ROUTE is Hard......

DexterPark

Starting on the CCNP ROUTE exam is very hard for me at the moment. I passed Switch without too much hassle, but this I find very challenging. I do not preform straight up routing & Switching functions as part of my everyday routine so coming into this from the voice perspective has been a little discouraging.

I was flipping through the cert guide trying to figure out how too take a bite out of it and landed on IPv6. I got a Hurricane Electric tunnel, and learned just about everything I could on it. My entire lab is able to route over the IPv6 internet so I'm having fun with that, but so much that I fell of track for my goal of passing the test. So now that I got that down I need a game plan for hammering out the rest of the CCNP Route concepts.

Any thoughts, opinions, advice that you guys have for passing this test? I guess I'm finally tired of dragging my feet

MrBrian

I know what you're saying lol. The ROUTE exam goes pretty in depth on eigrp and ospf. Before I went into it, I understood how a router routes by looking at it's ip routing table when it receives packets, etc, but didn't understand how the routing protocols worked in depth. Well this beast of an exam doesn't hold back. If you're new to routing protocols, it just slaps you right in the face. I admit it was a lot for me to take in when I was going through it as well.

One thing that helped me was cross-referencing the book Routing TCP/IP vol 1, second edition. It's a CCIE level book that everyone swears by. It always helps me when I read a little above the level I'm studying for just to get additional knowledge. Also, that book, and many online resources, provide the packet formats that ospf and eigrp messages use. I really like looking at those to see what each message contains, rather than just memorizing the neighborship states, show commands, etc. Once I see, for example, that the hello message carries "this" and the update message carries "that" it pushes my understanding a bit more.

But yea this is one of those exams where you have to stop yourself from going on forever. You realize that they only give you a brief look at bgp and ipv6, and that there is so much out there. So I found myself trying to read additional info on those topics, for more info, but kept telling myself that I don't need to go that far for the exam.

Now that it's in my past I realize that I don't have everything memorized in the same way, but it only takes me a second to pop open the book and go "oh, that's right." So I'd just say take your time and digest what they're telling you one piece at a time, and make sure to lab every part, one section at a time, to get down the fundamental theory. Then when you've been labbing the topics awhile and are very comfortable with all the commands, start throwing a bunch of topics in during a single lab. Draw out some random ospf area's, redistribution sections, summarization, etc and see if you can configure it up. Try to enjoy running into problems, and take your time figuring out why something didn't work, and next thing you know you'll you're understanding will just move along. I admit it was a slow process for me though!! Don't rush it

Another thing that helped me is taking a step back to look at the big picture. When I was down in the trenches with LSA's for a couple weeks straight, it started messing with my head. I had to step back and imagine the entire traffic flow from a PC to a Switch to a Router, and the process that goes on.. and realize that these LSA's are just a small part of the big picture, if that makes any sense.. so it was like once I was blown up with all this new information, it helped to step back and really see where all this new stuff fit into the big picture.

It's funny cause by the end of ROUTE, I was really liking it. The way routers talk to each other to pass routes and stuff, thought that was pretty cool. Now I'm in the SWITCH topics and some of them are hard for me to get my head around! Just how there's a lot of "virtual" stuff going on.. like vlans, svi's, etc. I'm making due though and chipping away.

p.s. I looked up that Hurricane Electric site for Ipv6, hadn't heard about it. It looks/sounds cool. I've been pondering attaching my lab to the internet in some fashion.. just gotta get some dynamic dns going. Too much stuff to learn, so little time

Zartanasaurus

The hardest part about ROUTE coming from the CCNA is probably going to be BGP and maybe the more in-depth look at OSPF.

Roguetadhg

It's supposed to be more depth than the CCNA

It's 'supposed' to prepare people for the CCIE.

Honestly once you go over the route material once, and the haze and fuzziness disappears - angels come from the sky, singing hymns. It's a clear picture. It's just like going over the CCNA material if you've never touched, let alone seen a router before. It's not hard, you just don't know the material yet.

Not that I can say I know the material either. Trust me on that is does eventually clear up. Just keep hammering away at it, take a second look. Draw pictures, take the time to absorb it right.

P.S: Electric Hurricane?

MrXpert

I found it tough too so you are not alone. Although I haven't done Switch yet so have no frame of reference. Route is several steps up from CCNA that is for sure.

I found BGP to be quite an easy topic but the ones i struggled with were OSPF. My advice would be to make sure you do lots and lots of labs and also try out PBR and be very familar with route-maps, distribution lists, tags, virtual-links, tunnels, GRE.
To help your learning you could try creating mindmaps for each topic and see how your ideas flow. There is a free program that allows you to create these.

I will say that although the questions on Route exam were difficult, the simlets were actually a lot easier than what I had been studying for or seen. The testlets, multiple choice questions really need a lot of examination and I was reading them 2-3 times to be sure i understood what they were getting at.

pitviper

I find the CCNP material to be a lot more straightforward coming over from the CCNP:Voice side. Some of the voice tests were so abstract and brutal – it’s nice to follow something more structured, more black and white. Of course it’s going to be hard – it is after all a professional level test.

f0rgiv3n

Duuuude, i feel your pain... I started CCNP Route back in January/February and ended up taking a side jaunt to get JNCIA/JNCIS-Sec. Now that I"m back at Route, and need to get it done by october it's motivating me a bit more.

Personally, i find it easier to watch the videos and watch someone do it before i read or practice labs. I highly recommend thebryantadvantage.com. He makes it interesting and easily understandable.

Damienm30

DexterPark wrote: »

Starting on the CCNP ROUTE exam is very hard for me at the moment. I passed Switch without too much hassle, but this I find very challenging. I do not preform straight up routing & Switching functions as part of my everyday routine so coming into this from the voice perspective has been a little discouraging.

I was flipping through the cert guide trying to figure out how too take a bite out of it and landed on IPv6. I got a Hurricane Electric tunnel, and learned just about everything I could on it. My entire lab is able to route over the IPv6 internet so I'm having fun with that, but so much that I fell of track for my goal of passing the test. So now that I got that down I need a game plan for hammering out the rest of the CCNP Route concepts.

Any thoughts, opinions, advice that you guys have for passing this test? I guess I'm finally tired of dragging my feet

Hi There

My situation is similar in ways to yours. I do not use R & S every day in my job but do alot of ASA and VPN stuff daily. I passed ROUTE a couple of weeks ago to make me a CCNP. Here is what I used to nail down this exam:

1) Jeremy Ciaora'a CBT nuggets ( a must before you read a book)
2) Wendell Odom's Official Study Guide
3) GNS3 Vault website.(Best CCNP Route study resource on web in my opinion)

I changed my study technique for this exam. I did the nuggets series first(got up at 6 am every morning before work to do 2 video's). After I completed the nuggets I did all the labs from GNS3 Vault website. In case you havent see this site I cannot recommend it highly enough. There are loads of different lab scenarios that Rene poses(supplies gns topology's and everything and its FREE!!). You have to attemtp to resolve before checking out the resolution video at the end. Amazing! Any labs I was stuck on I would refer to my study guide for more info. This made reading the book alot more fun and purposeful. As a result of this I can honestly say the Labs in the actual test will be a breeze for you.

I was scared of this exam too but to be honest the actual objectives and materials covered in your study are tougher than the actual exam itself(If that makes sense!!). My advice is lab,lab,lab and lab some more using GNS3.

Have fun!

inscom.brigade

I thought switch was harder than route, or maybe i just did not study as hard for switch.
i guess eigrp, ospf, route redistibution, PBR, changing metrics and bgp just came easy for me.

BroadcastStorm

I like to be spoon fed.

I think most of the issues with videos is they cram so much stuff and thrown into a single video vs. explaining 1 technology at a time it goes pass my head, definitely need to mix it with a reading material and a guide print out along with lab.

I like how the old school Trainsignal are they explain 1 technology at a time, my brain is slow to process, I don't know who keeps up with this boot camp style of in-depth material videos going for 1 hour marathon.

BroadcastStorm

Roguetadhg wrote: »

It's supposed to be more depth than the CCNA

It's 'supposed' to prepare people for the CCIE.

Honestly once you go over the route material once, and the haze and fuzziness disappears - angels come from the sky, singing hymns. It's a clear picture. It's just like going over the CCNA material if you've never touched, let alone seen a router before. It's not hard, you just don't know the material yet.

Not that I can say I know the material either. Trust me on that is does eventually clear up. Just keep hammering away at it, take a second look. Draw pictures, take the time to absorb it right.

P.S: Electric Hurricane?

Lol this is exactly the twisting vortex of Cisco pain and agony hehe.

BroadcastStorm

Damienm30 wrote: »

Hi There

My situation is similar in ways to yours. I do not use R & S every day in my job but do alot of ASA and VPN stuff daily. I passed ROUTE a couple of weeks ago to make me a CCNP. Here is what I used to nail down this exam:

1) Jeremy Ciaora'a CBT nuggets ( a must before you read a book)
2) Wendell Odom's Official Study Guide
3) GNS3 Vault website.(Best CCNP Route study resource on web in my opinion)

I changed my study technique for this exam. I did the nuggets series first(got up at 6 am every morning before work to do 2 video's). After I completed the nuggets I did all the labs from GNS3 Vault website. In case you havent see this site I cannot recommend it highly enough. There are loads of different lab scenarios that Rene poses(supplies gns topology's and everything and its FREE!!). You have to attemtp to resolve before checking out the resolution video at the end. Amazing! Any labs I was stuck on I would refer to my study guide for more info. This made reading the book alot more fun and purposeful. As a result of this I can honestly say the Labs in the actual test will be a breeze for you.

I was scared of this exam too but to be honest the actual objectives and materials covered in your study are tougher than the actual exam itself(If that makes sense!!). My advice is lab,lab,lab and lab some more using GNS3.

Have fun!

Thanks for the heads up with GNS3Vault, I was going to use an old lab material from Micronics and INE, I guess I'm going to check this out for my final push.

Can you guys please send me the "LINK" for this.

f0rgiv3n

In a teasing manner, I post this...
Let me google that for you

Roguetadhg

BroadcastStorm wrote: »

Lol this is exactly the twisting vortex of Cisco pain and agony hehe.

Wendell is the one on the Left, under the moon.

BroadcastStorm

f0rgiv3n wrote: »

In a teasing manner, I post this...
Let me google that for you

Lol it's that easy ha

mguy

Roguetadhg wrote: »

It's supposed to be more depth than the CCNA

It's 'supposed' to prepare people for the CCIE.

Honestly once you go over the route material once, and the haze and fuzziness disappears - angels come from the sky, singing hymns. It's a clear picture. It's just like going over the CCNA material if you've never touched, let alone seen a router before. It's not hard, you just don't know the material yet.

Not that I can say I know the material either. Trust me on that is does eventually clear up. Just keep hammering away at it, take a second look. Draw pictures, take the time to absorb it right.

P.S: Electric Hurricane?

That can't be it. The cisco vortex has a dollar sign at the end.