Using more than one training vendor?
So I've been using INE for quite a while and plan on using them, but I've been giving a lot of thought to checking out Cisco 360's stuff or Narbik's stuff as well. The INE stuff is very difficult and time consuming, but I've been told by some wise folks that it doesn't hurt to get another vendor mixed in to keep you from 'getting used to' the way one vendor words things.
Thoughts / Suggestions? Keep in mind I'm not talking about ditching a vendor for another, but should one be arsed to cram another vendor into the mix?
Thoughts / Suggestions? Keep in mind I'm not talking about ditching a vendor for another, but should one be arsed to cram another vendor into the mix?
CCIE - COMPLETED!
Comments
Personally I'd go for a mix of INE and IPexperts.
one annoying thing about 360 is the use of locklizard DRM which can make it a real pain in the neck
Full Disclosure: I have the complete 360 package from work (i work for Cisco) for nothing but the INE stuff i bought with my own money
INE stuff is pretty fantastic and really hard.. probably far harder than it technically needs to be.. but I tend to be a masochist
Honestly, that's a major part of the reason I chose INE. I've heard from more than one person that some of their stuff is harder than the real thing. That's what I want. If I can do (and retain) that material, I think that's much better than getting blindsided when I walk into the lab. I want to sit down to the Lab for the first time and go 'well crap, this is easy'.
I'm looking for that same feeling, but I think it'll be extremely difficult.
As far as making the lab seem easy in comparison? I don't think so. It's actually a pretty nice confidence boost to be able to look at INE's WB2 difficulty 9 labs and realize that you know how to do the majority of what they're asking, and there's only a few things that make me go 'son of a... i need to study that'. That gives me great deal of confidence.
Right now, I'm shooting myself in the foot with stupid mistakes. I'm either forgetting some small detail, or (more often) doing more configuration than is called for.... configuring it the way I would in real life, which isn't necessarily what they're asking for (perfect example is EtherChannel.... my natural tendency is to configure LACP, and I've caught myself doing that a few times and then went back to read the question to realize they just wanted it forced, not negotiated... oops!)
This stuff honestly isn't that hard, just have to keep at it. Consistency in studying counts for a crap load.