January 16, 2010

Work - Life Balance

One of the unexpected benefits of the lab rack at work is a chance at a work/life balance. You will probably hear about this being a necessary thing during CCIE studies. It's true.

You don't want to work so hard at it so hard that you burn out. You don't want to drive away your family - what good is achievement if it costs you the ones you love? And - you don't want to swing too far the other way, either. If you're around distractions, you can easily be tempted. There's always something that 'needs doing' around the house. Having a 'lab' at a separate location can help to define boundaries and achieve balance.

So I had my first 'session' at my work rack. I didn't get to use the workbooks yet because I'm starting from scratch. I spent the first 8 hours digging through the available equipment and trying to shoehorn it into the requirements. There were some adaptations to be made, but I think it might work.

I got lucky and was able to snag 2 3550s and 2 3560s - which sets things up nicely for the switching portion. The routers were a bit harder to acquire. I ended up with 2 2612s and another 2600. There's a 2500 in there along with some 2800s. I'm short one serial interface, but I think I might have a card to tie that up with a bow. That gives me the proper number of routers with the correct interfaces. The documents on the INE site call for 2 2610XMs, 1 2611XM and 3 1841s. It doesn't specify any requirements for BB1, BB2 and BB3 - but I used some 3845s for that. From what it looks like, those routers just need to have ethernet interfaces and perhaps run BGP.

I will probably have to take two of my routers in to flush everything out. I didn't find anything for an access server, but I did find a few sets of octal cables. I also didn't find anything for a frame relay switch, but I have one here that I can toss into the mix. Not sure if I'll have enough interfaces on it, but I noticed network modules that may fit and perhaps I can toss a few more WICs in to get it up to snuff. It's a work in progress and I have to cut myself some slack that I didn't just open boxes and rack it all up.

How far did I get today? Well, I found the equipment and racked it. I have the CAT5 cables at the ready and started to plug them in. However, I realized that I thought about bringing my adapter, but didn't manage to put it in my backpack... So without being able to log into the switches and clear the configs/shut the ports, etc., I figured the best course would be to stop there and go at it again tomorrow. [With the adapter.]

What I'd like to do in my wishful, fantasy mode - is go in and get everything racked and cabled in two hours and start in on the exercises. However, realistically and practically -- as long as I get the rack up and running before Friday, I'm ahead of the game. I wouldn't have had the money to rent a rack until Friday anyway. And there's really no rush - since nothing has been scheduled and I really have until September to sit for the lab. So I'm actually doing far better than I realize at first blush.

So now it's time to update the lab stats and relax. Tomorrow's another day.

Posted by BlueWolf on January 16, 2010

January 14, 2010

A Gift of Opportunity

Sometimes things just fall in place. I spent almost all I had on Vol I and Vol II the other day. Yes, it was pretty expensive. [Not as expensive as a Boot Camp, but pricey.] I woke early this morning and did some 'window shopping' for some rack time tokens. It was disheartening. Sure, I could have bought a few tokens and tried out a rack slot. But, I really can't afford it until at least next payday. I could already see that it was going to be expensive. So I had resigned myself to working what I could out of Workbook I using dynamips and my very old pile of equipment.

Granted, I have a Frame Relay switch. I have 4 old 2500s - one of which is an access server. And I have two old switches - a 1900 and a 2900 XL ....oooooh. Not getting too far with that, am I?

So I was a bit down today and spent quite a bit of time worrying about where to get the money for rack time. At the end of the day, I got a visitor. My future boss (who happens to work in the same building) sent one of his guys over to show me what was available in their lab and let me know that I could use as much of the equipment as necessary. They have a lot of extra equipment that is really 'stored' (read: collecting dust) that I would be able to rack and practice on. I don't have badge access to the area, but the other section of the lab is normally staffed round the clock and I could enter there and use the lab.

Wow. I'm so excited, I can hardly breathe! So make a mental note: Let other people know that you are working towards this credential. You never know who may be able to help or in what way others can help. I knew these guys had a lab area. I knew where it was. But I wasn't sure if they would open it to me - or if that was even appropriate to ask about... And now I don't have to ask - since it was offered. And I'm going to jump on it.

I know that one of the questions that people in my situation want to know is: how much rack time is it going to take to get the CCIE? And, of course, it depends on where you are in your skill level. But, just like the reading - I'm going to keep track of how many hours I spend so that I know what it took me to get there. The hours I spend on that rack will be logged under the "Work Rack" column. But, again, that will only get me so far. Once I get through a reasonable amount of material, I can switch off to the INE racks for some of the other labs and probably at least one or two graded Mock Labs. Yeah, that's something that the Work Lab environment can't do for me --> grade the lab at the end. And face it, a graded lab for $200 is worth it - rather than finding out if I'm 'ready' by spending $1400 on the real lab...

All I need is the opportunity -- I'll put the work in to make it happen.

Posted by BlueWolf on January 14, 2010

January 12, 2010

Divine Comedy

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

I can't help but compare my experience with Dante... Here I am, middle-aged, about to enter the mouth of Hell. Yes, I am finally getting to the 'meat' of studying for the CCIE Lab.

I just purchased Vol I and Vol II of Internetwork Expert's CCIE R&S Workbooks. I am overwhelmed. I got the online edition and got the 'bundle' - with a significant savings. I need to work through the first two before I think about getting the next two. Yes, I will be getting all 4 workbooks. On top of that, I will also be getting the OEQ practice - Core Knowledge Simulation online simulator. But, tonight, I just got the first two workbooks.

I downloaded the materials. I have the diagrams. I have the initial configs. I have the exercises. I have a headache.

The sheer volume of material is enough to make your jaw drop. But, at the same time, you know that you're definitely getting your money's worth! It must have taken a LOT of time and expertise to come up with all this. At first glance, you look at it and wonder if you can make it through ALL of this - ever. The hard and fast deadline from Cisco to take my first attempt at the lab is September. I really need to get this done before June. I'd like to get it done before the end of April. We'll see.

It reminds me of the road march in Basic Training - when I got to the bottom of Oh-My-God hill. I looked up and said exactly that. At the bottom, I just couldn't believe that I could climb a mountain of that size - it was bigger than anything I had ever seen before. But, with a drill sergeant on my heels, I moved up step-by-step. About 3/4ths of the way up, there's a second part to that hill. It's called Holy-Shit. And that's exactly what I said when I saw it. That part of the mountain looked like it was at almost a 90 degree angle. There was no way I'd make it up that one. But again that drill sergeant was right behind me - and I guess I was more afraid of the drill than the mountain - so up I went. At the top, there is a tree with a water spout sticking out of it. Some kind neighbor piped in some water from his well for the poor kids that were always trekking up the mountain. My canteen still had water and it was all downhill from there, so I didn't refill. At the bottom on the other side, I was amazed that I actually was able to climb that mountain. Yes, it's part of the Army's confidence-building and it works. I was proud of myself for completing that climb.

Years later, I ended up working at that same post - in my specialization of Preventive Medicine. We got a call that a whole platoon had come down sick with a water-borne illness. We were sent to test the water. Yes, the water from the spout at the top of that hill. We drove a jeep up that same path I had marched years ago. Looking at it years later, it didn't look so big anymore. And it was now one of many road marches that my boots had seen. I was seasoned and any hill was no longer daunting. I had perspective. Granted, it still would have been a lot of effort to climb up that hill again - but, it was no longer impossible in my mind. Just a lot more work.

This is the R&S equivalent of Oh-My-God hill. I need to just move forward and keep moving. Start at page 1 and don't stop until there's a number at the end of my name. I'm not starting from scratch. I have years of experience. I do this stuff all the time. If this were a project at work, I would lay it out and start in on it. This is the work that it takes to build confidence and speed. On top of that, all the security material is still fresh from the CCSP. And when I look back, it will no longer look as impossible as it does now - just a lot more work.

One note of comfort >> a post from one of the instructors shed some light on the RTP slots not being available until July. Apparently the guy in charge is moving on and they're looking to replace him. Once that's done, there may be slots available at RTP. What this means is that I might not have to take a PLANE trip to San Jose (the worst part of the whole experience). Even if I take a plane, it would be a much shorter (and hopefully less traumatic) trip to North Carolina instead. I have to keep checking the scheduling site.

Okay - so let me make a wish and hope that perhaps the mobile testing unit that is in Chicago may actually take a nice little trip to Boston right at the time when I'm ready to take a shot at the test. It could happen.

Posted by BlueWolf on January 12, 2010

January 05, 2010

Not a good start -

I finally got myself settled and set aside time to work on some lab configurations. I had already done some leg-work and had found some labs on the Partner E-Learning Connection site. From previous studies, there were some really good labs. Some of the labs could even be used for configuring things other than the lab exercise. So I was eager to start in on some configuring this evening.

Not all labs are the same. It may look like butter and smell like butter, but it tastes like wax shavings.

I started with a QoS lab. It looked really complex and challenging. It was going to be a stretch, but I was going to take a shot at it. At the top of the 'lab' area, there are two links. One link is to download the course files. The other link is to download configuration files. Neither link works. Okay - so maybe it's just this one course.

I tried another course - configuring BGP stuff. It's another interesting scenario - not really like the labs in the Cisco Press Practice Labs book. This is just complex and pretty well laid out. The Cisco Press Practice Labs book looks more like what I would expect to encounter on the real lab:

Advertise this network into EIGRP on each router. Ensure that R3 prefers the route from R2 by manipulating the delay associated with this route. Do not manually adjust the delay associated with the interface by use of the delay command. You are permitted to configure only R2 to influence the delay.

Yeah. That's what I expect. And sometimes I have thought that it was a cockamamie question or configuration. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that as obtuse as some of the questions and instructions might be, they actually really do prepare you for the 'real world.' Consider the case of a configuration or adjustment that would fix or optimize something that simply should be done on RouterX. That's the simplest and best way to configure it. Well, the problem in the real world might be that RouterX belongs to your provider or someone who works for another company. You may not be able to convince (or coerce) them to enter such a configuration on their device. So you have to configure -your- device (which you do have access to) in order to bring about the tweak or fix that you need. It happens. Another real world example is with misconfigurations. Yes, you should know how to configure your devices correctly - but you should also know what it looks like when someone else touched it before you and made some typo or gave some command they didn't completely understand. What are the common ways that other people screw up? Ah - now that's a much larger list than you may think. Stupid has no limits and new stupid is born every minute. The reason it's broken is because someone invented a new brand of stupid. And now it's up to you to find it, fix it and take a bow. After all, you're the expert - right?

So back to the BGP lab. The files for this one downloaded. I had hope. The exercise looked interesting. I click to schedule/reserve the lab. It took 2 minutes to load. Okay - not bad. The lab loaded and the interface looked a bit like the files I just downloaded. However, the topology allows you to click the device to telnet, view the configs (run/start), or reload the router. There was a small link on the left which you can use to download and use the Telnet fix for IE7. Well, I'm using IE8 so I ignored it. I clicked the device and chose telnet. A browser popped up with an error and that was all. I could not get back to where I started. The browser closed and I started back to try again. Now there's no way to connect to the device. I had to end the session. I tried going back to it again. This time the link is now there. I click the link to use the Telnet fix for IE7. After I run the fix, I am told to close all browser windows for the fix to work. I go back to the lab again. [Note: each time I have to log into Cisco through the PEC site, launch PEC, launch the lab, and then schedule another session.] So now I'm sure this is going to work. I schedule my session and it appears with the clickable device. I click Telnet. Nothing happens. Well, at least nothing useful. I get two popup windows which ask me if I'm sure I want to do this... But no telnet. I even tried PuTTY - using the IP address and port provided in the popup. No dice. Nothing but a big, black screen - which times out and closes.

To add insult to injury >> Once you cancel the lab and discard the config (which was nothing since you couldn't get into it), you are sent to a page for a LabOps Survey - which never loads. You see "Please wait .... loading" and if you're lucky, you see your name at the top and no survey questions. Just a large blue blank screen. How rich.

I guess you get what you pay for... and these were free. What a bargain to be working for a Gold Partner!

Of course, all the labs are not like that. But from what I've experienced, anything that says NIL is worth nil. There were some really good labs on there before they moved the site. I guess I need to just search harder. It's a shame because when you read through the scenarios, they sound like really good, tough challenges. I guess the biggest challenge is making the lab work?

Meanwhile, I'm going to chalk tonight up to a loss and break into the Cisco Press Practice Labs scenarios tomorrow on the Dynamips/GNS3 that I was able to get up and running on my 'spare' computer. I'll also give the BGP lab another shot from that machine - it's an old XP box running IE7. Wouldn't that be a kick in the head if it works?

Posted by BlueWolf on January 05, 2010

January 02, 2010

Back to Basics

I've completed my 'pre-study review' and have switched back to a Safari "Basic" bookshelf account. The Library account was expensive, but worth it for a little bit. I was able to read the newest ASA book before it was even available (Rough Cuts) and watched a ton of videos. Although I did take the liberty of watching some camera and drawing videos, there were also a bunch of R&S and firewall videos. They were very helpful.

So here's where I started for my lab prep:
I watched the ICND 1 and ICND 2 videos.
I watched the CCNP videos.

Although I watched them on Safari, all the videos (for the lab prep) were from Cisco Press. If you're the type that needs to have stuff in your hands - these videos are available for about $62/each. For $42/month you can watch all of them on Safari. I had my account at the Library level for 2 months - which enabled me to read the ASA book (about 1200 pages) and watch all the videos. It was well worth it - since the book itself has a 'discount' price of $72 and an e-book price of $57... For me, it was a good way to cut costs and still get the training.

Well...I'm sure some are asking why a CCNP would need this training and just skip it and cut costs even more. You probably could do that, but you would be the lesser for it. The material was a very good review and foundation. Yes, it covered everything I had already learned and used for the past 12 years. But it also had a secondary effect: confidence-building.

When you look at the material for the CCIE Lab, it can appear to be a daunting task. You think that there's all this material that you need to know at a level that you can't even begin to imagine. There must be tricks and traps that you have no idea how to prepare for - since the pass rate (especially for first-timers) is so low. Going over the basics was very helpful in that respect. It helped me to remember just how far along that path I have walked - and things that years ago seemed impossible to master, are now second-nature. It was a great confidence-builder. It also helped me realize that some tasks which don't currently happen to be part of my day-to-day activities have not been forgotten. Yeah, I may have to practice some things to build speed and confidence, but I'm not starting from scratch. It's there. It just needs to be fine-tuned.

I'm looking forward to this journey. With the competition in this field, it will only help if I know this material inside out. I am looking forward to strengthening my skills and becoming the best in the field. Aim high - even if you fall short, you'll still be ahead of where you would be if your aim was lower.

Posted by BlueWolf on January 02, 2010