It's my time: Mrock's CCIE thread

jason_lunde

Hey buddy! You still going strong here? I am looking at this hoping this isnt goin to turn into the next Turgon thread Stay strong and finish it out!

Mrock4

Absolutely! My resolve is the strongest it has been now. My attitude at this point is I AM passing in 2012. Whether that's on the first try, or subsequent attempts..who knows- but I am determined to get my digits this year! Plus, since I'm within 90 days whether I like it or not I'm sitting the lab soon!!

Mrock4

Up at 7am again to start my all day multicast marathon. I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday about my comfort level with multicast, but I think going through the deep dive will help a lot. During the videos today I plan on labbing up various multicast things as well, so it's going to be a sort of mini-bootcamp for myself today.

As a side note, my countdown app now shows 61 days till my exam! I think I'll sit down today and review my current plan/schedule and make minor modifications to ensure I get all the labs I want in before my date.

vinbuck

Mrock4 wrote: »

edited my post vinbuck- I realized after your post that I should reread what I said. Made a typo..said "it works fine in dense mode" but meant "on the shared tree" - my brain is fried!

Haha no worries...I was a bit confused. It's beyond my current multicast skill set at any rate. Did you ever figure it out?


I'm also up early with ya! Working my way through some BGP labs and reading

Mrock4

Nice! It's funny how getting up early helps. I've got 3 midgets running around, and I try to beat them to waking up so I get quiet time. Didn't work as planned this morning, but it's all good!

I did figure the issue out. It was actually functionally working fine..the method I was testing it with, however, was leading me to believe it was broke when in reality it wasn't. Brian McGahan's deep dive on multicast illustrates what I ran into (I think the exact video is "PIM Sparse mode"). That being said I felt like I should probably rewind a bit on multicast since I'm still not quite where I want to be. Brian Dennis brought up a great point on day 1 of our bootcamp- he said that for the CCIE R&S you really need to be at probably a 3/4 out of 10 skill level with QOS/Multicast, and therefore there's no reason to NOT master those topics. I never thought of it that way but I do agree now. My only gripe with his comment is...that's easy to say when you're a 5x CCIE

Mrock4

Got a LOT of my multicast videos done yesterday. I didn't finish them all, unfortunately, but I watched about 7 hours worth of the deep dive. I think I have 2-3 hours left tops then I'll be done with the deep dive. I plan on doing some multicast labs for the rest of today as time allows. Tomorrow I wanted to study, but it's not looking good- I have a pile of things around the house I need to do.

Back to the topic, the deep dive has helped a lot. I know now I need to review SSM config (I know it's a simple config, but I need to actually DO it a couple of times). I also need to review SSM-Maps as well. Other then that I am in a lot better shape on multicast..a big part of my issue was my understanding of PIM and the join/registration process for receivers/sources. I knew it, but I kept mixing it up, and I think conceptually I just didn't understand it as well as I thought I did.

aragoen_celtdra

You're getting a lot of good hours in. How do you feel about your readiness?

Mrock4

Hard to say. I don't think I am ready yet..I think it will be close. I wish I had an extra 30 days to be honest, but the date is in stone, so all I can do is push hard to strengthen my weak areas. The good news is I feel pretty confident in most areas- the sections getting me the most are non-core, and the issues I've had are not conceptual in nature, but rather syntax. Today I am going to evaluate where I stand and my comfort level a bit more and come up with a revised plan for the next 60 days. Previously my goal was to complete as many Vol II labs as possible, but now I think it's more important I understand each technology. I'm still doing Vol II labs, but I need to make sure I know the smaller technologies independently first.

aragoen_celtdra

Mrock4 wrote: »

I wish I had an extra 30 days to be honest, but the date is in stone, so all I can do is push hard to strengthen my weak areas. .

No way to re-schedule? I'm still at least a year and half away from even consider trying but, I thought you can always re-schedule. I could be wrong.

Mrock4

You can reschedule before the payment due date (90 days prior), but not after that- well, you COULD cancel, forfeit your lab fee, then schedule a new exam if you contact support to let them know you won't be there:

After Due Date. Changes and cancellations are not permitted after the payment due date--90 days prior to the scheduled lab date--and no refunds will be issued. If you are not able to attend your scheduled lab date, contact support to let them know the lab seat will not be used. You will still forfeit your payment, but you will be allowed to book another exam date immediately

I don't want to reschedule anyways. My work is paying for this attempt, and I feel it'll be a decent shot, so as long as I push hard I think (hope) I'll be OK.

Mrock4

Labbing some reasonably complex MSDP/MBGP scenarios today. Been really busy with work this morning. Now it has cleared up a bit so I am hoping to play with this some more. I'm specifically trying to get MSDP up and operational, then play with the more advanced features of MSDP that I am not very familiar with.

Mrock4

Not done, but had to check in to say how awesome labbing is going today. I've got the most quality MSDP/MBGP labbing time in today ever- and I've only spent about 2 hours on it. I randomly started building a topology, configured OSPF/BGP, got BSR configured in both AS's (along with some filtering and such to add realism), and finally configured MSDP. I admittedly had very limited knowledge on MSDP prior to this, and it helped me solidify the MSDP register/join process between peers by seeing it in action.

Ran into an issue for a while, where it appeared traffic was not making it to one of my switches. Turns out I forgot to verify the Layer 2 path between my RP2 and receiver. Fixed that, but the pings were unsuccessful from the RP1 side of the AS. Realized my MSDP peer did not have a route to perform the RPF on for the original source. Once I fixed that, it still appeared broke. Did a "debug ip mpacket" and quickly saw traffic was reaching my receiver (a 3560) but the switches just don't like to reply to multicast test pings. As soon as this happened I remembered seeing the same thing in the INE bootcamp, so it makes sense now.

That being said, I then wanted to shift gears to MBGP, so I filtered out my sources routes in BGP so my RPF's would fail. I then advertised the routes in question via MBGP and watched it come back to life.

Going to shift gears now and finally get to some of the more obscure (to me at least) MSDP features for the remainder of today.

aragoen_celtdra

Mrock4 wrote: »

Not done, but had to check in to say how awesome labbing is going today. I've got the most quality MSDP/MBGP labbing time in today ever- and I've only spent about 2 hours on it. I randomly started building a topology, configured OSPF/BGP, got BSR configured in both AS's (along with some filtering and such to add realism), and finally configured MSDP. I admittedly had very limited knowledge on MSDP prior to this, and it helped me solidify the MSDP register/join process between peers by seeing it in action.

Ahhh that feeling when some of your hard work finally fires up the light bulb and you just "get it".

Anyway, it's good that your company is paying for your attempt. In that case, you'd wanna take it anyway (regardless of your readiness) since it wont hurt your pocket as much and at worst you had a free and real "mock" lab. But, it shouldn't be a surprise should you pass the exam the first time given the hard work you're putting in towards your goal.

Mrock4

My attitude toward the lab has really shifted, and I think it's for the better. I personally don't fear failure. Of course I don't WANT to fail, but if I fail, it means I wasn't prepared enough. I study some more, and pass. No big deal. Naturally I'd rather get it on the first try, but we'll see how it goes!

That aside, today is really busy with work, but I'm going to attempt to get in some more multicast labs in today.

Mrock4

Got a little bit of labbing and started going over SNMPv3 which I have trouble remembering. Tomorrow I'll probably only get a couple of hours in since I'd like to spend time with the family before I head out of town. Tomorrow is more or less my last day at home without overly stressing about the lab..from here on out it's full throttle until the lab.

Planning on completing a TS lab Sunday evening, and maybe some focused review (it'll be a late night session, and I have to work the next morning). Next week will hopefully look like this:

Monday: 6pm - 11:30pm (IPV6 Multicast, MLS QOS, MPLS QOS)
Tuesday: 6pm - 11:30pm (Lab 9, INE)
Wednesday: 6pm - 11:30pm (Finish Lab 9, grade, start looking at trouble spots)
Thursday: 6pm - 11:30pm (TBD- will likely be reviewing weak spots discovered on Lab 9)
Friday: Off
Saturday: 7:30am - 4pm (Lab 10)
Sunday: 9am - 11am (Short review session)

Of course this is "the plan" but we'll see how well I stick to it! This should bring me 32.5 hours of study. It always ends up being on the lower end due to other things (ie: taking a break for dinner), so it'll probably be more like 28 hours for next week.

spiderjericho

Hey M, where was your INE boot camp. I'm trying to see if the org will pay for the November Orlando boot camp.

Mrock4

I took mine in Orlando. If you go to that one, and prize peace and quiet, do NOT stay at the hard rock hotel! Just my $.02.

BTW, if I fail my lab in Aug, and fail my 2nd attempt..I will be there in November! I hope I am not there for that reason, but if so it'd be cool.

spiderjericho

I'm not sure they'll pay for lodging. I tried going to a CISM class in North Carolina paid for by Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, and they started spazzing.

Not even sure they'll pay for the class, but I just put in the request in.

And I'm using the 10-day course as a primer. But if they allow you reattend if you fail a lab attempt, I might try to go again.

Mrock4

For sure. I'd say the majority of the people in my bootcamp used it as a primer, only a handful had lab dates. I hear you about them not paying for it..my last place was the same way.

Mrock4

Had a bit of a lapse in studying since I was leaving town. Now that I'm settled at the hotel, I'm gonna get crackin' with some labs this evening.

blueberries

Mrock has got 99 problems but a router ain't one! Keep up the good work and thanks for keeping us updated.

Mrock4

Hah! Thank you!

About to start a TS lab. Hoping I can do well on it, and start Lab 9 tomorrow after work.

Mrock4

Finished up TS Lab 4 this evening- had some equipment issues last night which prevented me from finishing so I had to put it on hold. I started off where I left, with 60 minutes left, and finished the lab averaging about 10.5 minutes per ticket (I got caught up on one for WAY too long). I think had I not ran into an issue that I kept over complicating, I would have averaged around 7-8 minutes per ticket.

Graded the lab, and it was really disappointing. I managed to score 21/30 points, and needed 24/30 to pass. The worst part is, I missed 3/10 tickets. One I was totally clueless on (required netflow filters, I need to play with those, I have NEVER used them), and the other one I fixed- but I don't think it would have been a "go" in the real lab. I ended up removing MPLS off an interface as part of my solution (I didn't need this for my solution, but I left it there). So I learned from that mistake.

The other one had a router running Authorized ARP and a DHCP server, and I wasn't familiar with Authorized ARP, so I ended up creating a static ARP entry, which violated the restrictions of the task. The funny thing is, I thought of using DHCP to obtain the IP for the connected device (after reading cisco documentation on authorized arp), but I decided against it because I figured they wouldn't be that evil.

That being said I am still pretty happy with how it went, I flew through most tasks, it was an BGP IPV6 address family I kept overlooking (neighbor wasn't activated)..again, dumb mistake.

Back to labbing. Not going to start Lab 9 tonight as I had planned, going to do some multicast labs.

vinbuck

Dude you are killing it....it is very motivating to watch your progress. It seems like the key to knocking out the lab is regular flight time on the console week in and week out.

As you are nearing your first lab attempt, what would you have done differently starting out? Do you feel lab time and reading should be equally balanced or would you lean towards putting more time into one or the other.

Mrock4

Thanks vinbuck! It's equally motivating hearing words of encouragement, so thanks!

What would I have done differently? Let's see:

-Read more, watched more videos AFTER my written (ie: incorporate it in with my Vol I labs). I read plenty before my written, but I forgot a lot between taking the written and this lab attempt, so I find myself having to go back and review little things. Nothing major, but I think I would have incorporated something like 1-2 hours per week of dedicated reading time. My personal take, is I think 85% lab and 15% reading/videos is a good mix. Right now I'm at about 95% lab and 5% reading, due to my condensed schedule.

-Learn verification commands for EVERYTHING from the beginning. I started out configuring things, and just assuming it was good, or relying too much on the "show run" output (ie: show run int f0/0 - to see storm control config). I'm getting out of that habit now, but it would be a lot easier if I did it from the start.

Anyway, that's my $.02!

spiderjericho

Mrock4 wrote: »

For sure. I'd say the majority of the people in my bootcamp used it as a primer, only a handful had lab dates. I hear you about them not paying for it..my last place was the same way.

I looked at the Hard Rock prices for the Nov INE class. Holy crap, the government ain't paying that kind of money for a lowly enlisted person, lol. I saw some other hotels down the strip with the normal government rates and will probably try to stay at one of them (if they approve the boot camp, it's hard to convince people the value of something like this).

And I saw on the INE blog that they changed their retake policy. It's free as long as you pay a rack rental fee. So my intention is to get them to pay for it, then attend it again when I'm knee deep in my studies.

And do you have a list of show commands that are invaluable? Or is it just a case of verifying based on technologies. Usually there are about 1-3 commands to verify if something is working or troubleshoot.

vinbuck

spiderjericho wrote: »

I looked at the Hard Rock prices for the Nov INE class. Holy crap, the government ain't paying that kind of money for a lowly enlisted person, lol.

Come on Gunny, E-7 ain't lowly...at least in my book BTW Happy 4th of July and thanks to you and Mrock for your service

Mrock4

Thanks vinbuck!

spider- the retake policy allows for a 100% retake of the R&S track WITHOUT that $500 rack rental fee..that fee is for all the other tracks. I read it the same way as you did, and asked the INE folks while I was in the bootcamp about that.

I would NOT stay in the hard rock ever again. I payed $200 in parking charges over 10 days, it's ALWAYS loud (they blast music by the pool till about 9-10pm, and my room was right next to the pool), and the food is insanely expensive there. There was a reduced room rate for us, it was $149 per night, so that aligns it pretty well with your average hotels.

I would say if you go, look at hotels within a couple of miles. It's a real easy drive into the hard rock (you still have to pay for parking though..I think it's $8-10 EACH TIME you park there, so if you leave for lunch, and come back, you pay again)..and you could probably get away from some of the disney folks.

Also spider, use the other stuff that comes with the bootcamp as leverage. That's what I did (previous employer approved this very bootcamp days before I left them..it was also the gov't). I made sure to explain you get X amount of rack rental tokens, 2-3 years of videos included, and optionally a mock lab with the package..so you actually get quite a bit for that $6k. Just a thought!

Mrock4

Woke up late today because I'm coming down with something, so I popped a couple of dayquil and now I'm ready to start Lab 9. I won't get the full day in since I woke up late, but I'll try to get as far as I can on Lab 9 then finish it up tomorrow.

Mrock4

OK, I lied, I am going to knock out a Vol III (the "speed" labs) lab now. I'm going to do this so I can finish that up completely today and grade it, then tomorrow I'll do Lab 9.