64:61:6e - My own thread

I'm taking up the idea from aragoen and making my own thread.

I was a little hesitant but I think it's what I need to do.As everyone else begins, here's a little about me. I started in the IT field in 2000 at a small IT shop supporting small-to-mid sized businesses but was more on the workstation/server side of the house that mainly revolved around NT/2000 then eventually XP. After being there for a little over 2 years, I moved to a larger (mid-sized) company as the Senior Support engineer but still in the Windoze side. I was just about to leave that company after being there for 3 years and was offered a Network Engineer role. I knew nothing about networking but figured I'd be able to learn and they believed I could do it so jumped at the opportunity. While I was in that position I was able to obtain my CCNA cert. A couple of years went by and I eventually got promoted to a Senior Network Engineer which is the same year I got my CCSP cert. I just finished my CCNP-R/S towards the end of last year. After being at the company for a little over 9 years, I figured it was time to move on since I wasn't really learning much anymore and wanted something a bit more challenging. I'm now an Engineer for a managed services company and get to deal with quite a bit mainly in Cisco Route/Switch, Security & Wireless technologies.After seeing a few others chasing down their CCIE numbers here, I wanted to join in on the fun. When I was studying for my CCNP I had another engineer to work with and we had each other for motivation or to bounce things off of each other. When that engineer left the company I was by myself and either I didn't have the time to study with the amount of work or was burned by the end of the day. Now being able to work at home more, I have more time to study and the talent in the group of individuals in this forum (and other forums) are extremely helpful even if it's just for motivation. That pushed me forward before and will be a big factor again I'm sure.So, here we go.I'm starting with Routing TCP/IP Volume 1. I read through a good bit of this book a little while back but want to start fresh.Now I just need to figure out how to add a signature to track my hours.

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Oh, looks like I need to have at least 10 posts in order to add a signature. I'll just keep track and get that added when I get to 10.

aragoen_celtdra

Looking forward to seeing your progress...

aragoen_celtdra wrote: »

Looking forward to seeing your progress...

Looking forward to watching your progress as well.

I was able to finish chapters 1 & 2 from TCP/IP Volume 1. Going to tackle the next 2 chapters now.

Just purchased the Boson exam sim. They have it on sale for $20 off plus the use of coupon code DAA42013 brings it down another $15 to $64. Thanks Silver145 for the tip in your thread ==> http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccie/90486-ccie-r-s-progress.html

Just went through the Layer 2 section of the Boson exam sim and looks like I need to brush up on that section as well. Thought that was my strength but came in just shy of a passing score.
...back to reading for now.

no problem, yeah i was shamed after a quick play with the boson test sim!!! revise revise revise!!!!!!!!!

Finished up chapters 3 & 4 today. Didnt have much time to read today but was able to squeeze in enough to be happy with. On to chapter 5 tomorrow. I'll have more time tomorrow afternoon so will see how far I will get.

How did you guys get the coupons to stack? I tried the 25% off coupon and tried to use the $15 off and it won't let you combine them.

spiderjericho wrote: »

How did you guys get the coupons to stack? I tried the 25% off coupon and tried to use the $15 off and it won't let you combine them.

Looks like they pulled it from their "Special Offers" section. They had it at $20 off there then you could stack the additional 15% coupon. Unfortunately, it looks like you can only use one coupon now.

Well, they still have the 25% off Facebook special, so it's not so bad.

Do their test engines update? An example would be after the V5 announcement this week, would the test engine/bank eventually update or would consumers have to purchase a new product?

spiderjericho wrote: »

Do their test engines update? An example would be after the V5 announcement this week, would the test engine/bank eventually update or would consumers have to purchase a new product?

I was actually wondering the same thing. I'm focusing on passing the written first so if Cisco were to announce a v5 update at Live this week, which I'm assuming they probably will, then I'd have at least 6 months to pass which I think will be enough time for me. Once I pass the written, then I'll start hammering away at the lab studies and just add the topic changes.

I might not be able to get to read anything until sometime after 5:00 this evening. Wife is taking the kids to the beach for a few days to give me some study time but before they head out I have to battle my boys in a water gun fight. In the end they will be soaked and I will be completely dry...that's the plan anyways.

So far I've read Chapters 1-4 of Routing TCP/IP Volume 1 but was able to skim over some of the sections. I basically went to the back of the chapters and tried to answer the review questions. What I wasn't sure of, I read that section in detail. If I knew the answer without issue, I skimmed through those sections of the chapter. The next 2 chapters are RIP and RIPng. I will probably take the same approach and skip to the questions at the end and try to answer each question. What I don't completely know I will read about in detail but what I do know without issue I will skim through.

-dan

64:61:6e wrote: »

I might not be able to get to read anything until sometime after 5:00 this evening. Wife is taking the kids to the beach for a few days to give me some study time but before they head out I have to battle my boys in a water gun fight. In the end they will be soaked and I will be completely dry...that's the plan anyways.

So far I've read Chapters 1-4 of Routing TCP/IP Volume 1 but was able to skim over some of the sections. I basically went to the back of the chapters and tried to answer the review questions. What I wasn't sure of, I read that section in detail. If I knew the answer without issue, I skimmed through those sections of the chapter. The next 2 chapters are RIP and RIPng. I will probably take the same approach and skip to the questions at the end and try to answer each question. What I don't completely know I will read about in detail but what I do know without issue I will skim through.

-dan

Looks like there are several of us with kids that are going after the coveted number. I watched a video on BGP route aggregation on my Nexus tablet while feeding my 7 month old in the high chair. I try to be very creative on how to work my studies into family life and the tablet is helping a bunch with that.

Looking forward to following your progress. It looks like there are about 3 or 4 of us at the starting line

I've been studying for the written since late March. If I do clear the written one day, I am likely to post a thread about preparing for and passing the written, and that's about it.

I can report that I'm well over 2,000 flash cards at the moment, and I am not close to where I want to be yet. I would rather over-prepare than under-prepare, if that makes any sense at all.

Some say do the written separately from the lab prep, and some say to do it synchronously. I say that synchronous probably makes the best sense, using a good system of spaced repetition. I believe that Zartanasaurus's thread provided a good presentation on spaced repetition.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccie/76254-starting-ccie-written-just-had-talk-mrs-zartan.html

Hope this helps.

vinbuck wrote: »

Looks like there are several of us with kids that are going after the coveted number. I watched a video on BGP route aggregation on my Nexus tablet while feeding my 7 month old in the high chair. I try to be very creative on how to work my studies into family life and the tablet is helping a bunch with that.

HA! That is being creative. I find it works for me to wake up at 5am and read before everyone wakes up. When I hear movement upstairs I know I'm done so I finish up the section I'm on at the time. I know it's going to be tough to tackle this journey with the family but it needs to get done and my wife is understanding so far. Might get more difficult when I start studying for the lab. I'm motivated and this thread will keep me going down the path. Like aragoen said in his thread, it's the transparent accountability that helps.

I'll get reading here in a bit. I should be able to knock out a good bit this evening and tomorrow. Tuesday and Wednesday I'm scheduled at customer sites so might not get much done those days. We will see. I might make one of those days a break-day and not study.
Going to tackle RIP now. Might try to watch a few INE VoD's as well after reading through Chapters 5 & 6 to refresh what I've read so far.

What does everyone use for notes? I tried evernote before but didn't stick to it that well when I was studying for my CCNP. I probably have just a few notes for the Switch exam then a few for the Route exam but they are not complete. I also had some hand-written notes that I never went back to reference. I'm still up in the air about taking notes. I think taking written notes helps but I never reference them.

I used good old pad and pen to write notes.

Tried and tested for 10 years!

gorebrush wrote: »

I used good old pad and pen to write notes.

Tried and tested for 10 years!

That's probably the best bet. Might pick up a few notepads to use. Even though I never really referenced them I think it still helped just by writing the information down.

instant000 wrote: »

Some say do the written separately from the lab prep, and some say to do it synchronously. I say that synchronous probably makes the best sense, using a good system of spaced repetition. I believe that Zartanasaurus's thread provided a good presentation on spaced repetition.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccie/76254-starting-ccie-written-just-had-talk-mrs-zartan.html

Hope this helps.

I've had so many thoughts on how to approach with either focusing on the Written or just focus on the Lab and the written theory will come as a result. I decided to go with the Written then Lab approach. I'd like to know the theory and build a strong foundation before trying to tackle the lab.

...back to reading...

-dan

^ Amen brother of the books

aragoen_celtdra

64:61:6e wrote: »

What does everyone use for notes? I tried evernote before but didn't stick to it that well when I was studying for my CCNP. I probably have just a few notes for the Switch exam then a few for the Route exam but they are not complete. I also had some hand-written notes that I never went back to reference. I'm still up in the air about taking notes. I think taking written notes helps but I never reference them.

I have tons of notes filed everywhere on my PC; mostly on Word. And I have several notebooks that do hand-written notes and diagrams on. But a few months ago I started using OneNote. I love it. I tried Evernote but I hate not being able to create subsections deeper than 2 levels. I have been using Evernote, though, for work-related stuff where I have to create quick reminders and short how-to notes. I like how evernote easily integrates with Android and Iphone as I utilize both for work. With that said, OneNote is my CCIE note-taking app of choice.

Oh and yeah, I don't usually refer to them too much either. I still go to the books for review. But taking notes allows me to slow down and actively "touch" the concept I'm learning. I used Anki before as well. But I'm just starting to really utilized it now. I believe a lot of memorization is required in order to really hammer the concepts in. It's important to understand the concepts but certain minutiae, I just need to plainly remember.

I was playing with Evernote again this morning and didn't care for it which is probably why I kept going away from it during my CCNP studies. I tried OneNote before and thought it was a great tool. I might give that a go again. I have tons of hand-written notes now so might convert them over to OneNote. Maybe going through them and reorganizing them will be another refresher too.
I should also start to use Anki as well. Might buy the app for my iPhone so that I can use that while I'm not at the computer.

-dan

aragoen_celtdra

Anki is free. Not for iphone?

aragoen_celtdra wrote: »

Anki is free. Not for iphone?

Anki mobile is $25 for the iPhone app. I have it on my PC which is free as you mentioned but would be nice to have it while not in front of the computer at times.

I'm going the Anki/Ever note route as I frequently try to take advantage of small blocks of time while on the go to study on my phone/tablet so synching of notes and flashcards is a must.

If you don't study for the CCIE while you're on the shitter then you're not serious enough

vinbuck wrote: »

If you don't study for the CCIE while you're on the shitter then you're not serious enough

Absolutely!

I second that Sir.

With work, yesterday and today haven't been very productive. I was able to get in an hour of reading though. It's not my daily goal but I'll take it for now. Hopefully I can get a good bit in tomorrow.
Also, I changed my signature to reflect my "CCIE Studies" rather than hours spent reading and labbing. My studies may consist of reading, labbing or even watching INE videos which in the end gets me to my goal. When I can get a better vision of when I might be ready to take the written exam, I'll add that date in my signature so I have my goal in sight.

I hear ya....I was going to finish up a lab last night that I started during the day but was wiped out after putting the wee ones to bed. So i'm hitting it hard this morning. I do my best work in the mornings anyway

I haven't been able to get much studying in these past two days with work but should be able to get back to it tomorrow. See you in the morning, EIGRP!

aragoen_celtdra

64:61:6e wrote: »

I haven't been able to get much studying in these past two days with work but should be able to get back to it tomorrow. See you in the morning, EIGRP!

Good Morning EIGRP! How is it treating you?

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