RE: CCIE RS milestone reached. Third time's the charm

Wow just Wow. Congratulations and thank you so much for sharing your winning
strategy.

-Aaron.

-----Original Message-----
From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of Ints
Meijers
Sent: Thursday, 2 June 2011 1:26 AM
To: ccielab_at_groupstudy.com
Subject: CCIE RS milestone reached. Third time's the charm

Hello,

30 May 2011 I passed CCIE RS exam in Brussels.

This marks a year long work towards dream come true. Three attempts (all of
them in Brussels) were needed for it to become reality.

Self-paced "INE CCIE RS 4.0 Training Program" was with me all the way.
Especially I want to thank INE for "CCIE R&S v4.0 Advanced Technologies" VoD
series. These lectures helped me brush up forgotten topics and grasp new
ones. I accompanied them with an online rack session (my own rack via remote
TS) and tested each presented concept to further verify how the technology
works. Troubleshooting bootcamp recording was a great help also. This I
mixed with fulltime job, so no deep dive but anyway something always sinks
in. INE Blog provided me with essential information on documentation
navigation - this helped a lot! Your blog gave me insight to such depths of
OSPF that I wouldn't have otherwise considered exploring (kudos to Petr
Lapukhov). Originally I intended to thank INE through their designated
webform (http://www.ine.com/success-story.htm) but didn't receive any
response after submitting so either it didn't reach them or is still
processed. Anyway I included my thanks her!
 e since from my standpoint, thanking vendor which helped in your journey is
a must. So if someone from INE reads this - know that you are remembered
with good words/thoughts!

In the beginning I read GroupStudy mailing list daily but couldn't keep up
with it due to work intensity. No time for posting either. Social life also
goes down the drain during preparation phase :)

Ivan Pepelnjak site http://blog.ioshints.info/ gave a lot of insight in EEM,
since Cisco official documentation left me a bit frustrated.

A little about my journey...

I started studying for written exam on April 2010 and passed it in June 2010
on my second attempt. First time I attempted it without studying to mark my
readiness and came close. Of course I was hit bad with technologies that I
dont use in my daily job. Having found out my weaknesses I focused on them
and passed second time.

Then I started preparing for the lab. Built my own rack and meanwhile
listened to ATC VoD series while commuting. INE R&S Lab Workbook Volume I
challenged me to think outside the box and introduced me to different style
of presenting information, where logical topology not always comes hand in
hand with physical one. This helped me grasp lab topology much quicker than
it otherwise would have been possible.

First attempt was in 10 November 2010. I had an extra stress due to first
time. What I learned is not to make assumptions and consult proctor when in
doubt. My proctor for this attempt was Istvan. I ran to him for help a lot
that time :)

Second attempt was in 07 March 2011. This time I had more experience. I
understood how the questions are asked and how to interpret the diagrams.
What I learned is that i need more speed, both in TS and configuration part.
Also it revealed some still weak technology areas (means that I had to bring
up documentation to implement a feature).

And here it comes. A winning strategy which I fully exploited for passing
attempt (already seen this suggested to candidates many times):

Notepad configuring.

Yes - do all configuration in notepad. In the beginning you are frustrated
because most of the time router rejects what you have pasted in console.
Then you notice that you write an occasional ? to get a hint :) After a
while you notice that SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) has risen and speed is
improving from typing the same commands over and over again. In the end it
pays back with required speed. If you are comfortable with technology you
can type in shortened commands and do tasks even faster. But do that only
for really familiar topics. I used notepad document to track each change I
made on appropriate devices for each task. Thus I was prepared for power
outage and/or HW failure. Also this enabled a rollback option, since it was
easier to identify and remove previously added configuration.

Before my third attempt I had an extra boost of morale and motivation. It
came from a young lady which soon will receive an offer she can't refuse (c)
Godfather :) Funniest thing is that she had no idea what this exam is all
about and anyway supported me unconditionally. This helps a lot - that there
is someone who cares. I wish to everyone that there is such person in your
life!

Third attempt was 30 May 2011. I used notepad for all configuration and
tracking of activities. Scratch paper was used for tracking TS tickets. For
configuration section I used scratch paper to note topics I want to review.
Also I redraw partial topology for a quick reference. Notepad helped me to
detect and correct a lot of silly mistakes made due to stress. In the end it
proved to be a valid strategy which worked for me. All the time through the
lab I had a feeling that it is hard but I'm making it. I had no high hopes,
just did my best. At the end my head hurt and I felt like a squeezed lemon.
Nevertheless I had most wonderful experience.

Both, second and third time I got the same proctor: Said
He is patient, helpful and forthcoming. Answers are given where due and
politely rejected where you must come up with one yourself.

All three times I stayed in NH Brussels Airport hotel. I can strongly
recommend it since it is in a walking distance from Cisco office. This means
that you can have a slow morning and not worry about commute. They provide
you with a shuttle to/from Brussels national airport which also is a perk.

Thanks for all the support (direct or indirect) you have provided me with
during this journey!

I wish everyone strength to continue walking towards this achievement :)

Ints Meijers,
CCIE# 29095

Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
Received on Thu Jun 02 2011 - 08:12:31 ART