Re: REVIEW: Narbik's 2.0 CIERS-1 Bootcamp class

And with my anti-drama / internet argument alarm now going off, I am signing
out and going back to studying :)

 Nate

On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 6:56 PM, Marko Milivojevic <markom_at_ipexpert.com>wrote:

> Unbelievable.
>
>
> On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 00:45, Narbik Kocharians <narbikk_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> > Nate, Thanks mate, thanks for your comments. Thanks.
> > I was just doing what you guys paid me to do.
> >
> >
> > Thanks again.
> > Tyson, Don't worry my students will be prepared.
> >
> > On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 4:14 PM, Tyson Scott <tscott_at_ipexpert.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Nate,
> >>
> >> I am sure that Narbiks bootcamp was fantastic.
> >>
> >> But... do not skim over IPv6 and OER because it wasn't covered, as well
> as
> >> any other topics.
> >>
> >> IPv6 Multicast for example is quite different than IPv4 Multicast. No
> more
> >> IGMP instead it uses MLD (Multicast Lister Discovery), it relies on GRE
> >> tunnels between members when doing BSR RP configuration. And so on and
> so
> >> on.
> >>
> >> OER can be an amazingly complex subject. The flexibility and it's
> >> integration with the different routing protocols can be a day's lecture
> by
> >> itself. But a bootcamp just doesn't allow for that even if it is
> covered.
> >>
> >> A week is never enough time to cover everything. I find it to be that
> way
> >> myself. So take what you learned from the bootcamp and compare it to
> the
> >> blueprint. Make sure you take your own time to deep dive into the
> subjects
> >> not covered in the bootcamp.
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >>
> >> Tyson Scott - CCIE #13513 R&S, Security, and SP
> >> Technical Instructor - IPexpert, Inc.
> >> Mailto: tscott_at_ipexpert.com
> >> Telephone: +1.810.326.1444, ext. 208
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
> >> Nate
> >> Lee
> >> Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2009 6:06 PM
> >> To: mamiller2_at_comcast.net; Cisco certification
> >> Subject: Re: REVIEW: Narbik's 2.0 CIERS-1 Bootcamp class
> >>
> >> Hi Michael, His MPLS coverage was really great, starting with LDP and
> >> moving
> >> into the VPN creation, VRFs and finally moving on to redistribution. It
> >> really cleared up some questions I had regarding labels and especially
> with
> >> the MP-BGP address families.
> >>
> >> We did not really go over IPv6, but I didn't see that as an issue since
> it
> >> is nearly identical after you get used to the addressing. In addition,
> the
> >> workbooks he provides have some really solid IPv6 labs that cover all
> the
> >> topics under that heading. We also did not go over OER, although I'm not
> >> sure how big of a role this topic will have on the lab.
> >>
> >> Nate
> >>
> >> On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Michael <mamiller2_at_comcast.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> > Hi Nate,
> >> >
> >> > Nice write up! But I have one question and that is when compared to
> the
> >> > Cisco v4 blueprint what topics were not covered in class?
> >> >
> >> > Thanks - Michael
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com] On Behalf
> Of
> >> > Nate
> >> > Lee
> >> > Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 11:00 PM
> >> > To: Cisco certification
> >> > Subject: REVIEW: Narbik's 2.0 CIERS-1 Bootcamp class
> >> >
> >> > Just finished up the last day of Narbik s CIERS-1 boot camp and wanted
> to
> >> > do
> >> > a write up on it while the experience was still fresh in my mind.
> Sorry
> >> if
> >> > I get a bit long winded, I hope some of you who may be looking into
> his
> >> > class find this to be helpful.
> >> >
> >> > I had been looking for a Routing and Switching boot camp to attend in
> >> order
> >> > to polish my skills and help prepare me for my lab date coming up in
> >> March.
> >> > With no dearth of choices, I looked online for reviews and asked
> >> questions
> >> > in forums to other candidates who have attended various vendor s
> >> > classes. After
> >> > narrowing it down to Internetwork Expert and Narbik s boot camp, I
> >> > eventually settled on Narbik s because he was going to be having one
> in
> >> > Minneapolis and I could forego the travel costs. This didn t work out
> as
> >> > there was not enough demand in MN so the class was cancelled.
> Although
> >> > they
> >> > offered me a refund, I was impressed with the personal attention I had
> >> > received from Narbik on the mock labs I was working on so I decided to
> >> > stick
> >> > with his class. The fact that his class was costs around 50% less
> when
> >> you
> >> > figure in the workbooks certainly didn t hurt either. When you are
> >> paying
> >> > out of your own pocket, every little bit helps J They sent out the
> new
> >> > workbooks he has been producing which I found to be extremely well
> >> > designed
> >> > and thought out. I also purchased the IE Volume I workbook but prefer
> >> the
> >> > formatting and explanations of Narbik s so I have been focusing on
> them
> >> up
> >> > to now. Each lab is setup perfectly to illustrate a particular
> >> technology
> >> > from many different angles. The workbooks contain very thorough
> >> > explanations and verifications each step along the way and focus on
> >> > individual technologies one lab at a time.
> >> >
> >> > Enough with the prologue, onto the class ..
> >> >
> >> > I arrived in Glendale via the Burbank airport the day before class and
> >> > after
> >> > waiting an hour for the hotel shuttle to appear, made it to the Hilton
> >> > where
> >> > he holds the classes. The hotel is in a very nice part of town and
> the
> >> > rate
> >> > was decent enough for a nice hotel ($129/night). I grabbed a bite to
> eat
> >> > and went to bed early to get a jump start on the next day. Word to
> the
> >> > wise
> >> > skip the $10 optional add on breakfast buffet - the food there is
> >> > terrible. I can t believe people normally pay $20 for that when there
> >> are
> >> > some decent alternatives within a block of the hotel.
> >> >
> >> > Narbik showed up promptly at 9 and introduced himself to us. He
> seemed
> >> > like
> >> > a nice guy, very outgoing and friendly. He got unpacked and readied
> his
> >> > infamous whiteboards and markers. By now I m sure that everyone has
> >> heard
> >> > the following: He doesn t use slides and uses only a whiteboard, he
> >> teaches
> >> > and doesn t lecture, he has a different philosophy than other
> instructors
> >> > towards teaching and he knows all the commands by heart. I d read it
> >> > before
> >> > in other people s write ups of his class but didn t really care if he
> >> used
> >> > a
> >> > whiteboard or not, I was here to learn IOS, and couldn t have really
> >> cared
> >> > less as to whether or not he drew on a board, in fact, it almost
> sounded
> >> > gimmicky to me.
> >> >
> >> > After the introductions, he gave us an overview of what we were going
> to
> >> be
> >> > studying and then went right at it. It took about 15 minutes for my
> >> > preconception of what makes for a good learning experience to be
> >> completely
> >> > blown away. The guy is born to teach. He is concise and articulates
> >> > complex ideas in such a way that ensures everyone understands the
> >> problems
> >> > and all the possible solutions within each blueprint topic. Not only
> do
> >> > you
> >> > hear what tactics to use, but where and why you would or would not use
> >> each
> >> > option. He really draws you into the class and makes you excited to
> >> learn;
> >> > never once during the week did I feel bored in class, he really kept
> the
> >> > wheels in your head turning the whole time.
> >> >
> >> > When it comes to the whiteboard, like I previously stated, it
> certainly
> >> > wasn t a selling point for me, but after seeing him in action with it,
> I
> >> m
> >> > not looking forward to the next slide driven training I m sure I will
> >> > eventually have to attend. Got a what if question about the current
> >> > topology being discussed? BAM! Within 3 seconds, he has redrawn it
> to
> >> > illustrate and answer to your question as well as explain the all
> >> important
> >> > why? behind the answer. This is something you simply don t get with
> >> > PowerPoint decks and really enhanced his ability to go into detail and
> >> > clarify questions from the class. The whiteboard may not sound like
> >> much,
> >> > but in his hands it was an invaluable tool to convey ideas in a far
> more
> >> > interactive and dynamic fashion than I was used to. The class was
> about
> >> > 60/40 lecture to lab time which I found to be a good balance that
> allowed
> >> > me
> >> > to take in a bunch of information and then work on some labs to let it
> >> all
> >> > soak in before jumping into the next topic.
> >> >
> >> > I m sure most CCIE boot camp instructors can rattle off tons of
> commands
> >> > like they were singing the alphabet. They wouldn t be very qualified
> if
> >> > they couldn t. Narbik has that down pat, but on top of that, he
> really
> >> > raised the bar for what I perceive a great teacher to be. Narbik
> takes
> >> > each
> >> > topic, breaks it down into well thought out, logically arranged
> parcels
> >> and
> >> > explains it in an understandable manner without having to resort to
> >> dumbing
> >> > the material down. On top of that, the entire week the guy never once
> >> > looked at a slide or opened his laptop to pull up a router or switch.
> He
> >> > did it all on the white board. From his head. Every single topic.
> It
> >> > didn t hit me what a difficult task this would be to pull off in an
> >> > effective manner until the second day when I realized that runs the
> >> entire
> >> > class without any sort of written syllabus in front of him. Somehow
> he
> >> > manages to do this freeform thing while still keeping the class very
> >> > structured. You never thought he was rambling or meandering when he
> >> spoke,
> >> > it was always very to the point. It just seemed like second nature
> for
> >> him
> >> > to be teaching the material. He really knows every command, every
> >> option,
> >> > and every flag in every header inside and out. More than once during
> the
> >> > week he started writing out the potential values of a header field or
> the
> >> > results of an obscure show command and everyone in the class just
> stared
> >> > with a look of disbelief that he was doing it all from memory. You
> would
> >> > check it on your laptop and sure as shit he had it nailed spot on
> every
> >> > time. He isn t rattling them off just to show off his knowledge
> either;
> >> it
> >> > is always integrated into the class in a way that the theory and the
> >> > configuration flow together as a single idea. You never felt like you
> >> were
> >> > being overwhelmed by a vast array of archaic commands because he
> always
> >> > showed the practical use for them.
> >> >
> >> > The final thing that stood out to me as we were leaving on the last
> day
> >> was
> >> > that he made sure that we all knew that he considered the class to be
> the
> >> > beginning of an ongoing relationship until we get our numbers and
> >> reassured
> >> > everyone that he was just an email away if we had problems with the
> labs
> >> in
> >> > the workbooks. The guy even gave *everyone* in the class his cell
> phone
> >> > number on the first day in case there were issues while we were doing
> >> labs
> >> > outside the classroom time during the week. I can certainly say that
> I
> >> > have
> >> > never had an instructor do that before.
> >> >
> >> > Overall, I walked away feeling like a much stronger candidate that got
> >> much
> >> > more than my money s worth out of the class. I feel focused,
> re-energized
> >> > and even excited to hit the books and labs regardless of whatever new
> >> > foreboding news passes through groupstudy regarding V4. I plan to
> study
> >> > hard until March and then re-sit the class he is doing outside of San
> >> Jose
> >> > (no charge of course) the week of my lab to re-blast my brain with all
> >> the
> >> > knowledge I can before I hit the real deal.
> >> >
> >> > The worst part of the class is that it is in sunny southern
> California.
> >> I
> >> > now have to head back to a well below freezing Minneapolis. Good
> study
> >> > weather though, right?
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Nate
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
> >> >
> >> >
> _______________________________________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
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> >>
> >> _______________________________________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
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> >>
> >> _______________________________________________________________________
> >> Subscription information may be found at:
> >> http://www.groupstudy.com/list/CCIELab.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > --
> > Narbik Kocharians
> > CCSI#30832, CCIE# 12410 (R&S, SP, Security)
> > www.MicronicsTraining.com
> > Sr. Technical Instructor
> > YES! We take Cisco Learning Credits!
> > Training And Remote Racks available
> >
> >
> > Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
> >
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Received on Sat Dec 05 2009 - 19:01:21 ART