CCIblah

Posted in Blogging on January 12, 2010 by Gerren

I’m having a hard time getting back into the studying habit since being away from it for so long. I know I want this, but damn if I can get my non-studying-ass in gear again. I read through all of these cool jobs and want them, but need an IE! *curses*

Anyhow, this is my attempt to convince myself back into studying…get back into the game, etc. It’s a long road, but it’s time to start back down it.

Things I need to do:

  • Get a better system on which to run Dynamips/Dynagen
  • Figure out I can squeeze in time during the week and develop a new study plan based on that
  • Study and Lab!

Based on my v4 written, I need to focus on Multicast in a bad way…among other things.

Until next time…

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Beta Results Came Back (Finally)

Posted in CCIE Written, Exams on November 13, 2009 by Gerren

After almost exactly 8 weeks since I took the 350-001 beta, I got my results back. (See my previous post for the background on this)

I ended up with a 623, which given the little studying I did, makes me feel pretty good. Let’s just say that I really need to hit multicast pretty hard. So with the right amount of preparation, the written should be relatively simple..I hope.

I need to get back into the game here soon. The little one has somewhat of sleep schedule now, but it just doesn’t necessarily agree with my peak study times! (ie she’s awake around 4am — I’m still operating in zombie mode)

Reading through the success stories on ieoc.com has helped get my motivation going, now it’s just time to do something about it.

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351-001 Beta Done and Over With

Posted in General Announcements on September 10, 2009 by Gerren

So, it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be…had I put in the proper preparation, I would’ve been fine.  I have no doubts that on my “real” attempt, I will pass with no problem. I personally thought the test was easier than the BSCI, but I suppose it’s not a fair comparison.

Multicast was one of the topics that was covered more heavily it seemed…I really need to dig into that pretty heavily. As several people have mentioned, a few of the questions popped up several times, just in various formats. As a rough estimate, I’d say that about 70% of the topics on the written blueprint were addressed, which isn’t too bad.

If I had to guess, I’m estimating a 600 or so, which isn’t bad considering the severe lack of preparation. Anyhow…time for a break to regroup, focus on the upcoming munchkin arrival, and relax a bit. I’ll be back in full force sometime soon.

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CCIE Written v4.0 Tomorrow!

Posted in Exams, General Announcements on September 8, 2009 by Gerren

Tomorrow, I get to look forward to finding out how poorly I did in 6-8 weeks. My main focus tomorrow will be on how the written exam is “written.” Basically, is it similar to the the CCNP exams, or is it something completely different. I suppose it’s not a great way to go about it, but I basically want to find out what’s on the test. I know that each version of the written will vary of course, but I guess the best way to phrase it is “How do they cram about 90 individual topics (on the blueprint) into 100 questions?”

Let’s see what happens! I am looking forward to a fresh start again though in a few months. Mad props to all of you who manage to pull off the CCIE while working and having a family! Once we find out what life with a newborn is like, I will be able to get a better idea of the (realistic) amount of time I can devote per day to studying and go from there.

I’ve learned that from the few short weeks I’ve been studying, I need to devote more time to each topic to completely understand it and master it. I started off by creating a pretty rigorous study schedule and found that as time went by, I would rush to finish reading the material just in order to keep up with “my schedule.” I know that I need to have some sort of time line to actually pull this off, but it needs to be realistic and allow me to grasp the material and not just “read it” for the sake of reading it.

I also think that I’ll revert back to my original strategy of studying for the lab, and taking the written sometime during that time. I’ve found that the layer 2 material I studied using a combination lab/reading approach has stuck with me much more than the material that I’ve simply just read through, and not really labbed out.

So, with all of that said…I’m checking out for now. I’ll post my thoughts on the beta written sometime later this week, but aside from that, I’m out until further notice and in final countdown for arrival of Baby Smurf.

Good luck to everyone in their studies!

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Time-Out On the Field!

Posted in General Announcements on September 2, 2009 by Gerren

As hard as it is for me to do this right now, I’m going t put my studies on hold until either late this year, or the beginning of 2010. I am taking the written beta just for the experience and to see what sort of topics are more likely to appear.  In no way am I expecting to pass.  If I do by some small chance pass, even better.

Without going into detail, I just don’t feel like I can dedicate the time I want to at the moment, but they’re all good reasons. I don’t want to do this half-assed, so this is my official time out. (Well, after Sept. 9th at least when I take the written).

I appreciate everyone’s comments and support so far, and look forward to getting back in the swing of things in a few months.

Gerren

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Staying Motivated During CCIE Prep

Posted in Exams on August 8, 2009 by Gerren

I’ve only been at this 3 weeks, and am finding it hard to stay motivated. I’ll have a really good week of studying/videos/labbing, etc. but then the weekend rolls around (today for example), and I have little desire to sit here and read about HDLC, PPP, and everything that goes along with it.

I think it’s more of the overwhelming amount of information one tries to absorb during this time, versus not enjoying the material. Sure, some of it’s pretty dry, but all in all, I still find most of it enjoyable. It just feels that even thought I’m making good progress (I think…), there’s so much more to absorb, remember, regurgitate, repeat, etc. This material has to become part of who you are, not just a collection of memorized facts stored away for future use.

I think that’s the part I have a hard time with…trying to determine which specific facts about the technology/protocol are important to remember permanently, versus which facts are needed, but easy to correlate with the task/question at hand during the written and lab exams. I know that I understand the concept and how a protocol works, but I worry about not remembering that one random fact.

The more I read about some of the OEQ horror stories, the more I become concerned. I can’t imagine putting in all this time, just to be shot down for 4 lousy questions. Sure, the concept of the OEQ is well-intentioned, but the results seem to be discouraging. I know there are people that still pass, but as time goes on, the OEQ’s weigh heavily on my mind.

I think part of the other issue is that the network I manage on a day to day basis is very small, and most of the CCIE topics are generally not something I can use/implement daily. I’m sure there are many out there in a similar situation, so how do you stay motivated? What gives you that extra kick to keep going? Coffee is having limited success for me at the moment….*sigh*

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Inverse ARP for Dummies

Posted in Layer 2 Technologies with tags , on August 4, 2009 by Gerren

As much as I like to think I know what I’m talking about, inverse ARP and FR in general were never one of my strong points. I didn’t study it much during my CCNA studies or during my CCNP studies. With that said, here’s my general explanation (simplified for my simple brain) on how inverse ARP works.

R1 has inverse ARP enabled, but R2 doesn’t.

1.  R1 –> InverseARP –> R2

2. R2: “Even thought I have inverse ARP disabled, I am still required to reply to R1’s request. AND while I’m at it, add a dynamic entry for R1.

And that folks…is my brief lesson on inverse ARP.

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An Admitted Bit of Snobbery

Posted in General Announcements on August 1, 2009 by Gerren

Aside from enjoying what I do, here’s one of the reasons I’m putting myself through all of this:

From: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/ccie/certified_ccies/worldwide.html#usa

Total of Worldwide CCIEs: 20003 (last updated 06/26/2009)
Total of Routing and Switching CCIEs: 17247
Total of Security CCIEs: 2328
Total of Service Provider CCIEs: 1414
Total of Storage Networking CCIEs: 145
Total of Voice CCIEs: 1039
Total of Wireless CCIEs: 6

/end snobbery

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DTP Negotiation for Dummies

Posted in Layer 2 Technologies with tags , on July 31, 2009 by Gerren

Warning: there is nothing formal about this post, just a way to help me (and maybe you, who knows) remember DTP port states:

Dynamic Desirable: “Hey, I want to trunk and I’m letting everyone know” (3550’s are DD by default)

Dynamic Auto: “I want to trunk, but I’m not announcing it. BUT! I’ll answer DTP trunking requests” (3560’s are DA by default)

DD + DA = Trunk (And use ISL unless configured otherwise — assuming Cisco switches)

DD + DD = Trunk

DA + DA = No Trunk for You!

You can disabled DTP by either:

  1. Setting the interface to static access using the switchport mode access command
  2. Turn off DTP all together with switchport nonegotiate


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Week 1 Down…??? to Go

Posted in CCIE Written with tags on July 26, 2009 by Gerren

For various reason, which for now will remain a mystery, a I lost a lot of motivation this week, but still managed to get in a decent chunk of studying. Instead of updating several sources, I’ve made my time tracking sheet available as a Google doc. This link will take you to the public spreadsheet I am using to keep track of my hours.

Friday and Saturday were my weak days, which both tie in to the lack of motivation. I managed to get back into the game on Sunday with a solid 4+ hours, but I would’ve liked to do more.  The past week has been dedicated to spanning tree, and all of its various incarnations. I forgot how much I liked studying spanning tree…or maybe I should say that I’ve come to like spanning tree more as time goes on. This coming week will be focused on VLANs and VTP, along with Etherchannel.

I’m going to try this week to see if I can get my company to cover the cost of ordering the INE CCIE 2.0 study package. The only thing I need to figure out is if they are going to have a CCIE R&S v4 package out soon. I want to dive in and get started, but don’t want to buy the v3 package if its going to be updated soon.

Anyhow, hopefully this week I can stay focused a bit more.  I think I’ve managed to get myself out of the funk that I was in, but we’ll see how the week plays out.

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