Re: A students¹ review of

So true, great review.

Warning: using his study methods will likely extend the time it takes to
prepare. Why? Speaking first hand, you will become obsessed with answering
your own questions about how things work. Questions that will not
necessarily help you to pass specific scenarios you find on the lab, but
will surely boost your confidence 10 fold going in to it (and thus raise
your chances of passing on first attempt)...

Narbiks methods draw that out of us. We are all curious by nature, which is
why we are even engineers to begin with. He plucks that string that we stop
plucking because of exhaustion, distractions, or just burnout. Like a
reminder that this stuff is not hard, but FUN and rewarding.

It9s funny, because my work would call my CCIE pursuit a distraction (even
though they support and sponsor me, my primary responsibilities suffer).
Meanwhile, I now call WORK a distraction...LOL

J

On 5/21/10 11:24 AM, "George Philip" <gphilip88_at_gmail.com> wrote:

> A students review of Narbiks CCIE Boot Camp:
>
> I recently attended the 5 day CIERS-I + Narbiks 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. Narbiks 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. Narbiks 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.
>
> Narbiks 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. Ive 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.
>
> Narbiks 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. Narbiks approach to teaching
> the CCIE is unlike any of the other classes Ive 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 Narbiks classes. Ive been able to clearly understand some of the
> concepts that eluded me from books, DocCD and other materials. At the
> very least, attending Narbiks 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 Narbiks ability to recall IOS commands from memory - Its
> official, Narbik is an extension of the Cisco IOS Command reference.
>
> Review by George Philip.
> gphilip88_at_gmail.com
>
>
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Received on Fri May 21 2010 - 12:02:24 ART