Meh! Nothing to CCIE here...

down77

Back from a trip to Atlanta!

Going back over All of Volume 1 in a very fast paced fashion. Over the next 3-4wks I'll be doing every chapter from volume 1 but focusing on the verification/validation rather than the configuration side of the house. This time it's about knowing how each item will effect things down the line, how to identify/verify the changes, and working to have things flow as smoothly as possible.

This week I will be attempting Chapters 1 - 3 (and hopefully half of 4) all sections! I completed Chapter 1 and 2 on the road, and will be working on Chapter 3 tonight/tomorrow. If all goes well I should be on pace to finish chapter 4 this weekend and get 5,6,7, and 14 next week. Week three will be 8,9,10,11 and then some cleanup on 12 and 13 as needed.

I will also start working on some Volume 2 labs on the weekends only (for now). Time to get busy with a 3-4hr IP Routing session tonight!

SteveO86

Sounds like a plan man, after seeing Vol I first hand, that is an agressive schedule but a very do-able schedule.

down77

I agree! But I'll be performing as much as I can during work time as well as at least 3 hrs per night to help get through it. This will be my second trip down Vol 1 so I hope it'll come a little ore naturally this time. Some sections, like 3.14 - 3.18, will be get rough but others will be just fine (I hope).

SteveO86

Cool, doing some labbing at work will definitely help out greatly. Have at it bud!

down77

Will do! Finishing some IP routing labs while on conference calls. Nothing like being able to work from the house for a living

down77

Finishing vol 1 chapter 3 and moving on to chapter 4. Lets see if I can get another couple hours review tonight... in the meantime I'm continuing on in the verification of every command I enter. A simple example below:

!Configuring a simple static route, remember.. this could influence other decisions down the line/later
Rack1R5(config)#ip route 150.1.4.0 255.255.255.0 155.1.45.4
!
!Ensure reachability to that route
Rack1R5(config)#do ping 150.1.4.4
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 150.1.4.4, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 8/10/14 ms
!
!Verifying which path I am taking to reach this route.
Rack1R5(config)#do sh ip route 150.1.4.4
Routing entry for 150.1.4.0/24
Known via "static", distance 1, metric 0
Routing Descriptor Blocks:
* 155.1.45.4
Route metric is 0, traffic share count is 1

This is a very simple and high level example. The point is to never just enter configuration and accept it at face value. Always verify what you enter into the cli AND fix issues as you go. The last thing you want is to find out something is broken many questions later... it could mean the loss of too many points on the lab!

I'll post a few more complex verifications over the next few weeks. I may even get brave and do one for OER... maybe

down77

Finishing Chapter 4 - RIP review and moving on to Chapter 5 - EIGRP tomorrow. The best part about reviewing is remembering why things were done the first time and concentrating on making sure I understand why on future attempts!

down77

I ended up only doing a little bit of review during the day yesterday and took the night off so that I could spend some time with the family.

Working on EIGRP labs again today to see if I can get them finished. I should be off to OSPF review in the next day or so. Hoping for 4-8hrs of lab time today

down77

Well I almost finished EIGRP and then took 2 days off for a family event. Time to finish EIGRP and move on to OSPF. I;m a day or two behind where I wanted but I can get back on track with a decent study week this week.

down77

Trying to get another 90-120 minutes of study time in before I head to bed. A nice little 7+ hr drive in the morning.

down77

Some mid day labs before heading to Tampa for the rest of the week...

jamesp1983

down77 wrote: »

Some mid day labs before heading to Tampa for the rest of the week...

Good luck. What are you doing in Tampa?

SteveO86

down77 wrote: »

Some mid day labs before heading to Tampa for the rest of the week...

Which part of Tampa you heading to?

down77

I was at Harbor Island for a 2hr meeting then off to Sarasota for a morning meeting. I thought I would be around exit 275 (I-75) the rest of the week but now I get to head back home since client #3 canceled. I;ll have to let you know next time I'm down here.

down77

Time for an update! Getting closer to the exam day and putting in 6-10 hours of lab time per day when I am not traveling. I'm preparing to take a mock exam tomorrow and then follow up with weak areas before the final mock attempt. Holiday season = more study time

down77

Happy New Year! I've been spending a lot of time (and money) doing Vol 2 and Mock labs. My scores have been slowly going up to where I feel comfortable with a first attempt at the lab! My lab date is closing in very fast... 5-6 weeks left!

My social life has been non existent and will continue to be as such until after the exam! I've heard rumors that R&S v5 will be announced at the Melbourne Cisco Live. This should give me a little time for a 2nd/3rd attempt at the lab (if needed). I've threatened the family that I will not shave until after the lab attempt but that wouldn't fly with my job.... d'oh!

May see a few more updates as the exam day gets closer. As you can tell I've been lab'ing/studying more and posting less.

down77

Seems like I am up late until 1-2am most nights doing labs and reviewing. Tonight I am going back over IPv6 multicast, OER, and IOS security features. Spending the last few weeks hitting my weaker areas hard!

jamesp1983

down77 wrote: »

Seems like I am up late until 1-2am most nights doing labs and reviewing. Tonight I am going back over IPv6 multicast, OER, and IOS security features. Spending the last few weeks hitting my weaker areas hard!

Sounds good man! Keep it up!

down77

Thanks James! Time is going by fast!

down77

Skipping meetings today and doing more lab time at the house. I havent touched HDLC/PPP in a while so that's on the agenda for the afternoon along with some IGP authentication, ZBF, and NAT!

jamesp1983

down77 wrote: »

Thanks James! Time is going by fast!

I completely agree with you. Time is flying by since I'm in my final 90 days.

down77

jamesp1983 wrote: »

I completely agree with you. Time is flying by since I'm in my final 90 days.

RTP or San Jose? If needed, my 2nd attempt may be near your attempt!

jamesp1983

I will be at rtp.

SteveO86

down77 wrote: »

Seems like I am up late until 1-2am most nights doing labs and reviewing. Tonight I am going back over IPv6 multicast, OER, and IOS security features. Spending the last few weeks hitting my weaker areas hard!

Impressive bud, I usually call it quits by 11-11:30 on the weekdays. Now you got me thinking I should stay up later

down77

SteveO86 wrote: »

Impressive bud, I usually call it quits by 11-11:30 on the weekdays. Now you got me thinking I should stay up later

It can be hard to stay up late late late every day. I try my hardest to stay up as long as I can to get some studying done but to be honest some days I pass out a few hours earlier.

down77

Spent 3 1/2hrs working with a friend on troubleshooting labs and some other techniques. We are both close to our exam date and trying to log as many additional hours as possible!


Tonight I'm doing additional troubleshooting labs and speed drills!

jamesp1983

down77 wrote: »

Spent 3 1/2hrs working with a friend on troubleshooting labs and some other techniques. We are both close to our exam date and trying to log as many additional hours as possible!


Tonight I'm doing additional troubleshooting labs and speed drills!

Has working with a friend been valuable?

down77

jamesp1983 wrote: »

Has working with a friend been valuable?

It has been. He's helped me on a few technologies I didnt understand as well as I should and vice versa. We had a game plan set out ahead of time and we stuck to the study schedule. He used primarily Narbik materials and I used INE. While we did not share books with each other, we did share tactics and methods on how to handle questions and scenarios.

down77

In Atlanta for a meeting @ the Cisco office. I didnt get much study time last night due to dinner with work/etc but plan to get some lab time in tonight after my meeting is done.

I am now less than a month from my first Lab attempt! I may have to schedule a 2 week "vacation" to give some last minute study time the week before and week of the lab... right now I just have 1 week scheduled. Let the anxiety and stress commence

down77

Doing as many full labs as possible, including troubleshooting between now and exam time. I am trying to work on speeding things up AND focus on accuracy. I'm finding this is a difficult and challenging balance in itself! Thankfully work was slow for me last week, and I am only doing some remote work for 2 clients this week.

ipv6, multicast, ios services and qos this morning and then off to start another full lab later this evening!