Hi Bill,
Thank you very much for nice writeup on strategy.
This is really helpful for CCIE vocie lab aspirants. Do you have any
strategy how many notepad sessions to keep open simultaneously.
How to arrange SecureCRT sessions screen, online lab webpage, and
notepad on 32" screen.
I am still practice same method which I learn during R&S bootcamp
with Marko.If you have any better approach please share.
Regards,
Ramcharan Arya
CCIE # 28926 (R&S)
On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 10:57 AM, William Bell <b...@ucguerrilla.com
<mailto:b...@ucguerrilla.com>> wrote:
I have had this as a draft for a few days. Just too busy to
finish it until now. So, some of my thoughts are redundant to
what others have said. Hopefully that isn't a bad thing.
Timing is definitely a critical aspect of the exam. I know I have
areas where I am slower than I should be. I suspect most people
do. Most of my comments herein are based on my self-study
practice labs. I have taken the lab a couple of times but most of
the tinkering I have done with my method is during self-study.
When I sit for the real lab, I don't tinker. I go with whatever
method I have been practicing. So, that is suggestion #1: Don't
tinker on lab day, stick to your guns and don't 2nd guess your
method.
Going back to the OP, I believe you should look at the bright
side. Your statement "...I seemed to keep moving forward..." is
key. The fact you were able to avoid a stall is important. I
believe controlling this exam is about rhythm and finding what
config approach helps you establish a sustainable and consistent
rhythm. Speed on any individual task is critical but rhythm is
king in my opinion.
Like others (most?), I follow the device-based approach. It has
been around since pre 3.0 blueprint (contrary to popular opinion)
and is a proven strategy. However, I have found that you will
need to customize that approach to suit your needs. For me, it is
about managing the transitions. Again, I believe focusing on
establishing and maintaining a rhythm is absolutely key.
Smoothing the transitions and/or stacking tasks that help ease
transitions is important. Also, you won't maintain the same
rhythm throughout the exam. Some tasks you will bang out (or
should) very fast. Others, you will need to pay close attention
to what you are doing.
So, suggestion #2 is find your rhythm.
Establishing your rhythm is a product of repetition. Practice,
practice, practice as Mr. Sears puts it. You may also need some
face time with the real lab to help you come into your rhythm.
For example, some of the "weak spots" I had (or maybe still have)
and adjustments I made.
1. Transitioning from read-through to config. The read through
is/was the worst for me. Most people I have spoken with (who have
passed or come close) are able to get through the read-through in
30 minutes. Some say less. I was taking a whole lot more time
than 30 minutes. My budget for this task is 30m today.
Adjustments I made:
* Dial Plan. I was building out my dial plan (on paper) during
the read through. My logic was that "you have to do it at
some point, just do it now". The flaw with that logic is that
to establish a good rhythm, you need to avoid lingering on a
task for too long. I decided that I would focus on getting
the tasks mapped out as quick as possible and the task of
mapping out a dial plan could wait. So, I added a section in
my table to track the DP-related tasks by task ID (e.g. 4.1)
only.
* Skim. I already know that I am going to do a thorough read on
the questions at least once (during config) and likely twice
(during validation). No sense in reading the question in
detail 3 times. So, I mainly focus on what devices/apps are
affected by the question and put the ID in the table.
How I use this task:
* I build a table (like the dev-based approach table) to track
tasks
* I build a table to track what the PSTN wants to see for off
net calls (this is key because I can build an entire h323
config just on that info)
* I track phone/user features/buttons/etc. This goes to speed
when customizing phones
* I build a basic.txt text file to capture IP addresses, vlans,
interface assignments, etc. I keep this very short. Note that
with the new exam, the instructions are electronic. This
kinda de-emphasizes the need to store some of this info.
2. Where to stick in QoS. QoS is clearly infrastructure and all
of the action happens in the router config. However, for me there
is a "slow down" if I try to stick QoS config in with banging out
vlan, ntp, dhcp, rsvp, mrm, h323, etc. I can do all of the other
IOS configs very quickly in notepad. QoS is noticeably "slower"
for me.
Adjustment I made:
* I avoid auto qos on the LAN switch if I can. I have found the
LAN QoS questions to be "incomplete". Meaning, they don't
reflect reality in any way. So, if I can I just bang out the
minimum config w/o auto-qos and I do it as part of my regular
infrastructure.
* I push WAN QoS until after I get phones to auto-register. I
do all of the switch, HQ, SB, and SC infrastructure and I
come back to WAN QoS after device registration. Lately, I
have been practicing with WAN QoS happening after CUCM base
config (MGCP, MRG, phones, etc.). So, somewhere around the 3
hour mark. Others like to tackle it earlier on and that
works to. There is no absolute here. Just pick a hole that
works with your rhythm.
3. Site C and CUE. CUE is a real pain and can really mess with
your rhythm. The key is to attack it early and check on it often.
I treat CUE as background noise. It doesn't get dedicated face
time with me until I have the users configured and need to
customize the experience per requirement. I also have a goal to
get CUE (and CUC) done before lunch.
Approach:
* I configure IS Engine interface (loopback, routing, etc.) on
SC as one of the first things I do on that device. I then
reset the module to ensure my IP addressing is applied.
* I then work on SC configs in notepad and watch CUE in the
background
* When CUE is up, I'll do the software license install (if
needed/applicable) and then restore factory defaults
* I'll usually have SC configs done (except maybe SRST) before
CUE comes up the first time. While CUE is reloading a second
time I am:
o working on SC-SRST configs in notepad
o starting my CUCM work
o watching CUE labor through it's start up process (I say
labor because, it does seem like a lot of effort to boot
up a device that doesn't do all that much. It's like
watching a 90 year old man climb steps. I digress.)
Bottom Line: CUE is one of those items that can mess up your
rhythm. Find a way to handle it that works for you.
4. Transitioning from the router configs to the CUCM. You can get
a head a steam behind you on the IOS-configs and then BLAM, you
are in clickety-click land with a GUI. This transition always
threw off my rhythm.
I found that figuring out how I needed to deal with CUE helped me
with addressing the transition to GUI-land. At the time I am
working on Site C, I am working on a couple of things in parallel
and am constantly busy. Which helps me carry the rhythm from the
CLI-based configs forward.
5. Where to put the dial plan. I was in the mind set of trying to
get the dial plan done sooner rather than later. However, since I
decided to remove the task of mapping out the dial plan during
the read through. I found that picking a place to stick it was
pretty key. I decided to wait until after lunch to config the
dial plan since lunch forces a "natural" transition period upon
you. Also, I found that your mind could use a moment to collect
itself before dorking with the dial plan. Coming back from lunch
I start the afternoon the same way I did the morning. I plan.
6. SRST. There are so many freakin' bugs involving SRST in this
lab that I found you want to do it sooner rather than later. I
actually build the SRST configs during infrastructure phase. I
don't apply the configs until I have phones registered and
configured. I test SRST once and only once. I do it after I have
completed all of the lab config requirements. It is the first
thing I "validate".
6. Transitioning from "doing" to "checking". The area I am still
working on. Over the months of prep I am putting into this thing,
I have come to the realization that a validation strategy is just
as important as a config strategy. I am not talking about know
what commands to use to validate a task. I am talking about how
you stack the validation approach. I have found that while it is
more efficient to do a dev-based approach for configuration, it
is not a good approach for validation. So, I do a tech-based
validation. I also do some minimum validation in-line with the
configuration. But definitely keep that at a minimum or you bleed
minutes.
-Bill
--
William Bell
blog: http://ucguerrilla.com <http://ucguerrilla.com/>
twitter: @ucguerrilla
On Mar 26, 2013, at 7:40 PM, Dane Warner wrote:
To All,
I took my second attempt on Monday, March 25 and did not pass.
I was hoping for some insight on concrete suggestions to get faster.
I didn't get hung up on any one task, I seemed to keep moving
forward and tried to type as fast as I could, using CLI
shortcuts, etc.
I used the device-based methodology and I feel pretty confident
of my technical knowledge.
Yet I didn't even get to many tasks at all, I would have needed
another 2-3 hours to complete all tasks.
I hear of candidates completing all tasks in 6-7 hours, which
means I would need to become twice as fast as my last attempt.
It almost sounds insurmountable. Do I need to take typing classes?
Any recommendations that don't break the NDA would be greatly
appreciated.
Regards,
*Dane Warner, CCVP*
*Sr. Network Engineer*
*Epoch Universal, Inc.*
*(909)226-0755 <tel:%28909%29226-0755>*
*dwar...@epochuniversal.com <mailto:dwar...@epochuniversal.com> *
*<image001.png>*
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