Re: my ccie journey (passed!)

Awesome job mate Welcome to the club
Take some rest dude

On Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 9:27 AM, Paul Negron <negron.paul_at_gmail.com> wrote:

> Congrats Yuri!!!
> --
> Paul Negron
> CCIE# 14856 CCSI# 22752
> Senior Technical Instructor
>
>
>
> > From: Yuri Bank <yuribank_at_gmail.com>
> > Reply-To: Yuri Bank <yuribank_at_gmail.com>
> > Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:09:43 -0800
> > To: Cisco certification <ccielab_at_groupstudy.com>
> > Subject: my ccie journey (passed!)
> >
> > Hey everyone!
> >
> > For those of you that don't know already, I passed the CCIE lab last
> > Wednesday ( 1/11/2012 ) on my first attempt! I've been asked by a few
> > people now if I would post my journey, so here it is! (I was going to
> post
> > this earlier, but I've been so tired the last couple days). I tried to
> > organize this so you're not just reading a huge wall-o-text. I apologize
> > for the long email, but hopefully someone finds it insightful. (
> > Personally, I love reading these things).
> >
> > *CCNA, CCNP, & PRE-CCIE*
> >
> > I started the CCNA in 2008. At the time, I thought passing the CCIE was
> > literally impossible, and didn't really even consider it. I was more of a
> > Linux Sysadmin anyways and networking wasn't my specialty, I just wanted
> to
> > broaden my knowledge. But I became addicted to the technology, and after
> > passing the CCNA I immediately started studying for the CCNP. I built a
> > rack of 2600s & 3550s, and then created labs for every technology on the
> > CCNP. In 2010 I finished the CCNP and also changed jobs. At this point I
> > was feeling really burnt out and took a few months off from studying.
> After
> > some time (late 2010), I decided to start studying again. I sold off all
> of
> > my routers and switches (except for two 3550s), and purchased some
> reading
> > material for my 'Pre-CCIE Written' studying. These books are:
> > Interconnections by Perlman, TCP/IP Illustrated by Stevens, and
> > Internetworking with TCP/IP by Comer. These books took me quite a while
> to
> > read. Interconnections is especially difficult to read, but very much
> worth
> > the time. (These 3 books are not only on the CCIE reading list, but
> > recommended to me by the best engineers I know).
> >
> > *The Written*
> >
> > In May 2011 I started officially studying for the CCIE Written. My study
> > materials for the written consisted of the Official CCIE Routing and
> > Switching Guide, Routing TCP/IP VOL1 & 2, various RFCs, and lots of Cisco
> > Documentation. I also had SafariBooksOnline, and read chapters from lots
> of
> > other Cisco Press books. The only time I would touch the command line,
> was
> > to verify my understanding of something that didn't make sense in words.
> I
> > passed the written June 27, 2011.
> >
> > After passing the written, I felt like I had a strong foundation of
> > knowledge. I wanted to build upon this foundation as much as I could. I
> did
> > not want to hesitate between the Written and the Lab. So I immediately
> > scheduled a lab date and started building my rack ( or hybrid rack). I
> had
> > always used dynamips, but now it was time to get serious, and this meant
> > forking out the cash for some 3560s & a new server. The lab I built is a
> > Hybrid Dynamaips lab. This consists of a rackmount server running Debian
> > Linux, 2x Catalyst 3550s, 2x Catalyst 3560s, and a 16U Skeletek rack. My
> > server has 3x Quad-Core NICs which allow me to bridge any NIC to any
> > virtual router in dynamips. Pictures & more details here:
> > https://yuri.easytospell.net/?p=721
> >
> > *Lab Study*
> >
> > I started with INE Volume I, it was a great workbook to start with. I
> spent
> > A LOT of time on each task, even the easy ones. I wanted to understand
> > EVERYTHING perfectly! After INE Volume I, I started working on INE
> Volume
> > II. While doing the Volume II labs I also worked on Narbiks Foundations
> > workbook. On weekends I would do volume II labs in 8 hour sessions, and
> on
> > weekdays I would do Narbiks WB after work (from 6:30pm to 12:00am). In
> > November I went to Narbiks Bootcamp! That was a lot of fun, it was like
> > summer camp for networking nerds. Narbik is simply a great teacher, and
> > studying with other people was a great experience. Forums & mailing lists
> > are awesome, but there isn't anything that beats in-person.
> >
> > *Study Discipline *
> >
> > During my studies I tried to ban myself from using google. If I was
> doing a
> > practice lab I would limit myself to the DocCD only. If I was doing INE
> Vol
> > I or Narbiks Adv WB I would limit myself to the DocCD, Books, and RFCs.
> > Forcing yourself to understand something from the GROUND up is important.
> > It might be easy to find someone else asking the same question on google,
> > and sometimes it is appropriate to find information this way, but don't
> get
> > lazy. Reading should always be a part of your study routine anyways. Even
> > if its just 45 minutes on the train to work. Never stop studying the
> theory.
> >
> > *Final Review:* 6 weeks before the lab.
> >
> > This was a little plan I created, and I am actually really proud of
> this. I
> > printed out the extended R&S Blueprint, and marked each section with a
> > certain amount of days. I divided each section into time ranges ( over 30
> > days), giving bigger topics more days than others. Day 1 for a topic
> would
> > consist of researching and studying the topic on the DocCD. Day 2+ for a
> > topic would consist of labbing various scenarios from Narbiks WB & INE
> Vol
> > 1. I did this for every single topic on the Extended Blueprint. After 30
> > days I had covered the entire Blueprint. With two weeks left berore my
> lab,
> > I spent 1 week finishing INE volume II, and the final week resting with
> > some light review. 3 days before the lab I did one final Volume II lab.
> It
> > was an easier lab that I had already done, but I wanted to keep my
> spirits
> > high.
> >
> >
> > *Lab Day:*
> >
> > Since I live in San Francisco I considered just driving to San Jose early
> > in the morning for the lab, but I used to do that commute every day, and
> it
> > just sucks. Instead, I rented a hotel room at some place called Avatar
> > (Right next to iHOP- very classy!). After checking into the Hotel I did a
> > practice drive to building C to familiarize myself with the target area.
> > The rest of the day I spent doing LIGHT review of random topics & watched
> > some program on the History channel about Navy Seals! I tried to go to
> bed
> > early that night, but I couldn't sleep AT ALL, I was too excited! I just
> > laid awake looking at my alarm clock, and listening to the drunk people
> in
> > the next room.
> >
> > *Troubleshooting:*
> >
> > This is the section that I really feared the most. The general strategy
> > with troubleshooting is to do the easy tickets first, and that is exactly
> > what I did. If you understand the technology, the troubleshooting is not
> > very difficult. But I did get stuck on one ticket. The one I saved for
> > last!! I had 30 minutes for it too!! Grrrr!!!
> >
> > *Configuration:*
> >
> > The configuration section was fair. Now of course I had a doubts about
> > certain things. And this really lowered my expectations about passing.
> But
> > you just have to be confident. I finished the configuration section with
> > about one and half hours to spare. This gave me time to go over
> everything,
> > and it is probably why I passed this section. By the way, I am not fast
> at
> > typing. I just knew all of the technology. If you know the technology,
> time
> > management will not be an issue.
> >
> > *Post Lab*
> >
> > I went into the lab thinking I could, and SHOULD pass the first time. I
> > left the lab with my expectations low. In fact I was comfortable with the
> > fact that I will probably not pass the first time. After driving through
> > the most hellish San Jose traffic, I finally got back to SF and began
> > explaining to my family that we shouldn't get our hopes up. I said there
> > was about a 30% chance that I would pass. Once I sat down at my desk, I
> > began to furiously reproduce the issue I had on the troubleshooting. But
> I
> > couldn't reproduce the damn problem in my lab! This really annoyed me!
> So I
> > basically crashed into a depressed heap on the couch, and started chain
> > eating granola bars. Eventually I thought to check my score report. Maybe
> > that would give me a clue as to what the issue was? I know they don't
> give
> > any kind of detailed report, but I wasn't thinking rationally. I opened
> up
> > my mailbox, clicked the link for my ccie report, and to my ultimate
> shock,
> > read "PASS". I almost fell out of my seat. I clicked refresh so many
> times,
> > and I had my girl friend make sure that I wasn't delusional. I've never
> > felt so tired and happy in my life. I had just been on one hell of an
> > emotional roller coaster.
> >
> > *Advice*
> >
> > *You must understand the CORE technologies. I think everyone says this-
> But
> > I will say it too! Things like OSPF, BGP, MPLS, IPV6, and Multicast
> should
> > be something you have intimate knowledge of. Not just memorization of the
> > commands to configure X. There is a big difference between understanding
> > how to configure a protocol, and UNDERSTANDING how a protocol works.
> >
> > *I love the Narbik and INE workbooks. But the vendors cannot spoon feed
> you
> > everything. There is a very large aspect of your studies that must be
> done
> > on your own. This means using debugs, packet captures, and RFCs to better
> > understand each protocol.
> >
> > *There are a lot of IP services, but you should think of these as free
> > points, a gift from Cisco. I was really scared of them at first, all I
> > cared about were the core technologies. Spend some time to study them,
> and
> > you will realize that they're so easy.
> >
> > *I think I had the right attitude going into the lab. I went into the lab
> > with a confidence of 100, and by the end of the day had a confidence of
> 30!
> > If you go into the lab with a confidence of 50, what is going to happen
> by
> > the end of the day!!?? So go into the lab with a confidence of 110! I
> > promise you something in there will knock it down, so start strong!
> >
> > *No matter what happens during the lab, never give up. This kind of goes
> > with the above. Even if you're confidence is low, you're probably doing
> > better than you think! So just keep going. Finish the lab as best you
> can.
> > I bet you will surprise yourself!
> >
> >
> > This has been the greatest Achievements for me! Good luck to everyone out
> > there who is studying! I look forward to further participation on this
> > Mailing List, and other forums that I frequent!
> >
> > -Yuri Bank
> >
> > CCIE #33680
> >
> >
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> >
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Yours Friendly,
H P HEMANTH RAJ
CCIE#28593 (R&S)
Cisco Systems
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