From: Wayne Gustavus (wgustavus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Fri May 18 2001 - 22:30:33 GMT-3
Well, I am still here in Raleigh after getting #7426 this afternoon. This
was my first attempt at the lab and it was definitely challenging. I'm not
sure about some of these recent posts to the group talking about how the
CCIE is getting easy; the vast amount of technology that could be covered
and the way the exam is structured (hidden issues) makes this a challenging
endeavor. Granted I've only see one exam, but I also believe they are
making troubleshooting much more difficult (based on what I've heard some
describe how their experience was). I believe I owe much of my success of
passing the first time to working at Mentor Technologies and getting to help
out with the ECP1 class (it's a definite advantage getting to work with
Bruce Caslow, Val Pavlichenko, Fred Ingham, and Rick Burts and the rest of
our large group of CCIEs).
The other preparation techniques are pretty standard: Doyle, Halabi, Caslow,
bootcamp labs, and this list. Yes, the volume of this list has gotten large
and the off topic posts are growing, but there are still lots of nuggets
mixed in. A great way to really learn a topic is to try and explain it to
other people. Most of the people ranting about the off-topic volume are
just adding to the volume and would probably spend their time better by
refining their email filters. I will stress 2 items that I don't think are
mentioned much (or enough) in these traditional success stories.
First, the Cisco TAC Tech Notes are great b/c they are short and to the
point. They normally address a specific issue related to a technology with
a good explanation of the problem and sample scenario of how to deal with it
(e.g. the DLSW-NAT issue and the IPSec scenarios). Second, the strategy for
taking the exam. This includes all of your checklists (getting started,
desperation, etc.) and how to get off to a good start (diagramming, ip
addressing). This second item is part of the value of the ECP1 class where
these techniques are taught (sorry for the brief ad, but I've seen this
question several times on the list).
Thanks to all those who have contributed to the list, Paul for starting the
list, my friends at Mentor, my friends at Juniper (especially Scott and
Chris, who gave me his lab date after starting at Juniper!), Brad for the
routers, Marc for the labs, and of course, my wife and kids for putting up
with me during this process.
Good luck to all those who are in pursuit. Thank goodness I don't need to
worry about lab swapping online! :-)
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