Who is pursuing the CCIE in 2012

It's that time again. Anyone planning on written or lab sometime in 2012? Last year was a tough one on the study front but several blogs opened up that are still going strong with candidates logging hundreds of lab hours although some have choked. I expect 2012 to be a good year.

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yostc

NOC-Ninja wrote: »

That's the main reason I picked Narbik is because of the unlimited bootcamp.
You didn't add Narbik's mock lab on your count?
Ill probably stick with 1 bootcamp since I cant afford spending more vacation time due to the bootcamp...
How much total lab hours did you spend into your CCIE lab?
How much money have you spend on your ccie journey ?

Thank you!

Narbik's mock lab is the cisco 360 ciers2 class I think, which I just did at Netmaster who were excellent too.

I had to be near 850 hours for this last attempt hour wise.

Cost wise I don't even want to talk about lol. It is up there though...

NOC-Ninja

yostc wrote: »

Narbik's mock lab is the cisco 360 ciers2 class I think, which I just did at Netmaster who were excellent too.

I had to be near 850 hours for this last attempt hour wise.

Cost wise I don't even want to talk about lol. It is up there though...

O yeah. I forgot Narbik calls his bootcamp ciers. lol

and36y

I'm planning to start CCIE r&s written study from the weekend of 21st Jan.. I have a CCDP exam before that, ( Failed in December with 760 ....bugger) Been collecting cisco and network books over many years, ( got about 60 cisco press alone) sounds quite sad, probably is but I've bought alot of older books for pennies just for one chapter, allows me to cross reference. Is the perlman bridges book still worth getting or , or had is been superceeded by a cisco press publication somewhere. Working through INE book list and one from a post on the cisco learning forum about the jump between ccnp and ccie. I have the time scheduled and planned,ready to start. Have 3/4 of the INE rack built>> ( need switches to finish)> just got to pass this bloody CCDP....

Andy

Turgon

and36y wrote: »

I'm planning to start CCIE r&s written study from the weekend of 21st Jan.. I have a CCDP exam before that, ( Failed in December with 760 ....bugger) Been collecting cisco and network books over many years, ( got about 60 cisco press alone) sounds quite sad, probably is but I've bought alot of older books for pennies just for one chapter, allows me to cross reference. Is the perlman bridges book still worth getting or , or had is been superceeded by a cisco press publication somewhere. Working through INE book list and one from a post on the cisco learning forum about the jump between ccnp and ccie. I have the time scheduled and planned,ready to start. Have 3/4 of the INE rack built>> ( need switches to finish)> just got to pass this bloody CCDP....

Im the same as you in terms of book collection, and you can pick up some good old books used off amazon very cheap. Caslow is worth it for frame relay. Radia's book would be a good edition if only to say you have it, I still havent got that one but promise myself to read it one day.

Andy

Im the same as you in terms of book collection, and you can pick up some good old books used off amazon very cheap. Caslow is worth it for frame relay. Radia's book would be a good edition if only to say you have it, I still havent got that one but promise myself to read it one day.

Kennedy Clark + a CCNP switching book. Doyle Vol I and II. Solie, Duggan perhaps and you should be set. Odom's book for the written.

alan2308

and36y wrote: »

Is the perlman bridges book still worth getting or , or had is been superceeded by a cisco press publication somewhere.

I actually just finished reading the Perlman book. It's not real deep in the technologies it covers, and it covers as much IPX, Appletalk, Decnet, and CLNP as it does TCP/IP. So from a certification point of view, I can't say it's all that useful. But from an academic point of view, it's among the best. If you want a first hand account of why things were designed the way they were from someone who was there, this is your book.

Turgon

alan2308 wrote: »

I actually just finished reading the Perlman book. It's not real deep in the technologies it covers, and it covers as much IPX, Appletalk, Decnet, and CLNP as it does TCP/IP. So from a certification point of view, I can't say it's all that useful. But from an academic point of view, it's among the best. If you want a first hand account of why things were designed the way they were from someone who was there, this is your book.

Exactly and I still think there is merit in reading materials that are technology focused as opposed to cert focused.

ahepburn

Well today I have officially decided that it is time to pursue first goal on my new years resolution list; The CCIE. I know its going to be an EXTREME challenge, but I'm just pushing forward and trying to stay confident. I'm going to use this thread for tracking my progress throughout my CCIE journey. I purchased the INE VOD written bootcamp along with the Cisco Press self-pace study guideversion 4.0. The intent is to study for 24-30 hours a week, and sit the written exam in May of this year! and start labbing inin june..... for which I intend to purchase either the ipexperts CCIE training or the INE... do anyone have any suggestion on which vendor si should go with for the LAB, and if I need any additional studying material for the written?

mikearama

Damn... $350 US for the written. That's expensive.

So, booked for Saturday. I think I'm ready... doing quite well with the practice sims lately. I expect to pass, but if not, it'll be one expensive look at the exam.

jamesp1983

mikearama wrote: »

Damn... $350 US for the written. That's expensive.

So, booked for Saturday. I think I'm ready... doing quite well with the practice sims lately. I expect to pass, but if not, it'll be one expensive look at the exam.

That's exactly what I said. $350 isn't cheap.

Forsaken_GA

The Written is really not that hard. You're basically paying cisco 350 bucks to have the opportunity to pay them $1500 for lunch (statistically speaking).

I'm pushing my goals back for my first lab attempt to Oct/Nov. The job change and the events leading up to it have hindered my study time, and promises of financial aid from the new employer have made me reassess.

mikearama

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

You're basically paying cisco 350 bucks to have the opportunity to pay them $1500 for lunch (statistically speaking).

Awesome! I'm stealing that line... I'll give you credit for it the first two times, then it's all mine.

I work with 10 CCIE's, 7 of whom can attest to the $1500 happy meal deal, and not even a toy to show for it.

Turgon

mikearama wrote: »

Damn... $350 US for the written. That's expensive.

So, booked for Saturday. I think I'm ready... doing quite well with the practice sims lately. I expect to pass, but if not, it'll be one expensive look at the exam.

Good luck Mike. The testing pool isn't that large so if you miss passing bone up on the questions that gave you a headache and resit inside 6 weeks.

Turgon

ahepburn wrote: »

Well today I have officially decided that it is time to pursue first goal on my new years resolution list; The CCIE. I know its going to be an EXTREME challenge, but I'm just pushing forward and trying to stay confident. I'm going to use this thread for tracking my progress throughout my CCIE journey. I purchased the INE VOD written bootcamp along with the Cisco Press self-pace study guideversion 4.0. The intent is to study for 24-30 hours a week, and sit the written exam in May of this year! and start labbing inin june..... for which I intend to purchase either the ipexperts CCIE training or the INE... do anyone have any suggestion on which vendor si should go with for the LAB, and if I need any additional studying material for the written?

Suggest you put your own study thread up on the CCIE forum. There are many and its good to swap notes.

Forsaken_GA

mikearama wrote: »

Awesome! I'm stealing that line... I'll give you credit for it the first two times, then it's all mine.

I work with 10 CCIE's, 7 of whom can attest to the $1500 happy meal deal, and not even a toy to show for it.

No problem!

Honestly, if you want to assess whether or not you're ready for the written, pay Boson the 99 bucks for their CCIE Written questions. I'm normally not a fan of Boson products, but they got it right with that one. It is *very* representative of what you will see on the real thing, so if you can do well on those, you can go into the Written with confidence you'll nail it

down77

mikearama wrote: »

Awesome! I'm stealing that line... I'll give you credit for it the first two times, then it's all mine.

I work with 10 CCIE's, 7 of whom can attest to the $1500 happy meal deal, and not even a toy to show for it.

At least with CPOC you get a free shirt!

I will say that the meals @ the on campus Cafeteria were awesome the times I have been there. I miss the Korean bbq stir fry!

mikearama

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

Honestly, if you want to assess whether or not you're ready for the written, pay Boson the 99 bucks for their CCIE Written questions. I'm normally not a fan of Boson products, but they got it right with that one. It is *very* representative of what you will see on the real thing, so if you can do well on those, you can go into the Written with confidence you'll nail it

That's the one I got. Well worth the $99. I thought I was ready after almost 400 hours of reading and review... only to have the sim royally kick my ass.

mikearama

mikearama wrote: »

So, booked for Saturday. I think I'm ready... doing quite well with the practice sims lately. I expect to pass, but if not, it'll be one expensive look at the exam.

Hey, I just wanted to let you gurus know that I got by the written... 853. Really rather disappointed in the exam... tough, with Cisco's usual tendency to ask about the tiniest details... but several of the questions were poorly worded, and with a couple others, only by ruling out the clearly wrong answers could you come up with the correct one(s).

Case in point, while trying to be vague... one question asked about improving convergence time using a particular routing protocol, because you're unhappy with the delay after topology changes. After removing the clearly wrong suggestions, one of the remaining answers was to enable this particular routing protocol. Hello? Really?

Anyway, on to INE for the ULTIMATE bundle. Can't wait for the workbooks to get here so I can get started.

Sirsamon

Congratulations

well stoked

jamesp1983

Congrats! Good luck with your lab prep. When did you determine you were ready for the written exam? I'm nervous about mine.

mikearama

jamesp1983 wrote: »

Congrats! Good luck with your lab prep. When did you determine you were ready for the written exam? I'm nervous about mine.

Great question. Honestly, not until I was killing the Boson sim on a regular basis. Oddly enough, I thought I was ready at the end of November, but then I popped for the Boson sim, and realized quickly that I either didn't know or had forgotten a boatload of details. So, every question I got wrong on the sim I researched, and before long it was all in place. Frankly, I think Boson did a better job of the exam than Cisco did. If you have $99 to blow, get the sim... you'll be glad you did.

SubnetZero

Ahoy Lads! So if my wife doesn't divorce me I may go for the CCIE Service Provider this year. The issue I'm facing is the cost of getting my hands on some XR-12K's which costs about $75.00 USD for 3 hours! I've already purchased the INE CCIE Service Provider Advanced Technologies Class but haven't started watching those just yet. I really wish INE would build an SP rack for version 3 but it's still in the works. Happy Labbing!!

thadizzy

Passed my CCIE R&S last year, the agenda for 2012 is to pass CCIE Wireless. Been working almost entierly with Cisco Wireless for the last 1,5 year in really big installations which really helps alot. Bought the IPexpert CCIE Wireless 2.0 end-to-end package which got delayed from Oct '11 to April '12, **** me off since its ruin my plans..

While waiting I've been scouting all over the net for study materials, its not easy to find however.. nothing like the other major tracks

Had the luxery of doing big parts of the study for the R&S lab during workhours, this time I'll be doing it entierly on spare time and I just had my first baby born a month ago.. gonna be a busy year and maybe my wife will kill me before it ends

Luckily I got a great employer who pays for all material+racktimes. He's a double CCIE himself working on his third, so he know what it takes

thadizzy

ahepburn wrote: »

Well today I have officially decided that it is time to pursue first goal on my new years resolution list; The CCIE. I know its going to be an EXTREME challenge, but I'm just pushing forward and trying to stay confident. I'm going to use this thread for tracking my progress throughout my CCIE journey. I purchased the INE VOD written bootcamp along with the Cisco Press self-pace study guideversion 4.0. The intent is to study for 24-30 hours a week, and sit the written exam in May of this year! and start labbing inin june..... for which I intend to purchase either the ipexperts CCIE training or the INE... do anyone have any suggestion on which vendor si should go with for the LAB, and if I need any additional studying material for the written?

For R&S I'd recommend INE over any other vendor 7 days a week.
Their Workbook 1 (Advanced Technologies) and Workbook 2 is enough in most cases.
Depending on your experience you might want to buy the troubleshooting material to get up your speed..

I've been through the full Cisco 360 program since my employee bought it for me and a college and all who sat the classes (including CIERS1/CIERS2) was really disapointed. IPexpert or INE is alot better spent money. The problem with Cisco 360 is that its not technically deep enough.

davidspirovalentine

I am joining the CCIE 2012 team

CCIE R&S Written Exam – Monday 1st July 2012
CCIE R&S Lab Exam – Friday 30th November 2012

Can't wait to get my Digits

Kind Regards,
David

bermovick

I'm (hesitantly) adding my name to the list once I pass tshoot. I'm just not sure if I'll swing wide and take the IP for focused study on those 3 areas, or head straight to the IE and just take a bit longer. I'm leaning towards just going for it, hence my post.

jamesp1983

mikearama wrote: »

Great question. Honestly, not until I was killing the Boson sim on a regular basis. Oddly enough, I thought I was ready at the end of November, but then I popped for the Boson sim, and realized quickly that I either didn't know or had forgotten a boatload of details. So, every question I got wrong on the sim I researched, and before long it was all in place. Frankly, I think Boson did a better job of the exam than Cisco did. If you have $99 to blow, get the sim... you'll be glad you did.

Thanks for the response and good work again. I have been using the Boson test for awhile and it has been really helpful. I'm 2 days out from taking my written so hopefully I'll have good news to report come Saturday afternoon.

jamesp1983

bermovick wrote: »

I'm (hesitantly) adding my name to the list once I pass tshoot. I'm just not sure if I'll swing wide and take the IP for focused study on those 3 areas, or head straight to the IE and just take a bit longer. I'm leaning towards just going for it, hence my post.

Have you tried the TSHOOT scenarios on Cisco's page? TSHOOT Demo Item

jamesp1983

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

No problem!

Honestly, if you want to assess whether or not you're ready for the written, pay Boson the 99 bucks for their CCIE Written questions. I'm normally not a fan of Boson products, but they got it right with that one. It is *very* representative of what you will see on the real thing, so if you can do well on those, you can go into the Written with confidence you'll nail it

Thanks for giving us the advice. I'm scoring in the 920s so I'm hoping that's enough to bring home a pass on Saturday.

Sett

mikearama wrote: »

Frankly, I think Boson did a better job of the exam than Cisco did.

Definitely. I am really disappointed with the CCIE Written exam even that I passed it with a good score. Very few questions actually hold a good knowledge testing value. The core material was far from enough, instead of these important topics I got many questions for things you'd rarely see in a real network. I had like 5 very similar questions based on one very unlikely situation which involves cabling and CDP... And not even one good BGP/OSPF problem. A lot of questions are poorly asked and hard to interpret. On top of that, many of the topology images are really low resolution and hard to read, there is huge difference in the size fonts between some questions. Overall not a good experience. Anyway, it's nothing but a clearance to attend the grand show.

And so that this is not a total off-topic, yes I am pursuing CCIE in 2012

jamesp1983

Sett wrote: »

Definitely. I am really disappointed with the CCIE Written exam even that I passed it with a good score. Very few questions actually hold a good knowledge testing value. The core material was far from enough, instead of these important topics I got many questions for things you'd rarely see in a real network. I had like 5 very similar questions based on one very unlikely situation which involves cabling and CDP... And not even one good BGP/OSPF problem. A lot of questions are poorly asked and hard to interpret. On top of that, many of the topology images are really low resolution and hard to read, there is huge difference in the size fonts between some questions. Overall not a good experience. Anyway, it's nothing but a clearance to attend the grand show.

And so that this is not a total off-topic, yes I am pursuing CCIE in 2012

How long ago did you take the Written?