CiscoCCDE
02-22-2019, 08:15 AM
First of all, I want to thank to CC Dreamer and Combat for their support throughout this journey.
CCIE4Career's labs, videos and workbooks are very helpful. I've been watching a lot of boring INE videos, and not doing labs for a long time. Then I realized that this is not the way I process information. I decided to try CCIE4Career. It didn't take too long to understand that was a great decision. Their approach is very direct; learn the technology by labbing. I watched all the videos they offer, watching these videos helped me to understand how to do troubleshoot and configuration section. Again, my brain learns by practicing, this is why Cisco calls this exam "Hands-on Lab Exam". So, my recommendation like CC's and Combat's and everyone who passed the exam is "lab as much as you can". And speed up your process at home. There are many ways to speed up. When I was doing lab at home, I always combined 2 or 3 tasks at once.
For example:
H1 Sec 2.1 (OSPF for ACME)
R1:
ip cef
mpls ip
mpls label pro ldp
mpls ldp router-id l0
!
int range e0/1-2
mpls ip
!
router ospf 12345
router-id 123.1.1.1
net 123.0.0.0 0.255.255.255 are 0
end
wr
Basically, you're doing 2 tasks at once, OSPF and MPLS. It's important to use notepad so you change router-id, copy and paste. (of course, in this example, you should add 'no mpls ip pro' for R2/3/6/7 and add Int e0/0 in MPLS for R4/5) By labbing over and over, these tasks become easier.
I learnt this method from CC's H2 full configuration video where he configures OSPF and MPLS for AS65001 (Core Network).
Making these small alignments helped me to finish the labs faster. For the record, I was finishing H1 & H1+ in 90 minutes at home, H2 & H2+ in 150 minutes, and H3 in 3 hours.
Take note all your faults and focus more on these.
I took it in Richardson, TX, USA. They seemed to be more organized than my previous attempts. They asked us what to eat&drink for lunch, which is great as I cannot eat every food, especially anything with gluten (celiac disease).
I passed the exam on my 3rd attempt. I was not ready on my first attempt, but I had to take it because my written exam was going to expire that day. So it was a good experience. I got TS1, Diag H3+, and CFG H3. failed in CFG.
I booked the exam for next month, December. I was ready this time. I got TS2, DIAG H2, CFG H2+.
I was very confident. I thought I'd pass. DMVPN did not come up. My configuration was correct (I still think, there was something wrong with the virtual lab), but I failed again. That was a big disappointment.
I rebooked the exam for February. and I did not study until 5 days before the exam (I do not recommend that, but I have a great memory. it worked for me. I remember all the commands)
On my 3rd attempt, I got TS1, DiagH3, and CFG H1.
Everything is same with our workbook, but pay attention to the Tshoot (it is not hard but you need to understand), and be careful while configuring BGP for R6 and R7 because Cisco added more VRF (all colors like R2/R3) and asked only to bring 3 of these VRFs. This reminds us to read all the requirements very carefully.
I wish all you all luck on your journey. I've been studying for a long time. Before I passed the exam, I felt guilty anytime I watched a movie, football or basketball game. I wanted my life back. This is a great feeling. Again, good luck!
CCIE4Career's labs, videos and workbooks are very helpful. I've been watching a lot of boring INE videos, and not doing labs for a long time. Then I realized that this is not the way I process information. I decided to try CCIE4Career. It didn't take too long to understand that was a great decision. Their approach is very direct; learn the technology by labbing. I watched all the videos they offer, watching these videos helped me to understand how to do troubleshoot and configuration section. Again, my brain learns by practicing, this is why Cisco calls this exam "Hands-on Lab Exam". So, my recommendation like CC's and Combat's and everyone who passed the exam is "lab as much as you can". And speed up your process at home. There are many ways to speed up. When I was doing lab at home, I always combined 2 or 3 tasks at once.
For example:
H1 Sec 2.1 (OSPF for ACME)
R1:
ip cef
mpls ip
mpls label pro ldp
mpls ldp router-id l0
!
int range e0/1-2
mpls ip
!
router ospf 12345
router-id 123.1.1.1
net 123.0.0.0 0.255.255.255 are 0
end
wr
Basically, you're doing 2 tasks at once, OSPF and MPLS. It's important to use notepad so you change router-id, copy and paste. (of course, in this example, you should add 'no mpls ip pro' for R2/3/6/7 and add Int e0/0 in MPLS for R4/5) By labbing over and over, these tasks become easier.
I learnt this method from CC's H2 full configuration video where he configures OSPF and MPLS for AS65001 (Core Network).
Making these small alignments helped me to finish the labs faster. For the record, I was finishing H1 & H1+ in 90 minutes at home, H2 & H2+ in 150 minutes, and H3 in 3 hours.
Take note all your faults and focus more on these.
I took it in Richardson, TX, USA. They seemed to be more organized than my previous attempts. They asked us what to eat&drink for lunch, which is great as I cannot eat every food, especially anything with gluten (celiac disease).
I passed the exam on my 3rd attempt. I was not ready on my first attempt, but I had to take it because my written exam was going to expire that day. So it was a good experience. I got TS1, Diag H3+, and CFG H3. failed in CFG.
I booked the exam for next month, December. I was ready this time. I got TS2, DIAG H2, CFG H2+.
I was very confident. I thought I'd pass. DMVPN did not come up. My configuration was correct (I still think, there was something wrong with the virtual lab), but I failed again. That was a big disappointment.
I rebooked the exam for February. and I did not study until 5 days before the exam (I do not recommend that, but I have a great memory. it worked for me. I remember all the commands)
On my 3rd attempt, I got TS1, DiagH3, and CFG H1.
Everything is same with our workbook, but pay attention to the Tshoot (it is not hard but you need to understand), and be careful while configuring BGP for R6 and R7 because Cisco added more VRF (all colors like R2/R3) and asked only to bring 3 of these VRFs. This reminds us to read all the requirements very carefully.
I wish all you all luck on your journey. I've been studying for a long time. Before I passed the exam, I felt guilty anytime I watched a movie, football or basketball game. I wanted my life back. This is a great feeling. Again, good luck!