My CCNP Data Center thread

I've moved on to start studying for my CCNP: Data Center as of the beginning of this month. I'm going to go ahead and start charting my progress here to keep myself moving and motivated. Since there are no dedicated CCNP DC resources out there, I'm utilizing the CCIE DC reading list, the INE CCIE Data Center videos, the configuration guides and the INE DC rack rentals to get me there.

Here's the reading list I own and progress I've made on each book so far:
Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals - 75% done [should be finished within the next week or two]
Data Center Fundamentals - 50% done [Reading of this book is on hold - It's very dry and I had to mix up my studying]
NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching - 0% [Not Started]
Cisco UCS - 0% [Not Started]
I/O Consolidation in the Data Center - 0% [Not Started]
Storage Networking Fundamentals - 0% [Not Started]

INE Videos:
CCIE Data Center: Written - 30% done [Very easy to follow]
CCIE Data Center: Unified Computing Course - 0% [Not Started]
CCIE Data Center: Unified Communications on UCS - 0% [Not Started]
CCIE Data Center: Storage Course - 0% [Not Started]
CCIE Data Center: Nexus NX-OS Primer - 0% [Not Started]
CCIE Data Center: Nexus Course - 0% [Not Started]
CCIE Data Center: Nexus 1000v on UCS - 0% [Not Started]
CCIE Data Center : Implementing Nexus - 0% [Not Started]

DC Rack Rental hours Completed (since late February): 42

It's probably going to take me forever to get through this track because I'm am going to read/watch all the books and books above but the goal is to learn as much as I can. After I'm done reading and watching the above, I'll start going through the configuration guides and play around more with the DC rack rentals. I'm not going to bother setting dates for when I am going to take these exams but rather take them when I feel comfortable with my skillset in the topics of the exam.

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Comments

ande0255

Out of curiosity, did you decide on the DC route for work, or out of personal preference?

I want to get into DC, but those jobs are so few and far between around my neck, I'm having a hell of a time studying VCP just cause I don't work with it on a regular basis.

I'd wish you luck, but you don't need it, you are like the terminator of certifications

And if it counts for anything, I think you should do the R/S, your determination would pull you through for sure.

Iristheangel

I went with the DC because I think it would help me do my job better and Nexus and UCS are technologies that are only gaining market share so it's future-proofing me a bit.

As far as R&S, I'm definitely going to go for it after the CCIE DC. I just wanted something I could achieve in a relatively quicker amount of time.

amol100

@Iristhangel
I am also going to start CCNP DC reading , Please suggest me which material are u referring except videos ?
can we study together ?

Regards
Amol Palde
CCIE R&S # 40123

Iristheangel

I took 642-999 today and passed.

I was actually REALLY surprised by the content. Without violating NDA, I will say that you definitely need to study up on C-series and don't dedicate ALL your time to just the B-series. Overall, this exam wasn't as hard or daunting as I thought it would be. It really does focus on the UCS aspect which makes it a lot easier to zero in on what to study. My best material was the Implementing UCS book, the UCS configuration guide, UCS Emulator, and the INE UCS videos. Knowing the differences between generation 1 and generation 2 equipment will really help you out - I think I was pretty rock solid on this thanks to the Implementing UCS book but any extremely hardware specific questions, I probably didn't do so well on.

This week is a pretty heavy study week for me. I have the 642-035 exam set for next Tuesday and I'm taking the Brocade vRouter exam for fun this Saturday. I blew through the Brocade free videos last week and now I'm halfway through the 50 page nutshell guide. All these set/edit commands and commit/save is a little different for my little Cisco-minded head but I don't mind. It's fun and it's breaking up the Data Center monotony

Iristheangel

amol100 wrote: »

@Iristhangel
I am also going to start CCNP DC reading , Please suggest me which material are u referring except videos ?
can we study together ?

Regards
Amol Palde
CCIE R&S # 40123

Hello Amol,

I'm going through the CCIE Data Center recommended reading list: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-13986

I would also add the Implementing UCS and Cisco Storage Networking Cookbook books and the configuration guides for UCS, Nexus, MDS, etc.

I wouldn't mind studying together. Do you have access to a lab or rack rentals?

Iristheangel

Here's my official weekly update:

- Wrote a couple new blog posts about my exam experiences here
- Re-reading the UCS GUI v2.0 config guide in preparation for the 642-035 exam I have on Tuesday

I'm now trying to game plan how the rest of the CCNP DC is going to go after I'm done with the UCS part. I am going to probably lab UCS a little more and finish my re-read of the UCS GUI config guide before moving onto Nexus so that'll probably be a week or two more. After that, I'm going to jump into Nexus and try to divide my reading/labbing between CCNP and CCIE.

For CCNP DC, I think I'm going to read the following:

- NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching
- Nexus 7K Configuration Guide
- Nexus 5K Configuration Guide
- Nexus 2K Configuration Guide
- Nexus 1K Configuration Guide
- MDS 9000 Configuration Guide
- INE Nexus and Storage videos
- Various best practice guides on FCoE, zoning, OTV, vPC

After that, I'll probably shoot for both the exams. For the CCIE DC material, it's going to be a lot less reading and more labbing but in prep for the written, I'll read:

- Network Design Cookbook
- Cisco Storage Area Network Cookbook
- Re-read Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals while labbing
- Re-read NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching while labbing
- Read all the best practice guides and config guides on SteveO's blog
- Watch the recommended Cisco Live videos on SteveO's blog
- Read the CVDs for data center

Feel free to give me feedback or to let me know if I'm insane :P

Iristheangel

Passed the 642-035 exam but just barely. This exam was quite a bit harder than the last. It definitely required you to know a lot more of the details so be aware.

I'm going to finish my re-read of the UCS guide and read the I/O Consolidation book before my dive into Nexus! Half-way to my CCNP DC. Hopefully I made it by the end of the year.

ande0255

Huge congratulations, you are truly a machine when it comes to processing input!

Just read your book list, how is it that you manage to read through the amount of materials that you do, if you don't mind me asking? A 900 page book could take me around a month to read, but my notes are so extensive it's ridiculous, I practically re-write the book.

Iristheangel

@Ande - In this case, the books aren't actually that thick. Implementing UCS, UCS Reference, Storage Networking, and the IBM SAN books were all around 300 pages each. Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals and Data Center Fundamentals were the beasts to get through. DC Fundamentals moreso because there was a lot of outdated information so I had to parse out the BS. I started reading earlier this year when I was at my old job so what I would do is get to work about 3 hours early and spend time on one book before work. I'd also try to use lunch breaks or any time I could to continue reading and take notes via Google Docs (download links for my notes are throughout this thread). When I got home at night, I'd start on a different book and usually study until around midnight. I'd always set challenging, yet attainable goals such as a chapter a day or 50 pages total. If I achieved either one, I'd feel good. That's how I got through both larger books.

Now that I have a different job, I work from home a lot more. What I usually do is wake up early and start studying. I've been working my way through the smaller books so I'll spend the morning on whatever book I'm reading and taking extensive notes. Evenings after my work is done is usually spent on videos or labbing depending on where I'm at or how comfortable I feel with the material.

Honestly, I think anyone can do everything I'm doing. It just takes an enormous amount of sacrifice in terms of your personal life. Thankfully, my spouse understand that and accepts it because she knows it's not always going to be like this. My friends don't see me as much as they did when I was in my early 20s. I don't drink often (once every 6 months), club maybe once a year, and steer clear of anything I like too much that could ruin my focus or take up a lot of my time (gaming). I don't have the most glamourous or fun lifestyle at the moment but that will change one day.

lrb

The sacrifices you make now will inevitably pay off in the future. Keep up the awesome work!

Zorodzai

congrats Iris

snadam

Congrats on your progress, and good luck with the rest!

SteveO86

Congrats on the pass Iris!!

Study plan looks solid! I would add in some DCNM time/reading

I think we are all a little crazy/insane for studying as much as we do! (In a good way of course)

Iristheangel

I haven't checked in here for awhile. Things are great. I'm still busy at work and re-going through the UCS config guide. I'll be done with it this week for sure. Next week I'm going out of town so I'm going to take the I/O Consolidation book with me to read through. After 9/1/14, I'll be going through the NX-OS book, labbing Nexus and getting through the INE Nexus videos.

Danielh22185

Congrats on the recent accomplishments Iris! I always enjoy reading up on your threads. I think you bring a lot to this forum with these types of threads and always inspire me to do more!

dayday

Iristheangel wrote: »

I haven't checked in here for awhile. Things are great. I'm still busy at work and re-going through the UCS config guide. I'll be done with it this week for sure. Next week I'm going out of town so I'm going to take the I/O Consolidation book with me to read through. After 9/1/14, I'll be going through the NX-OS book, labbing Nexus and getting through the INE Nexus videos.

hey Iristheangel , really great job , i just moved into cisco DC field recently and still trying to figure up how to start and i read your post about starting Storage before UCS which make sense to me , so i will start with the network storage fundamental then INE storage .then ucs book of implementation by farhan then INE UCS.

thanks alot for your helpful notes.

question , is UCS helpful and close to real equipment . i am looking for Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist certificate . so hope all going the right path ,.

Thanks alot

eugene_86

Wow, I wish I could be like Iris one day.

Iristheangel

@Dayday - The UCS Emulator is VERY close to the real thing. The only things you can't do is set up the actual servers and verify them that way but it'll definitely get your feet wet.

As for my regular update: I finished reading I/O Consolidation for the Data Center this week and I finished my re-review of the UCS GUI Config Guide. I've been dividing my time a little by studying other things but still focusing on data center for my main studying. I finished up the Brocade Certified Ethernet Fabric Professional, Brocade Certified Network Engineer and Brocade Certified vRouter Engineer exams because they were free and to be honest, they were low hanging fruit. Seriously, if you have a CCENT, all you have to do is roll your face over the keyboard and you should be able to manage a passing score for the BCNE. I'm dabbling in the Palo Alto ACE material by doing two modules a day. I'll probably try to knock out the Solarwinds Certified Professional exam as well. Pretty much abusing all the free exams out there :P

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to begin going through the NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching book. My goal is going to be 40-50 pages a day. Not sure if I'll achieve it but I'll definitely shoot for it. I'll add my notes on here as soon as I'm done with the book.

dayday

Iristheangel wrote: »

@Dayday - The UCS Emulator is VERY close to the real thing. The only things you can't do is set up the actual servers and verify them that way but it'll definitely get your feet wet.

As for my regular update: I finished reading I/O Consolidation for the Data Center this week and I finished my re-review of the UCS GUI Config Guide. I've been dividing my time a little by studying other things but still focusing on data center for my main studying. I finished up the Brocade Certified Ethernet Fabric Professional, Brocade Certified Network Engineer and Brocade Certified vRouter Engineer exams because they were free and to be honest, they were low hanging fruit. Seriously, if you have a CCENT, all you have to do is roll your face over the keyboard and you should be able to manage a passing score for the BCNE. I'm dabbling in the Palo Alto ACE material by doing two modules a day. I'll probably try to knock out the Solarwinds Certified Professional exam as well. Pretty much abusing all the free exams out there :P

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to begin going through the NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching book. My goal is going to be 40-50 pages a day. Not sure if I'll achieve it but I'll definitely shoot for it. I'll add my notes on here as soon as I'm done with the book.

@ Iristheangel

really am taking next week off as i want to get the monkey away from my shoulder ( CISSP ) , we just build DC recently and we have 2 N5k and 4 fabric interconnect and other core switch , I want to pass the exam of cissp so i can hit the DC with all power i have as it still not in production as i can work on it and play around , really your note is making me happy as it summarize what i need , Thanks a punch
.
would you please share with me your lab strategy as i would like to work on the current setup in here without changing the design ,another issue i would like to take your opinion in ,i have someone who attempted CCIE DC in Brussels and he said ip Expert is much better in DC then INE , do you have anything to add , unfortunalty he could not share his material with me or anyone , its ok but if you have hand on it , what do you think about it from workbook and video training ?

Really you are helping me and pushing me forward to follow your track of progress , I have been away from this forum and thanks to you , your post is unique and very interesting , mucho gracies chick.

Thanks

Iristheangel

I don't really have a lab strategy as of yet. I'm mostly going through the PEC labs and reading the CCIE DC reading list. I suspect I'll be working on a lab strategy once I get past the written.

As far as INE vs IPExpert, I've heard the same thing but haven't made the switch yet. I will probably switch over by the end of the year.

down77

Iristheangel wrote: »

As far as INE vs IPExpert, I've heard the same thing but haven't made the switch yet. I will probably switch over by the end of the year.

I may get work to buy the IP Expert WB, so if they do I'll let you know my thoughts. I *HAD* the INE workbooks through the AAP, but my subscription expired and I couldn't justify the $1500 expense out of pocket.

Zartanasaurus

I still have an AAP sub to INE, but I use it for the videos. Anything I want to learn Cisco wise, I can just watch a series of videos even if I'm not preparing for the CCIE or a cert at all. Once they add VMWare and Juniper, it will be even better value. I liken it to a Safari Books subscription, which I also maintain. $99/month isn't much.

Iristheangel

Finished the I/O Consolidation book. It was a dryyyyyy read and hard as hell to stay awake for but it did go into the innards of FCoE, iSCSI, Priority Flow Control, DCB, etc so it was useful. I didn't take notes since it was like 120 pages. This week I'm starting on NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching. I have a feeling that's going to be a lot more fun to read that what I've been doing lately.

gorebrush

Iristheangel wrote: »

I don't really have a lab strategy as of yet. I'm mostly going through the PEC labs and reading the CCIE DC reading list. I suspect I'll be working on a lab strategy once I get past the written.

As far as INE vs IPExpert, I've heard the same thing but haven't made the switch yet. I will probably switch over by the end of the year.

If I were you, I wouldn't bother doing the written until you are lab ready. I've made this mistake and now I *MUST* attempt my R&S lab in 5 1/2 months time or do the written again. I thought I would have been done with the lab by now - but life happened a few times along the way.

Iristheangel

@Gorebrush - Taking the written is tied into my bonus at work so I'll have to take it before the middle of next year. I think I'll be ready for it by the end of this year to be honest. Work is also paying for the written and the lab whether I fail or not so it's worth it to me to try for it.

Ryuksapple84

Good Luck! I know I needed it when I took it.

CBT Nuggets is the way I went and it worked out for the better. Again good luck!!!

Iristheangel

Alright. Here's my update: I'm getting through the NX-OS book. I read through about 175 pages this week. I set myself a nice little goal of getting at least 25 pages a day done. I should have the book done in under a month that way. When I get done with the chapter, I lab it all through the PEC labs since I'm able to play around with N7Ks and N5Ks on there and there are some labs that are focused on configuring certain technologies covered in the book (FEX, FabricPath, vPCs, OTV, etc)

On the side, I'm watching the CBT Nuggets AWS videos for fun to sort keep myself engaged in learning. I'm a bit on the ADHD side so I like mixing up subjects to keep my brain engaged. I probably won't go for the AWS certifications but I've always wanted to learn more about AWS and I signed up for the free account so I can play around.

I'm taking a TON of NX-OS notes so as soon as I'm done with the book, I'll post them on here.

Iristheangel

It's been a couple weeks since I last updated this. I'm at page 500 out of almost 800 of the NX-OS book. I've written about 100 pages of notes so far so that's going to be fun to print out and bind in a notebook for later use. I'm optimistic that I'll have this book done before I go on PTO for my wedding in a little under 2 weeks.

After I get back from a week off, I'm going to start hitting up the Nexus 7/5K config guides, best practices guides, CVDs, and INE videos. I'm feeling very optimistic about taking the rest of the CCNP DC Nexus exams and shooting for the CCIE DC written attempt 1 by the end of the year. At this point, I'm only feeling weak on MDS

Iristheangel

Finished NX-OS book. Finished it off with 175ish pages of notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C9WUDHzVH6-Uj-8GTNFcDTYO5UVkBJPJVagHgiWzBGY/edit?usp=sharing

Getting married this weekend so I doubt I'll get much studying done. I'm about 8 videos into the Nexus CBT Nuggets videos. I'll try to finish those off in the next two weeks. Then I'll probably go for the INE videos and keep labbing until the end of November. I think I could be ready for the Nexus exams by the beginning of December.

As far as the CCIE DC written, not sure if I'll be ready bu the end of the year but I'll certainly try.

JustFred

Enjoy your special day