From: Michael Todd (michaeldtodd@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Dec 24 2002 - 01:38:01 GMT-3
I passed on the Friday the 13th on my first try (CCIE 10858), and I'm
quite young in the industry (just turned 20), so I feel that my study time
was efficient and I might have some good advice. I didn't post when I passed
because I didn't think I had much to offer, but who knows, you might find
some of this useful...
First thing: Get your head out of books, if you haven't already. I can't
say enough about hands-on experience. Your time spent reading will me much
much more efficient if you are reading for a purpose. Read when you are
stuck on a lab that you are trying. But try first. You will find that your
retention will be much better. Reading about multicast for no particular
reason will not only put you to sleep, but will also leave you with a
floating abstraction.
If your test date is on March 10th, you should be just fine. I really
started studying about 2-3 months out. I would focus on understanding and
then getting your speed up on the IGP's. Think up the most complicated
scenario's that you can (classless nets with RIPv1, multiple redistribution
points, split horizon issues, authentication, OSPF options, etc) and get to
the point where you can do your diagram and IGP's within 2 hours tops. I'd
say next in importance is BGP, of course, so spend a good bit of time on
this. I would read completely through the BGP configuration guide in the DOC
CD. Try out each major BGP feature at least once.
Speaking of which, only use the doc cd from here on out if you can. The
faster that you get with it, the better off you will be.
Next, make sure you try each of the major ATM types, multicast features,
voice features, and QoS types at least once. Know where to find the fringe
topics in the CD. If you study well, you will have plenty of time to look
stuff up. 8 hours is a long time if you don't make big mistakes. Research
all of these topics from the DOC CD!!! I can't stress this enough.
As for the 3550, read through the DOC CD, and try anything that sounds
confusing. Make sure that you can do basic stuff without turning to the
documentation (VTP, trunking, etc) and be familiar with the other features.
Without going into specifics (No spoilers, sorry! NDA, after all), there
were topics and features that I personally wasn't familiar with. But I
finished about 85% of the test by lunch, and I was familiar with the layout
of the DOC cd, so finding these topics wasn't too tough. This also gave me
enough time to check my work about 3-4 times through, and I found something
little each time. Even if you think you've got it perfect, don't leave!
Check one more time! There will be that one item! I know a few people who
were "sure" they passed when they left the exam, but were nickle and dimed
to death.
Materials:
Any kind of 8 hour practice is better than none. Do as many as you can. I
personally did IPExpert's book front to back. Try the CyscoExpert lab. Also,
6colabs is the greatest! Fabrice over there has a very good practice lab and
the absolute best rack out there if you need to rent lab time. I personally
have an equipment list that looks like yours, and I still rented time
because his lab is so efficient. Good tech support too.
I know I've said about the same as everyone else who has passed, but
maybe I'll give someone out there a little hope. I just got a free test
voucher from Cisco (ironic, I know) so next up- Security!
Best of luck!
Michael Todd
Educational Consultant- Sprint
CCIE #10858, MCSE, NCSS (Contivity), et al
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Carr" <joseph.carr@sinex.com>
To: <ccielab@groupstudy.com>
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 4:23 PM
Subject: What does it take?
> Over and over I hear about Candidates passing the lab on their 3rd and 4th
> try, but very few seem to get it on their 1st or 2nd attempt. What does it
> take to get through this on the first try? I have been studying off and on
> for the past year. Just a few months ago I started to really get serious.
I
> have taken every study tip I have herd and done all of them. I have put
> together a lab of 14 routers, 4 switches (including the 3550), and other
> devices to cover ISDN, ATM, VOIP, Etc... What I want to know is when did
you
> CCIEs know you were ready? How much time did you invest in practice labs?
> How could I best manage the time I have left before my March 10th lab
date?
>
> Joe
> .
.
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