On Monday 29 September 2008 I reached the pinnacle of my Networking career thus far, accepting my CCIE (RS) digits after almost 3 years of preparation and painstaking blood, sweat and tears - literally. I would like to share those moments from start to finish with you so that any aspiring candidate can learn from my mistakes and glean anything useful from my studies.
Background
=========
All you need to know is I want my numbers, and I will get them that’s the background driver for this.
Challenges
=========
The biggest challenge I faced on my journey was being a father. Before my son was born last November I had time, but soon as he entered this world that time was sacrificed. I do NOT for one minute regret this, I just found it a challenge to be a Dad, work full time and find time to study. When your 10 month old wants to rip the cables out your switches, it’s hard to say no. I just was the Muppet that had to put them back in!!! No harm done.
Materials Used
============
I started off with the usual recommended reading, Doyle, Parkhurst, Solie, Odom etc. This I found was not for me. I just could not spend more than 15 minutes reading about a serious technical subject with nothing to tie it to. I paused on that and started to rebuild the remnants of my CCNA/P rack. Eventually I took the decision to build it around the NetmasterClass workbooks. I purchased them and before starting any of their labs, cabled it to their standard rack. You will find all vendors have a fixed physical topology.
The final rack was:-
2 x 3560 - Enterprise IOS
2 x 3550 - Enterprise IOS
4 x 3640 - 12.4 - 2xWIC-1T, 2x 1FE-TX
2 x 2621 - 12.3 - 2xWIC-1T
1 x 3620 - BB1 - 1xNM4-AS, 1x2FE-2W
1 x 2620 - BB2 - 2xWIC-1T
1 x 2611 - BB3 - 2xWIC-1T
1 x 2511 - Terminal Server
1 x 2522 - Frame Relay Switch
2 x APC9200 - Remote Power Distribution Bar
1 x 877w - Internet facing Router/Firewall for remote 24/7 SSH access
Built and cabled by me into a 19U cabinet, this rack to me was indispensable. It was relocated twice, from house to house, carried up and down stairs with great difficulty with personal injury in the process – The Blood.
The DOC_CD, need I say more? I spent 15 minutes every day learning to navigate this, finding what I needed. Not once during my attempts did I spend more than a few minutes locating the information I needed. This is the ultimate resource, it’s right up to date and free!!!
Cisco Assesor Labs – I did both of these and found them really, really good. 4 hours mini-labs from which I learnt a lot about the way the grading script works.
Audio – Scott Morris Audio boot camp. On the way to work, I put on a few of these CD’s and it stuck. I was really against this, thinking it is not possible to learn from audio – how wrong I was.
The Preparation, the relentless Labbing' and the disappointments
==================================================
I then started the practice labs in the order based on their (vendor) recommendation, and initially it took me best part 14 hours spread across 1 week to complete the first lab. But this was fine, I was in the very early stages and time at this moment was not an issue. I managed to complete the first 5 labs but was not happy; they were just too dammed hard and peppered with obscure solutions that were not asked for. This was so off putting as I felt I had not learnt anything even after cross referencing it with the books mentioned earlier. So I stopped there and went through the IEATC CoD videos from InternetworkExpert to attempt to fill these gaps. I watched the videos twice and each time I practised small scenarios from it on my rack and gained then a better understanding of the technologies - and that's the key. I didn't want just to pass the CCIE, but also to be a better engineer.
Having completed them I went back to attack the practice labs. I knocked off 5 more NMC labs, with an average rating of 8 and then left the other 15 or so and moved onto InternetworkExpert. I did the first 10 whilst still reading through the books and re-watching the CoD at which point I booked the lab.
I booked it January for a June slot - 6 months to get it all together. During which point I did 5 more labs, 10 rating. 3 from NMC and 2 from InternetworkExpert. First real lab attempt, fail. This is documented on another thread. Down and demoralized, I spent 1 day away from it, back onto the Cisco site and booked second attempt.
Fail. Dammed, this one I knew I had passed, well I had not. I completed the lab in 5 hours as planned, 2 hours verification. Walked out the room to the airport drank a couple of beers feeling like this was it. I got home, showered and fired up my laptop to see those four letters burn my eyes F-A-I-L. What now? I had not made it, fact, nothing was going to change that, and a re-read is just an excuse for Cisco to pick another 300 USD from your pocket, statistically I did not stand a chance. Let it go. I just dissected in my brain why I did not pass, and after days of reciting the lab I realized I made small mistakes that cost points and collectively this put me under the 80 point bar. Petty mistakes, mistakes that you can ill afford. I needed speed from my first attempt but I also needed deadly accuracy.
I decided to go back, I will not be beaten for love nor money. I scheduled attempt 3 a little ahead and this time I changed materials to get a different perspective. I used the Narbik Workbooks to go over the mini-scenarios he presents so well. Again, on the rack practicing the little labs. But not only that, but breaking them too. If OSPF works, then break it - forcefully break it with a odd command and see what happens, debug it and see why it broke, not just how.
The Day it happened
===================
If one was ever to get off to the worst possible start then today, 29 September 2008 was it for me. There is a saying, "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry". After I failed my lab last time I wanted to leave nothing to chance, my preparation this time had to be military precise. I changed hotels, I arrived earlier to acclimatise etc. I decided I would travel scruffy and the day of the lab I would wake at 5:45am, have a shower and a clean shave, eat a light but filling breakfast. Clean appearance, clean mind, that was the plan.
Wrong. My alarm failed to go off, I woke at 7:20am - 25 minutes before I was meant to be in the Cisco office!!!! In fact other guys were there sitting, waiting whilst I was still dreaming of...let's not worry about what I was dreaming of, whilst stuck in a hotel in a foreign country, without my wife.
The first 4 words I spoke after I saw the clock when my head peered out of the bed sheets are simply un-repeatable and defy the laws of human nature. I jumped out of bed, threw my old clothes back on, no shower, no wash, no shave, no clean clothes, no breakfast. Nothing. Threw everything into my backpack and within 3 minutes I had left that hotel. No checkout, just ran like a mad man down the street towards the Cisco office hoping I would make it in time. I was never in danger of not making it to the centre, I just had to make it for my own mentality. I arrived sweating like a pig, flustered and just not right. I managed to swing things back into my favour and get my mind right. - The SweatThere on in I attacked the lab.
Step 1 - Environment. Log onto Terminal server and apply my standard config. I always do this in real world and force of habit meant I did it again. Just no ip domain-lookup, alias, screen colour, re-mapping keys etc. This had to be right and it was. Wobbly fingers were still there, just not for so long. I was experienced now remember?
SecureCRT Ammendments:-
Re-map key F6 -> CTRL+SHIFT+6+x
Re-map key F5 -> CTRL+SHIFT+6+6
Re-map key F11 -> Clear Console Screeen
Re-map key SHIFT+Z ->Mapped to produce the '|' (pipe). I had problems with this first time as the keyboard is US.
Change Font to FixedSys with Yellow on black Foreground/Background.
Alias Commands/Basic Config:-
no ip domain lookup
ip cef
logging console
!
alias configure ro router ospf 1
alias configure re router eigrp
alias configure rb router bgp
alias exec c conf t
alias exec sibe sh ip int brief | i eri
alias exec sibn sh ip int brief | i net
alias exec sibl sh ip int brief | i oo
alias exec srr sh run | b router
alias exec sion sh ip ospf neigh
alias exec sibs sh ip bgp summ
alias exec siro sh ip route ospf
!
line con 0
history size 100
TCL Script:-
foreach ip {
1.1.1.1
2.2.2.2
3.3.3.3} {ping $ip}
Macro Ping for Switches:-
macro name PING
do ping 1.1.1.1
do ping 2.2.2.2
do ping 3.3.3.3
@
macro global apply PING
Step 2 - Read the entire lab slowly. It's very tempting to go in, and in fact I did last time. This time I sat and read the entire lab from start to finish and at the same time tied it to the topology. For (a fictitious) example, the IPv6 task wanted R1 to do this to R2, so I visualised it onto the diagram to see how that would work.
Step 3 - Diagrams. I did 1 from the start, and then 2-3 later on. The first was a re-drawing of the main diagram but I put all the IP information on, as well as a note as to which switch each port was hanging off. As I progressed through the lab I did smaller diagrams, for example, a inter-switch diagram when I got to the Switching section, an IPv6 one when I got there, and a Multicast one when I got there. Just showing the relevant devices. I got this idea from NMC, and it worked perfect for me.
Step 4 - Target and time management. I decided that by lunch, I wanted to be on this task and I worked to that by deciding on how I would answer the questions. I did not to the top-down processing approach, instead I went for my strong areas to get the points on the board first and then pick off the others. I came to 2 questions that had me puzzled, but onto the DOC_CD a bit of digging and I managed to formulate a solution. Approaching lunch I ahead of schedule. I ran a tcl and everything looked good, I had end-to-end which was huge step, I had the rack under control and I was in control of it. During lunch, I recited in my head what I had done, mentally annotating each task and ensuring I did not miss anything.
Step 5 - Post lunch. Target was to complete the whole lab, sounds odd I know, but I did not want to leave a single question unanswered. I had time on my side, and with a content stomach I was on a high. I raced through the remaining sections and completed the whole lab by 1:20pm. Run my tcl script and macros and picked out a few IP's that were not playing as a result of a later task, fixed that and I managed to get end-to-end again. That’s' start to finish in 4 hours and 40 minutes. Leaving me lots of time to check. Fantastic, I felt unhygienic on the exterior but my mind was fresh and now I was ready to test.
Step 6 - Verification. Before doing this, I went to the breakout room and grabbed some drinks and some fruit to just get away from it. It was as if I wanted to stare at my lab now from a different perspective. But first a reload, my first of the day. I was confident I had no loops as I had taken care of that but a reload but prove it. I wanted to do one before lunch, but decided not to and leave my rack as it was. A quick reload, it took seconds, they are fast devices another tcl and macro, everything looked good. I was in confident mood and was not tired, after all I had a great sleep remember?
I carefully went through every question again and verified each task against my rack and I recovered, I would say 9 points. In the grand scheme of things this could have been the difference between a pass and a fail. Wow, 9 points. Silly errors, petty errors, trivial errors - last time I missed them, this time they were there for the taking and I took them.
Step 7 - The final run. Now I’m bored, the lab is done, I had done my tests, everything pinged and I was content. What do I do? I have 1.5 hours to kill, and I did not want to kill my work, so do I walk out - no way. I am NOT coming back again for this bitch, that's what I told myself. I did another reload and another tcl and macro ping and then I had some fun with the proctor. I asked him some really random question and he looked at me and laughed and said, "go back to your rack and check everything again - with a hint of sarcasm" I did, and when time was up I walked out and thought, who knows - pass or fail - now I don't care I want some fresh air and I want a shower.
4:50pm Brussels---------->>Home 9:30pm
I walked through my front door and my wife said "you stink" I just did not have the energy to respond. I just wanted to see my son and then have a shower. Little man was asleep and I was stopped from going to his room. My wife told me to check my result, I just wanted a shower!! So I compromised, grabbed a beer, Stella ironically and I logged onto the Cisco site, my heart was pounding as if that smelly Gorilla was thumping me. As the page eventually refreshed I saw the # symbol and the words certified, I just dropped my laptop stood up and told her, I’ve got it. I really cannot describe to you the joy and emotion that I experienced the time I saw my result. My journey had come to a magical climax and I shed an emotional tear, the only time I did this before ever in my entire life was when my little boy was born. - The tears.
The aftermath - Lessons I have learnt
=====================================
Shortcuts. There are not shortcuts to passing your CCIE lab, there may be for the written, but not for the lab. You need time and dedication, those that don’t have those attributes will fail, those that do will pass, maybe not at first but eventually.
Complacency. Don't become complacent and lazy, if you think it's wrong then the chances are it is. If you think it's right, chances are it's still wrong!! Check it, and check it again. And when you have finished checking the checking, verify it.
Speed and accuracy. To pass the lab in sub 8 hours you need to be quick and accurate, in my failed attempts I was not quick and I was not accurate. On my winning lab I had the speed and I had the accuracy. I had the lab topology where I wanted it, under control from start to finish. How do you get to that state? Practice, practice and more practice. If you can write configs' in notepad without the ”?” then you are on the right track. I remember in my run up to the day, doing the IEWB labs partially, I would do up to the core as fast as I could, and then stop. I did this for labs 8-13 I think. Just to the point where I had Bridging/Switching and IGP and then stop. I managed to clock it down to an average of about 2 hours.
Vendor Diversity. One vendor workbook in my view is not enough, you need 1 and a half at least. One main one for your labs and then a second one for a different perspective. You can become far to accustomed to one authors way of writing.
Getting help. The DOC_CD is the only help you get in the lab, and the only help you need. If you can find a core topic in under 1 minute 15 your in control. a non-core obscure feature in 2 minutes. Nice
Make friends. Before, after and during the lab make friends. Flying to Brussels, or any location is not cheap, on top of that you have the cost of the lab and the hotel etc. Shop around, as others, hotels in Brussels near Diegem are expensive. The Holiday Inn Express was 65 Euros when I went last, this time they wanted 165.00 Euros, for the same little room. I stayed at Etap this time and it was cheap and clean, and walking distance.
Get some rest and watch what you eat. This is the biggest and most important thing. I hardly slept the night before my previous attempts. In fact, I slept too early. Having arrived at the hotel after my flight I had an afternoon sleep and it meant I was not able to sleep later on, big mistake. When you are tired you make mistakes, and these mistakes cost you points. After lunch you are the most vulnerable. Ever been had a meal and felt tired after you sat down? I’m sure Cisco do this on purpose, give you a free meal ticket and say have what you want. A large lunch, chips, chicken and a nice sweet dish after is a cocktail to make you tired. And when you are tired you make mistakes!! Eat light and keep your body hydrated. You are not there to sample the cuisine, you are there do an expert level job, right?
It's good to talk to save money. After each lab attempt I had a chat with the other candidates, not violating the NDA but general chat, and as a result I managed to get a free taxi ride to the airport saving me 20 euros each time. See, most people there are going home right? Most people head to the airport right? So, I just shouted out "who’s heading to the airport" I get a response, offer to help with the taxi fare and they turn round and "say no problem, my company is picking up the tab, you can share with me". Nice. Same goes for the shuttle to the hotel, if your hotel does not have this service, or you missed the bus, then jump on some other hotel's bus. Most hotels in that area are near each other, maybe 5 minutes walk, so just jump onto another hotel's bus as no one checks.
Don’t give up. If at first you don’t make it go back, no need for me to explain this. I have failed and passed the lab, and as a result I am a better and more knowledgeable as a result of failing it. I think there is more shame in not going back than there is to not passing.
The thanks
=========
This forum has given me so much and it’s difficult for me to give praise to individuals, I don’t like to do this, but it’s fitting that several people here made it possible. So – thanks to, MarkinManchester, DarkFiber, ZGX, Igor_M, Darby Weaver, a61971, Hotdogs, N00b13, georgevzz, FredBloggs, toofast, Lord Flasheart, Route-Reflector, richerich, sabbione, Ciscocool, Lethe, Cisco_Master, Ford_Mustang, Big_Evil, -.-, airflow, Russian macho et al.
And Finally FS for reinstating me!!! Cheers mate.
What Next
========
Another CCIE? You bet!! Security.........
I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I had preparing it, please feel free to ask as many question within the confines of the NDA as possible. I have sacrificed a lot to get my numbers, and I am not going to lose it so you can get yours!!"
Good job writing this down. its an inspiration.
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