Re: A students’ review of Narbik’s CCIE Boot Cam

I would totally agree with all of this.. I attended Narbik's Bootcamp and it
is the best i would say.

-Raghav

On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 11:24 AM, George Philip <gphilip88_at_gmail.com> wrote:

> A students review of Narbik s CCIE Boot Camp:
>
> I recently attended the 5 day CIERS-I + Narbik s 2.0 Boot Camp held in
> Richardson, TX; this class is part of the Cisco 360 Program. I'll
> provide some highlights from my experience on the 5 days I spent with
> Narbik.
>
> Initially, I was drawn to Narbik's CCIE Boot camp after having read
> about his non-conventional way of teaching the CCIE Lab exam topics.
> By that I mean, Narbik's CCIE Boot camp does not use power point
> slides, printed materials, or pre-made diagrams. Instead he relies on
> a whiteboard and hand drawn diagrams to teach and explain concepts.
> Using whiteboard diagrams in his class, instead of power point slides,
> set Narbik apart from the other offerings to me. I draw a lot of
> diagrams when doing labs and was intrigued by a teaching method that
> used a similar concept. Not a decision maker, but I also found posts
> that said Narbik has a savant like memory for the CLI. Needless to
> say, I was a little skeptical anyone could memorize enough of the IOS
> CLI to teach at a CCIE level.
>
> With that said, here is my experience from the boot camp:
>
> Day 1: Introduction, Switching and Frame-relay. Narbik s CCIE boot
> camp classes start at 9AM and goes until at least 9PM. We started out
> with introductions and then jumped into CCIE level basics on security
> and QoS for the switching platform. Once the lecture was done, as
> promised using only the whiteboard and hand drawn diagrams, we looked
> through the labs and started with switching. After a brief break for
> lunch, the Frame-relay lectures on configurations and complexities
> kept the class lively. Narbik gave us the labs pertaining to the
> frame-relay topics covered after the lecture. Even on day 1, the
> class was intense with a lot of topics covered in detail.
>
> Day 2: OSPF and EIGRP. Narbik covers OSPF and EIGRP with such
> thoroughness that I ended up with 4 pages of hand written notes and 2
> pages worth of typed notes. This even though I felt I had a pretty
> good understand of both of those topics. He covered the usual stuff
> but then pulled out ninja techniques and demonstrated behaviors
> within these IGPs I did not expect. During the lectures, he asks the
> students to setup a basic infrastructure and do debugging to
> illustrate the concepts even further. Narbik s lectures are very
> interactive, he asks if you understood what was just explained and if
> someone brings up a question, he re-explains it until everyone fully
> grasps the concepts. During his explanations, he will re-draw
> diagrams or modify existing ones to illustrate points.
>
> Day 3: QoS - I went in very unsure of many concepts in this area.
> Once he started his lectures, it was clear many of the students were
> in the same situation as I was. There were so many diagrams and notes
> written on the white board by lunch time, the board was black. We had
> to enlist the facilities staff to bring in industrial white board
> cleaner, wet wipes, and a roll of napkins to clean the board. Again
> my notes were filling page after page. He had to stop after every
> topic and explain it in at least 3 different ways so everyone
> understood it. I can now safely say, QoS is not as scary as I made it
> out to be. I think class went until 10 or 11 on day 3.
>
> Day 4: RIP, BGP, MPLS - The grueling pace was starting to take its
> toll, however, Narbik found a way to make RIP interesting. BGP was
> covered thoroughly and generated quite a few diagrams and questions.
> MPLS was a topic almost the entire class had listed as a weak point.
> Narbik explained MPLS in a way a kindergartener would be able to
> understand. Then he proceeded to draw out a diagram and explain the
> process step by step. Again, very through and Narbik's animated way
> of teaching made complex concepts seem simple.
>
> Day 5: Multicast v4/v6, questions, wrap-up - Narbik covers
> Multicasting from a practical point of view. This made it very easy
> to see what the different components of Multicasting contribute
> towards the overall infrastructure. Once this was done, we discussed
> a few other topics from the previous lectures and wrapped up for the
> week. From looking around, everyone seemed to be in a daze from
> information overload.
>
> Narbik s boot camp is designed to make the students an expert, not
> just achieve the number. The lectures are geared towards teaching the
> concepts and underlying fundamentals on CCIE Lab exam. It will push
> you closer to passing the lab by enabling you to understand the
> pitfalls and end-goals for seemingly minute details within the tasks.
> This method of teaching also made me more confident about resolving
> any scenario thrown in for the troubleshooting portion of the lab.
> Each topic is covered in depth highlighting abnormal behaviors,
> commands used to configure and change behaviors, hidden features and
> alternative (non-conventional) ways to achieve desired behaviors.
> Interactions among functions of IOS are covered in depth so the
> student understands what each one does and why certain features have
> to be used in tandem or configured through an AS. I ve only listed
> the high level topics in my review but Narbik covers the full suite of
> CCIE lab topics throughout the lectures.
>
> The most surprising aspect of the class was his style of teaching;
> this was not covered by any of the previous materials I found before
> deciding to attend. Narbik style of teaching the CCIE boot camp makes
> him the most animated and entertaining trainer I have ever met. He
> incorporates jokes and anecdotes into every one of his lectures. He
> manages to keep the energy level steady from day 1 to day 5. There
> were moments where the whole class was laughing so hard we had to take
> a break. He spends most of the 12 hour class on his feet during
> lectures and walking around to do real-time explanations during labs.
> Some concepts I had difficulty grasping through reading and bullet
> point led explanations related to QoS (Routing and Switching),
> Security, IGP/EGP and Multicasting were presented with humor and made
> so rudimentary that I walked away ready to tackle any lab scenario. I
> plan to re-take the class just for the entertainment value.
>
> Throughout the class, Narbik provides his contact information and
> requests we contact him with any questions during or after the class
> regardless of time. His philosophy is that the real relationship with
> the students begins on the last day of the boot camp and continues
> even after getting the coveted number. Narbik also provided a study
> plan geared towards passing the CCIE Lab exam. If I can muster the
> discipline to follow his plan, my number is not far away.
>
> Narbik s CCIE boot camp is not for the faint of heart. You MUST know
> the basics at a CCNP or higher level before attending. His classes
> are not designed for those who have a passing interest in the CCIE.
> It is designed for the seriously committed and will stretch your
> knowledge of the Cisco IOS and routing/switching concepts; it may even
> humble your understanding of the IOS and CCIE topics. You WILL learn
> something new about every Cisco CCIE Lab Blueprint topic!
>
> After attending this class, I can confirm Narbik teaches only using
> the whiteboard and hand drawn diagrams. Narbik s approach to teaching
> the CCIE is unlike any of the other classes I ve taken over my 2+
> years of studying. There is no single source of materials for earning
> the CCIE certification. As part of the current crop of CCIE
> candidates, I feel blessed with the availability of high quality
> materials from well reputed vendors. The best way to pass the lab
> exam is to use a combination of the highest regarded materials as
> study tools. Each one contributes to a niche of learning.
>
> However, I highly recommend every CCIE candidate attend at least one
> of Narbik s classes. I ve been able to clearly understand some of the
> concepts that eluded me from books, DocCD and other materials. At the
> very least, attending Narbik s class will give you an excellent gauge
> of your readiness to attempt the lab exam.
>
> Bottom line, if you want to pass the CCIE Lab, attend a boot camp by
> Narbik.
>
> As far as Narbik s ability to recall IOS commands from memory - It s
> official, Narbik is an extension of the Cisco IOS Command reference.
>
> Review by George Philip.
> gphilip88_at_gmail.com
>
>
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-- 
Warm Regards
Raghav
Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net