June 26, 2011

Almost Done

I was able to hit the work rack again today! Granted, two days in a row doesn't exactly qualify as a new habit, but it's a start.

The rack is almost complete. *GASP* I had no idea I was so close. I went through each device - they are all now reachable from the Access Server. Not all have every interface at the initial configuration, but most of it has been entered.

I had to do a little alteration. Sometimes the S0/1 in the INE diagram is actually S0/0 based on what I have and what's connected, but that's not all that important. However, I do realize that it can lead to confusion. So as I'm verifying all my connections, I'm also diagramming the lab configuration.

I was able to move a Network Module from BB3 to BB1 and it all just fell into place. I currently have exactly enough serial interfaces to connect everything. Well, everything except the Frame Relay switch.

This morning I ordered two modules for the 4500 that I'm using as a FR switch. I need 3 more serial interfaces on that device and this will give me 8. Cost less than $30 for the modules. Then I found that I need at least 3 more cables (DTE to DCE) to connect the routers to the FR switch. I just bought 4 of them - for about $50. I have to admit - I'm a bit shocked. I really thought I needed a few hundred in equipment - or would need to scrounge around for quite a bit in old equipment piles to get what I needed. I think if I knew I was that close, I might have been a bit more motivated to start back on it.

Just so I don't forget or lose sight of it -- I passed the written test (for the second time) on 24 Nov 2011.

You must make an initial attempt of the CCIE lab exam within 18 months of passing the CCIE written exam. If you do not pass the lab exam within three years of passing the written exam, you must retake the written exam before being allowed to attempt the lab exam again.

So my 'drop dead' date is May 2013 for attempting the lab. My goal is to take it sometime before 24 Nov. That gives me about 5 months to get through all the material. Actually - when I look at it - I have about two weeks of learning/honing my skills that needs to be done. All the rest is building confidence. At $1400 per attempt (just for the test itself), you really gotta be confident that you have a chance of passing before you lay down that credit card.

I'm glad that I procrastinated enough to not have to deal with the 'open-ended' questions. They really sounded like something that was a bit too ambiguous and subjective. I'm looking forward to the trouble-shooting section. Regardless of how hard the actual material is, the environment (working a ticket) is something that is very familiar to me. I do a lot more troubleshooting than building from scratch. Most of what I work with is already existing infrastructure that is being modified or optimized in some way. Or -- it's broke and I gotta fix it...

I will probably still need more workbooks from INE before all is said and done. But - that can wait until I get through the two workbooks I already purchased. BTW -- great job INE! Once you purchase something - if it upgrades, you get to download the newest version - without any additional fees.

Hopefully my updates here (and in my Notes blog) will be more frequent now that I'm starting to buckle down and get this done.

Posted by BlueWolf on June 26, 2011

June 25, 2011

Six more

Six more hours on the work rack. Since it's been a long time - I started off by reviewing all the connections and configurations. The rack still isn't complete - but I'm a lot closer than I thought I was to completing it. I need about 4 or 5 more DTE-DCE cables and I have 3. I also only need one module for the frame relay switch and it should all hook up nicely.

All the ethernet connections are done and working. The switch and router configs have been reset and I have all the reverse telnet shortcuts in place. Left to do is configure BB1, BB2, BB3 and the Frame Relay switch. Once those connections are up, I'm ready to tackle any of the modules.

This is the part that's going to be hard and take courage. I need to keep focused on learning and practicing as much as possible. I have to keep pushing myself forward - even if it's just a little bit or just one module.

I think I need a theme song...

Posted by BlueWolf on June 25, 2011

May 31, 2011

Back to the Rack

Finally got myself back to the rack at work. I took some time today to get the cabling straightened out and get a few more devices back to the initial config. I even took the time to make a T1 crossover cable and configure the interfaces -- and pinged across! It's so nice when things work the way they're supposed to...

So it may not be total tech/rack domination, but it was really nice to step back and say, hey - I did what I set out to do ... in the time I set out to do it. It was pretty straightforward and went smoothly. There are a number of things that you do so rarely that it's really hard to remember the order or the 'trick' to it. But there seemed to be no loss of skill and dexterity. And I didn't get flustered and confused, either. That was surprising. I had to take what I had and pretty much 'adapt' it to fit the environment. Sometimes S0/2 is now S0/2/0 or S0/1 is now S0/0 ... and it all works. [So far] Hopefully I can get it set up and organized by the end of the week. I realize that I will need to draw a new diagram to show the correct interface nomenclature and connections, but that's good practice.

I may need to scout / scrounge up some extra materials, but that should really be minimal. I should at least know what else I need by the week's end.

Posted by BlueWolf on May 31, 2011

April 30, 2011

The Race is On!

Okay, so it's been about 5 months since I passed the Written test (for the 2nd time) and THIS TIME I'm going to take my first attempt at the lab before the 18 months elapses and the eligibility for the lab expires.

I'm out of excuses. Or at least, I'm tired of them. After a year of not smoking, I'm finally used to it (a bit) - or at least I'm used to being a miserable ex-smoker now. Yes, I will be taking a vacation this summer, but I really can't afford to wait until that's over to start up again. Sure, I'm concerned that I'll start studying and then it'll all be forgotten at Disney... But I can see this is going to be a slow start - so I better start now.

My lab at work is still half-baked. Most of the LAN connections are up, but the frame-relay switch has not been connected yet. I'm not sure how many devices actually have the "initial" configs or still need to be wiped and reconfigured. There's still much work to be done before it's ready for working a full-blown lab. I've worked some of the switching labs, but that was a while ago and the lab rack has been dismantled and moved (twice) since then.

There are not that many devices in the lab. This stuff is not hard. What's hard is finding the dedicated time to do this. I've tried things like : get up one hour earlier and dedicate that hour to study. What ends up happening is that I often find myself exhausted and taking back that one hour. I've also tried : stay at work one hour extra and dedicate that hour to study. But that often ends up in staying just to do more work and never getting to study. "Oh, you're still here? Let me ask you about...." And finding time on the weekends - well, that's when you have birthday parties, holidays, etc....

So there's really never any 'slow' time when things aren't happening. There's never any 'extra' energy looking for a place to burn off. Like my quitting smoking, I just have to accept that I will have to push to get time and push even harder to get the energy.

I have been talking to a couple of CCIEs and CCIE candidates. I've found that to be very helpful. The people I've spoken with seem to have taken a similar path to my own. There's the push through to the Written exam and an initial surge towards the lab. This iniital surge tends to result in burnout. The burnout produces a one year hiatus. This is right around the time when the written exam expires. So you retake the Written and work on finding a way to the lab.

So far, I've heard two success stories. The first one got fed up with the retake of the written and lack of time - he decided to take the bootcamp route. The second one decided to make a personal sacrifice. He just started working 5 hrs a day during the week and all weekend long on just studying and practicing until he was ready. He didn't mention how long that lasted - and he is scheduled to take the lab in another month and a half.

I don't know - maybe I just needed to have someone else confirm that this is a struggle. But, it made me feel better. I decided to quit mentally beating myself for not completing it the first time around. I've considered the Bootcamp route, but that's not feasible at this time. I can't afford the camp, I can't afford the time off of work. I've also considered - well, actually I tried - the personal sacrifice route. That's when I ended up so sick that I gave in to quitting smoking. If I end up sick again, I don't have anything to give up except my health. What I need is a third option. I haven't found it yet, but I know I need it and I'll keep looking until I find it.

One of the recent things I've done to solve this problem was to read a book on motivation. It gave quite a few good ideas. One of the takeaways was : It's hard to be motivated when you're confused. You need to clear out the unnecessary and focus. Focus leads to motivation.

One of the suggestions is to turn off the news programs. I used to listen to NPR all the time. And there were quite a few 'interest' stories that used to be carried on the program. Notice that I am using the past tense. Either the 'bad news' is so plentiful that there isn't any time, or NPR has gone the route of sensationalized programming. Regardless, I now see how that saps my energy.

So to motivate, I've been downloading podcasts. I had started listening to them in the car a while ago. Some of the Cisco podcasts are just fluffy marketing stuff. I got a bit frustrated with that. I wanted to be able to -learn- something while driving to work. However, I think that may be asking a bit too much. I probably could read some notes into an mp3 file and create a study cast. But that would just help me remember things. That helps on a written test - or with material that needs to be memorized. For the lab, not so much. But it would help keep me oriented towards my studies.

How effective it might be - well, that will be in the next post...

Posted by BlueWolf on April 30, 2011

January 08, 2011

Goose Egg?

Yeah, there's a big ole goose egg for my 2010 reading stats. If you look at the banner year before that, you might wonder - what happened? Well, my eyes -didn't- fall out of my head. And I didn't get sick of reading. Nor did I get sick of learning and training. I merely switched to a different modality for a while (and started reading some books that I didn't completely finish - so they don't get posted).

One of the things I did manage to complete was a LOT of OpNet video training. You can never have too many tools in your arsenal when it comes to troubleshooting. If it's available to you, you should learn it and use it when appropriate. I am fortunate enough to be in a position that has OpNet ACE Analyst and was able to demo the ACE Live appliance. These tools are not exactly 'intuitive' and I was a little confused at the beginning. But there was plenty of training available.

As a customer, you are entitled to free training through their web site. The training was very good and it wasn't long before I was able to effectively use the products. Granted, I already knew quite a bit about traces before taking this training. And, the training is not geared towards a novice network engineer by any means. However, if you already use Wireshark effectively (not muddle through, but use it as a tool/weapon with ease), then you will really like ACE Analyst and get a lot out of the training.

One of the other training exercises in 2010 was building and rebuilding my Lab Rack. I built it in a rack on the 3rd floor in the lab. Then they remodeled the lab and I had to move it. I put it in a telco closet on the 1st floor near where my cube was located. Then they finished the lab and (at around the same time) I was moved to a cube on the 3rd floor. So I moved the rack back into the lab again (in a new and improved rack). Each time I had to connect and disconnect and reconfigure. But now it seems to be a more stable environment and I can start to build out from there (and hopefully work my way through the exercises). At least I'm (again) lucky enough to have a rack to learn with and follow along / work the INE workbooks.

Ah...how will I keep track of that? The INE workbooks that I have are thousands of pages of practice exercises. That has to fit in somewhere. I currently have Workbook I and Workbook II. I've had to download the updated versions since first purchasing them. Hopefully I'll be through them before it changes again.

And also...there are the distractions. We also have quite a few Network Instruments Portable Sniffers. I really ought to go through those manuals and learn what those buttons and tabs do with the trace.

So again, I am setting for myself a goal of topping my highest reading stat this year. I guess that's the only way to do it - challenge myself.

Posted by BlueWolf on January 08, 2011