It's my time: Mrock's CCIE thread

Mrock4

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

If you just want to test yourself on the core technologies, hit the Vol3 labs, that's what they're all about. No network services or security or qos or any of that fun stuff

I was just looking at them actually- haven't bought yet though. I think that may be the way to go!

ipSpace

Good luck Mrock4 ! 8-9 months for the CCIE si doable.

Mrock4

ipSpace wrote: »

Good luck Mrock4 ! 8-9 months for the CCIE si doable.

Thanks! I'm hoping to pull it off!

Monday was a day off due to a long workday (ie: 15 hrs), and Tuesday was the same story. Unfortunately, tonight (Wednesday) is turning out the same way, although I think I'll be able to get in about 2 hours. The plan is still working though, and that's maintain a somewhat consistent schedule of study. Technically, I'm 4 hours down this week, but that'll still put me at 19 hours for the week, so not bad.

Mrock4

Almost through Frame-relay labs. Probably will go back over them tomorrow and try to break stuff. Sunday I'll start layer 3 I think.

Just a side note, I've got a big white board in my office (see previous pic I posted), and that thing has been awesome for my prep so far. I leave notes on it, things to come back to, draw diagrams, etc...I use them all the time at work, but it's awesome at home too.

Mrock4

Finished the FR section. Studying for 5 hrs tomorrow, so going to dedicate the first hour to experimenting with FR, then get started on the RIP labs. I've been through the RIP labs a few times before, so to make sure I don't just go through the motions I might put my own little spin on them.

Mrock4

Finished RIP. Will start EIGRP tomorrow.

Mrock4

In the zone. Probably will finish EIGRP today. I work extensively with EIGRP on a daily basis, so all the INE topics regarding EIGRP I have covered in the last week as part of my job. I'm really glad to not have any troubles with RIP/EIGRP, because OSPF will slow me down a lot. Getting through EIGRP now means I have more time to focus on OSPF.

Currently listening to "Renegades of Funk" by Rage against the machine. Funny how the words "no matter how hard you try you can't stop us now" is motivating!

Back to labbing...3 hours to go...

Mrock4

Spent only about 2 hours labbing tonight instead of my goal of 3.

Almost finished EIGRP tonight, but got stuck on prefix filtering with distribute-list and route-map's. My config matched INE's, but it just wouldn't tag. I'm tired (long day), so I'll reattack it tomorrow. I could have moved on, but I really want to make sure I understand it. Will finish up EIGRP tomorrow and begin OSPF.

Mrock4

Andddd let's hit some OSPF. Watched Jeremy Ciora's first OSPF video on CBT Nuggets to warm me up. Off to lab...

Mrock4

Racking the hours up. Still in OSPF and will be for the next week I'd guess. Tonight I got knee-deep in the OSPF labs and have enjoyed it so far. So far I've been at it almost two weeks, and have maintained an awesome balance between study and home life. I feel confident I can maintain this pace- it's fast enough to feel I'm making progress, but not so insane that I lose my life completely. The only variable though, is my fairly aggressive timeline for the lab, which will cause me to up the hours (as to be expected) later this year as I close in on my date.

Mrock4

Glad I got really ahead on my FR/EIGRP schedule, because I'm going to definitely need the extra time for OSPF. I got all the basics down, but realized my theory is lacking a little. I can configure most scenario's in INE without cheating, but I need to do some review (videos/books) for a couple of days before moving on. Going to give myself another week on OSPF before moving forward.

Hours are climbing regularly though, which is a great sign.

Mrock4

Back to OSPF today. On a study break now. Learned a lot today, actually. It's been hard, ran into a couple of things I hadn't done before, but was able to get through it with some thinking and the assistance of the cisco docs.

I'm not too far off from making my way through all of the OSPF labs. I think once I finish the INE labs, I'm going to lab my own up for the remainder of the week. That'll put me at starting BGP in about 7 days.

Mrock4

Sticking with OSPF videos still. Going to go through the entire INE ATC OSPF videos. Already watched the CBT Nuggets ones. Once I'm done with that, going to do a couple more labs, and then move forward to BGP. I haven't really been studying for that long (3 weeks now), but I'm progressing well.

Mrock4

Nothing has changed! Been studying daily- my production of CBT's on my own have slowed that down a little, but I think it's been worth it.

Based on my schedule I came up with before I started studying, I still have two weeks until I need to move onto BGP. I think I'm going to set my new OSPF deadline to April 29th (this sunday). I'll dive into OSPF as deep as I can until then, and the following week will be NOTHING but videos/reading on BGP to sharpen up before I lab. Normally I'd try to read while at work, but work has been insane, there's no time for lunch let alone for professional development.

Just as a side note to any other candidates reading this, although reading/watching videos slows me down prior to labbing, I've found that it helps out. I passed the written with a good score, but even then, there's a lot that is forgotten over 6 months.

jamesp1983

Mrock4 wrote: »

I passed the written with a good score, but even then, there's a lot that is forgotten over 6 months.

I couldn't agree with you more. The videos are a help before and after you lab the topic. I find helpful pointers each time I watch.

Mrock4

I haven't fallen off the wagon! I have been studying, but not as much as I should. I've been going back and forth with a BIG company as it relates to an offer/counter-offer, etc for the last two weeks, so that's taken a lot of my time and motivation. I'm not sure what's going to happen with that, but that's really no excuse.

Anyway- my current employer (and prospective employer) offered to pay 100% for a CCIE bootcamp (the INE 2 week) plus a lab attempt, so that's really awesome.

I also checked my study schedule I created at the beginning of this endeavor, and based on it, I have one week left to finish OSPF, then move onto BGP. Good timing, because I think a week is just enough time to get there! Can't wait....

Oh! But I am going to derail for another two days to finish a PVST/RSTP video for the CCNA folks. It's great review for myself, and I like making the videos...plus I promised I'd have it done this weekend.

Mrock4

Watched some INE BGP videos tonight. Going to review all the theory prior to labbing. Moving along!

Mrock4

Looks like my work may have dropped the bootcamp. Oh well. Not gonna stop me.

Watched an hour of INE BGP vids, and firing up the rack now for a couple hours of labbing.

apd123

I wouldn't get to worried about missing a boot camp. At least for me I am not able to learn much in that environment due to the speed and scattered nature resulting from students being at vastly different levels. Most of what I got out of mine were tips about the lab itself which you can likely get from blogs and forums these days.

Mrock4

apd123 wrote: »

I wouldn't get to worried about missing a boot camp. At least for me I am not able to learn much in that environment due to the speed and scattered nature resulting from students being at vastly different levels. Most of what I got out of mine were tips about the lab itself which you can likely get from blogs and forums these days.

My original plan was only to attend one if I could get my work's support. Since they were back and forth on that, I just planned on not doing it. The short version is, they have been back and forth so much on whether or not I can go to one, that I'm just planning on not doing it.

It is good to hear someone reaffirm that it's not a huge "must" to attend one in order to pass the lab.

I'm still working on BGP, it's been really slow lately. I've got no less than 4 various ventures going on- between my full-time job, some part-time things (I've been developing some training material on the side for CCNA courses), and family time- it's been hard. I'm trying hard to stick to an attempt this year though.

More to follow though, I'm going to buckle down this week on BGP since last week was not so productive.

Forsaken_GA

Mrock4 wrote: »

I'm still working on BGP, it's been really slow lately. I've got no less than 4 various ventures going on- between my full-time job, some part-time things (I've been developing some training material on the side for CCNA courses), and family time- it's been hard. I'm trying hard to stick to an attempt this year though.

I've seen the material you're putting out, and I certainly think it's good, but if it's detracting from your study time, I'd seriously reconsider it. Unless you're covering stuff that you're struggling with on IE study, and are taking an alternate method to learning by teaching it to others, it's ultimately a distraction and at cross purposes with your goal (unless of course, your goal is to actually run a training company)

Mrock4

My overall goal has always been to get into training, and actually, if asked my two main reasons for going for the CCIE, I would list them in no particular order: To gain credibility as a trainer, and for the challenge. Those both still hold true.

We'll see how it goes. For years now, I've loved training others, both in IT and in other things, so that's always been a love of mine, but I don't give up easily, and the CCIE has been a goal of mine before training ever was. If I get the CCIE, it's all the better for me as a trainer. I'm going to still shoot for November this year, but definitely give it all some deep thought too.

MrBrian

Go ahead, produce a bunch of high quality videos.. and if they're helpful enough you could definitely take a chunk out of the market owned primarily by cbtnuggets, chris bryant, todd lammle, etc. I really think if the content is good, the market is open for it, at least at a small level. Haven't you ever thought, wow, I could maybe make something this good or better? Just do a whole series and package it..

I found my way to your youtube videos and they were good. Except I'd rather have em in 10-20 minute chunks rather than the 45 minute layer2 troubleshooting one, even though it was good.

I may do this at some time, but really one reason I enjoy explaining technologies is because it helps me understand it better.. because then I have to think of abstract ways to explain it to someone, but might as well make videos while I'm at it lol

Mrock4

Still alive guys! Been really busy with work, but haven't stopped studying- even if it's only a little at a time. I'm currently in a CISSP bootcamp, so I've been doing 12-14 hour days for the past week. I test this weekend for the CISSP, so that'll be interesting. It was mostly a work requirement, so I didn't really have the necessary prep, but I'm doing OK on the practice tests so far.

Once the CISSP is knocked out (hopefully this weekend..), I have a CCNP Security bootcamp in late july with INE. It's kind of funny I've done all this security work/study for my job- I can't help but wonder if it's a sign I should head down the CCIE Sec track instead. Oh well. Too far into the R&S track now. Security can come later.

I have revised my timeline though. I was hitting the studies really hard for a while, and I just couldn't sustain those hours with a family. I was doing about 20-25 hours a week of study and truthfully, it wasn't that bad, but it wears on you after a month of that. I'm scaling back now (again, once CISSP is done) to about 15-20 hours a week. Not a big difference, but it'll allow me a lot more time to relax and get away from the keyboard.

If anyone is wondering where I am technically on the CCIE lab prep, I'm in security. I've decided what better time to study the security topics on the lab then when I have to study them for work. Once the CISSP/CCNP Sec bootcamps (doubt I'll get the CCNP Sec cert, at least anytime soon) are done, I'm going to circle around and do some quick review over stuff I'd been labbing before this bootcamp. That way I don't forget topics (ie: switching) by the time I get to the lab.

Revised timeline has me taking the lab in March/April next year, which was actually my "alternate" date originally. If I have to move that back, that's fine.

It's a marathon after all, right?

jamesp1983

Good to hear from you! Your new job sounds demanding, but rewarding. Good luck on the CISSP. The CCIE is indeed a marathon.

Roguetadhg

Being in IT is a marathon.

Never stop learning!

Mrock4

Took the CISSP- awaiting results..if I failed that I'll have to circle around and study for that again.

Labbing towards the CCIE now in the meantime though. I got the CCNP Security bootcamp through INE later this month, so once that's done, I'm going to up the frequency of my studies. Right now the motto is "slow and steady"..

The lab date is always a moving target for me, but for right now I'll say somewhere around March/April/May 2013 is when I should sit the lab.

jamesp1983

Man, you are a busy guy! What'd you think of the cissp? Keep up the good work.

Mrock4

Thanks James- glad to see your lab hours are incrementing as well!

I thought the CISSP was crazy. The ISC(2) official courseware covers an incredibly wide range of material- from business continuity to cryptography, to physical security (ie: locks, man traps, etc), to IPSec VPN's. If the span of topics aren't bad enough, the manner in which questions are asked makes it really tricky.

Mrock4

Revised my study schedule to be a bit more forgiving. The new version starts tomorrow.