Certification Goals for 2016... What Are Yours?

[config t]

So... if your post count suddenly explodes, we should tell you to get back to labbing?

It's not easy to stay focused in Bangkok.

Just my view, but though lab is required to keep sane + practical understanding, for the written it won't help much. Just need to grind it out painfully and pointlessly . Oh how I despise the written

Quite literally everyone I talk to who has taken the written exam tells me it is broken and pointless. Weak.

At least I can say preparing for the lab has been a joy so far. I'm learning a ton going through all of the topics and doing the single protocol labs in IOU. Definitely looking forward to the next two weeks and then the big multi-protocol lab.

[deanwebb]

Honestly, I got way more out of preparing for what I thought would be the CCDA exam than actually taking it... and, having taken it, I have no desire to re-take it. But, yes, the research and discovering new stuff is always great fun.

[srg]

So... if your post count suddenly explodes, we should tell you to get back to labbing?

It's not easy to stay focused in Bangkok.

Just my view, but though lab is required to keep sane + practical understanding, for the written it won't help much. Just need to grind it out painfully and pointlessly . Oh how I despise the written

Quite literally everyone I talk to who has taken the written exam tells me it is broken and pointless. Weak.

At least I can say preparing for the lab has been a joy so far. I'm learning a ton going through all of the topics and doing the single protocol labs in IOU. Definitely looking forward to the next two weeks and then the big multi-protocol lab.

There has been a lot of bashing the written exams lately, and that was voiced quite heavily on and around Live US a couple of weeks ago. It was discussed more than once on the CCIE luncheon with Chuck Robbins and his team including Jeanne Dunn, Joe Pinto and others. I you believe what they say, there will be changes coming.

[config t]

If I work my ass off maybe two years down the road I can weigh in on the topic when I have to re-cert.

Right now my knowledge has more gaps than a back country road in Mexico.

DNS? wassat? The thing wot tells the puter machine how to Google?

[deanwebb]

If I work my ass off maybe two years down the road I can weigh in on the topic when I have to re-cert.

Right now my knowledge has more gaps than a back country road in Mexico.

DNS? wassat? The thing wot tells the puter machine how to Google?

I have driven on those back country roads in Mexico. Like a ditch between cornfields in places, like a shallow spot in a river in others. From now on, I don't care WHAT Google Maps says, I'm taking the cuota roads, no matter what.

As for DNS... I think I found info about her: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1081139/ Hope that helps you learn more about Dee Ennis although why a third-string actress would be on the CCIE Written is beyond me...

[config t]

I see what you did there..

[wintermute000]

get used to typing add ipv4 / add ipv6 unicast / add XYZ as soon as you enter the BGP process like its second nature. You'll be doing this A LOT.
get used to what is in the 'native' section and what is in the address families
get used to separating in your mind the peering from the address family (mind blowing fact: you can say route ipv6 address families over a ipv4 peering or vice versa as long as the underlay has the right addressing and the BGP paths have the correct next-hops. You WILL run into this crap, though I would never design this explicitly.)
get used to typing show ip bgp vpnv4 vrf XYZ and show ip bgp all for the quick scan.
get used to specifying unicast after  ipv6 (e.g. address families, show ip bgp ipv6 unicast), and oh, turn the damned feature on, yes and multicast separately

address families is love, address families is life. (no seriously, all the fun extensions are on MP-BGP - EVPN for example)



As for the written, I saw that blog post but I'll believe it when I see it. They've had YEARS to fix the goddamned thing. I'm still smarting from the 300USD I forked out to fail the v4 written by a whisker and I know for a fact I stuffed up the 3 obscure EEM syntax questions I got (as well as that stupid what is the hex value in the Y field of an IGMP report type Z).
One of my colleagues is two years away from being able to apply for Emeritus, and he's jumping on that as soon as he can LOL (and I know two other emerituses)

[icecream-guy]

EIGRP Named Mode and OSPFv3 support multi-protocol routing also, so one can run IPv4 and IPv6 protocols in the same routing instance via address families.

https://networklessons.com/eigrp/eigrp-named-mode-configuration/

https://networklessons.com/ospf/ospfv3-for-ipv4-configuration/



learned this in my TSHOOT Studies, which a should be taking probably next month

[that1guy15]

EIGRP Named Mode and OSPFv3 support multi-protocol routing also, so one can run IPv4 and IPv6 protocols in the same routing instance via address families.

https://networklessons.com/eigrp/eigrp-named-mode-configuration/

https://networklessons.com/ospf/ospfv3-for-ipv4-configuration/



learned this in my TSHOOT Studies, which a should be taking probably next month

Yup, yup. MP-BGP can also do IPv6 over v4 peers and Ipv4 over v6 peers. Each of them have a few quirks when ran this way but yeah completely supported.

[icecream-guy]

EIGRP Named Mode and OSPFv3 support multi-protocol routing also, so one can run IPv4 and IPv6 protocols in the same routing instance via address families.

https://networklessons.com/eigrp/eigrp-named-mode-configuration/

https://networklessons.com/ospf/ospfv3-for-ipv4-configuration/



learned this in my TSHOOT Studies, which a should be taking probably next month

Yup, yup. MP-BGP can also do IPv6 over v4 peers and Ipv4 over v6 peers. Each of them have a few quirks when ran this way but yeah completely supported.

the versatility, the versatility.... I also got a IPV6 GRE Tunnel running over IPv4 in lab.

[that1guy15]

Oh man the memories. You are making me flash back to so early early morning labs that I wish not to remember anymore

[config t]

I'm already feeling a little bit of burn out but I'm still motivated. DMVPN today..  so much to learn and so little time.

[Dieselboy]

Wow really? I never knew that was possible. I have OSPF for IPv4 running throughout my org. And I have enabled IPv6 and was thinking I need to create an additional OSPF instance (OSPF v3) for IPv6 routing. If I can do it all (IPv4 and IPv6 routing updates) with OSPFv3 then this is great!
I had to change my VRF lite config to support IPv6 as well, which I thought was weird:

Code Select Expand


vrf definition NAMEHEREBUTDONTMAKETHISNAMETOOLONG-VRF-2
rd 192.168.255.9:2
!
address-family ipv4
exit-address-family
!
address-family ipv6
exit-address-family
!


[that1guy15]

I'm already feeling a little bit of burn out but I'm still motivated. DMVPN today..  so much to learn and so little time.

I got a great peace of advice during my INE bootcamp right before I went full on finale-prep mode.

I asked the instructor how he handled burn-out and what the best strategy was. His answer was to just ignore it. Its gonna happen and with such a long journey it will happen more and more and more. Its all mental and just stop thinking about it and keep grinding away at the keyboard. This of course was for the last few miles.

This threw me at first but made total sense in the next couple months. Needless to say I was full on burnt out from Jan 15 through Sept 15 when I passed and pretty much the rest of the year.

The key is a solid schedule and routine. Hold yourself accountable to both of these. Build in break time and days off so you dont kill yourself and then just grind until you see your digits.

[deanwebb]

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN IS YOUR FAVORITE PERSON AND YOU WANT AS MANY PICTURES OF HIM NEXT TO THE NUMBER 100 AS POSSIBLE!

^ Motivation to keep studying.