CCIE, here we go?!?!

SteveO86

Well, why not!!

My lab isn't done yet but I figure the Written is all book knowledge right?

So I'll pull my books and review everything from the ground up!

CCIE R&S Exam Cert Guide 4th Edition
Routing TCP/IP Volume I
Routing TCP/IP Volume II
MPLS Fundamentals
QoS Cert Guide
BGP Design & Implementation
Cisco LAN Switching

Good thing most of those books, I've read in last 8 months.

Any other recommendations?

(I'll probably end up buying that Ultimate CCIE deal from INE, does that seem like a good deal for those have used it?)

Essendon

I have no recommendations/suggestions for you mate, but I'll wish you nothing but the best for this journey. I'm sure the Cisco folks will chime in with more informative posts.

SteveO86

Thanks!

NOC-Ninja

Very important = Forget social life

SteveO86

NOC-Ninja wrote: »

Very important = Forget social life

Considering I typically work over 60 hours week so my social life has already suffered

SteveO86

From the CCIE R/S Cert Guide: Chapter 1: Ethernet Basics, I got to admit this sounds a little underwhelming but let's see...

Something is telling me I'm going to be abusing my Evernote account for a while

Zartanasaurus

SteveO86 wrote: »

From the CCIE R/S Cert Guide: Chapter 1: Ethernet Basics, I got to admit this sounds a little underwhelming but let's see...

That's just how they suck you in.

MrBishop

You covered a good area of knowledge. If you want to see what INE recommends you can check here Recommended CCIE Books | INE

jamesp1983

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

That's just how they suck you in.

That is true. Just wait until you start reading the Cisco docs and other focused materials.

Forsaken_GA

The written is a joke. Any CCNP with a couple years of experience should be able to pass it easily, without dumping. People stress over it far too much.

So study for it, but don't fear it or even worry about it. What I would recommend is waiting to take it until you're set to go full bore lab study. 18 months to make your first attempt may sound like a long time, but trust me, it goes *really* quickly. I honestly wish I'd waited a couple extra months to take the Written, as I knew I was likely heading for a job change, and that put me back off my studying. So right now, I have to take my first Lab attempt by mid-January, or I'll be retaking the Written. I'm currently scheduled for a lab exam in mid November, and the reality is, if I don't take it then, I won't take it before my deadline, as from Thanksgiving through New Years, there's so much going on, that I won't be able to keep my current study pace up.

Under no circumstances will I force a lab attempt before I feel ready, it doesn't make any sense to pay Cisco $1500 just to avoid paying them $300.

So plan better than I did, do not take the Written until you're ready to pull the trigger and go all in on your lab study.

SteveO86

Since this such a long term goal if I started stressing now I'd probably give myself a heart attack by the end of the month, hell this has been a long term goal for me since I first started focusing on Cisco! It feels a little weird finally putting some focus on it, kinda like Frodo when he looks at Mordor in the distance, he traveled a long way to get there and still has a long way to go but he can finally see his destination in the distance. (Sorry the lotr reference but it seems fitting lol)

One of my friends recently took the written a few months back and said it was not too bad. Plus I've interviewed enough arrogant CCIE Written guys I was able to walk circles around

I never thought about delaying the Written, but since you put it that way it makes perfect sense!

SteveO86

Ethernet Frames, so that's what they mean by Ethernet basics!

Not a bad first chapter, SPAN felt slightly out of place

More SPAN stuff:
Catalyst 3560 Software Configuration Guide, Release 12.2(52)SE - Configuring SPAN and RSPAN  [Cisco Catalyst 3560 Series Switches] - Cisco Systems

Ironically I did a pretty mediocre blog post on SPAN a few years back, might be time to do that RSPAN post!

MrBishop

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

Under no circumstances will I force a lab attempt before I feel ready, it doesn't make any sense to pay Cisco $1500 just to avoid paying them $300.

So plan better than I did, do not take the Written until you're ready to pull the trigger and go all in on your lab study.

Great advice! I see a lot of people rushing to take a $1500 test because they feel they have to get it done before the deadline. I would rather pay another $350 instead of wasting $1500 on a test I know I'm going to fail.

SteveO86

Jeese, I spent a long a time reading

Read through Chapter 2, I don't know why but I always hate PPPoE, even when I get circuit at work (as rarely as I get one)

Found these for PPPoE -So I have to admit I no longer cringe at the thought of PPPoE !!

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-8063 -Setup your own PPPoE Client/Server lab

Cisco DSL Router Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide - PPPoE: DSL Router as a PPPoE Client Troubleshooting - Cisco Systems

At this point I started skipping around to other chapters, jumped ahead to OSPF/EIGRP yesterday, I probably should move in a consistent manner but I just couldn't resist.

Back to a bit more reading today, but not as much as yesterday since today's is Mother's Day.

SteveO86

Still reading, the OSPF / EIGRP portion was a good refresh.

Gonna be a late night working, so I won't get much reading done tonight.

SteveO86

Finished working early, sometimes it's nice to build out those configs in notepad and just copy/paste when the time comes

On to more reading!

jamesp1983

MrBishop wrote: »

Great advice! I see a lot of people rushing to take a $1500 test because they feel they have to get it done before the deadline. I would rather pay another $350 instead of wasting $1500 on a test I know I'm going to fail.

I couldn't agree with you more.

SteveO86

Gonna be starting with the BGP chapters today, and we'll see where I end up.

I notice this book has 2 Chapters for BGP and 3 Chapters for QoS, (and 1 chapter for MPLS) I can't help but notice the overlap from CCIP... I'm going to read all these chapters but would it be more worth while to review to the QoS Cert for QoS and Routing TCP/IP Vol II for BGP?

Zartanasaurus

SteveO86 wrote: »

Gonna be starting with the BGP chapters today, and we'll see where I end up.

I notice this book has 2 Chapters for BGP and 3 Chapters for QoS, (and 1 chapter for MPLS) I can't help but notice the overlap from CCIP... I'm going to read all these chapters but would it be more worth while to review to the QoS Cert for QoS and Routing TCP/IP Vol II for BGP?

Someone (Forsaken I think) in another of the CCIE threads advised to skip the QoS chapters in the CCIE Cert Guide and just read the QoS book since it was written by the same author and was better overall.

Forsaken_GA

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Someone (Forsaken I think) in another of the CCIE threads advised to skip the QoS chapters in the CCIE Cert Guide and just read the QoS book since it was written by the same author and was better overall.

I have indeed advised that in the past, though I doubt I'm far from the only one. It may not be a bad idea to read or skm the chapters in the Cert guide, but yeah, for any serious study on QoS, for Lab or Written, use the QoS book. It's more in depth, it's better written, and yeah, same author, so you won't miss anything important.

SteveO86

Really rough week at work... Worked till past 1am and back at by 6am, I swear BGP is just trying to beat me down. (So much BGP this week between finding mis-configurations in a customer network and a deployment I've been working on, good experience though....I assume)

Got a 3 day weekend coming up and I am hoping to dive into Multicast, since that seems to be the biggest mystery to me right now. I mean I know how it works but I just haven't deployed it in production ever...

After that I'll take the deep dive back into QoS

Chipsch

Keep it up man. I was the same with Multicast and QoS. For Multicast there is a lot of good information in the cert book but I also supplemented with docs directly from Cisco's Website. QoS was the toughest part for me. I have done some basic cbwfq in the past as well as rate-limiting but nothing to in depth. Between the cert guide and the qos book though it really comes together.

SteveO86

Somehow ended up sleeping in till past 11am, I can't remember the last time I slept in that late.

Gonna spend the day going through the INE PfR videos - http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccie/77808-free-vseminar-oer-pfr.html

SteveO86

Hit those 3 QoS chapters in the OCG Book, spent some more time on QoS

Pretty awesome youtube video covering SRR - Cisco Catalyst 3560 and 3750 QoS Simplified... Seriously! - YouTube

Got a couple blog posts tee'ed up, overall a very productive day.

SteveO86

Gonna keep tackling QoS:
Opening back up the QoS cert guide again (sadly I still have most of the book memorized).

Gonna hit the QoS objectives, then tackle another subject.

SteveO86

Going to keep hitting QoS this weekend.... Awful big topic.

Should have a lighter week at work next week so I should be able to get some more studying done during the week next week.

SteveO86

I think I ended up spending a good 10 hours reading yesterday, reviewing QoS. Only took a break to eat and hit the gym. (and wash my car)

I really picked a bad time to cut back on coffee intake lol.

Gonna hit QoS some more today, some more reading and videos.

SteveO86

Didn't get much study time since the weekend.. Been busy at work, ended up on network migration till 5 am then slept at desk. (I was too tired to drive home)

Hopefully I'll make up for this weekend.

Somnipotent

keep it up man... i'm in the same boat, just the the last one of my 3750s for my lab but i'm still missing some routers for the complete INE lab. i've been watching the INE advanced technology boot came lead by McGahan and so far they have top notch. everything has been directed more towards lab prep, but the foundation principles of why you do certain commands are definitely in there. I've been reading Internetwork with TCP/IP by Doug Comer along side IRA. It's been pretty good. A chapter or two a day from both and one or two videos from INE, I think I'll be ready to start labbing it up just before I take the written. I haven't decided myself when I'm going for it, but the previous suggestion of taking the written when you're just about there is exactly the route I'm taking. I don't wanna feel rushed into it. Be an expert by way of mastering the basics. The rest will come!

jamesp1983

SteveO86 wrote: »

Didn't get much study time since the weekend.. Been busy at work, ended up on network migration till 5 am then slept at desk. (I was too tired to drive home)

Hopefully I'll make up for this weekend.

These events will happen. My company was purchased by a much larger entity and they are beginning their personnel changes so we are all scrambling. I have 3 interviews over the next 1.5 weeks and work is insane so I completely understand where you're coming from. Just try to fit any type of studying in when you can.

ipSpace

For the QoS i can recommend a free book (it's the same as End-to-End QoS). You can find the topic here: http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccie/72048-qos-book-free.html#post582446