Congratulations !!!
You have been a valuable assets to this group as well.
You passing is well deserved !!
Jeff Kesemeyer
CCNP, CCDP, MCSE, CNE
www.bradshawlabs.com
"Your CCIE Rack Rental Source"
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of
Chuck Church
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 12:43 AM
To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'; '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
Subject: Whew! CCIE 8776!
All,
I think the title says it all. Took the lab today at RTP. 4th
time was the charm. I don't know where to begin. Might as well start
with the thank you's. Thanks to Bruce, Val, and Fred at NetMasterClass.
Thanks also to those on the list that I've either studied with or have
helped me out in the past with problems. Thanks also to Paul for
putting this great list together. As far as how I prepared, I might as
well give the whole story. Started working on Cisco about 2 1/2 years
ago after going though the Novell and MS Certs. After getting NA, DA,
NP, and DP, I passed the CCIE written in October 2000. Without really
knowing how to study or what to prepare for, I got my butt handed to me
in January at RTP. Didn't know much more than your average CCNP would.
Tried again in April, but BGP killed me, and again I didn't make it to
day 2. After that, I found a study partner (Thanks Boris) and we worked
pretty hard last summer. Did all the bootcamp labs, thought I knew
everything I needed to.
November 4 of 2001, figured I'd breeze through the lab. I don't
know if it's true, but I heard the first couple of months with the new 1
day format had a very low pass rate. I know I could have used a couple
more hours to finish. If anyone took the lab in Oct or Nov of last year
and failed, don't be discouraged. I think they've scaled it back a
little nowadays.
Fast forwarding to today. After spending a week with Val,
Bruce, and Fred at the NMC-1 course, and doing nothing but working on my
speed, I felt pretty prepared. Everything in the Doyle Volume 1 and
Bruce/Val's book made sense. Though running a little low on sleep, I
felt good this morning. Roughly 4.5 hours into the test, we got lunch.
At that point I was done with the IGP's and almost done with the EGP's.
In other words about 2/3 of the way done, by my estimate. At 1:30 I was
done, but needed to go back and work on 3 things I couldn't figure out.
A little discussing with the proctor, and 2 of them were fixed. But
then I think I read too much. I had solved a problem one way, but
realized the wording of the question might change what they were looking
for. Checking with the proctor, I got the impression that he really
didn't like my solution. So there I am, 1.5 hours to go, and I'm making
a somewhat major change :( Looked OK, but with 1/2 an hour to go, I
noticed a 'neighborship' bouncing up and down :o 10 minutes to go, got
it all working, but didn't get a chance to completely double check all
my other work as time expired. I know I left 1 thing unconfigured (a 2
pointer), but started wondering if I'd made other mistakes. They said
to expect the results tomorrow afternoon. A plane flight back to New
York, and there's the email waiting. 8776!
If anyone's wondering what I used to study, here's the short
list:
Groupstudy! Paul's done a great job. There are certain people on this
list that should be flagged as must-reads. I won't mention any last
names, but there are a couple guys named 'Brian' (both long-time CCIEs)
that are a huge asset to this list. Thanks guys.
Doyle - Volumes 1 and 2 - Everything you ever wanted to know about IP,
but were afraid to ask.
Bridges, Routers, and Switches for CCIEs - Bruce Caslow and Val
Pavlichenko
- Used edition 2, but I understand 3 is coming out soon. This book
covers most everything. I expect the new edition will cover more
multicast and QOS, and drop Appletalk and DECnet. But still the most
useful book I've found.
Halabi - Used 1st edition, but everything I was asked to do with BGP is
in that book.
Bootcamp labs - Worked though these with a partner, because his company
was cool enough to buy them for him, and my company wasn't! Great
preparation and simulation for the test.
Various docs from CCO - Might as well go to the source!
Most importantly - NMC-1 http://www.netmasterclass.net/nmc/ Bruce and
Val explain the most difficult subjects very well. A couple of things
are a little lacking in the book, but they cover those very well in the
class. Be prepared to work your a** off that week though. 8:30AM to
11PM is the norm that week. But I highly recommend it, especially if
you've come close to passing before.
Well, sorry to ramble on so much. I'm off to bed for a L O N G
sleep.
Thanks again,
Chuck Church
CCIE 8776
CCNP, CCDP, MCNE, MCSE
Sr. Network Engineer
Magnacom Technologies
140 N. Rt. 303
Valley Cottage, NY 10989
845-267-4000 x218
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