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planning to take the CCIE RS test, looking for some advice

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DeathRayLoveMachine

Member
I'm just starting, but judging by the sample questions, I can make quick work of at least the written portion. I had a few questions, though:

What's a good study guide? I've heard that several "popular" guides have major errors, and I'd rather not waste my time with them.

Second, I was looking at the official topics, and many of the descriptions are downright confusing. For instance, here's one topic they describe: "Implement SCP." That's a full quote, I'm not omitting any information. It just says "implement SCP." WTF does that mean? I already know about SSH and its siblings (SCP, SSL, TLS, HTTPS and SFTP), but I am thoroughly confused by what they're asking for. Am I just expected to know how to set up an SSH server and use it remotely? Do they want me to memorize specific information about the protocol? How specific?

Third, does anyone know the land speed record for passing a CCIE? I want to put the fear of God into that test.
 
Some of the CCIEs I w9ork with were done by 2:00pm, including a re-check of their solutions. I've heard of folks getting it done in a couple hours.

One of the things to remember is to compare the task to the points awarded for that task; in at least a few cases, the time & effort may not be worth the couple of point you'd get.

Don't let the written fool you; it's just a filter. The practical is a mofo for most people, and requires some serious study. Once you think you have a good handle on the material, go to a "boot camp" to try your skills and fill in the gaps.

I am not a CCIE, never even tried but I work with 'em and have had some interesting discussions related to the practical Lab.
 
Thanks, although technically none of the answers you gave related to my questions. (insert appropriate smiley here)

Here's another issue I forgot to ask about: I need a practice lab for home. I can get simple kits on eBay starting at $400, but a full lab would be significantly more expensive. I'm thinking I should buy a cheap lab to do most of my work on, and rent time on an Internet lab for everything else. Any thoughts on this? What's a good low-cost practice lab I should buy?
 
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The Internetwork Expert (http://www.ine.com/) study material is supposed to be top notch.

Most people study for over a year for the practical exam. If you're thinking about taking it with little practical experience, I'd recommend against it.

Get the CCNA and then the CCNP, and then see if you're still up for the IE. There are a lot of obscure topics on it, such as SCP.

There are a number of third party tools (and inhouse tools) that make use of SCP to copy configuration files, NBAR libaries, or other files for other platforms directly to flash before a commit script is run to merge those files into running-config. That is what they'll be asking about, likely. However, as Scottmac says, if you've never done it before, it's unlikely that such a small task would be worth the time to research on the actual exam.

(I am not a CCIE, though I do associate with several...my work load doesn't afford me as much study time as I'd need to properly prepare.)
 
I have practical experience and I want a challenge. If I fail the written portion of the CCIE I'll switch to CCNP, but I really want to nail the CCIE on my first attempt, partly because it's exactly the kind of thing I'm good at and partly because I'm an arrogant shit. I can lose the $300 if need be, and the knowledge I apply towards a CCIE will still help me get a CCNP.
 
I'm checking out INE's site right now and using their costs to help me estimate a budget for the whole exam. Thanks for posting that. Do they make any recommendations for a home practice lab configuration?

And thanks for the explanation about SCP. That's actually what I should have guessed - I've already done similar things setting up TFTP on routers to load config files or network booting computers. I've done harder network programming than that though, including a distributed rendering system in college.
 
They have a lab workbook that has a recommended lab topology. IIRC, you can even find that for free on their site.

Something like IOU can be helpful, or dynamips.

Or, you can rent time on a CCIE lab. In reality, you can get away with probably 3 3550 switches, 9 routers, and an access server (this may be optional now, but I do remember it was on the exam at one point). 2651s should be able to do everything you need. You could even get by with a few 2621s, probably, too. 7200s are pretty decent as well, though they're big. If you want to be a bit more spendy, you could use 1841s or 2811s.

A 3620 w/ 2x NM-4T are great as frame relay switches.

You could easily put a full rack together for $1k if you're smart about it and plan everything out.
 
Looking at a prospective budget and schedule... yeah, I probably need to get the CCNP first. It makes no sense to waste months and thousands of dollars pursuing the CCIE, since the position I want will probably be filled by the time I can get it anyway.

Edit: I was planning to get something equivalent to a $500 home kit on eBay to do most of my lab work, then rent time on a proper rack for anything I couldn't do at home. If I can actually put together a proper test environment for $1000, I might just do that, though.
 
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While you can technically take the CCIE without any other certs, I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

Get the CCNA (which you need before you can do CCNP, it's a prerequisite) and then start studying for the CCNP. Depending on your dedication, time, intellect, and experience, you should be able to get through all four of those exams (Composite for CCNA and ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT for CCNP) in a year or less.

You can do everything you need for all four exams with 3 3550s and 3 2621s with a few WIC-1Ts. Or you can use dynamips and 3 3550s. Hard to do L2 stuff like .1q and STP on dynamips because you're limited to the etherswitch modules which are garbage.
 
I passed the CCNA easily in high school, and I'm a lot better at that stuff now than I ever was then. But I let it lapse, so I suppose I would actually have to retake it just to get the CCNP, which just leads back to me wanting to get the CCIE straight away instead of dealing with that nonsense.

The test material doesn't intimidate me at all, but the logistics of actually taking the test are terrifying 🙁
 
Grab 2600 series XMs if you can. They'll run 12.4T. Don't buy kits ANYwhere. They're usually a very rich premium. Add up the cost of individual pieces and you'll see what I mean.

Your most efficient way to get what you need for CCNA and CCNP would be 3 3550s ($75 to $100 each on eBay), 3 2610XMs ($50 to $75 each). I'd also recommend a terminal server. The Cisco terminal servers usually fetch a premium (2511s for the most part). Personally, I picked up a Cyclades TS3000 48 port terminal server for $60 on eBay. I can connect up to 48 devices to it. More than I'll ever need. The 2511s can go to almost $200. Kind of stupid to me. Don't forget flash and memory upgrades, too.

Brandon
 
For my CCNP I had my old 2500's and then added a 3640 (insane deal, came 8 WIC-1T's already in it!), 2 2950T's and 2 3550's. Plus I used GNS3 a lot because I can quickly throw up configurations similar to examples in books and documents.

OrangePeel's list would be the best for someone looking right now. Plus it could provide most of what you need preparing for the CCIE. Using GNS3 and CCIE rack rentals to fill the void. PacketLife.net has a free lab available.

I wonder how hard the new troubleshooting portion on the CCIE practical is. Wendell Odom got to blog about his experience with the beta exam when they were implementing its current form, and it seemed like you had about 10-12 minutes per ticket. It's an interesting read.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/46852
 
It's a good thing that you're not easily intimidated by exams, but keep in mind years of practical experience is required to not only pass the written, but also the lab exam.

If you've had tons of hands-on experience at work, it may be worth a shot.
INE, IPExpert, and Cisco360 vendors offer mock labs & bootcamps.
If you're serious about it, take one of those bootcamps.
If you can digest it w/o any problems, then go for it.
 
ScottMac said:
Some of the CCIEs I w9ork with were done by 2:00pm, including a re-check of their solutions. I've heard of folks getting it done in a couple hours.

One of the things to remember is to compare the task to the points awarded for that task; in at least a few cases, the time & effort may not be worth the couple of point you'd get.

Don't let the written fool you; it's just a filter. The practical is a mofo for most people, and requires some serious study. Once you think you have a good handle on the material, go to a "boot camp" to try your skills and fill in the gaps.

I am not a CCIE, never even tried but I work with 'em and have had some interesting discussions related to the practical Lab.
Click to expand...

I dont know of anyone personally getting done in only 2 hours and I work for one of the most talented Cisco partners globally, but if you aren't finished my 'half time' I hear that is a good indicator you wont be passing. There are brain dumps available out there though esp for R&S labs. Get caught and you will never be a CCIE again though. Sadly most that end up doing it probably will never get caught since they aren't usually field engineers, but just the guy the bean counters needed for a 'discount'.

CCIE written is just a CCNP level evaluation though. Most NP's should be able to pass CCIE written providing they are current.

The lab is the deal breaker.

My brother (dual CCIE) has been challenging me to just do it. I took down my CCNP and CCNA Wireless in 6 months. He took down all the CCNA/CCNP and CCIE R&S in 11 months back when they were handing out 8xxx numbered CCIE's. In six months of traveling weekly between states he took down CCIE storage, all of EMC's certs and many of Net Apps.

I will tell you this, if you are dedicated and have the aptitude/attitude getting your CCIE in 18 months is definitely possible if you approach it like a degree. IMHO it's the biggest bang for buck out there. I don't know of any CCIE's making less than $120k nor even out of work for more than a week if that.
 
mcmilljb said:
I wonder how hard the new troubleshooting portion on the CCIE practical is. Wendell Odom got to blog about his experience with the beta exam when they were implementing its current form, and it seemed like you had about 10-12 minutes per ticket. It's an interesting read.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/46852
Click to expand...

While I can't share scores, CCNP troubleshooting was the only Cisco certification test I aced and actually had fun doing it oddly.

Boson's CCNP troubleshooting sim is excellent and well worth the $129. While not the exact lab you get tested on, it gives you the tools to know what to expect. Odom also has really good advice on how to tackle this test (start by seeing if you have an address on the client, ping the default GW, ping the remote device, ping the farthest local device, divide and conquer).

I use these techniques now in my day to day job...unfortunately sometimes they can't just hand you the network diagram though.
 
DeathRayLoveMachine said:
I'm just starting, but judging by the sample questions, I can make quick work of at least the written portion. I had a few questions, though:

What's a good study guide? I've heard that several "popular" guides have major errors, and I'd rather not waste my time with them.

Second, I was looking at the official topics, and many of the descriptions are downright confusing. For instance, here's one topic they describe: "Implement SCP." That's a full quote, I'm not omitting any information. It just says "implement SCP." WTF does that mean? I already know about SSH and its siblings (SCP, SSL, TLS, HTTPS and SFTP), but I am thoroughly confused by what they're asking for. Am I just expected to know how to set up an SSH server and use it remotely? Do they want me to memorize specific information about the protocol? How specific?

Third, does anyone know the land speed record for passing a CCIE? I want to put the fear of God into that test.
Click to expand...

CCIE R&S requires about 40 hours x 6 months of time for a seasoned vet to attack. You have to know EVERYTHING basically about a concept so for IMPLEMENT SCP, expect to be able to know how to implement it in any environment with any options, etc.

People have passed in 6 months or less, however; I am sure they used one of the many 'cheat sites' out there that document the current labs.

For most people 12-18 months and up to 6 attempts are pretty much standard. Passing the CCIE written is just showing you aren't wasting your time...it's totally CCNP level at best.
 
I can not recommend more than to take a boot camp after a while of studying for the lab. I found the actual configuration portion easy but that I was just way too slow, and I was the fastest in the class. I was only 70% done when the instructor said time up. My biggest problem with the lab is a lot of it has no basis in reality, even the worst network designs on the planet would not do some of the stuff they taught us in the class. Who would ever use rspan as a tunneling protocol? Also you might get lucky and have one of the Cisco engineers in the class slip you a copy of IOU.
 
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