that you can't access them, to make it more like the real-world where you can only see one side of the problem. The goal is obviously to make you learn using show and debug commands instead of looking at the running-config, which isn't always an option. As of now, the workbook is online-only and there are only 2 labs in it, but they will be releasing more as we approach October. The overall goal of the workbooks is to force you to use a structured approach to troubleshooting so that you can solve complex problems. Anyway, it looks good. The solutions guide for each lab is like 60 pages long.

CCIEWANNABE

nice, thanks for the update on vol 4. that sounds pretty cool. I like troubleshooting very much and I may purchase this new workbook later this year. Do they have a proctor version of vol 4 which shows you step by step how to perform the tasks, or is that sold seperately?

jrs91

CCIEWANNABE wrote: »

nice, thanks for the update on vol 4. that sounds pretty cool. I like troubleshooting very much and I may purchase this new workbook later this year. Do they have a proctor version of vol 4 which shows you step by step how to perform the tasks, or is that sold seperately?

The solutions are included and give full explanations.

jrs91

I was just thinking that troubleshooting is probably the most difficult thing to study for. You can create labs and break things to see how the devices react, but you always know what you broke and so you never have to go through the process.

I think it would be kinda cool to make a troubleshooting thread wherein members could paste device configurations that run on the IE topology and that introduce problems that have to be fixed. Just like in the IE workbook, you could list devices that are not to be accessed to make it more like a real-world problem. That way we might be able to compile a large amount of scenarios that people could run through to hone their TSing skills without the foreknowledge of what is wrong with the network. I'm still 3 months away from really getting in the IE workbooks, but it think it could be worth doing, if someone else wants to start the thread.

Ahriakin

One of the things I really liked about the InternetworkExpert advanced tech classes was that they did not scrub the mistakes, you get to see exactly how the tutor troubleshoots each issue.

ColbyG

jrs91 wrote: »

I was just thinking that troubleshooting is probably the most difficult thing to study for. You can create labs and break things to see how the devices react, but you always know what you broke and so you never have to go through the process.

I think it would be kinda cool to make a troubleshooting thread wherein members could paste device configurations that run on the IE topology and that introduce problems that have to be fixed. Just like in the IE workbook, you could list devices that are not to be accessed to make it more like a real-world problem. That way we might be able to compile a large amount of scenarios that people could run through to hone their TSing skills without the foreknowledge of what is wrong with the network. I'm still 3 months away from really getting in the IE workbooks, but it think it could be worth doing, if someone else wants to start the thread.

I like that idea.