Hi guys!
I've always said to myself that when I pass the lab I'll write up a post that will hopefully help others do the same and today is that day :) I passed the lab on my first attempt in Sydney! So I'll get straight into it, the things that I would not have been able to pass without are:
1) Support from my company - they provided me with the encouragement, the equipment and most importantly the time to be able to achieve what seemed almost impossible at times. It wasn't easy and we had to find the time where we could between the different projects and I spent all of my leave studying, but with their support it finally happened!
2) A desire to be a CCIE above all else! I really think this is hard questions that every candidate has to ask themselves, are you willing to put aside everything else for however long it takes to achieve your goal. For me this was an easier choice than it may be for others as I don't have any dependents but I do have an awesome family that supported me throughout and I don't think I will ever be able to thank them enough for that.
3) The material from INE and their dedicated staff! Honestly you guys are the very best in the business. Your dedication to your students and your company is simply amazing! I can only say thank you for taking the time to develop your outstanding material and answering so many of my questions.
4) The Routing TCP/IP books by Jeff Doyle, I used these two books as the very foundations of my studies and read them cover to cover highlighting and making my own notes before I sat the written last year. There is no other resource out there that will give you a better in depth knowledge required to do your job as well as to pass the lab than these two books. For the switching side of things I read a few chapters out of the CCNP books on the topic and I also went through the Cisco Cert Guide. These few books will give you everything you need to pass the written as well build a strong foundation for when you're ready to tackle the lab.
Now guys please keep in mind everything I'm about to say is based on the single lab and the 4 OEQs that I've seen, so the sample size is rather small ;)
With regards to OEQs I must I really wasn't a fan of them before the lab, we've all read the absolute horror stories. However, having seen the four questions I can say this much regarding them: you can definitely study for them and the ones that I got were very appropriate for a CCIE level candidate.
I'm sure many of you have seen Maurilio's post regarding the OEQs and the questions were consistent with his post. With regards to how long the answers are, it totally depends on the question, some where 1 word answers and some where truly open ended, as in you have to explain in your own words the answer to the particular question and you may have to write a sentence or two.
I wish I could point you to one source and tell you that will cover everything you need to know, but personally I found that my knowledge came from the countless hours spent practicing on my rack, as well as reading my notes on the Jeff Doyle books, going through Anthony's CK Sim and book, Cisco's online docs and the notes I had from the CCIE R&S Techtorial at Networkers last year. What was interesting was that no matter how many times I had read a particular chapter or technology the next time I read it again I would always notice something new. It was like a massive jigsaw puzzle and each time I read over something another piece would find its place!
Overall, I really don't think the OEQs are a big issue. If you are truly a CCIE and understand the "why" behind the technologies it won't matter what Cisco throws at you, you're already a CCIE, so you'll pass :) That was the mentality I walked in the lab with and it seemed to work for me, I was surprisingly calm the whole day. The INE version 5 of WB 1 & 2 are fantastic for understanding the "why", they throw everything at you in these workbooks and if you understand what you're actually doing you'll have no problems with the OEQs or the Lab. Just keep in mind that the understanding only comes from reading about what you are doing in each question.
The lab itself was actually more difficult than I expected! I’ve read the many posts on the forums of candidates finishing by lunchtime and walking out hours early, so I was expecting to be able to do the same. Well that certainly was not the case for me and I honestly don’t understand how it could possibly be the case for anyone else seeing the a particular lab for the first time. My method is to build and verify each question before moving on to the next as making a mistake, especially early on in the lab in the switching/routing sections, can end up costing you a large chunk of time later on in the lab. Speed means absolutely nothing without accuracy, these were the exact words of the proctor to us at Networkers last year, he also said to build and verify before moving on. This was further cemented into me after taking the INE Mock & Poly labs.
Be prepared for a different style of questioning and diagrams than what you’re use to, it might take you a little while to get use to this, but again if you’re properly prepared and understand the technologies it will not be an issue. My recommendation would be to do each lab in the Volume 1 workbook v5 at least once, then move on to Volume 2 v5 and do each lab twice, but not more, and if it takes you a couple of days to do each lab on the first attempt so be it! Don’t rush through trying to fit it all in into 8 hours, understanding what you’re doing is the whole point of these labs, once you’ve gone through it all you can come back for the second time and work on fitting into 8 hours.
I did the first 3 INE Mock labs and about 4 Poly labs. IMHO, your chances of passing the lab on the first time is far less if you haven’t taken the Mock labs. Not because the questions are the same as the lab, but because of the feedback you get. To be honest I was shocked the first time I saw the results of the grading, who ever marks these things plays the part of the evil proctor really well!! I had lost about 15 points on what I considered then to be “unfair” marking by the proctor. It took me a day or two to get over the whole thing! Then realised that the few dollars I spent on the Mock lab had saved me thousands in a failed “real” attempt. The proctor is able to pick up on all your little oversights! Learn from them, don’t make them again and move on :)
The Poly labs are also useful, less so because of the feedback, but because they expose you to a different style of questioning and documentation. You need to be comfortable with this when it comes to the real thing.
With regards to the Sydney location I found everything to be to my liking. The proctor is friendly and there were no issues with the equipment (which is all located in the US). I noticed a few negative posts about the Sydney site, so one thing to remember if you are taking your lab in Sydney is that us Aussies have a rather dry sense of humour, please don’t take it to heart :) The Sydney proctor is very knowledgeable (as I’m sure they all are) and will help you understand a question, but don’t expect him to give you the answer. I tried to weasel it out of him a few times, but I think he’s heard it all before and no matter how intelligently you form your question if he thinks it’s asking for too much he’ll send you away with a smile. Oh, and try and relax during lunch time (again wise words straight from the proctor) we had an interesting conversation about the Cisco certification world and it was really good to hear our proctors view on it.
Another thing to remember is to read the first page very carefully and pay attention to what it’s asking you. It will set the requirements for your whole lab and if you don’t read it and do as it says word for word you’ll most likely lose points or at the very least lose time over configuring!
The questions themselves can be tricky so read them multiple times from beginning to end before deciding on what is being requested of you. Every single word and dot point means something, nothing is there to just fill in the gaps, pay close attention to this (hopefully you will also realise this from the Volume 2 and Mock labs) and of course I don’t need to tell you to read the entire lab and draw your own diagrams before starting.
I actually walked out of the lab relatively confident but drained of everything. It was almost like my mind gave it everything it had for one massive effort and then shut down. I was planning to head out to bars and clubs and finally have a pint after months of study but I couldn’t. I got a cab and went back to my hotel to wait for the results. I was expecting the results in a few hours, but it didn’t come and at about 3am I finally fell asleep. I had horrible dreams and woke up dripping with sweat a few hours later, it was still dark outside and I check my phone to see if there was any news, still nothing! I was getting really nervous and I had a plane to catch back home, I went to the airport and spent what seemed like eternity on the plane. They were playing Star Trek and that helped take my mind of the whole thing for at least a few hours. I had another sleepless night and at around 4pm the next day I finally got the email! I was more nervous putting in my CCO details than I was taking the Lab, my hands were shaking and my heart felt like it was going to burst. I’m not a particularly emotional person, but I’m not ashamed to say that I saw my number through tears. It was the most satisfying moment of my life, even better than when I got my degree after 4 years of hell in uni. I think the only people that can truly understand what it takes to be a CCIE is another CCIE, I thought I knew what it took to be one and what it felt like to be one but I can tell you that nothing compares to it! Every minute spent studying, every moment of frustration and every single dollar spent is worth the knowledge, the personal satisfaction and the respect of your peers (although from the very few I’ve also seen the ugly signs of envy and resentment, which really saddens me as I saw them as friends).
Sorry guys, this post is getting awfully long, I tend to ramble! I was going to put some technical info on here, but I might just post that under the Technical forum and link the two together.
I know many CCIEs go on to become double or more CCIEs, but as for me this is the end of the CCIE journey – well at least for the next two years ;) I’ve achieved what I set out to do and now it’s time to concentrate on everything else that there is to enjoy in life. I wish you all the very best of luck and can’t wait to read your success stories. Enjoy the journey.