From: Alex Dean (Alex.Dean@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Sun Sep 26 1999 - 22:38:07 GMT-3
People
Thank you all very much for your messages of congratulations - I really
appreciate it.
I have also received a number of requests for information regarding my
study plan and also some details regarding the lab. A lot of the
questions regarding the lab are actually all answered on the Cisco web
page. There is a FAQ on ATM section where it explicitly states that as
with any new technologies, ATM will be introduced slowly into the lab,
and as time goes by the scenarios will become more complex. I cannot
really comment much more on it. Cisco publish all the info you really
need regarding the format of it. The first day is predominantly
TCP/IP-based, and you get the entire lab in the morning. The second
morning is predominantly non-TCP/IP features, and the 2nd afternoon is
troubleshooting.
In terms of my study plan, here are some suggestions based on what I
did:
1) Reading: Caslow's book (Bridges, Routers and Switches for CCIEs) is
excellent in some areas, especially Frame Relay, but is worth reading
cover-to-cover. Also some of the Cisco Press books, Routing TCP/IP and
CCIE Design Guide and Case Studies (good BGP here). And I found the
Cisco Router OSPF book by William Parkhurst too explain things in a very
clear and simple way, at first I thought it was too simplistic, but as
time went by I found it to be of excellent value when I got confused,
and not too simplistic at all. Fnally, don't under-rate the Config
Guides and Command References, I found these hard to learn a concept
from, but very good for specific parts of implementing a feature. Read
all the guides during your study period so you are as familiar with them
as you can be. They are the only reference (and the CD) that you get in
the lab.
2) Hands on LAB: I had a 10 router network (5x2500, 4x2600, 1x4700)and
a CAT5K with a LANE card, one router was ATM connected and an LS1010. A
simpler lab would be fine, I have found that almost all concepts can be
tested on 3-4 routers. You would want 5-6 to really simulate the
complex nature of the lab exam, but not went learning. Most switching
concepts are quite simple in my opinion, and also ATM can be read about,
although ideally for switching and ATM some hands-on would be best.
3) Courses: The best one I did was the CIT (Troubleshooting) one. If
you have some holes in your basics, then the ICRC and ACRC are good
too.
4) And the best advice I could give is to invest in the CCIEBootcamp
labs - www.cciebootcamp.com. I think they were $650 (US) and well worth
the money. If you don't have a big enough lab to do them - then you can
buy time on their lab.
5) A lot of people (myself included) have been a little panicky about
the ATM content - I would sugeest you don't and understanding the
fundamentals is more important by a long way.
And do the basics a hundred million times so you can configure a hub
and spoke Frame Relay network with any routing protocol in no time, know
your dialer stuff inside out, and concentrate on your redistribution,
particularly classless and classful.
And good luck.
Cheers
Alex.
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