CCIE Flyer Reader Exclusive Soup-To-Nuts for FREE! Why Pay More?

The journey to become a CCIE is an expensive one and in my everyday interactions I always look out for bargains. Recently Micronics, Voice Boot Camp, Global Knowledge and SkylineATS all reduced rates or agreed to for their CCIE boot camps. I thought I had really done something for future CCIEs with those announcements. The ads for training companies in the CCIE Flyer for September made history as well. Come on, have you ever seen those training companies all advertised on the same page before?

Well now the CCIE Flyer has really done it. We are offering Narbik’s Soup-To-Nuts workbook for FREE in the October issue of the CCIE Flyer . Yes you can get the hottest deal on one of the industry’s best workbooks to use as a guide book for your journey to become a CCIE from the CCIE Flyer . So for all you who have been visiting the CCIE Flyer this is our way of saying thanks!

How can you go wrong with free?

How to order? Go to the CCIE Flyer www.ccieflyer.com October issue out around the 17^th and see.

Slowly coming back – So, what´s up!?

After some personal issues, I´m slowly coming back to my normal routine of work, study, work, study, over and over again!

So, what changed so far in the CCIE World, in my preparation, in anything else regarding my studies?!

CCIE is now reaching version 4.0, with some news, good for some of us, bad for the others, anyway… Vendors are updating their products ASAP, and some of us finally discovered the small letters in the called “Investment Protection Program”, is it fair?! In my opinion it is, but for sure, if that was really explicit when I made my choice, I would NEVER (and let me say again NEVER) get it. It looks like the “Fantastic” workbook that expires after 12 months!

Their products are AWESOME, a “must have” but when I signed for it, I wanted to be updated to any changes for the CCIE, that´s why I bought an End-to-End solution, but, again… It´s fair, they´re spending time and efforts updating the materials, but please… be a bit more specific when describing the “Investment Protection” policy, stating that the “Products” inside the “End-to-End” program are protected and not the program itself… (and please, do not ask me which vendor it was, I can tell you which vendor it wasn´t if you ask me). Again, the products are great, but the self-called “investment protection” program wasn´t very clear. It´s fair to charge in my opinion, if that was explicit explained in the website… (Old stuff, but I still mad with it).

Internetwork Expert is updating their Volume I Workbook, they´ve also released the Volume IV (Troubleshooting) workbook, with just a few labs, but those look great!

Also, anyone checked IPExpert Volume I after the updates?! Very nice! I´m working on it right now, expect some reviews soon!

One thing that made me really happy was to see Joe Astorino joining IPExpert! He´s the man! An example to be followed! Few months of hard study and dedication, he got his digits and “upgraded” his career forever in my opinion! CONGRATULATIONS buddy! :)

It seens Narbik is also out with his new Workbook, another friend of mine (Nickelby Thane) is very excited with that! I may join him if I make up my mind and actually get Narbik´s workbook (it looks I´m going for it and with the new Cisco Press CCIE Certification Guide 4.0 those will be the last thing I´ll buy for my CCIE Preparation).

One thing I will try to do, I´ll keep most of my time on the Workbooks and Books, and less time on Videos, CoDs. Those are really nice, and I´ll use it as a reference, when I have some difficults, but not as my primary resource. I plan to study each topic, each protocol like this:

- Read about it (OSPF for example) in any Book (like Doyle);

- Watch the Video-on-Demand and listen to the MP3 files for the topic in question;

- Do the Volume I labs regarding this specific technology;

I think this is a good aproach, not all the time reading, not all the time on the workbooks and not all the time on the videos, just learning each topic at a time, with reading and hands-on.

Anyway! I´ll keep you posted of my progress, and also publish any reviews, tips and advices while I´m doing that! Just give me a couple days to organize everything!

Talk to you soon!

Cheers!

THE BEST OF THE BEST (Narbik on Steroids!) by Eman Conde – CCIE Agent™

I just read through this wonderful interview from Mr. Eman Conde (the world famous CCIE Agent™ and owner of the CCIE Flyer) with the “amazing” mr. Narbik Kocharians (Micronics Training).

It´s a very interesting interview, it goes all the way from Workbooks, Bootcamps to Cisco 360 Program, just check it out:

---------------

The whole world is going nuts and the best way to distinguish yourself from the herd during this crazy time is by raising the bar on your own accomplishments every day. I do it and it keeps me fresh and in demand as the CCIE Agent™. Those around me that I associate professionally with do it too, like M and Jack Taylor my team. We hustle every day and try to take care of our network of clients and CCIEs as we navigate the muck and mire.

Training material for CCIEs is another area of distinction for some authors. I have personally seen some very good ones out there and distinguishing themselves becomes difficult for some of the authors. CCIE training material is written and published all the time by various sources and authors. I have heard of some plagiarized products out there from several of my network members. I speak with one author regularly, Narbik who recently called while I was in Jamaica (did you know only one CCIE lives in Jamaica?) talking to him about his new 2.0 Boot Camp. I get excited about CCIE stuff so I was excited to help spread the word about this news.

So when I landed back in the states I called Narbik back and asked him to answer a few questions about his latest work and activities on behalf of CCIEs around the world. What follows is my best effort to capture that call.

Q: Narbik why do I go on vacation to get away from work just to end up taking your calls? Is it the love of what we do or are we both nuts?

A: Eman I think we are both nuts driven by a passion that is based upon our love of helping others. What we do is not all for money we both spend so much time helping others and we are lucky we get paid for what we do and love. Vacation is for people who are stressed out every day and need a break. We are kindred spirits in that way and we don’t need a relief from stress, just more time with family that is less interrupted! I know you took my call because it was me. How many calls did you not take?

Q: Narbik I am asking the questions here. Yes I took your call because it was you but I also took a few others. I actually added two new clients while on vacation since they called out of the blue and rekindled an old relationship with another channel partner. The call from Dubai was a good one since some of my CCIE network will have a chance there to get submitted for new roles. But in all I did avoid a few callers and M was instrumental in keeping everyone happy for me.

Tell me what’s new with you? I know you have been working on new training materials and had a few calls with Cisco lately.

A: As of Aug, who ever attends my book camp, they will get “THE BEST OF THE BEST” the reason I call it the best of the best is because the students get my ALL NEW 2.0 boot camp which is by far the best, and they also get another best which is Cisco’s CCIE training called “The 360 program”.

Q: Whoa! You are now offering the 360⁰ Learning Program?

A: Only select Cisco Learning Partners are invited to deliver the Cisco 360 Learning Program, and I am proud to be a company that is recognized by Cisco. BTW, I am also a Master instructor.

Q: How did you come to the conclusion that combining your efforts with Cisco was a good idea?

A: I have been thinking about this for the longest time and I had to come up with a program that best serves MY students, a program that provides a passing rate of 80 percent, and I mean that, therefore, I wrote the all new foundation called “Foundation 2.0”, “Advanced CCIE R&S 2.0” and “The ALL NEW Boot Camp 2.0”. We are also coming up with an “Advanced Troubleshooting 2.0” which is 10 rigorous Mock labs, basically you load the initial configuration file and start going from task to task and resolve one problem after another, you see I never cared for 8 hour mock labs, NEVER, but this is very interesting and actually teaches the students to troubleshoot one task after another, and let me tell you, they are pretty tough, as a matter of fact very tough BUT RELEVENT.

Q: With all this did you feel you would be diluting your offerings?

A: The last thing that I wanted to add to this program was another program, and who better than CISCO or I should say who better than Bruce and Val’s program.

Q: Do you think this separates you from your competitors?

A: I don’t have to brag about our boot camps, but if you thought the old boot camp was great, you have not seen anything yet. Come and see the difference in philosophy. This program is what I had BUT on Steroids. I honestly believe that this is by far the BEST of the BEST.

Q: Ok. You are getting all worked up again and I can’t keep up. Give me a real run down.

A: Some of the new offerings are as follows:

• Ciers-1 PLUS my 2.0 boot camp:

This providers 60 percent lecture and 40 percent hands on.

• Ciers-2 PLUS my 2.0 boot camp material.

This provides 5 days of intense MOCK labs + lectures.

• Once again, my retake policy is still in place, you can retake any one of these classes any number of times. As a matter of fact, I RECOMMEND it.

• Micronics has a total of 24 R&S racks and these racks can be rented by our students for a price of $450 per month.

• Soup-to-Nuts on special for $50

• The new “Advanced CCIE R&S 2.0” for $395.

Q: Will this affect your delivery? I mean come on, the colored markers and white boards are a hallmark of your teaching style.

A: I will NEVER change the style of teaching, because if I do, I will be another vendor offering boot camps. When I tell everyone that my philosophy is different, some vendors get upset but, hey… my philosophy is different, my philosophy is to “TEACH” and NOT “LECTURE”. I have combined the two courses so my students get the BEST, I have added another 5 hours to my lectures, and if you have been to any of my boot camps you know that I DO NOT COVER FAT, I cover the MEAT of the subject.

Always remember it is NOT the company that the students should look for, it’s the instructor, I do not care if the company has been around since Rocky Marciano days, the company is NOT the one teaching the class, it’s the instructor. In real estate there is a saying and I quote “Location, Location, Location”, in CCIE or any training for that matter, the saying is “Instructor, Instructor, Instructor”.

CCIE Command Memorizer low price for the first 500 canditates who signup!

I just received an email from ConfigureTerminal.com (Mr. David Bombal) with GREAT news! The CCIE Command Memorizer (and all other tools available at his website) will be available for USD 9.99/month for the first 500 people who signup (regular price after that will be USD 29.90/month)!

This is a GREAT opportunity for those who want to know the tool, and how it works! A very nice move! You can try it for a month, if you like, you renew your subscription, if you don´t just cancel it! :)

Let me say this... I loved! Very nice tool, and it´s helping me in my studies, in fact, the CCIE Command Memorizer is key in my strategy (specially on the road)!

Oh yeah... The signup will not only give you access to the CCIE Command Memorizer, but to many other tools also!

How to check your Diagram for potential Routing Loops

One of the most challenging tasks in the CCIE Lab is how to deal with routing loops, specially when dealing with redistribution. I still working my way through it and I still missing alot (any comments, thoughts, suggestions will be welcome!).

Anyway... I will not deal here (in this specific post of course) with the details about redistribution, and anything else. I will just check the topology for potential routing loops, and redistribution points! (and please, correct me if I´m wrong, ok?!).

Let´s check this diagram from IPExpert Workbook Vol. 3 - Lab. 1 (this Lab 1 is available for download at IPExpert Website, go get yours).

To keep things simple, forget that R4 Serial connection is also connected to R5 through Frame-Relay network, just pretend it is connected direct through Serial Interfaces, ok?!

So we have EIGRP, OSPF and RIP all over our topology, and guess which protocol was choosen to be in the Frame-Relay network?! Yes, you´re right! OSPF!

Anyway, checking it a little deeper, we can see that routers BB2, R4, R5 and R2 have direct connections and those routers are using RIP. Also, R1 and SW1 are using RIP between them! That should not take too long to be configured (depending on what is being asked), but probably not very challenge.

In the EIGRP "world" we have BB1, R6, R7 and R9 routers. Note that there are two interfaces between R6 and R9. Again, that also should not take too long to be configured depending on what the task is asking and the restrictions applied!

Now... OSPF! It´s being used between R2, R5 and R6 in the OSPF Area 256, and between R1 and R2 in OSPF Area 12.

Now that we checked the IPv4 IGP Routing Protocols in this diagram, we also need to verify it for potential Routing Loops. Check the bellow drawing:

Starting from BB2, to the top of the topology, we can see two loops in our network. One represented by the "ORANGE" arrows and the other by the "RED" arrows.

First, let´s analyze the loop in "ORANGE" between R6 and R9. It´s inside EIGRP AS679. So, this loop is "contained" inside one routing protocol. The routing protocol will deal with it. No worries!

Now... the loop between R2 and R5 (represented by the "RED" arrows). This one involves two distinct routing protocols! So we must take care when doing redistribution between those routing domains, either by using different Administrative Distance (AD), route-maps, access-list or any tool that we´re allowed to use to avoid it!

Regarding the redistribution points... we´ll need to redistribute routes in R2, R6 and "maybe" in R1, it´ll all depend on the connections!

Just keep in mind that, when dealing with routing loops we can have situations like:

Routing Loop with a single IGP: That kind of situation will not create a routing loop when redistribution is performed, because, it´ll be filtered by the IGP in use.

Routing Loops  with two or more IGPs:  In  this situation we´ll need to take care off "manually", using filters, maps, access-lists, and other tools when dealing with redistribution, avoiding for example that RIP domain learn OSPF routes, and them send those routes back to the OSPF domain!

This analysis seens simple, but try to do it in some different diagrams on your own to get more practice, I´ll do the same!

Later we´ll discuss the details involving the redistribution and the IGPs!

Cheers!

IPExpert Blended Learning Solutions - Promotional Price ending soon!

For those who wants to get the awesome IPExpert CCIE R&S Blended Learning Solutions, I advise to act now! The price will increase soon, it´ll still the lowest price on the market, but why pay more, if you can have it now for USD 999.99 ?!

Talk to sales guys, they will clear any doubt you have, and there are many reviews about it over the internet! Just check it out!

I must say, the product is fantastic! Nothing like that! They use a different approach, not slide after slide, but a full motion movie, you, and the instructor! Very informative!

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LAST MONTH for Blended Learning Solution Giveaway Pricing -- BUY NOW

The past two months has been an exciting time. Since we began our promotion offering our newly-created, ground-breaking Blended Learning Solution™ products for only $999, we have shipped nearly 1,000 of them to CCIE candidates around the world!

However, there are less than 2 WEEKS LEFT of this rock-bottom pricing for this unmatched level of training materials! On Monday, September 22, the prices for the Blended Learning Solution products will double, rising back to the level representative of the massive amount of quality materials delivered in this offering.

The message is, if you were planning to buy CCIE training materials, DO IT NOW and take advantage of a value unseen before anywhere.

http://www.imakenews.com/ipexpert/e_article001198618.cfm?x=bdlpKmg,bb3NCpTF

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CCIE Command Memorizer - Q&A - Updated Sep/04/2008

Here follows a quick Q&A about CCIE Command Memorizer, hope it helps! Please, feel free to ask any questions about the eBook, I´m using it, and I´m enjoying! Of course, this is just a review, and I may not be able to answer all questions (remember, I´m not the vendor, I´m just a customer of www.configureterminal.com).

All comments are welcome, specially if you have a copy of the eBook, so others can enjoy your point of view!

1-) What is the CCIE Command Memorizer?!

It´s a study tool, an eBook, just like any Workbook, with questions and tasks related to the CCIE Topics, where you also get a prompt (after each question/task) to enter the configuration commands.

2-) There´s explanations for each question?!

No. There are for some, but not all! You have the correct answer for each question, but no explanations about it for all tasks.

3-) Is it bad?!

In my opinion?! Not at all. CCIE Command Memorizer is a study tool, that will help you to actually practice with the configuration commands, work on your speed, and check how to configure many tasks. You can use the Cisco Documentation to find the answers, that will improve your navigation skills at the Cisco Documentation.

4-) Can you use abbreviated commands?!

No! Some tasks you can, but not all. Again, in my opinion, that doesn´t matter! If I know the full command I know the abbreviated version also! For me, it doesn´t make any difference. It still the same powerful tool as before!

I know that Mr. David Bombal and his team are adding abbreviated command support to the product, so you should expect news regarding this in a near future!

5-) Is it possible to pass the CCIE Lab using only the CCIE Command Memorizer?!

Well... Hard to say, it´s a good idea to have at least a two vendor approach, and Video-on-Demand classes (so you can watch it, go back, and check again and again, until you understand the topic). It´s a great tool to be combined with other existent CCIE Training Materials, due to its portability, really good questions, and the way you get to use it, just jump in and start configuring! In my opinion?! It´s great!

6-) Do you recommend it?!

Yes I do! I bought it, and I´m very happy,  it´s becoming part of my daily study strategy! Even if I have just a few minutes, I can try to solve some tasks in there, practice with the Cisco Documentation, and everything I would do with a workbook, with the advantage of having the command prompt just after each question.

7-) Any sample questions?!

Well... I´ll add a couple here (if anyone wants to solve, feel free, I´ll add the answers by the end of the week).

Frame-Relay:

OSPF:

Spanning-Tree:

----- UPDATED September, 04 2008 -----

As requested, I´ve added some more questions which I consider to be a CCIE Exam Level questions, some I consider easy, some I consider hard, but maybe what is hard to me, is easy for many of you, and vice-versa, we all have our strengths and weakness, and those are different for everyone, well... not that different, right?! :)

Also, I´ve answered some more questions about the product in the end of this post, so don´t forget to check it up!

Switching:

Security:

QoS:

Multicast:

IPv6:

Frame-Relay:

EIGRP:

BGP: 

8-) Is it cost effective?!

Well... that depends on your point of view... I´m at the beginning of my jorney, I´ve much work to do before even think about a CCIE Lab attemp, and all resources are welcome at this stage for me!

The CCIE Command Memorizer is not a Workbook with solutions guide, that will take you by hand telling: hey, do this on the exam and you´re good, no, don´t do that, OSPF works that way, and blablabla... You can find this in many Workbooks out there, which I consider my primary source for the CCIE Studies! And I don´t even think that this is the purpose of the CCIE Command Memorizer! In my opinion, it´s a preparation tool that looks like a combination of a Workbook + Dynamips, where you can just open and start answering configuration tasks, ideal for anyone who lacks time during day, but wish to do something else other than step away for 5min to talk a while, get a smoke, drink coffee, or anything else you could do before one job task and another! But, it must be combined with other CCIE Training Materials out there, and, right now, there´s no other tool that do the same for you! It´s unique.

I´ve learned A LOT from it already, and I do consider the CCIE Command Memorizer very helpful!!!

Right now, my resources are:

- Video on Demand Classes from IPExpert;

- IPExpert Workbooks;

- CCIE Command Memorizer;

- Internetwork Expert Workbooks;

I´m finding the CCIE Command Memorizer very useful, really, at home I usually watch Videos on Demand, and during the day, before work, during breaks, and before leaving I´m using the CCIE Command Memorizer. Also, I´m using it with Cisco Documentation to get used to it! I´m still finding my way through the documents, but I can honestly say, 3 months ago, it was taking me about 20min average to find any answer in the  Cisco Documentation, but now, after using it for EVERY and EACH task that I try to solve, I´m taking between 6 to 8 min, when I get to 2 or 3 min I´ll feel really good about it!

But anyway, to conclude... Everything CCIE Related is expensive, and for USD99.99, you get a very good product in my opinion! Of course, my opinion could be different than yours, if so, I please ask you to express your feelings in a comment, so others can check your point of view (again, I´m just a customer, and not the vendor, so don´t worry if you have anything to say, please, please, please, do it here!). ;)

CCIE Command Memorizer - First Impressions

Yesterday and today I was able to play a while with the CCIE Command Memorizer... It´s really a powerful tool to the studies! I´ve checked the RIP Section (not all tasks) and some Frame-Relay also. Do not consider this a full review of the tool, I´ll use it a little more before that, but, here are my first impressions:

Topics are organized by categories, like BGP, QoS, Frame-Relay, under each you´ll find the associated tasks. First you got the questions, and right before that, the prompt to enter the commands. Really useful on the job, on the road, where you have little time to study, and need to do it fast! Everything is ready just waiting for you! Open the eBook, choose a topic, and start configuring it!

As said before, the each task commands are limited to the task commands itself. And you have to enter it right, following the order of the question. After each command, you get the OK or WRONG, so you can go back and fix it (also, if you want, the eBook can give you the correct answer).

And before you ask, there´s no question mark "?" to get help about the commands, you must know what you´re doing! This is  GREAT! You know in what that will help me?! No?! It´ll help me to improve my way at the Cisco Documentation! Many times doing something, I keep typing "?" over and over, until figure it out, but the best thing in the study stage that I´m right now, is to go to the Cisco Documentation and find my path there! That´s really good! I´ll not be tempted to type "?"! Either I know how to solve the task, or I´ll need to navigate through the Documentation and find the answer! Cool!

At the top and the botton of the page you´ll find the RESET button, so you can reset all your work and start over!

The questions are the best of the CCIE Command Memorizer in my opinion, I really liked the way the questions are presented to us, direct and to the point. Some are tricky, but, if you read it carefully you´ll understand exactly what is being asked. A great tool to learn not only  the commands, but how to do it!

Check this RIP task for example:

Configure RIP version 2 md5 authentication with chain named "pass" and password "cisco" using key 1. Put 10.1.1.1/24 on serial 0/0. Enable authentication on Serial 0/0. Enable rip version 2. Advertise 10.0.0.0

This is only one out of 16! And by the way, it´s the first RIP task! Anyone want to try to solve it?! I´ll post the answer latter this week!

It covers pretty much ALL topics in the CCIE Lab Blueprint (if not all, really close to it).

The best thing about CCIE Command Memorizer is that´s so easy to use... You just start the eBook and you´re ready to go! Good for anyone who have little breaks to study, and want to enjoy it at all! Of course, the tool by itself will not make you a CCIE, but when used in conjunction with other CCIE Training Materials seens to be a POWERFUL combination!

I´ll get back with some more in-depth review!

Just got the CCIE Command Memorizer, SWEET!

Today, following a friend´s advice, and my feeling also, I got the CCIE Command Memorizer from ConfigureTerminal.com

I do receive Mr. David Bombal newsletter monthly (you can apply to it at his site - www.configureterminal.com). The newsletter is very nice, with tons of tips, good advices and examples. I specially like the "hands-on" examples! Those are little movies of how to achieve or correctly configure a specific task! I would sign-up for that, there are some really good tips and tricks in it! Anyway... back to the subject...

The CCIE Command Memorizer was created by him, during his studies to the CCIE so it must be a good product! The guy knows what he´s talking about in the newsletter, the product must be good too! ;)

I haven´t tried it that much yet (too busy this weekend), but the quick "tour" I took at it was sweet! I tried some tasks from Switching, and also some for OSPF... Man... you know what it looks like?! It´s like a mix of  a Workbook plus Dynamips! Of course, each task commands are limited to the task commands itself, BUT, it´s a WORKBOOK with a prompt to enter the configuration commands right away! No need to wait to get back home, or setup a Dynamips Topology, or even to wait for my Rack Rental time! It´s there, for you! Just type the commands and see if you get it right or not!  So cool!

Another great thing I liked (didn´t knew about that)  the CCIE Command Memorizer license allows for 2 simultaneous copies to be installed under 1 license. That way, I´ll be able to have it at my home computer, and also in my Laptop at work! So, anywhere I go, I´ll have it available! Good police! No more wasted time between one call and another at my job! :)

If the rest of the eBook looks like those few tasks I tried, it´s a MUST HAVE product! I´m so glad I finally took the decision to get it!

I just need to handle some issues, and I´ll be able to start using it! When that happens, I´ll write up a few posts, so you can check it yourself! Oh yeah... I´ll ask permission to add some screenshots to the posts! Let´s see!

Oh yeah, the price (USD 99.99) is not high for what you actually get! A Workbook (just like any other vendor workbook) with command prompt to enter the correct configuration lines right away! For sure it´ll become part of my daily study routine. Maybe a section by day, or 10, 20 configuration tasks, it´ll all depend of my available time! But anyway, another powerful tool to help me with my studies! AWESOME!!!! :)

CCIE Routing and Switching Practice Labs (Digital Short Cut) - Part II

Well... yesterday I bought and just took a quick look into the new CCIE Routing and Switching Practice Labs (Digital Short Cut) book ($79.99) from Cisco Press!

It is true... I just took a really "quick" look at it, I thought that the section Ask the Proctor just had 8 or 9 questions, but in fact it doesn´t, it has 8 or 9 Q&A for each section.  It´s kind of cool to read this, the answers to the questions are nice, and I think it´s just like in a real lab situation, does anybody that already took the Lab can confirm it?! :)

Both Labs  have 7 Sections, Lan Switching, IPv4 IGP, BGP, IPv6, QoS, Security and Multicast. It´s pretty well organized, each section contains the points you should earn if you complete the task correctly, just like any other Workbook we see out there.

Lab Debrief Section  has more than 80 pages with detailed solutions for each task, with comments, correct configurations, commands used the check it, everything needed to verify your work. A really good material. At least, I liked!

Is it a worth buy?! Well... in my opinion YES, Martin J. Duggan did a very nice job,  it seens to be a really good book, and it has the big advantage of being Cisco Official! Off course, with only does two labs no one will be ready to take the real one, but we can think of it as a final preparation tool (unfortunatelly, this is too far away from me now), just as the CCIE R&S Assessor Labs!

Also... check my last post about this subject, and register a book you own at Cisco Press to receive a 35% coupon discount! ;)

CCIE Routing and Switching Practice Labs (Digital Short Cut)

Well... good news! I was reading through cciepursuit blog (just GREAT Blog, I read it daily!) and found an article about the new CCIE Routing and Switching Practice Labs (Digital Short Cut) from Cisco Press, ok! That´s good! I do like digital editions due to two things...:

1 - Shiping to Brazil is too expensive;

2 - As far as the product is downloadable, I do not have to pay "taxes" to get it! It doesn´t goes through brazillian customs, so that´s great (believe me, taxes here are HUGE, almost 100% of the product);

Would I like better to get it in a "normal" printed book format?! Yes, off course! It would be MUCH better... But due to the facts explained, it´s my best option (for everything!).

I´ve just took a look at the chapters, it seens the topology used is the same one of Cisco´s CCIE R&S Assessor LAB, version B. It also suggest if you don´t have 6 Routers and 4 Switches, that you can use the Assessor Lab for it, loading the configs in the Appendix! Off course I´ll pay $279 for a 4 hours Rack Rental, to use it! :) I preffer to stick with my Dynamips for this one! Maybe some Rack Vendor will soon have at least one rack with this topology (or similar to it), otherwise, Dynamips!!!

I´ve also was too curious about the Ask the Proctor section in the eBook, those are cool! It has 10 Q&A for Practice Lab 1 and more 8 Q&A for Practice Lab 2. Ok, I´ve always saw posts on how to ask Proctors questions that they can either answer a simple YES or NO (like binary method, 1 or 0, hahaha), but this Ask the Proctor section give us some good examples. You may ask if those Q&A included in the eBook essential to pass the exam?! Absolutely not! It´ll only give you a few examples on questions to ask the Proctor, so you can start thinking on "how" to ask them based on the examples!

Lab Debrief section works like "Lab Breakdown" you usually see from the Workbooks. It´s pretty cool also, with explanations about the scenario, the configuration needed to achieve the task results, and some commands to check! Really good material!

In fact it seens to be a good tool for all of us preparing for the CCIE R&S Lab, but I just looked through the book really fast to kill my curiosity about it. In the next few days I´ll check it with closer attention and I´ll blog some more about!

One other thing, is if Cisco is releasing new material to the CCIE R&S Lab exam, we should not expect changes to the lab (at least not soon) like Internetwork Expert said in their CCIE Blog few days ago!

Oh yeah! An piece of advice, if you have any Cisco Press book, register it under your account to receive a 35% discount coupon code so you can use to order it, that way, instead of paying $79.99 you´ll get it for $51.99, it´s not cheap, but at least much better!