From: Lupi, Guy (Guy.Lupi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Mon May 06 2002 - 16:35:14 GMT-3
Well, here it is, I have been waiting to send this email for a long time. I
got my number in RTP this past Friday, CCIE # 9275. It has been a long road
for me, I started in telecommunications when I was in the Navy, this was
about 8.5 years ago. I got a little exposure to networking gear then but it
mostly involved communications systems. After the Navy I worked for Lucent
for about 6 months where I got more exposure to networking equipment with
different vendors, I found routing so interesting I decided that I was going
to go find a job where I could get exposure. In February 2000 I got a job
at a small ISP in NYC working the helpdesk, and every free second I got I
was on the routers poking around. I was hooked, and from that moment on I
have read every book I could get my hands on. I was promoted to junior
engineer (upgrading IOS, turning up simple customer routers etc.) and then
to full engineer within 6 months, and I started to learn BGP, OSPF, and
other protocols in depth. After getting my CCNP, I met a couple of CCIE's
that were working on a project, and they so impressed me with their
knowledge and comfort level with the equipment that I decided that I was
going to be one. I started studying in August of 2001, 9 months non stop,
every weekend practicing on my newly purchased routers, and every day
reading on the commute to work. When I sat the lab, I found it to be
extremely challenging, I could not believe that I was finding it this hard
after almost 3 years of non stop studying Cisco equipment. I am glad I
waited that 9 months before scheduling the exam, because if I had gone any
earlier I would not have passed. It truly did require you to know how the
protocols interoperate and function, if I hadn't then I definitely would
have failed the routing section.
I would like to say thank you to Paul for creating this list, it was
fundamental in building the kind of skills and knowledge I needed to pass.
To John Neiberger for helping me with my first dive into the old IGRP/OSPF
redistribution, Manny Gonzalez, Mas Kato, Dan Dorton, Howard Berkowitz and
Priscilla Oppenheimer for their long and detailed explanations that expose
the real world operation of a protocol, not just the "here is what you need
to pass the lab" version. Brian McGahan who explained extended access list
filtering, and Dave Madland. There are so many others that have helped me
to get to this point. If there is anything I learned from this experience,
it is that you never stop learning, and that the CCIE's value is in the
understanding that you gain while studying to pass the lab. I have so much
more I want to learn, and I look forward to having an opportunity to do that
with the exceptional people on this list. Good luck to everyone, I hope you
get the satisfaction of achieving your goals.
Guy H. Lupi
NOC Engineer
Eureka GGN
39 Broadway, 19th Floor
NY, NY 10006
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