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

Hi,

I'm an old student of his and I totally agreed!

Regards,
Ron

On 5/22/10, Manouchehr Omari <manouchehr1979_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Well, I have registered on 5th July, 2010.
>
> On 5/21/10, Raghav Bhargava <raghavbhargava12_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>> 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
>>
>>
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