Re: Advice on reading the whole lab before starting?

Anthony is right on (as usual ) :-)

As Anthony explained well, learning to spot the dependencies is imperative.
Lets just say that I would be one lab fee richer if i would have better at
doing that back in 2003:-)

So, reading the lab is something that I highly recommend. Where some folks
get caught up is when reading the entire lab they are trying to "solve" it
at the same time so they waste time during this phase. Read the lab to
identify dependencies and key sections.

 The strategy that you employ will also be your own. I have found in dealing
with folks over the years that there is no one size fits all strategy. There
are some great overall strategies, but there will be things that might not
suit you.

-- 
Thanks
Larry Hadrava
CCIE #12203
Check Out MyBlog: http://ccie12203.wordpress.com/
On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 1:39 PM, Anthony Sequeira <asequeira_at_ine.com> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> One of the many beauties (and complexities) of passing the CCIE Lab Exam is
> the fact that the strategy you use to pass it, the EXACT strategy, will
> most
> likely be pretty unique from anything you have been taught or heard.
>
> My own personal strategy for reading ahead in the configuration section of
> the lab exam (that was my only section way back in Feb '06) was a bit of a
> hybrid of what I learned from Keith Barker and Brian McGahan.
>
> I chose to "skim" the entire Config section. This took under 5 minutes. I
> then started with Layer 2 Cat regardless of what section they presented
> first. In this Layer 2 Cat section, I read all of the tasks carefully
> before
> starting any config. This would take well under 5 minutes as well.
>
> One important caveat to my approach of solving the lab is this...you need
> to
> be "inherently" aware of interdependencies with the technologies and
> potential future lab tasks. For example, in a Frame Relay configuration, we
> need to be extremely cautious regarding OSPF network type requirements that
> might explicitly or implicitly exist. I certainly became "expert level" at
> catching these issues and embraced my own personal lab strategy as a
> result.
>
>
> One of the beauties of workbook and graded labs practice is that you have a
> chance to develop and practice your own personal strategy at a dramatically
> reduced price compared to practicing in the actual lab! :-) Be sure you
> take
> advantage of that.
>
> - Anthony Sequeira
> www.INE.com <http://www.ine.com/>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
> groupstudy_at_nyms.net
> Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 7:47 AM
> To: ccielab_at_groupstudy.com
> Subject: Advice on reading the whole lab before starting?
>
> Not sure if anyone commenting on here has passed v4, but I've tried and
> time
> is definitely of the essence.
>
> So I'm wondering - for all you guys who've passed v3 or v4, did you read
> the
> whole task list through first? I know INE recommend to read it (and if it's
> good enough to read once, it's good enough to read twice). Problem is -
> when
> I do this, it takes at least 30 minutes to read through just once. You read
> the task, have a preliminary look at the routers involved on the diagram
> and
> make some notes (which often just regurgitate the task).
>
> If I read through, I spend time on each task familiarising with the
> topology
> and state of the part of the network relevant to the task. Then I move onto
> the next task and by the time I go through the whole task list, the first
> bits are largely forgotten.
>
> So I'm wondering, would it be SO dangerous to just do the tasks in a linear
> fashion, reading a task through, then completing it before doing the next
> task? I figure I can gain an extra 45 minutes odd doing this, and the tasks
> are designed to be linear anyway.
>
> Or am I just being too detailed in the task reading? Is the point in this
> to
> get a general idea of what's coming without assessing the finer points of
> the topology on each task?
>
> Very keen to hear the strategy of passers, especially recent ones...
> THANKS!
>
>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
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