Re: My Experience!

I was moving between sections as swiftly as i could I as new time wasn't on my
side. I had to make up for the initial blank i had at the beginning of the
test.
there was various issues i encountered along the way .... spent a maximum of
about 5-10min trying to resolve them as i encountered them some got resolved
others were left and added to my running list of issues that needed to be
resolved. I kept jumping back and forth between sections and my list of issues
until I had fixed them all. Also, i had to add a particular sensitive question
to my list which i was not 100% sure it would not have any impact and decided
to deal with this at the end. Finally, I got to the finish line with about
20min to go. I had generated my config and applied when I had 3 min left ....
i decided to backout as i felt that time wasnt not enough for me verify
everything top to bottom. saved all configs and hoped the decision i made was
the best.

Now I'm sitting on my hands waiting and hoping for the best ...

For practice labs, I solely used Internetwork Workbook v4.1 for all core
topics and v5.0 for the rest. The ATC helped me to better understand workings
of the protocols. There was always something new to pickup in each Labs as i
went on. These workbooks really opened up my to different level of thinking
when it came to IOS as a whole. I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to ALL the
guys at Internetwork Expert for sharing their wealth of knowledge and putting
together such a great product for CCIE candidates.
Also, I found the forum to be extremely helpful there was so much valuable
information i couldn't have imagined. Thank you all for sharing!!!

BIG THANK YOU to ALL the guys at IP EXPERT for your Graded Labs & IP Expert RS
Quizzer. The practice opened me up to yet another approach of thinking. They
certainly had their place in my overall preparation.

I did the Cisco Assessor Labs A(x2) & B - these also were very very helpful.
Especially, it showed me how easy it is to loose points on a particular set of
requirement.

For books, mainly I used for references on not so clear topics or further
research on topics.

Cisco Books used included:
Cisco Documentation; Routing TCP/IP Vol1/2, Dev. IP Multicast Ntwks, OSPF
commd & Config handbook, BGP commd & Config handbook, E-to-E QoS network
design, Cisco LAN Switching, CCIE practical studies Vol1

VERY BIG THANK YOU TO ALL GS FORUM MEMBERS for there post and responses to my
question (both stupid and not quite so stupid) this forum has been a great
source of information, please keep it going!!!

Just a few thoughts I would like to mention to prospective candidates:
- understanding the fundamentals of each technology is key, practice, practice
practice it cant be over emphasized.
- Like a fellow member of GS said some time ago, look at each mock/test as a
learning opportunity. There is always something new to learn .... its very
easy for these to question your level of preparedness. treat is as a learning
session.
- the need for speed, in my opinion although this area is also key i think it
should only be focused upon after (if needed) only after topics have been
mastered.
- In addition, to technical preparedness I feel some time should also be spent
practicing working under intense situations - its very easy to get locked into
spiral thinking under unfavorable situations.
- Finally, prepare and practice working under any inconvenient, unfavorable
conditions and avoid getting attached to a certain way of working - this could
be anything from your favorite terminal screen, favorite pen, keyboard layout
etc etc

Still waiting ..... nothing yet ..... will let you know only if its worth
mentioning!

Thank you all!

From: NayYar Hakeem-Habeeb
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 4:15 PM
To: ccielab_at_groupstudy.com
Subject: My Experience!

Good Morning Group,

I've just recovered from my visit to Brussels yesterday, to summarize my whole
experience this was more of a psychological stress test than a test of
technical knowledge depth (so i've been told until i realized first hand)

The day before: Arrived at the hotel the evening before took a walk down to
Cisco which was just a few meters behind the hotel i was staying. Did a little
revision the night before at the hotel.
The morning: We got called in and assigned our rack numbers moved in to our
desk. I must say the sizes of the screens were of great help. They were 21"
screens which really aided in carry out the exercise and isolating faults.

I don't think of the time i've spents on this planet and through out my
educational journey that I've experienced anything remotely close to what I
experienced yesterday, Its impossible to describe even though I had practiced
quite frequently to control such panic attacks -in short, I was broken (at
least initially before I fought back). Basically, I spent the first 2-3hrs
looking for my mouse on the table - (Oh it was on my desk alright i'd didnt go
anywhere). At this point I realized I was heading for failure without the
slightest chance of success , and only then did I step back and look back at
the journey up to this point. Was i prepared to fail without an attempt? The
dreaded OEQ went well so I had one leg in? eventually I got my act together
shortly before lunch. I was just about to start redistribution when I heard
the proctors voice saying .... 3min to lunch .... good time to save configs.
OK, this IS IT. During my preparation I knew that section was not something I
rush and it would usually take me some time 20-1hr depending how complicated
it is. Within those 3min I put the requirements in my head and pondered over
it at the lunch table. There were great options on the menu but I settled for
2 burgers and some chips. I ate as quickly as i could and requested to excuse
my self for a cigarette. I had about 15min to come up with a solution to this
redistribution and a method to approach the remaining sections if i still
wanted to put up a good fight ..... shortly before lunch time was up I had my
plan for redistribution and how to approach the last section. Also a previous
configuration fault in my core!!!
Went back in working as I should have been from the start, keeping track of
time. I had made up my mind that if my redis. solution didnt work within 20min
i would give up the points and move and just enable minimal connectivity ....
i dumped my solution in a text file and went over it again again before
applying. The solution met 80% of the requirement and i had to put additional
changes in to cover the remaining req. this lifted me mentally.

........ to be continued

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Received on Sun Jun 07 2009 - 16:58:13 ART