CCIE Lab Review
CCIE R/S Lab Test : Review
This is very long….if you want to skip the story, you can get to what I learned at the bottom.
Well, I have waited a long time to write a review about this test. I had just hoped that I would be part of the “estimated” 3% (this is what I hear…not sure if it is true or not…either way it is way low) that passed the exam on the first attempt. While I did not pass the exam, I did learn a lot that will help me on my next lab and may help others out there looking to take their lab in the future. So, here we go.
The first thing that I would like to say is, once you are there, this lab is not as scary as you would think it would be. You hear all of these stories about how evil everything about the lab can be. I had visions of configuring routers and switches in a dungeon full of spiders and snakes. Cisco executioners (proctors) beating you with sticks while laughing at you. I know this sounds crazy but you get the point, and without experiencing the lab, you start to believe all the rumors. It was far from all the horror stories I had heard in the past. More on this later.
While I have been working on this for a while (several years), I have not been focused. This has caused me to spend a lot of time and money and not really getting any closer to my goal. I use this equipment at work, but not to the extent you will be tested on the lab. I set up my on rack and practice labs on my own. I have read many books. But, in the end you don’t know what you don’t know. The best thing that I did during this entire process was buy a lab manual and proctor guide from a training company out there. This starts off with labs focused in individual areas and then works in to multiprotocol labs. This combined with a rack made for the labs really helped me to focus my studies. I just waited too long to get the manuals. These things work, you just have to give them time.
I had the lab manual, but did not get the proctor guide until a month before my lab. This was a very big mistake. I should have ordered them at the same time. I did some lab hours on weekends and weeknights, when I wasn’t working like crazy on other things. I took off the whole week leading up to the lab and scheduled a lot of rack time to prepare for the exam. This was another mistake that I will cover soon. Sunday through Sunday I had 12 hours of lab time scheduled a day. I then rested on Monday, flew out on Tuesday, took the lab on Wednesday, and returned on Thursday.
Early Tuesday morning, I checked my email to see if anything had changed and headed to the airport. Flew from Dallas to Denver, had a short layover, then flew onto San Jose. After picking up my luggage, getting my rental car, picking up something to eat, and checking into my room, I decided to check my email again. And what did I see? An email from Cisco saying that my credit card (my boss) had been declined for the lab! The email was sent while I was in the air heading to San Jose. Well, crap…this is more stress that I did not need. I am sitting in San Jose, less than 12 hours from the lab, and everyone has gone home. There was no one to talk to, to get everything squared away. I fired an email back explaining my frustrations and asked someone to give me a call back first thing in the morning. At this point I figured all I was going to get to do is tour San Francisco all day Wednesday. I mean how can I have a seat in the lab if it was not paid for. After getting no sleep Tuesday night thinking about all of this, I did not receive a phone call either. I decided to check my email about an hour and a half before the exam. And there it was…An email from the CCIE group saying go ahead and take the lab and settle things afterward. Hahaha…So now I have to go back into lab mode. The past few days the emotions have been up and down.
After a very quick breakfast at the IHOP, I drove to 150 West Tasman Drive, building C, also known as “The nightmare on Tasman Street”. I sat in the parking lot watching people walk into the building. You can tell the people that are going in for the lab. They are the ones with nervous and pale faces walking in like zombies. Through the glass I could see that they were all being seated to the right of the counter in a sitting area with 4 couches. Well, it is now 7:45 A.M. and it is time for me to make my walk. During my short walk from the rental car to the front door, I kept hearing in my head, from The Green Mile, “Dead Man Walking!” . haha. I checked in grabbed a bottle of water and had a seat. It was hard to keep from laughing, looking at everyone. You should see the faces. The proctors came and got all of us about 8:05 A.M. I believe we had 4 R/S, 1 Security, and 4 Voice candidates. And out of all these people, I believe I was the only one there for the first time.
As the proctors introduced themselves and started walking us back, I noticed they were very nice and professional. I am not sure what I expected, but this helped settle the nerves a little. As we walked back he was talking and explaining a few things. When we entered the room, I didn’t see snakes, spiders, or a dungeon! It was actually a medium size room with racks and cubicles all over the place and some large white boards at the back of the room. They spent the next few minutes going over the rules and other specifics and then it was time to get to work.
At first glance, the lab looked very doable. I was feeling pretty good at this point. Everything was going great and then….I hit my first snag. No problem I will get it straight. An hour later, it still was not working. It was time to move on. Before you know it, it was lunch time. They give everyone a 10.00 voucher and walk you over to the lunch room. I ended up having stir fry, chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, and jalapenos. We all sat as a group with proctor and ate. It was actually nice. We ate an BS’d for about 30 minutes and then it was back to work. The problems that I had before lunch lead to more problems after lunch and things started to compound. While I did not finish the entire lab, I did keep track of the points that I “thought” that I got. The score report was not as kind as my own score report.
. The problem is, in order to get all the points for a section, you must get each of the subsections. It is all or nothing. At the end of the lab, the proctors were very nice and professional again. They asked how I did…I just laughed and said that I would see them next time. Haha. They said it wasn’t over until it was graded. I said that is true but I know the points I got and they were not enough. One of them told me to have a good night and a safe trip home. I was really impressed with lab and the proctors.
Things I learned:
1. Get a lab manual from one of the big training companies out there. I chose IPExpert, but there are others that I hear are good also. These manuals present tasks different ways. This is very important. They help you think of new ways of accomplishing the same task. If you do not know multiple ways to get something done, you’re not ready. The labs in the manuals help you get into this way of thinking.
2. Give yourself plenty of time to go through the manual. I would go through each of the labs multiple times. On multiple attempts, work on your speed. I tried to cram a lot into the last month. This is not a test that you can cram on. The month before should be for polishing and speed, not cramming.
3. Know the documentation CD!!!!!!! Even if you are working on your CCNA / CCNP or any other Cisco cert, learn to use the doc CD. This is your only friend during the exam. Start now: http://www.cisco.com/univercd
4. When you start the process, tell your friends and family goodbye for a while. You need to give this exam your full attention.
5. Sign up for the email list @ groupstudy.com . I waited until the last month to do this also. This was another big mistake. There is a lot of knowledge on that board. Use it to your advantage.
6. When scheduling rack time, do not do multiple days of 12 hour blocks. If you’re like me you will get distracted and end up wasting some of that time. When I start again, I will be doing 6 hour blocks with an occasional 12 hour block. Again, start early on, so you will not have to try and cram those 12 hour blocks in.
7. When doing practice labs, read the entire lab twice. Get in a habit of doing this. There may be a configuration at the end that will determine how or what you need to do at the beginning. A network redesign is not a good thing in the 6th hour.
8. When doing practice labs, re-draw the network. This helps you to really understand the topology. Add the IP Addressing to the map. Used colored pencils to mark the different protocols and areas. Keep it right in front of you to reference.
9. Build your speed and work on time management. If a task is only worth 3 points, is it worth spending an hour on? Will affect other points down the road?
10. Don’t stress about the lab. It is not as bad as what you hear. I know this is easy to say now, and I was stressed before, but this is the truth. Self induced stress can kill you in this lab.
Well, sorry this was so long, but I hope the last 10 things help someone get into that 3%.
I will post more later. I am sure I think of more after I post this.
Battle one done but the war is not over!
I will sip the "Blue Kool-Aid" and return after the New Year.
Kenny
This is very long….if you want to skip the story, you can get to what I learned at the bottom.
Well, I have waited a long time to write a review about this test. I had just hoped that I would be part of the “estimated” 3% (this is what I hear…not sure if it is true or not…either way it is way low) that passed the exam on the first attempt. While I did not pass the exam, I did learn a lot that will help me on my next lab and may help others out there looking to take their lab in the future. So, here we go.
The first thing that I would like to say is, once you are there, this lab is not as scary as you would think it would be. You hear all of these stories about how evil everything about the lab can be. I had visions of configuring routers and switches in a dungeon full of spiders and snakes. Cisco executioners (proctors) beating you with sticks while laughing at you. I know this sounds crazy but you get the point, and without experiencing the lab, you start to believe all the rumors. It was far from all the horror stories I had heard in the past. More on this later.
While I have been working on this for a while (several years), I have not been focused. This has caused me to spend a lot of time and money and not really getting any closer to my goal. I use this equipment at work, but not to the extent you will be tested on the lab. I set up my on rack and practice labs on my own. I have read many books. But, in the end you don’t know what you don’t know. The best thing that I did during this entire process was buy a lab manual and proctor guide from a training company out there. This starts off with labs focused in individual areas and then works in to multiprotocol labs. This combined with a rack made for the labs really helped me to focus my studies. I just waited too long to get the manuals. These things work, you just have to give them time.
I had the lab manual, but did not get the proctor guide until a month before my lab. This was a very big mistake. I should have ordered them at the same time. I did some lab hours on weekends and weeknights, when I wasn’t working like crazy on other things. I took off the whole week leading up to the lab and scheduled a lot of rack time to prepare for the exam. This was another mistake that I will cover soon. Sunday through Sunday I had 12 hours of lab time scheduled a day. I then rested on Monday, flew out on Tuesday, took the lab on Wednesday, and returned on Thursday.
Early Tuesday morning, I checked my email to see if anything had changed and headed to the airport. Flew from Dallas to Denver, had a short layover, then flew onto San Jose. After picking up my luggage, getting my rental car, picking up something to eat, and checking into my room, I decided to check my email again. And what did I see? An email from Cisco saying that my credit card (my boss) had been declined for the lab! The email was sent while I was in the air heading to San Jose. Well, crap…this is more stress that I did not need. I am sitting in San Jose, less than 12 hours from the lab, and everyone has gone home. There was no one to talk to, to get everything squared away. I fired an email back explaining my frustrations and asked someone to give me a call back first thing in the morning. At this point I figured all I was going to get to do is tour San Francisco all day Wednesday. I mean how can I have a seat in the lab if it was not paid for. After getting no sleep Tuesday night thinking about all of this, I did not receive a phone call either. I decided to check my email about an hour and a half before the exam. And there it was…An email from the CCIE group saying go ahead and take the lab and settle things afterward. Hahaha…So now I have to go back into lab mode. The past few days the emotions have been up and down.
After a very quick breakfast at the IHOP, I drove to 150 West Tasman Drive, building C, also known as “The nightmare on Tasman Street”. I sat in the parking lot watching people walk into the building. You can tell the people that are going in for the lab. They are the ones with nervous and pale faces walking in like zombies. Through the glass I could see that they were all being seated to the right of the counter in a sitting area with 4 couches. Well, it is now 7:45 A.M. and it is time for me to make my walk. During my short walk from the rental car to the front door, I kept hearing in my head, from The Green Mile, “Dead Man Walking!” . haha. I checked in grabbed a bottle of water and had a seat. It was hard to keep from laughing, looking at everyone. You should see the faces. The proctors came and got all of us about 8:05 A.M. I believe we had 4 R/S, 1 Security, and 4 Voice candidates. And out of all these people, I believe I was the only one there for the first time.
As the proctors introduced themselves and started walking us back, I noticed they were very nice and professional. I am not sure what I expected, but this helped settle the nerves a little. As we walked back he was talking and explaining a few things. When we entered the room, I didn’t see snakes, spiders, or a dungeon! It was actually a medium size room with racks and cubicles all over the place and some large white boards at the back of the room. They spent the next few minutes going over the rules and other specifics and then it was time to get to work.
At first glance, the lab looked very doable. I was feeling pretty good at this point. Everything was going great and then….I hit my first snag. No problem I will get it straight. An hour later, it still was not working. It was time to move on. Before you know it, it was lunch time. They give everyone a 10.00 voucher and walk you over to the lunch room. I ended up having stir fry, chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, and jalapenos. We all sat as a group with proctor and ate. It was actually nice. We ate an BS’d for about 30 minutes and then it was back to work. The problems that I had before lunch lead to more problems after lunch and things started to compound. While I did not finish the entire lab, I did keep track of the points that I “thought” that I got. The score report was not as kind as my own score report.
. The problem is, in order to get all the points for a section, you must get each of the subsections. It is all or nothing. At the end of the lab, the proctors were very nice and professional again. They asked how I did…I just laughed and said that I would see them next time. Haha. They said it wasn’t over until it was graded. I said that is true but I know the points I got and they were not enough. One of them told me to have a good night and a safe trip home. I was really impressed with lab and the proctors.Things I learned:
1. Get a lab manual from one of the big training companies out there. I chose IPExpert, but there are others that I hear are good also. These manuals present tasks different ways. This is very important. They help you think of new ways of accomplishing the same task. If you do not know multiple ways to get something done, you’re not ready. The labs in the manuals help you get into this way of thinking.
2. Give yourself plenty of time to go through the manual. I would go through each of the labs multiple times. On multiple attempts, work on your speed. I tried to cram a lot into the last month. This is not a test that you can cram on. The month before should be for polishing and speed, not cramming.
3. Know the documentation CD!!!!!!! Even if you are working on your CCNA / CCNP or any other Cisco cert, learn to use the doc CD. This is your only friend during the exam. Start now: http://www.cisco.com/univercd
4. When you start the process, tell your friends and family goodbye for a while. You need to give this exam your full attention.
5. Sign up for the email list @ groupstudy.com . I waited until the last month to do this also. This was another big mistake. There is a lot of knowledge on that board. Use it to your advantage.
6. When scheduling rack time, do not do multiple days of 12 hour blocks. If you’re like me you will get distracted and end up wasting some of that time. When I start again, I will be doing 6 hour blocks with an occasional 12 hour block. Again, start early on, so you will not have to try and cram those 12 hour blocks in.
7. When doing practice labs, read the entire lab twice. Get in a habit of doing this. There may be a configuration at the end that will determine how or what you need to do at the beginning. A network redesign is not a good thing in the 6th hour.
8. When doing practice labs, re-draw the network. This helps you to really understand the topology. Add the IP Addressing to the map. Used colored pencils to mark the different protocols and areas. Keep it right in front of you to reference.
9. Build your speed and work on time management. If a task is only worth 3 points, is it worth spending an hour on? Will affect other points down the road?
10. Don’t stress about the lab. It is not as bad as what you hear. I know this is easy to say now, and I was stressed before, but this is the truth. Self induced stress can kill you in this lab.
Well, sorry this was so long, but I hope the last 10 things help someone get into that 3%.
I will post more later. I am sure I think of more after I post this.
Battle one done but the war is not over!
I will sip the "Blue Kool-Aid" and return after the New Year.
Kenny
Kenny
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA
Comments
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Webmaster
Admin Posts: 10,292 Admin
Thanks for taking the time to write this and giving us a peek into the black box called the CCIE lab. That's quite an adventure you had. I think something additional I learned from reading it is you have to make sure everything around the lab is taken care of (payment, hotel, rental car, flight, etc.etc.) as you don't want to worry about this when it's near lab time.
I noticed another topic a couple of days ago in which someone asked for a CCIE practice lab setup. Is the blueprint and other info from the CCIE section of the cisco.com site sufficient to know what devices and technologies you need to practice?
I turned the topic into a Sticky btw. If you have no objections, I'd like to copy the content to a regular html page and add it to our CCIE section (which we don't have yet, but I guess it's time we get one). -
Ricka182
Member Posts: 3,359
Wow, kickass review Kenny! Everything you listed makes sense as far as preparation is concerned. I also figured the CCIE lab was a dungeon like atmosphere, although I still never quite understood how to practice router issues...then again, I don't fully understand routing yet, so that would be why there. Now that you have "been there, done that", I'm sure you'll follow your own advice and get it next time!!i remain, he who remains to be.... -
Ten9t6
Member Posts: 691
yes...post it wherever you like. And you are correct about making sure everything is in place before heading that way. I thought I had done that, but "Murphy" was out there. You do not need to add onto the stress that you will already have.
As far as a lab setup, the cisco site will point you in the right direction. You can also look at Proctorlabs.com . Their setup is good. It can cover the different types of network configs that you might face.
One other point that I missed earlier......buy a copy of SecureCRT. Get used to it and use it on your practice labs. This is what you will be using on the lab. Also, there will be different icons on the desktop. There will be one per device. So, you can have open multiple windows. This can be very handy in certain situations. Plus, you don't have to do the crt + shift + 6 X crap.
Ricka182....By router issues, do you mean breaking the router config and then fixing it? If you do, they used to do that on the two day lab. Now that the lab is one day, they do not introduce problems into the network. All the problems that you will have to troubleshoot are self induced. And trust me...you have plenty of chances to shoot yourself in both feet.
I am sure I will think of more as I decompress from the whole thing.
Oh yeah.....know the Doc CD!
Kenny
P.S. Know the Doc CD! Kenny
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA -
KGhaleon
Member Posts: 1,346 ■■■■□□□□□□
Wow, the fact that you were able to fly there and take it shows that your already a fine networker. Better luck next time, and good luck with your studies.
Though I'm planning to retake my CCNA monday, I'll apply much of this advice.
KGPresent goals: MCAS, MCSA, 70-680 -
matl
Member Posts: 36 ■■□□□□□□□□
Thank you for this great review. I'm sure you'll pass it next time.
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Ten9t6
Member Posts: 691
Well, I just added some more tools to the chest. After not being happy with the company I went through for the bootcamp (not the material, but small print BS.....which is another story) I decided to try out another company that I have heard a lot about. So, I bought the Routing and Switching Lab manual I and II.....Advanced Technologies Labs....and Rack time from the two Brians (Internetwork Expert). Hopefully, I will have a good review over the material, after the New Year, for everyone.
Back to practicing!
KennyKenny
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA -
EdTheLad
Member Posts: 2,111 ■■■■□□□□□□
Hey Kenny,
You mentioned in the beginning the lab was going well until you hit a snag!
This snag you hit, you've figured it out yet? If so is it something you thaught u knew or a new design concept you were unfamilar with?
Also which was harder on the exam routing or switching and did you notice it was more routing than switching or vice versa.
Did everyone taking the R/S have the same test on the day? This this effect you at all looking at the other guys working away while you were in a rut?Networking, sometimes i love it, mostly i hate it.Its all about the $$$$ -
Ten9t6
Member Posts: 691
Ed...
Good questions...I am still not sure what issue I had with one of the problems. I really should have sucked it up and asked the proctor to check the device. I have never had an issue with that particular setup before......Being a Newb, I didn't even think about going to them....dumb on my part. The other snag I ran in to, I have figured out since then and all is good next time.
After going through some of the lab manuals out there, you will see most of the tricks they like to pull. It's just now you get them all in one lab...So, there were maybe a couple of points that I had not seen in one form or another......Just based off the fact that there are more routers than switches, you will get hit there harder. ....Although, there are a lot of things that the 3550 can do.
There were 9 of us there that day and I believe 5 were R/S. I am not sure if any of us had the same lab or not. You have binder on your desk with a lab in it...and that is all you worry about. I really didn't think about the others around me....I might have bugged the guy next to me though, at one point. I couldn't see why something wasn't happening, when it should have...so I thought....well after looking into it, I found a mistake I made. Before I knew it, I laughed out loud and called myself a "dumb@$$" haha..he just looked at me...oops...sorry...
If you think the typing of others may bother you, I would bring some ear plugs to block it out.
Looks like I will have a while to get ready for the next attempt. There is always something I can work on.
KennyKenny
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA -
Ten9t6
Member Posts: 691
oh...the only thing that really bothered me was all the phone ringing from those taking the voice lab. It starts around noon and goes all day...
kennyKenny
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA -
Webmaster
Admin Posts: 10,292 Admin
Sounds like earplugs is a very good idea. I wouldn't have any problems with typing and phones ringing on the job, but I'd definitely get distracted and perhaps even irritated if I'd have to pay so much for the lab exam and get disturbed with phone calls. They should attach headphones to the phones.
I was wondering, did you find Boson's beta CCNP sim any useful for preparing for the lab exam? Boson has been so kind to send me a copy and it looks darn impressive even it is still lacking a lot of functionality. -
Ten9t6
Member Posts: 691
I like it to brush up on a few things....but, honestly, once I started with the online racks, I really haven't looked at it in a while. I wish the would hurry up and put the full thing out. I do think that it is a pretty good product though.....especially for the money.
KennyKenny
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA -
garv221
Member Posts: 1,914
Nice review. Was your boot camp in Michigan? Look foward to hearing about your pass.
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Ten9t6
Member Posts: 691
actually...the bootcamp was in Dallas. It was nice, since I didn't have to pay to travel.
KennyKenny
A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+, MCSE+I, MCSE:Security, MCDBA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCVP, CCIE Written (R/S, Voice),INFOSEC, JNCIA (M and FWV), JNCIS (M and FWV), ENA, C|EH, ACA, ACS, ACE, CTP, CISSP, SSCP, MCIWD, CIWSA -
2lazybutsmart
Member Posts: 1,119
Ten9t6 wrote:There were 9 of us there that day and I believe 5 were R/S. I am not sure if any of us had the same lab or not. You have binder on your desk with a lab in it...and that is all you worry about.
Now hold on there. I thought the CCIE lab candidate was let loose in this huge room full of routers and switches and whatever other gadgets that go with the trade??? OK..you said there weren't any monsters there nor executioners, but I never thought it was just a desk with a lab "in it".
Honestly, I couldn't care less (whether it's a big room or a small desk) but I think the fact that all the "scary" things put together on one desk makes the whole matter more intimidating. And then with the phone calls going off and the guy next door typing away..... arrrggghhhhh.
2lbs.Exquisite as a lily, illustrious as a full moon,
Magnanimous as the ocean, persistent as time. -
tunerX
Member Posts: 447 ■■■□□□□□□□
Have you thought about the netmasterclass doit and showit labs. I have the ipexpert lab workbook and am thinking about trying another one before I attempt my lab in May.
