New guy going for CCIE

hono

Congratulations for the new member of your family...,

with a little delay ...

Daniel

reaper81

Hey guys.

Just want to let you know that I passed the lab in my 3rd attempt! I am now CCIE 37149

Everything went smoothly this time but you never know until you receive that magic e-mail.

They day started out with TS as always. I got off to a good start, picking the tickets that seemed somewhat easier. This is important to build your confidence. If you choose a difficult ticket first it can ruin your confidence and you get stuck for too long. TS is all about time management, if you can't solve it in 5-10 min, then move on. I had a ticket that didn't make sense to me at all. Spent 5 min on it. Did some other stuff and then it clicked in my head how to solve it. This is the behavior you want, you don't think clearly when you grind the same ticket over and over. I finished early and verified all the tickets again. I moved on to config with 35 min to go which was then awarded to my config section. I recommend to use earplugs in the lab for maximum concentration.

Before starting the config section I read through all the tasks and looked for dependencies to optimize my time as much as possible. When it was time for lunch I had finished my layer 3 section so I knew I was in a good position. When you are doing configuration it is important to do basic checks as you move along. Don't leave all the verification til the end! Didn't have much of an appetite for lunch, just wanted to get back to the lab. I got back and kept moving along, everything going smoothly. I finished with lots of time to spare so I double checked all my work. Every task with every bulletpoint I went through it all leaving no stone unturned. When I was finished with this I still had an hour to go. I asked the proctor if they could start the grading but they said that it was done overseas. So I decided to stay and triple checked some of the stuff, I even found one mistake I had done. During the config section I asked the proctor some questions, they were a bit more helpful this time than my last experience. They won't give you answers but they might rephrase something that makes it click in your head.

The most important part for config is verification! This can not be stressed enough. You need to verify each step, any small mistake can cost you a couple of points and if you do a couple of these your luck will soon run out.

Good luck to everyone pursuing the lab!

SteveO86

Congrats bud!! That's a hell of an accomplishment!

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep all that in mind.

Gonna be taking a break now spending some quality time with the family?

jamesp1983

reaper81 wrote: »

Hey guys.

Just want to let you know that I passed the lab in my 3rd attempt! I am now CCIE 37149

Congrats man! Time to update your certification list and celebrate! That is a huge accomplishment and we knew you would get it. Enjoy the greatly deserved result of your hard work. I'm so happy for you!

Thanks for the tips!

spd3432

Congrats! Glad to see the hard work paying off.

Ryan82

Awesome, congrats!

Essendon

That's fan-freakin'-tastic!! Congrats!!

Zartanasaurus

Time to change the name of your blog!

PsychoFin

Hey Daniel!

That's an awesome way to start my day. Great news and glad to know that all the hard work paid off.

Good luck with everything!

chmorin

Major Congrats! How's it feel to hit the roof!?

reaper81

Feels great! Like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I've gotten so much positive feedback as well so that is amazing

MrBrian

Congrats on your CCIE!!!

down77

Congrats on the pass! Take a well deserved break and then right into the CCIE SP... just a small handful of things to add

NOC-Ninja

congrats ! finally!!!

reaper81

Thanks guys! Keep going and you will be there soon as well. Getting close to lab time Ninja?

unclerico

Wow Reaper, this is great news! Congratulations on a job well done! What was your reaction when you received your email? Were you by yourself or were you around other people? I truly envision what my reaction is going to be like when I pass so I am curious if yours was one of extreme jubilation or if you maintained your composure and took it in stride.

Congrats once again!

Zartanasaurus

For those who don't know about it, he has a blog about his preparation and lab experiences.

http://lostintransit.se/

reaper81

unclerico wrote: »

Wow Reaper, this is great news! Congratulations on a job well done! What was your reaction when you received your email? Were you by yourself or were you around other people? I truly envision what my reaction is going to be like when I pass so I am curious if yours was one of extreme jubilation or if you maintained your composure and took it in stride.

Congrats once again!

For the full story see my blog but in summary my plane left Brussels at 19.30. I landed in Gothenburg (Sweden) at 21.15. I switched on my phone and saw an e-mail from Cisco named CCIE lab score report! I thought that it was a good sign that I received it so rapidly compared to my previous attempts but did not want to get my hopes up too much. The e-mail itself does not say if you pass or not, you must login to a portal. I walked in a very fast pace to the arrivals hall and took up my laptop, hooked it up via tethering to my phone and logged in to the Cisco portal. I logged in and saw a PASS, my heart was racing but I still could not believe it. Maybe that was just my written test? I clicked on the PASS and there it was, my number! I was so relieved and happy and just felt like doing cartwheels or something. Good thing I did not try that though because I would probably have broken my back or something

Hope to see you passing in the future man!

spiderjericho

Congrats on obtaining CCIE. To be honest, I don't really stick my head in the CCIE threads, but from what I can see in the 25 pages of your thread, the numerous blog posts and the two years you invested, all of the hard work paid off.

I hope the cert brings you great financial security, especially now that there is a new born.

NOC-Ninja

reaper81 wrote: »

Thanks guys! Keep going and you will be there soon as well. Getting close to lab time Ninja?

Yes, its getting close. I expect to pass after my 5th attempt. lol Good to hear you pass. I knew its just a matter of time. Whats next, CCIE SP or CCIE security or a year break with the family?

NOC-Ninja

Btw do they provide you with earplugs or can you bring those?

reaper81

You won't be provided earplugs but you can bring your own. I'm going to do some CCNP level certs for now, like CCDP, CCNP Sec, CCNP SP. Need the time with the family. Otherwise CCIE SP would be my poison as that is what interests me most after RS.

rakem

Congrats mate. Awesome work.

How are the facilities in the testing room? Do you get a decent size monitor and a comfortable work area?

reaper81

Hi,

You get a 24" monitor and a Logitech US keyboard. The chair is comfy enough, no issue there. Rest rooms are right outside the testing room. You will be provided pencils and scratch paper. You are not allowed to bring anything to the desk except for ID. You need to leave your watch, telephone etc in a locker and you can put your coat/jacket on a hanger in the back. I recommend to wear two layers of clothes in case you get cold/warm you can take on or off some clothes.

The terminal program used is PuTTY or some form of it (RS) and right click brings up a menu. All the material is accessed via a web GUI. For the troubleshooting section you have a 2hr timer counting down and if the time expires all the windows will close. If you finish earlier you can move on and have time alotted to your config section. For the config section there is no timer, the proctor will keep the time. You will break for 30 min lunch, that is the only break you have but you are free to move around in the area next to the testing room. You will find water and coffee there if you want to. You are allowed to bring snacks and drinks to your desk. I recommend to bring some fruit and maybe a piece of chocolate in case your energy level gets low.

That's about all I can think of for now regarding the testing room but feel free to ask questions. Always practice with one monitor only and a US keyboard so that you are comfortable with that environment.

rakem

That's great info... cheers.
One more thing, i heard calculators are available... Is that true?

reaper81

You can use the Windows calculator if you need to. I never had any need for it but if you have a brainfart it might be nice to use it.

jamesp1983

reaper81 wrote: »

You can use the Windows calculator if you need to. I never had any need for it but if you have a brainfart it might be nice to use it.

That's good to know. I suppose it would be helpful for QoS calculations. Again, great work on your pass!

instant000

Reaper:

Good morning.

It's slightly belated, but congrats.

I actually happened upon the fact that you had cleared this exam by chance ... I was looking up some information on multi-vendor VRF, and happened upon your blog (you do have a few nice things I read there from time to time), and noticed that you had cleared the exam.

As I have followed your thread (and blog) off and on, I noticed that you were working steadily toward this goal, but I didn't have a clear idea on when you would complete the objective, but knew it would happen eventually, as you seemed to be quite persistent.

I'm hoping the best for you.

The difference between success and failure is moreso persistence than anything else I've seen.

reaper81

Thanks,

Yeah, you will be tested for persistence when you take this exam. I've always been passing tests easily but CCIE is another beast. You need to study hard and have a bit of luck. The only failure is when you quit, if you stay with it success will follow.

Plazma

Yea.. I had to realize that the lab is an Organic beast, not a linear one.. the first time I tried to go very linear .. and that was a huge mistake (at least for me). Of course getting the core sections working is a bit different.. but even so.. as long as it works within the requirements.

Also.. Practice Practice Practice and Verify Verify Verify!