My CCNP Route thread

Iristheangel

Stlsmoore - No, I would not recommend it. It's not only the fact that the writing style is dry but that it's missing important parts. I would recommend getting the CCNP Route Simplified book to supplement your reading. It's so detailed that it feels more like a CCIE-prep than a CCNP book but at the same time it's extremely readable.

bermovick

You know I had similar problems with the OCG for route, until I'd gone through the FLG. After that, I found the OCG a good complement.

Iristheangel

I'd rather supplement my main book with something that covers it in as much, if not more, depth. The problem with the OCG is that it skips huge chunks that are in the FLG and doesn't go into the amount of detail you'll see in either the Simplified or FLG series.

Danielh22185

Iristheangel wrote: »

I'd rather supplement my main book with something that covers it in as much, if not more, depth. The problem with the OCG is that it skips huge chunks that are in the FLG and doesn't go into the amount of detail you'll see in either the Simplified or FLG series.

^^ This couldn't be more true. I am on the last chapter (IPv6) and its over 200 pages! OCG never had that amount of coverage and I've noticed this to be consistent with other subjects as well.

Iristheangel

I'll be entering into my labbing phase of studying soon so I spent some money today on my home lab today. I already have quite a few ISRs but I have some very strict power requirements in my house that are limiting me in terms of how many I can plug in at once so I purchased the following on Ebay:
2 - ASA 5505's
4 - 2801 ISRs
1 - 3750 (I already had one and would like to use it for HSRP, GLBP, & VRRP for fun)
3 - 2960 24-port non-POE switches


I'll add those to my existing smaller pieces of equipment like my 2951XMs, 2950s, and 3550s and I should have myself a decent sized lab that will get me through most my CCNP R&S and Security. The larger 3845s, 2821s and 7200 routers I can pull out when the time comes for more advanced labbing. Hopefully, I will be moved into an apartment with more than two circuits in it at that time!

Danielh22185

I guess you can always consider supplementing with GNS3 if you have to for Route stuff. I haven't used a single piece of equipment yet. I know I will need switches for the switch exam.

Iristheangel

Starting on the FLG BGP chapter this week. At this rate, I should be done with the FLG by Sept 21st. I'm cruising along with the Simplified guide as well.

Since I'm loving the Simplified series, I bought the 101 CCNP Labs book by Paul Browning. Looks pretty extensive so I'll lab through that before I get to the test. My fingers are crossed for a mid-October test date.

Here's to another productive week!

Danielh22185

Iristheangel wrote: »

Starting on the FLG BGP chapter this week. At this rate, I should be done with the FLG by Sept 21st. I'm cruising along with the Simplified guide as well.

Since I'm loving the Simplified series, I bought the 101 CCNP Labs book by Paul Browning. Looks pretty extensive so I'll lab through that before I get to the test. My fingers are crossed for a mid-October test date.

Here's to another productive week!

Ya I am totally getting the 101 labs book for my final preps

Edit:

Yikes that sucker is $70 for the paper back!

Danielh22185

Danielh22185 wrote: »

Ya I am totally getting the 101 labs book for my final preps

Edit:

Yikes that sucker is $70 for the paper back!

As an alternative I wonder how this compares, looks to maybe be the same content

Iristheangel

Hmm... That link doesn't work for some reason

Mrock4

Keep up the good work, every time I check this you're a lot further. Slow down, you're putting the rest of us to shame!

Danielh22185

Iristheangel wrote: »

Hmm... That link doesn't work for some reason

Hmm I'm wondering if Techexams filters thinks its a braindump site now.... I checked it with certguard and it shows it as a credited site. I cannot post the link.

Iristheangel

Finished Chapter 6 of FLG today. MUCH better than the OCG chapters on BGP. Still cruising through Simplified at home. I'm starting Chapter 6 (out of 10) of that book tonight. Looks like I'm on schedule to finish both books by around the middle of September. I read through the 101 CCNP labs book last night and it definitely looks like it'll be adequate for getting me through the labbing portion of my tests.

On another happy note, I got my 2801s last night and I'm getting my 2960s and 3750s today! *happy dance* I'll take a picture after it's all racked and mounted

aaron0011

I just received my ROUTE FLG from Amazon and wow...this book is a beast.

Iristheangel

It certainly is. Try the CCNP Route Simplified book. It's over 1000 pages and it's a lot bigger size-wise than the FLG in physical dimensions. It's actually physically larger (length and width) than my old high school text books

Iristheangel

I figured I'd post my "new and improved" CCNP rack. Smaller ISR routers so I don't blow the electricity in my apartment combined with a Pix 525, two 3750s, two 3550s, three 2960s, and a 2950

TBickle

nice rack.

gorebrush

That is a very well populated rack indeed.

And here's me with a single 3550, lol!

FloOz

Hey Iris are those 4 routers you have 2811s?

Edit: I scrolled up and saw they were 2801s

Hmm I wonder how they compare to the 1841s. It looks like a good cheaper alternative

Iristheangel

Starting on Chapter 7 of the FLG today. Should be an easy chapter (Only about 100 pages). Been sick with an ear infection and sinus infection for over a week now. Finally got antibiotics yesterday so I'm feeling more clear-headed and ready to study. I'm up to Chapter 6 in the Simplified guide. It definitely goes into detail about configurations and subjects outside of scope of the Route exam such as configuring PfR, VRFs, etc but I'm liking it. There's nothing wrong with learning MORE than the scope of an exam since the idea is to use this information in the real world. Anyways.... I'll keep pushing this thread along since it keeps me motivated and reading.

Danielh22185

Iristheangel wrote: »

Starting on Chapter 7 of the FLG today. Should be an easy chapter (Only about 100 pages). Been sick with an ear infection and sinus infection for over a week now. Finally got antibiotics yesterday so I'm feeling more clear-headed and ready to study. I'm up to Chapter 6 in the Simplified guide. It definitely goes into detail about configurations and subjects outside of scope of the Route exam such as configuring PfR, VRFs, etc but I'm liking it. There's nothing wrong with learning MORE than the scope of an exam since the idea is to use this information in the real world. Anyways.... I'll keep pushing this thread along since it keeps me motivated and reading.

Then on to the biggest chapter yet (ch. 8 IPV6! It is over 200 pages but it actually goes really fast. There are lots of diagrams and configuration examples that take up page space so don't be intimidated by the chapter length.

Iristheangel

@Daniel - I'm not too intimated by Chapter 8. I'm looking forward to finishing off FLG so I can focus on Route Simplified. I still have about 350 pages left of that book so it'll take me a bit longer.
Interested in doing some labbing via Google Hangouts in a couple weeks?

Update: Getting through Chapter 7 with some ease. I should be able to start Chapter 8 by the end of the week

kohr-ah

Man I feel behind lol. I just finished up Chapter 3 on FLG - Onto Chapter 4.

Awesome lab though and keep moving forward!

Danielh22185

Iristheangel wrote: »

@Daniel - I'm not too intimated by Chapter 8. I'm looking forward to finishing off FLG so I can focus on Route Simplified. I still have about 350 pages left of that book so it'll take me a bit longer.
Interested in doing some labbing via Google Hangouts in a couple weeks?

Update: Getting through Chapter 7 with some ease. I should be able to start Chapter 8 by the end of the week

Defiantly interested! I am in pretty much full lab mode at this point. I need to look more into how that all works. Its blocked from work but I have the next 4 days off work to figure it out

Iristheangel

Finishing up Chapter 7 tonight. Instead of starting out on Chapter 8, I think I'm going to deep dive into Route Simplified for the rest of the week. That book is definitely the best of the others but the name is sort of ironic. It has so much detail that I'm only on the BGP chapter. For example, unlike the rest of the books, it picks apart things like the BGP Message headers down to what each byte is allocated to and even gives the Notification message error codes and subcodes along with an explanation of what each code means. Is this essential information for passing a test? Probably not since it wasn't in the FLG or OCG. Is it good for life to take in and at least note? You betcha!

Iristheangel

Starting the final chapter of FLG today. 200 pages @ 25 pages/day during the week days means I should be done by the middle of next week and then it's straight labbing with the 101 CCNP Labs book and watching the Trainsignal videos. Slowly but surely, I'm crawling towards that CCNP

Danielh22185

Iristheangel wrote: »

Finishing up Chapter 7 tonight. Instead of starting out on Chapter 8, I think I'm going to deep dive into Route Simplified for the rest of the week. That book is definitely the best of the others but the name is sort of ironic. It has so much detail that I'm only on the BGP chapter. For example, unlike the rest of the books, it picks apart things like the BGP Message headers down to what each byte is allocated to and even gives the Notification message error codes and subcodes along with an explanation of what each code means. Is this essential information for passing a test? Probably not since it wasn't in the FLG or OCG. Is it good for life to take in and at least note? You betcha!

I hear ya. I probably won't have time to read through Simplified, I mainly got it for labbing as it has a large section for that in the back of the book. Defiantly good to read more if you can though to get a deeper understanding. Although I may not end up reading much of the book before my test I plan to after to keep things fresh and to build my knowledge further.

Iristheangel wrote: »

Starting the final chapter of FLG today. 200 pages @ 25 pages/day during the week days means I should be done by the middle of next week and then it's straight labbing with the 101 CCNP Labs book and watching the Trainsignal videos. Slowly but surely, I'm crawling towards that CCNP

Its a big one but I thought IPv6 was explained very well in FLG.

Iristheangel

Halfway through Chapter 8. I'll get it nailed this week. I have about 200 pages of the Route Simplified book left. I'll probably get that done in the next week or two as well and then it's just 100% labbing. I'm planning to go through my notes and set up the technology on my own and then after repetitively doing that, I'll start going through the labs on the 101 CCNP Labs book to further cement the knowledge. I'm looking to take the exam by the middle of October. Fingers crossed.


On a side note, I'm sort of excited to do the CCNP Security track next year. I'm sure it's a hard track but ironically, the fact that there's so little written material out there for it (pretty much the OCG) means that it's a more direct path for me. I tend to over read when I'm studying and given that I'll have less books to read, I'll be forced to obsess less about getting 2-3 different study guides and have to just stick with one book and find a video series to reinforce it.

Iristheangel

Almost done with FLG - Probably about two more days of reading until I can throw this book into the stack of conquered books. The last chapter is IPv6 which is probably the hardest concept for me. I'll probably start labbing this first and foremost after I'm done.
I am also exactly 200 pages away from finishing the CCNP Route Simplified book. I can finish that off in less than a week by reading 25 pages at work and 25 pages when I get home at night.

Excited to just finish the reading and get my hands dirty with intense labbing. I'll probably tackle IPv6 first since that's my weakest area and work my way back. It's been a fun journey so far. When I finish these two books in the next week, I'll have read a total of about 3,000 pages over the last 6 months for the CCNP Route exam (OCG, FLG, Route Simplified, and some guide notes I bought). Probably the most I've read in prep for studying for any exam. It's actually taken me more time to study for the CCNP than it did for my CISSP. I took about 8 months of prep, reading, and video courses to get to the point where I successfully passed the CISSP. It's going to take me about 12 months total to get done with the CCNP. I did have a 2 month lull in there where I didn't study at all but overall, there's a lot of information and it's certainly given me a lot of respect for the professional level exams. The sad part is that even though the CCNP is probably harder and more intense than the CISSP (Opinion), it doesn't get the same amount of prestige or industry recognition from employers as the CISSP. Sigh... I suppose that could be partially due to the fact that there are a large amount of dumpers out there with multiple CCNPs who can't tell their arse from a switchport.

Iristheangel

Finally finished Route FLG! Here are my notes for anyone who wished to download them:
https://app.box.com/s/eh3hvwniibtkfpbiwzb7

Hope they are useful to some of you. I'm almost finished with Route Simplified and then I should upload my notes form that one as well