Staying focused on the task at hand - CCNP ROUTE

moreland11

I was wondering if anyone could make a recommendation on mixing things up for the CCNP studies. I used Todd Lammle's book and CBT nuggets for my CCNA. I don't know if it was the author/ presentation or everyone couple chapters was a different subject but I stayed interested. I've been trying to go through the CCNP Route official cert guide and made it through EIGRP, OSPF and I'm on redistribution about 300 pages in. I'm really struggling to stay focused now. I even took a week off from reading new material to just build topologies in GNS3/home lab.

But today I got side tracked on HSRP because I came across it working with our Sr. Network Engineer and the core switches. Next thing I know I've read the whole chapter, got interesting in HSRP/GLRP, and did some practice configs before I even noticed how much I learned. It was very refreshing. I'm considering to start working on SWITCH for a while and come back to finish off the second half of route. Getting into OSPF for the first time may have burned my ROUTE interest for a while lol.

Any tips for keeping that interest level but staying inside the same exam material ?? Does route get better? I've been on these boards more lately hoping to come across material that perks my interest. Maybe I'm looking for the "fun" that I found in the CCNA

mattau

I think that happens to all of us, I got pretty sick of studying it all but my hunger for completing the CCNP outwayed the tough times in my room reading cisco ospf manuals etc.
If you wanted to do some switch stuff in the middle to break it up id say go for it. But at some point you will have to knuckle down and get route out the way, maybe use it as fuel to finish it faster so you can do switch which interests you.

The CCNP journey for me was alot of going backwards and forwards refreshing between material. Its a long track and you cant just do 1 topic and think you will never see it again because when it comes to TSHOOT you need to go back and revise it all anyway.

Route does get a little better, the routing protocols get heavy in detail but stuff like ip sla/tracking tunnel interfaces and stuff is refreshing to get into. plus it will benefit you in switch if you learn more about SLA stuff now in route.

phoeneous

Do all the ccnp related labs at gns3vault, that's what I'm doing for my studies.

f0rgiv3n

I LOVE OSPF!! I was not interested and even scared of routing protocols before I did my CCNP Route studies/labbing. There are so many details to know it's crazy. I would say that it would be a good idea to stop doing the reading and go to something like gns3vault.com and do some labs with a "real world scenario". That might help you tie it into real life stuff. That's exactly why you were instantly interested in HSRP/GLBP, because you saw that it was actually being USED! .

Also, when reading this stuff don't just think of it as "i'm reading about a protocol" keep a bigger picture than just that. imagine how you might implement it on a real-world network and that will help you stay interested, I hope

MrBrian

If I were you I wouldn't drop the Route studies and jump over to Switch. However, I think it's ok to read certain sections that interest you, for sure! I'd stay focused on one exam at a time though, because the topics from one are enough to digest. OSPF was a huge obstacle for me just because of its sheer size. I'm still not to the point I potentially can be with it, but I do know it well. It takes several passes and experiences going over the material to ingrain it.

It's all about persistence! Take small breaks, but don't drop the ball on it. During my studies, there were times where I was completely motivated, or completely interested, and I tried to ride those times to their fullest and go through as much material. On the other hand, there were so many times where I just didn't want to read or lab at all! I'd try and get a huge coffee and just force feed it. Sometimes it would work, sometimes not. Just keep trucking on the material, and next thing you know 6 months later you'll be wondering what the big fuss was about, and you'll gain confidence that you can learn other technologies as well, as long as you stick it out.

moreland11

Really awesome guys. I got exactly what I was hoping to get from this thread, motivation and encouragement. Thanks again. I'm going to jump into BGP then go back over redistribution. Either way I'll be going back over material again and again once I start focusing on only labs and finishing touches.

Kory

You should seriously consider buying the ROUTE book from the gns2 vault site. Rene Molinar, the author does a great job of explaining each topic and then providing practice labs that go over each section. The book is inexpensive and I credit it for no small part of my being able to pass Route. There are some pretty hefty concepts, but having a good explanation of WHY things work and then a hands on lab to see HOW, really drove things home. Usually at the end of the chapter is a pretty comprehensive lab that combines a lot of the different operations. Those were great reviews in the days leading up to the exam.

phoeneous

Agreed. I bought the whole ccnp series and it is really good.

Kreken

moreland11, are you reading ROUTE book by Diane Tiare? I bought that book first and gave up around 300-400 pages; it has so many repetitions, it started to drive me nuts. The book can literally be condensed from 900 pages to 300 and not loose any content. Get a book by Wendell Odom. It is better.

moreland11

I'm already reading Odom. I'm doing better now. I think I just got burned a little bit. I passed the CCNA and started on ROUTE that evening. I'm trying to just grind through all the topics and just start labbing for a while. I know I'll have to do a lot of double reading but it's more interesting when you're troubleshooting. I retain information well that way too.

all_day

If you're struggling motivation wise, you could try going hard with studies for 5 weeks then have one week off, rinse repeat. From my experience anything longer than a week and I start forgetting details. I'm having the same motivational issues as you but for switch, after doing CCNA and Route back to back. It's hard going, but downhill once you get route out of the way. BTW, I actually liked Diane's FLG, but if you're struggling, it might be best to read OCG first and then fill in any gaps in knowledge with the FLG.

instant000

Since you like labbing for your CCNP:

CCNP ROUTE Lab Manual:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/servlet/JiveServlet/previewBody/10182-102-1-37273/CCNP%20ROUTE%206.0%20SLM.pdf

CCNP SWITCH Lab Manual:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/servlet/JiveServlet/previewBody/10183-102-1-37273/CCNP%20ROUTE%206.0%20SLM.pdf

CCNP TSHOOT Lab Manual:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/servlet/JiveServlet/previewBody/10184-102-1-37273/CCNP%20ROUTE%206.0%20SLM.pdf

Hope this helps.

All links come from cisco.com

moreland11

Welllll. I made it through 60% of Route and quite. I read the Switch book in about a week. I found switch really really really awesome. I enjoyed it a lot. I wasn't much into the security portion because it sounded like a rehash of the CCNA security book I read but meh. I would have enjoyed more Wireless and Voip material but I could always go CCNA V and W for that. I think I'm going to sit for the Switch a week from Tuesday. I hope this break from route helps me get focused again.

I really didn't noticed how much I learned until I was configuring a port for someone on the phone and I mentioned setting up qos and he said "Yea what does those commands do?". I ended up going on a rant about dscp vs cos, the bits they use, bla bla. I finally caught myself and said you're giving voice traffic priority

iamme4eva

I'm with you mate. I'm reading Odom's book now and I'm really struggling to keep motivated. OSPF is killing me off!

moreland11

Grab a Foundation learning guide and see if thats more entertaining but yea. EIGRP and OSPF back to back cram is what burned me out lol. It should be easier the second time through the book since I'll know the concepts.

Prog Snob

I find myself dealing with the same issue. Sometimes I just get tired of reading and reading and I might stop for a day or two. Or sometimes I get discouraged if I read something and don't understand it. So sometimes I'll just go back to it a couple of days later. It can become frustrating because you are trying to absorb so much material in one sitting and your ambition and passion are pushing you further.

razar

At least i'm not the only one struggling through the Route, I'm curious to know from those studying it or those that have studied and passed. How many hours study were you putting in each day?

I'm always aiming for 3 hours a day but due to work/kids/etc I rarely hit that target and end up averaging between 1-2 hours a day but I'm finding it's not enough as it can take so long to cover certain topics I end up forgetting details about previous topics I've learned.

It's a long road it seems.

chX

If it makes you feel any better, I've been studying for ROUTE on and off since the end of 2010. A lot of things have happened which pushed study to a lower priority, but with a new job in networking and my CCNA expiring in July, I'm trying to hit it hard.

razar

Well I'm trying to work through IPv6 and it seems like the details are never ending!! Sticking with it as best I can though, 4 or 5 more chapters to go and I would have completed the book and made all my notes so hopefully can get into labbing and doing some practice tests.