New guy going for CCIE

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

Ran in to another interesting thing the other day. The task was to run OSPF as PE-CE protocol with a MPLS backbone. The PE received prefixes from the CE but they were not being installed in the RIB. The were IA routes. I had problems understanding why we would need to enable capability vrf-lite on the PE as we usually do this on the CE if it is running multiple VRFs.

Basically it comes down to that the PE is part of the superbackbone and it was running area 51 to the CE. An ABR won't install IA routes that do not come from the backbone! So this is why we need to enable the capability vrf-lite which disables PE loop checks and the routes will be installed in the RIB.

This is a very good read (the best) about OSPF loop prevention: http://blog.ine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Loop-Prevention-in-OSPF.pdf

Another possible OSPF/MP-BGP scenario is sham-link. Be aware.

reaper81

IPv6 is, but not IPv6 BGP. IPv6 OSPF, RIP and EIGRP are on the blueprint.

reaper81

Did an INE TS lab. Wen't pretty well. Some tricky stuff but managed to get most tickets right.

reaper81

Been doing some posts on OSPF lately. Getting a very good understanding of the protocol. Recommend people to read them for a deeper understanding.

reaper81

Did a long post on my blog on route redistribution and filtering. Tonight I will study QoS and maybe some PfR.

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

Did a long post on my blog on route redistribution and filtering. Tonight I will study QoS and maybe some PfR.

Not long until the lab attempt now Daniel?

reaper81

Roughly 3 weeks to go now. No time for cramming, just trying to brush up on my weaker areas and we'll see how far it takes me.

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

Roughly 3 weeks to go now. No time for cramming, just trying to brush up on my weaker areas and we'll see how far it takes me.

Its all good. Be sure to eat and sleep well during this period. Dont get hung up on things you dont think you know really well, some reading and light drills on a rack will help there..just beat the things into a router. Know your doccd links of course.

Concentrate on things you do know well and can batter out. Good marks there.

First Saturday night I have had in three years when I can play with my rack..loving it. Nobody here

reaper81

700 lab hours passed. Mostly reviewing right now. I want to be extremely strong on L2 and IGP and core topics since that will make or break the lab. Will have to rely on DOCCD for not so often configured features. Had a funeral last week and this week my son was sick (nothing serious) so I lost some precious time for preparing. Not much to do now but to make the best out of the situation.

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

700 lab hours passed. Mostly reviewing right now. I want to be extremely strong on L2 and IGP and core topics since that will make or break the lab. Will have to rely on DOCCD for not so often configured features. Had a funeral last week and this week my son was sick (nothing serious) so I lost some precious time for preparing. Not much to do now but to make the best out of the situation.

Its been a difficult time for you recently, sorry about that.

Your preparations have been good. You have put in almost 1000 hours of study the last year which kills the requirements of any qualification on TE except the CCIE. No qualification in the world of IT has these demands. None.

Stay strong on Switching and IGP/BGP. Get your BGP peerings up! Know your filtering, know best path, know summarization, know as-path reg-ex options. Know QinQ, PVLAN, spanning-tree costs and priorities, FRTS. For multicast know multicast helper. Ipv6 should be easy going. For MPLS know L3VPN and ATOM. Security watch for CBAC. For redistribution watch redistribute connected. System Management and IP services doc CD but usually one or two routers and just a few commands.

Daniel you have done your best. You have a demanding fulltime job with very little time to study on works time and a family waiting at home who missed you many evenings and weekends while you put the hours in.

Attack the lab and pass. If you fail, with your preparation you will know what to regroup on and pass again inside 3 months just like hono the French guy, who has left this forum never to post again most likely..and good luck to him!

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

700 lab hours passed. Mostly reviewing right now. I want to be extremely strong on L2 and IGP and core topics since that will make or break the lab. Will have to rely on DOCCD for not so often configured features. Had a funeral last week and this week my son was sick (nothing serious) so I lost some precious time for preparing. Not much to do now but to make the best out of the situation.

Your doing fine. Watch this after every review now. Then you get bloody stuck in! I will be posting this before I go to Diegem.

LOTR The Return of the King - The Ride of the Rohirrim (Rohan Charge) - YouTube

jamesp1983

reaper81 wrote: »

700 lab hours passed. Mostly reviewing right now. I want to be extremely strong on L2 and IGP and core topics since that will make or break the lab. Will have to rely on DOCCD for not so often configured features. Had a funeral last week and this week my son was sick (nothing serious) so I lost some precious time for preparing. Not much to do now but to make the best out of the situation.

Sorry to hear about your loss. I hope your son is feeling better. Great work on the labbing!

reaper81

Turgon wrote: »

Your doing fine. Watch this after every review now. Then you get bloody stuck in! I will be posting this before I go to Diegem.

LOTR The Return of the King - The Ride of the Rohirrim (Rohan Charge) - YouTube

Thanks Turgon. That is very inspiring. On a good day I do know enough to pass but I'm not at a level where I can pass with certainty. At this point I don't even really know what I'm up against until I've been to the lab myself. Everything I know is based on peoples stories and second hand information. After I've been there I will definately know how to regroup if I should need to do so.

Very inspiring to see Hono pass, he did exactly what was needed. When not getting pass on first time, regroup, study hard and get it done.

reaper81

jamesp1983 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your loss. I hope your son is feeling better. Great work on the labbing!

Thank you James. I appreciate it. Good luck on the written!

jamesp1983

reaper81 wrote: »

Thank you James. I appreciate it. Good luck on the written!

Anytime. Thanks man! Good luck with the studies.

reaper81

Going through the blueprint and checking off the topics I feel comfortable with. Going through the stuff that needs more revision. I have checked off about 70% of the topics. Want some more revision on multicast, IPv6 tunneling, some security topics and also NAT.

ipSpace

Great progress reaper81! When is your lab scheduled?

Ok, back to studying.

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

Going through the blueprint and checking off the topics I feel comfortable with. Going through the stuff that needs more revision. I have checked off about 70% of the topics. Want some more revision on multicast, IPv6 tunneling, some security topics and also NAT.

Not far off now. You have all the major components down and all the extra little things cant all come up on lab day.

reaper81

Roughly 2w from now. Thanks.

reaper81

Turgon wrote: »

Not far off now. You have all the major components down and all the extra little things cant all come up on lab day.

Yeah, as long as we recognize what they are looking for and know where to find it on the DOCCD that should be enough. You need to have done most of the stuff at least once to know what possible solutions are out there.

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

Yeah, as long as we recognize what they are looking for and know where to find it on the DOCCD that should be enough. You need to have done most of the stuff at least once to know what possible solutions are out there.

I think the important thing on attempt no 1 is to be ready and with a chance. Far too many people go in there simply not ready and get wasted. You are ready. If you get the right lab you have a shot. If you dont, it may not be your day but because you are equipped to deal with the lab, you will be able to maximise the experience, retreat, regroup and have a good chance at passing next time.

Some people think this can be achieved by attending a bootcamp. It cant. The bootcamp providers collect money from lots of people who do a bit of work on their own time and expect a silver bullet in a one or two week intensive. Unless the bootcamp is teaching the test, it cant fill in the gap the candidate has to fill in on their own time. You have done that. The next two weeks, do some reading, find your DocCD links, work on your form, but mostly relax, eat and rest well.

reaper81

Gladiator - Now we are free - YouTube

See you on the other side? Family is waiting. In a week we will know.

ipSpace

reaper81 wrote: »

Gladiator - Now we are free - YouTube

See you on the other side? Family is waiting. In a week we will know.

) Good luck dude!

hono

reaper81 wrote: »

Gladiator - Now we are free - YouTube

See you on the other side? Family is waiting. In a week we will know.

good luck, and thinks "no stress", you're ready...

Daniel

MrBrian

Good luck!! Be rested.. and calm, cool, and collected. Don't worry about failing, putting in the hard work is the hard part, right? If you don't pass, then you'll knock it out the next time

Turgon

reaper81 wrote: »

Gladiator - Now we are free - YouTube

See you on the other side? Family is waiting. In a week we will know.

Daniel,

All the best. The song is apt due to the emotional demands on you and your family to prepare for this exam. You have amassed in one year almost the lab hours I did in nearly 5. A great sacrifice on your part. Plus you did not just amass lab hours, you studied tactically. I think you are ready and have a chance at a lab pass, but if it doesn't work out, you are ready to try it and able to recover for a great second shot! Far too many CCIE candidates attempt the lab before they are 'ready'. That doesn't mean ready to pass, anything can happen on lab day, but ready to cope, with a chance of passing, but if it isn't your day, able to retreat and recover for a second attempt with a high degree of success next time. Far too many candidates get destroyed by the lab and are miles off with no hope of recovery. Go when you are ready!

reaper81

Thanks Turgon. I appreciate your support. Tomorrow I'm hitting 1000 hours. I'm proud of doing that without sacrificing too much of family time. I will keep my head held high whether I pass or not. I have a shot if my performance is a top and otherwise I will have to regroup and have a very good shot at a 2nd round pass.

Doing my final mock at friday and then rest to keep my head fresh for monday.

Turgon

Cool. Eat well, sleep well, rest well over this weekend. You can do no more useful preparations after Friday. Good luck in the hardest IT exam in the world to prepare for properly in terms of personal sacrifice. It's why so many people quit.

jamesp1983

reaper81 wrote: »

Thanks Turgon. I appreciate your support. Tomorrow I'm hitting 1000 hours. I'm proud of doing that without sacrificing too much of family time. I will keep my head held high whether I pass or not. I have a shot if my performance is a top and otherwise I will have to regroup and have a very good shot at a 2nd round pass.

Doing my final mock at friday and then rest to keep my head fresh for monday.

You got this man. Good luck!

PsychoFin

reaper81 wrote: »

Doing my final mock at friday and then rest to keep my head fresh for monday.

Great going man! Don't worry about the result of the mock lab tomorrow - eat and rest up and get ready to collect your digits come Monday!