GlobalConfig.net » CCIE General

Cisco Live is coming soon! Are you ready?

Brandon Carroll — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:20:43 +0000

So this year Cisco Live is held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Customer Appreciation event is set to deliver a real Vegas experience as the site says.

But aside from the fun event and the free beer there are a few things that I am looking forward to. First off I’m looking forward to the CCIE party- this will be my second time in attendance. I’m also looking forward to the Technical Sessions related to the CCIE tracks. Top all of that off with the World of Solutions and meeting up again with my online partners in crime (or tweet peeps / fellow bloggers / Facebook Friends and Cisco Press folks) and this should make for a really good week.

Well thats what I’m looking for. What are you looking forward to at Cisco Live 2010?

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Bad Blogger!

Brandon Carroll — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:46:40 +0000

Sorry for the inconsistent posts as of late. There is no doubt that I am super busy since moving to IPexpert. Recently I have been working on the Volume 1 Video Solutions as well as the Audio Bootcamp for CCIE Security. It’s a ton of fun but consumes almost every free minute. I’m almost done and will be back soon. Until then you can find some other Cisco related posts at http://blog.ipexpert.com
.

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Un-Productive

Brandon Carroll — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:57:37 +0000

For the last few weeks I have been using Windows 7. Now don’t get me wrong, Windows 7 is really pretty (Like a guy is even supposed to use that word). My Issue is that I feel Less productive than when I was using a Mac full time. I think its time to make a change so I can get back to work. My thought is that I want an iMac for my desktop at home. The only catch there is that I do a great deal of development these days with Camtasia. Why can’t the Mac version be as good as the Windows version? I suppose the same is true with Microsoft office, but we all know the answer to that one.

At any rate, my plan over the next few months…iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad.

Maybe I should take up stocks in Apple!

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It’s a new year. Is it the year you get your CCIE?

Brandon Carroll — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:47:49 +0000

Many people that follow this blog are studying for the CCIE. Others are working on lower level certs. I don’t want to take a lot of time in this post since i’m halfway through my first week with IPexpert, but I’m curious…What are you going to do different this year?

By way of comments- yes comments- what is your plan of attack this year and what do you hope to accomplish?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Change in Venue

Brandon Carroll — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:13:46 +0000

As many of you have already heard I have accepted a position with Industry renowned IPexpert. I have had many good years working for Ascolta training and I thank them for all that they have supported me in over the years. They are some of the finest people I have ever met.

I will be finishing up my teaching schedule over the next few weeks at Ascolta but will be more active in the Online Study List for Security and R&S, as well as here on the blog.

As I look forward into 2010 I am excited to see the wonderful changes that will come about. I believe that 2010 is really going to rock.

Stay tuned for posts here related to my new task…CCIE R&S and CCIE Voice.

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Can you count the days?

Brandon Carroll — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:23:44 +0000

Well, its been a Looooooooong time since I’ve posted. Why? Well because a ton of stuff has been going on. But, you are all in for a real treat. I am not going to say anything yet….but stay tuned!

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What kind of study plan is right for you?

Brandon Carroll — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:00:59 +0000

Its been a few months since I passed the CCIE Security exam. Since then I have been working on Voice and R&S but jumping back and forth. It’s not the study plan I would follow if I had things my way. Alas, work, family, and study all have to come together in a fine balance for me to acomplish anything. It took me 2 years and three attempts to pass the Security Lab. The reason it took me so long is because I wasn’t seriously studying for much of that time. So when people ask me what plan I followed it’s a tough one to answer. Once I put it all together and subtract the on-and-off periods I can however, see a distinct path. So for those who are interested, let me share.

To begin with I was a CCSP prior to taking the Security written. This, in my opinion, was the “core knowledge” understanding that you must have. I used CCBootcamps CCIE Security Written Workbook to study for that. Once I passed it was technology focused labs. If I couldnt figure something out I went back to what I know of the core knowledge topics and reviewed/re-learned. Then I would go back to the technology specific labs. Once in a while I would throw in a mock lab just to smack myself in the face and prove how little I really knew. When that started getting smoother I began doing multiple mock labs per week.

At this point I took a bootcamp with Jared at IPexpert. I KNOW it pushed me over the edge. After that I changed the way I studied because I was less than three months from taking the lab. It was after the bootcamp that I eased up, rented rack time 24/7 all the way up to two days before my lab. Now when I would do a full scale mock lab I would not start over every day. I would work on as much as I wanted whenever I wanted and if I got bored I would go watch TV. If I got frustrated I would go watch TV or go outside or something. The point is I would remove myself from the labs. When I felt guilty for not studying I would go back to it.

Two days before the lab exam I stopped working on the racks and spent the last two days just thinking about things, listening to some audio bootcamp material in areas where I felt weak, and I spent time with my kids and my wife.

Thats it. There is no trick. There is no Golden Rule, no “Best Practice” so-to-speak. Here is what I say: You know you. Just study hard, let your mind absorb the information you are cramming it with and enjoy what you are learning.

I’m sure there is more….but I’m feeling guilty for not studying for a test I have to take. Time to get back to that!

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Update on my progress.

Brandon Carroll — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:58:08 +0000

It’s been a few days since I’ve had a real post, although I have added some comments into the link posts that I’ve added. If you haven’t noticed I just installed a new toolbar on the bottom of the site for your reading enjoyment. If you find something you like you can easly share it now.

As for me, it has been crazy. At one point in time I had 13 people in my house. Now that all the visitors are gone and things are settled down I am getting back into the swing of things. I’ve done some light studies for R&S and it looks like the CCIE in 90 days is not going to work out. That’s ok with me, I wouldn’t feel like it was quality study time anyhow and going to take the lab would be like throwing 1400 bucks away. I’m going to slow things up a bit. Not because I want to, but because I have to.

The work front is interesting. I have been at home since Cisco Live and don’t have travel scheduled until the last week of August. I’ve been asked to pick up some of the voice classes, which brings me back to the issue I had before about whether I should work on the Voice or the R&S CCIE. The R&S classes that I teach keep coming up, QOS next week and BGP in a few weeks, but at the same time I have to focus some of my learning time on what my job requires which is Voice. So I am working in the CIPT1 course and getting certified to teach it. It’s mostly all CUCM so it’s not too bad to study but it’s different when you are learning how to teach something versus how the technology works to impliment it. It also cuts into my R&S study time. Who knows if I will ever find the right balance. In the mean time I will jump back and forth between R&S and Voice Studies. I have the IPexpert BLS for both and plan on getting both of those CCIE Certifications someday.

Also, since everyone talked so highly of it, my wife and I have started P90x. 1-week down and I’m feeling pretty good.

Well thats if for now. I hope to have some more technology focused posts in the near future. Until then…study hard!

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Getting In Over Your Head

Brandon Carroll — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:07:42 +0000

I know many of you have heard the term before. It’s not uncommon for someone to get in over their head, and its especially easy in the networking world to do just that. I set a goal a little while back to achieve the CCIE R&S in 90 days. At the time it seemed like a reasonable goal with my background. Since then I have learned a great deal about my weaknesses and the amount of content that’s actually involved in the CCIE R&S. Well, I’m here to tell you that a CCNP is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being prepared for the CCIE R&S.

So, will I get it done? Can I actually get the R&S done in 90 days. Unlikely. I have much respect for those that have, but I have found that as I study the IPexpert material on the BLS there is much that I don’t know. I’m not saying that I can’t do it, I am just saying that 90 days may be a little unreasonable after all. There are of course multiple factors that play into this.

Getting a Lab date is tough right now since the lab is changing.
My schedule is hectic.
My family has to come first.
I have a lot to learn still.

So, I’m not going to give up, but I’m putting things into perspective. I guess I’ll have to see how things go. I haven’t even made it out of volume 1 of the workbooks yet, and that scares me!

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12 links to CCIE Strategy (Updated!)

Brandon Carroll — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:01:20 +0000

Have you ever heard that strategy is huge when it comes to the CCIE lab? I have. In fact, I think thats what really pushed me over the edge when I passed. I found a number of interesting posts on the blogs that I read on a regular basis regarding strategy. Here is my official, unofficial list of links to CCIE strategy posts:

http://blog.internetworkexpert.com/2008/06/30/voice-lab-strategy/

But what about my strategy? Many have asked and I think that since I am currently working on my second CCIE I should mention how I did the first and how I am planning on doing the second. So here goes:

The first- I used two vendors, IPexpert and Internetwork Expert. I used both vendors labs and I ended up taking both vendors training classes. What I found was that the material was pretty much equivalent since it was based on the same CCIE Blueprint but one vendor in my opinion had better customer service. In the end I decided to use just one vendor. I found that I spent too much of my time trying to figure out which vendor was better when I should have just chosen a vendor and put all my efforts into learning the material. The first CCIE took me 3 attempts and 2 years.

The second- I am only using one vendor and I will focus all my efforts on learning the technology using nothing but the vendor material and the Cisco documentation that would be available in the actual exam. I believe this to be the best way to prepare, based on my past experience, however time will tell.

One last recommendation I can make is to spend as much time on the labs as you can. The VoDs are good, audio bootcamps are good, and reading is good also. Here is the bottom line- the CCIE is a “Hands-on” exam. you must have time on the gear. For this I recommend a combination of rack rentals and the use of Dynamips. Dynamips is good to make simple labs that you can use when traveling (great for plane trips with no internet access) and the live labs are best for most other situations. By spending most of you time on the live labs you will not waste time messing with meaningless dynamips configurations/settings/tweaks. Remember the key is the be working on the Cisco labs.

Well, thats it for now. Keep up the studies- in the end it actually pays off!

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