All of this advice is exactly what I am looking for. Many thanks goes out to everyone for the helpful thoughts. Well I have decided to start on the reading list to make sure I have the fundamentals down. I plan to definitely build a lab for home, and I will have access to some bigger Cisco equipment at work for lab purposes. Again, Thank you.
Marcus Faust >From: Dennis Laganiere >To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" >Subject: FW: CCIE preparation [7:31305] >Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 09:15:49 -0800 > >Let me know what you think of the write up below. Is that what you were >looking for? > >--- Dennis > > >------------ my first draft follows ---------- > >Read um and Weep > >Here's the short list of books I would recommend to read (at a minimum) >during your lab preparation. Find yourself a shady spot outside, and crack >the spine of each of these page-turners, it's the only chance you'll have >to >see the sun for a few months: >7 Cisco Certification: Bridges, Routers and Switches for CCIEs, Second >Edition by Andrew Bruce Caslow >7 Internet Routing Architectures, Second Edition by Bassam Halabi >7 CCIE Prof. Development Routing TCP/IP Volumes I & II, Jeff Doyle >7 Cisco LAN Switching (CCIE professional development) >7 Cisco Catalyst LAN Switching by Louis R Rossi, Louis D. Rossi, >Thomas Rossi >7 Configuring Cisco Routers for bridging, DLSW+, & Desktop Protocols >by Tan Nam-Kee >7 My own lab prep book, once I finish writing it (look for it sometime >in 2003)... J > > >Building your own Pod: > >One of the most important elements of your CCIE lab preparation is having >equipment to practice on. My advice would be put together a home pod >watching every dollar very carefully, and then sell it on ebay when you're >done. If you do everything right, your practice time should only cost you >the interest on your credit card, and the depreciation in the value of the >equipment. What follows is a list of what I think has the makings of a >great CCIE Lab practice pod: >7 One Cisco 2511 router to use as a terminal server. A 2509 would work >fine if you have one, but trust me, before long you'll need the extra >ports. >7 A router with multiple Serial ports to use as a Frame Relay switch. >Cisco 2522's are popular for this, although in my own lab I use a 2610 with >an 8-port serial module. >7 Two Cisco 2503's. >7 One Cisco 2504 (for the FatKid labs). >7 Four or five more Cisco 2500 series routers with a selection of >Serial, Ethernet and Token Ring ports, (I love 2513's, because they have >all >three). >7 One ISDN emulator. >7 One Cat2924XL or Cat5k Switch. >7 One Cisco 3620 or 2620 with at least one Fast Ethernet port and a >pair of FXS ports for VoIP. >7 Two CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC. These 8-lead octal cables (68 pin to 8 male >RJ-45s) are used with the terminal server >7 One MAU. >7 Lots of DTE/DCE serial cables, AUI adapters, patch cables, and >crossover cables. > >* Please note that all 2500 series routers should have 16 Megs of memory, >16 >Megs of Flash and be loaded with an Enterprise Version of 12.1 IOS >appropriate to its physical configuration. > >The only things missing from the list above is ATM and a Token Ring switch. >I consider ATM just too darn expensive for a home pod, and a 3920 is hard >to >get, expensive, and easy to configure. For both these technologies, I >would >recommend renting some on-line lab time. > > >OK, The Equipment Looks Good on the Rack, Now What? > >You'll also need practice labs to run on your routers. Here's a list of >lab >materials I think are useful, in order of complexity (easiest to hardest): >7 Cisco CCIE Lab Study Guide, Second Edition by Stephen Hutnik and >Michael Satterlee >7 www.FatKid.com (these have the added advantage of being free) >7 www.solutionlabs.com >7 www.IPExpert.net >7 ccbootcmp > > >Advice on Preparation: > >Know the CD. When you're in the lab, this will be one of your few friends. >Know where the command reference are, and most importantly, know where the >sample configurations are. Think how much time you can save if you >cut-and-paste samples from the CD into your configurations. > >Print out and keep posted on the wall a copy of the exam blueprint. This >should be a constant reminder of what you know, and what's left to figure >out. > >Avoid first time pressure. Only a small percentage of people pass on the >first attempt, and your four digit number is not de-valued if you make >several attempts. Prepare for what you expect the exam to be, but be ready >to accept the first attempt as exploratory expedition; a chance to map the >terrain for future trips. Who knows; the extra calm of reduced >expectations may actually help you pass. > >Watch the news feeds at www.groupstudy.com, these are excellent free >resources. People are always posting problems, and working out how to help >them not only builds goodwill, but helps develop your own understanding of >these technologies. > >Focus on the core technologies; ISDN, Frame Relay, bridging, routing >protocols, redistribution, etc. These will represent the bulk of the >points >in the lab, and you MUST have a very firm understanding of them to have any >chance at all. > >Have a bucket of tools at your disposal. You should have a good grasp of >IP >Tunneling, Bridging, NAT, IRB, CRB, route filters, passive interfaces, >adjusting Administrative Distances, as well as summary, default and static >routes. You never know when these will come in useful. > >Search on-line for resources that might be useful sources of equipment, >practice labs, advice, configurations, etc. Remember the old standards: >www.groupstudy.com, ccbootcmp, www.fatkid.com and, of course, >www.cisco.com. > >Budget your time like you would budget your money, conservatively. Once >you've got a lab date, review the exam blueprint and figure out how much >time to spend on each technology, leaving at least 30% of your available >time for performing multi-technology labs, like the ones from Ccbootcmp. > >Formalize your notes. When you force yourself to write something for >others, it forces you to really understand what your talking about. > >Don't exclude your spouse, children, friends and significant others. While >the CCIE is a valuable certification, its meaningless without having people >around who can help you spend the money once you get it. I know one fellow >who taught his wife the basics of IOS so she could introduce problems into >a >finished configuration to help him practice troubleshooting (not a formal >part of the exam any longer, but still something you better know on lab >day). > > >Enjoying the actual Lab experience: > >Don't start entering configuration commands until your initial network >design is complete, carefully detailing IP addresses, masks, routing areas, >links, tunnels, etc. > >If you can bring colored pencils with you to the lab, do so. Create a >network diagram that works for you, perhaps with each routing protocol in a >different color. You'll be provided paper in the lab, and it may be quite >large, but practice doing your diagrams on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet; it >will >make it much easier to manage in the very small cubicle space you're likely >to have on lab-day. > >Use a list of well practiced alias commands. These will save keystrokes >and >the frustration of mis-keyed commands. > >Make sure you know how to disable DNS lookups and prevent messages >appearing >on the screen while you're working. > >Type up templates of common configuration elements in notepad to facilitate >cut-and-pasting. I have a standard router config that includes all my >aliases, loopback interfaces, line configurations, etc. Whenever I'm >starting a practice lab I type it up in notepad and paste into each >routers. >Cutting and pasting is a lot faster and more accurate then typing things >over and over again. > >Cut-and-paste addresses and other lengthy information from show commands to >prevent mistakes. > >The best time to save your configurations is when you're getting ready to >change routers. Get use to doing a "wr" just before you move from one >router to another. This will make sure you save often, and avoid the long >delay of watching a configuration get saved. > >Create ping scripts; a set of ping commands stored in text format that can >be pasted into a config to test connectivity to all devices on the net. > >When talking to the proctor, always be respectful; keep your questions to >the "yes" and "no" varieties, and notify them as quickly as possible if you >suspect an equipment failure. Above all, don't create a hostile >relationship with the proctor, and if they create one with you, swallow >your >pride and do what you need to do to keep the channels of cooperation open. >Consider it good practice for the real world later. > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: Marcus Faust [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] >Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 11:11 AM >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: CCIE preparation [7:31305] > > >I have recently attained the CCNA and CCNP certifications and was a little >curious about preparing for the rigorous CCIE. I would like to know some >information pertaining to preparing for this certification. I do have some >access to Cisco equipment, and I know that nothing beats hands on >experience. However, I was most curious how to go about the "reading" part >of the preparation process. Now I know that there are some "must-haves" >out > >there such as Jeff Doyles 2 volumes of "Routing TCP/IP" and Halabi's >"Internet Routing Architectures" , and that book by Caslow keeps popping >up. > > Is it a good idea to invest in these books and then prepare for the lab >with the "hands-on"? Or is it a better idea to read these books while >doing > >the "hands-on"? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you. > >_________________________________________________________________ >MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: >http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx _________________________________________________________________ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=31423&t=31305 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]