Passed the Written today....

As the title states, I passed the Written today...

My Background:
Approximately 4 years in networking, 9 years in IT.
CCNA, with no higher level certs.
5 months of preparation for this exam.

Thoughts:
I can't tell you if it was a fair or unfair exam. You either know enough to pass, or you don't. I can, however, tell you about the prep material I used and whether they were worth it or not. So, in rating these materials, I'll use the 5 ping scale (borrowed from Sean E. Connelly) with 5 being the best. (These are listed in no particular order.)

Materials:
1. CCIE Routing & Switching Certification Guide, Fourth Edition
It's tough to aggregate all the information that the CCIE R&S blueprint covers, but Odom & friends (Healy & Donohue) have done it (for the most part).

Positives:
In this tome is over 95% of the information you will need to pass the Written. However, your ability to retain all that information is the real challenge. The book can't help you there, but at least the information is aggregated in one central location. It's really the best bang for your buck.

Negatives:
The book contains almost everything you need, but not everything. Some topics are a little too light. But, I'm not sure how much better a book can get when the test is updated at a faster rate. The Boson questions that came with this book are sub-par for testing purposes, and I cannot recommend them to anyone in that regard. Perhaps you could use them to retain some info, but I believe you are better off creating flashcards in Mnemosyne.

Rating:
4 pings out of 5
!!!.!


2. Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 350-001 v4.0
For the money, this is the best test engine out there. I tried three but only mention two, if you count INE's.

Positives:
There are three exams (A, B, & C) contained in it, and I found the information to be detailed and accurate. The questions have great explanations which are all cited, and many of which are cited directly from Cisco's website.

Negatives:
None of the practice tests I took matched the overall difficulty level of actual exam, including this test engine. I also wish some of the book sources they used were derived from CCIE Routing & Switching Certification Guide, Fourth Edition versus whatever edition they used.

Rating:
4 pings out of 5
!!!.!


3. INE's CCIE Routing & Switching Written Exam
I wouldn't purchase this bootcamp again unless I had no desire to read CCIE Routing & Switching Certification Guide, Fourth Edition. Even with a discount, it cost too much.

Positives:
If you're not a reader, this bootcamp is for you. Anthony Sequeira will walk you most of the technologies on the blueprint. The topics are broken down into separate modules, which is convenient. He periodically updates the bootcamp with newer modules. Also, there are two test banks, one with 100 questions, and another with 40 (at last count). Test bank two gets updated. These are online based, but have no explanations.

Negatives:
It cost too much. Also, the depth for some of the modules felt more like CCNA or CCNP level modules versus CCIE. The BGP module was like this, for example. Prior to the exam, I assumed he was trying to bring the bootcamp more in line with the actual test. Then I took the exam.

Rating:
3 pings out of 5
!.!.!


4. R&S Short-Notes v4
Remember when I said, "I'm not sure how much better a book can get when the test is updated at a faster rate,"? Scratch that. Ruhann's R&S Short-Notes delivers.

Positives:
Covers the full CCIE R&S blueprint with configuration examples and reference links. It's pretty sick how thorough it is. I read the entire book. Also, he updates it and sends out the updates at no further cost.

Negatives:
Well, none, unless you bought this product as an OEQ buster.

Rating:
5 pings out of 5
!!!!!

I'd like to rate the DocCD, but that pretty much speaks for itself. Know this, you will need it. I'll post some of the links I used in my studies in another post.

That's pretty much it. Now it's time to go to work!

Surfing

I bumped into a Spanish blog post a while ago which was pretty cool:
CCIE en Español

The blog posting contained some great links, which pointed in the direction of two blogs I like:

1. Routing Bits : Which, if you didn't already know, has probably the best "Notes-style Prep"
I've ever seen, including the Cisco Press version. (And yes, I did purchase a copy.)

CCIE R&R Short-notes

2. 111 Articles to Help You Pass the CCIE Routing and Switching Lab Exam: Another great review for when your tired and want a quick read on various subjects. Excellently organized and sourced from the CCIE Study Wiki.

CCIE Written 4.0 Beta

Though I am preparing for the 3.0 Written, I am seriously considering taking this exam...

Beta Exams

Each written exam version is offered first in beta form at a discounted cost of US$50. Beta exams are scheduled just like other written exams and are available at all worldwide testing locations. A passing grade on the beta qualifies a candidate to schedule the lab exam. Results, however, are typically not available until six to eight weeks after the close of the beta. A candidate may attempt the beta exam only once during the beta period.

Narbs Anyone?

Looks like Narbik is having a fire sale for his lab books.

http://www.net-workbooks.com/workbooks.html#routingswitching

EIGRP

Read chapter 8.
Completed EIGRP CBT.
Completed EIGRP: Foundation.

The Load Balancing section was painful (at first) thanks to a frame relay misconfiguration.

I am finding EIGRP Network Design Solutions to be a nice little supplementary jewel.

Time for a little SG1, my favorite sci-fi-comedy show.

Next: Section IV: OSPF from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint.

Sections II, III, & VI from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint completed.

Solie I & II

I came across an interesting "blurb" about Karl Solie, CCIE #4599. As you may know, he's written a couple of lab books that cover an older blueprint, yet his books are still in demand. What I plan on doing is supplementing (as needed) Foundations and S2N with portions of his lab books. I'll match the relevant chapters from his books with the blueprint. These books are excellent and if you can find them at the right price, get them. Vendor lab books are expensive and this is a great way to learn and save.

RIPv2

Read chapters 6 & 7.
Completed RIPv2 CBT.
Completed RIPv2: Foundation.

Yeah, it was a slight deviation from the Written blueprint, but like Odom says, "Although RIPv2 is no longer on the CCIE Routing and Switching qualification exam blueprint, it is clearly helpful to understand its operations to strengthen your grasp on IGPs in general," (Odom, p.186).

Now, time to play a little 1942... another dated piece of history that still brings enjoyment.

Next: Section IV: EIGRP from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint.

Sections II, III, & VI from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint completed.

IP

Read chapters 4 & 5.
Completed NAT & HSRP/NTP CBTs.
Completed NAT: Foundation.

Next: Section IV from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint.

Sections II, III, & VI from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint completed.

Frame Relay

Read Frame Relay chapter.
Completed Frame Relay CBTs.
Completed Frame Relay Labs: Foundation.

Thus far I have completed sections II & VI from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint.

I am working from the physical layer up as I read, view, and lab my way to the Written
which I hope to have completed by the end of August/beginning of September.

Next: Section III from the CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint.

CCIE Foundations - Switching

Whew. It took me about 6 hours to complete 55 pages of lab material, and as you can see, it has the answers. I'll run through it again when I return to switching. This time around I am just doing a quasi-in-depth-overview of the blueprint before I go all granular on that bad boy.

Some errors, but very well written over all.

Thus far I have completed section II CCIE Written 3.0 blueprint.

Study Plan

I am going to use the following in preparation for the RS Written exam:


Like a lot of engineers, I have purchased or received a great deal of books
some on (and some not on) Cisco's recommended 'Book List.'

For the Written, however, I have decided to go with a more a more scaled approach
using IPexpert's list. This list has a nice summary explanation of which books you
should read and why.


I plan to begin reading the CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Certification Guide, 3rd Edition after this weekend (yeah, I have to defer to a major class project).

I will supplement this with labs covering each technology as I move through the book.

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