Posted - June 26, 2011
"I passed the written test (for the second time) on 24 Nov 2011." (in the future)
...
"So my 'drop dead' date is May 2013 for attempting the lab."

I had the month part correct - but not the year. Although in my head while I was writing it, May 2013 was this coming May. Perhaps 2012 is like the missing 13th floor in many tall buildings. I just skipped it.

To post a correction and update:
(copied from the Certification Tracking page)
Mar 18, 2009 Exam (350-001) CCIE Routing and Switching - Passed
Nov 24, 2010 Exam (350-001) CCIE Routing and Switching - Passed

From my first "Pass" of the test, I had until Sep 18, 2010 to attempt the lab. Instead of preparing for the lab, I studied for and attained my CCSP certification. So I had to take the Written test again.

From my current "Pass" of the test, I have until 24 May, 2012 to attempt the lab.
I am currently scheduled for the lab on 12 March 2012.

If I pass it - Oh, Happy Day! (and on to the next challenge)... However, just showing up for the exam means I really have not just 8 hours to pass the lab, but really it gives me until 24 Nov, 2013 to pass the exam. Of course, that would include another $1500 for another sitting (or more), but it's a funny way to look at it. Yeah, funny as in "ha ha" funny. Well, the $1500 isn't ha ha funny, but it's a bit of construct comedy. IT CALMS ME. I notice that if I think about the 37 days until the test, I get tense. When I think about the fact that showing up for this means I really have until the end of next year to pass, the calm returns. Luckily, I'm not one that says "there's plenty of time, I can put it off." When I start something early, I tend to say, "there's plenty of time, let me start on something now. No matter how big it is, I have plenty of time to complete it, so I -can- tackle the big stuff." Framing. It works in marketing - and for tests.

Another thing that I noticed when I went to the Certification Tracker:
Oct 2, 1999 Exam (640-407) CCNA - Passed

Wow. I have been Cisco Certified since 1999! I remember that time of my life. I had already worked at a small ISP and an IT contractor. At the time, I was a newly minted MCSE NT 4.0 and was in charge of a bunch of servers, and a handful of network devices. Soon after getting my CCNA, the "network guy" that was responsible for my site and one other site decided to leave. I was sent to my first firewall class. It was for IBM's eNetworks Firewall on AIX. Yes, AIX. In fact, IBM's hardened version of AIX. Luckily it was not my first venture outside the Windows world. I had already been introduced to Red Hat Linux at the ISP (courtesy of the "shell server" we provided and the nice guy that ran that server). Yeah, I've been using Red Hat Linux since before the split when it went to Enterprise/Fedora. Not that I'm an expert at it, but I'm not afraid of any *nix. I've dealt with many flavors of it both for production and play. I'm currently running a Fedora workstation and an Ubuntu laptop. I'm also on XP Pro (work laptop), Vista, and Win7. This is in addition to the CatOS, IOS and NX-OS on the network gear.

Sometimes you have to take a moment to realize all you've learned. Once you see how much you've already learned, it seems like a cake walk to learn even more, no matter how advanced or intimidating it may seem at first blush. And if you look at what you know and how it relates to what you're trying to learn, it starts to look like a natural extension of your present state.

And presently I have the best tools for accomplishing my goal. I have a rack at my disposal (at my apartment). I can practice any lab at any time. I just need to turn on the power and it is available. I will be getting some rack tokens towards the end of the month and getting some remote rack time towards the end of my studies to practice on time and get used to the feel of a remote rack. I also currently have the All-Access Pass at INE. Access to every last streamed video on the site. Access to Boot Camps, Advanced Technology Classes and Deep Dives. And I already have Workbook I and Workbook II. According to INE, the people that use their materials take an average of 1.7 times to pass the lab.

So it's time to end this post and get back to the videos and command line. Since I'm posting in my other CCIE Studies blog, it may be some time before another update here. But I will be back.

UPDATE: I looked on the INE Rack Rental page and saw the rentals filling up - so I grabbed some tokens and scheduled some racks. I now have 10 Rack Rentals spread out between tomorrow and the lab exam. I can use my rack for practice and going through the Workbook I exercises. I will use the 10 for full-blown timed labs. So today will be study -and- prep for the first rack appointment. With a 6 hour block, I should be able to do 3 sets of troubleshooting - which is what I'm focusing on this weekend. INE has 10 Troubleshooting Labs in Workbook II and another 10 in Workbook IV. The hard part will be deciding which ones I want to do on the INE racks.

Oh...and while I was at it, I grabbed the All-Access Workbook bundles for R&S and Security. AWESOME.

Out of 27 recorded games, so far I have seen:

1.e4 e5 - The Open Games - 13 games

1.d4 d5 - The Closed Games - 8 games

1. everything else - 6 games

In this post, I will only cover the Open Games. The Closed games and "everything else" will be in another post.

Almost half of the Open Games can be covered in two openings:

RUY LOPEZ - 2 games

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bb5

This is a very old and popular opening. It is really one that I should know and understand.

In the Ruy Lopez, White creates a potential pin of the d-pawn or Knight and starts an attack immediately, while simultaneously preparing to castle. White generally directs pressure on Black's e-pawn and tries to prepare for a pawn on d4. It's known that Black's best reply on move 3 is a6, which attacks White's attacking bishop. After that, White can back up (Ba4 - tuck the Bishop) or exchange pieces (Bxc6).

In the two games I have (both played as Black), I played the recommended a6, and the response was Ba4. Out of the two games, I won after chasing the Bishop back with 4. .. b5 and lost with the passive 4. .. Nf6. It's interesting to note that I still played Nf6 in the won game, but only after I had chased the Bishop back one more time.

PHILIDOR DEFENSE - 4 games

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 d6

I saw this three times as Black and once as White. I won two as Black, lost as White and this was the game where I had my only Draw (Stalemate). The major difference between this and the Ruy Lopez is 2. .. d6 > and since I was black 3 times with this opening, it appears that this is something I'm doing to bring about this one. Well, if I'm going to use this opening, I may as well learn it and understand its nature.

The Black fortress is solid. White should not wait before attacking it, because Black can play 3. .. f5 if White plays a passive move, which would definitely equalize. The best move is probably 3. d4. White threatens a queen exchange with dxe5 dxe5 Qxd8+ Kxd8 and Black can forget about castling. It puts pressure on the center and Black fortress may collapse at any time. Another possibility is 3. Bc4 leading to a more positional game, playable for both camps.

Interestingly enough, none of us played 3. d4 and none of us played 3. Bc4, either. Half of the time, we went for 3. Bb5+ right away. Perhaps that is an amateur mind at work - feeling as though you have an upper hand by being able to check first. But looking at the board - I really like Bc4 better. I can see myself playing it as White. I would have a hard time playing d4 - since it's such a confrontational move. The queen exchange happens IF dxe5 - but what if it doesn't? A simple 3. .. exd4 changes that dynamic. Or another option would be 3. .. f6 - which allows you : 4. dxe5 fxe5 - and that leaves a front gap for White and an open King's flank for Black. But it does not exchange Queens.

So as White in this situation, I would like to remember to play 3. Bc4 as White. As Black, I have a number of choices to answer 3. d4. I would like to remember to play 3. .. exd4 , 3. .. f6 , or 3. .. f5. I'm not sure which one of those options I could use to a better advantage. I guess I will need to revisit this after playing that combination a few times and seeing the outcome.

The other two games went in a different direction. One was played 3. Nc3 and the other was played 3. c3. I answered the Knight move with a threat from my Bishop 3. .. Bg4 and my opponent found the 4. Bc4 move that should have been move 3. The other game - 3. c3 was answered with 3. .. Nf6 4. Qc2 Be7. It looked like he was setting something up, but whatever he had in mind didn't materialize.

OTHER OPEN GAMES - 7 games

My suspicion is that these 'other' Open Games are basically 'botched' openings. I say this because to start, two of them are "Mate in 8" games. I would especially like to find where I went wrong on those games! Both times I was Black, so this appears to be some setup/trap that I ran full-force into.

Game 1 - King's Gambit

1. e4 e5
2. f4 ... EEEK! This is where I faltered here. This was an unexpected move and my lack of experience left me without an idea of how to properly answer this one.
2. .. f6 DOH! Okay - so this is where I blundered.
3. Bc4 Bc5
4. fxe5 fxe5
5. Qh5+ g6
6. Qxe5+ Qe7
7. Qxh8 Kf8
8. Qxg8#

Now that I know it's the King's Gambit:

This opening was the most popular opening in the 1800s. White offers a pawn in exchange for rapid development. It's rarely seen now at the master level; according to Keene it's been found that Black can obtain a reasonable position (giving nothing for White's pawn).

Yeah, right. Black (me) choked and died on this one.

There are two main branches, depending on whether or not Black plays 2... exf4: the King's Gambit Accepted (KGA) and the King's Gambit Declined (KGD).

In Wikipedia, if you accept the Gambit, there are about 16 different Gambits and other continuations listed. If you decline the gambit, there are 3 ways (Countergambits) to do so.

Panteldakis Countergambit 1. e4 e5 2. f4 f5

This is dubious because 2. exf5 with the threat of Qh5+ gives White a good game.

Falkbeer Countergambit
1. e4 e5
2. f4 d5
3. exd5 e4

Black sacrifices a pawn in return for quick and easy development. It was once considered good for Black and scored well, but White obtains some advantage with the response 4.d3!, and the line fell out of favour after the 1930s.

Nimzowitsch Countergambit
1. e4 e5
2. f4 d5
3. exd5 c6

Black is not concerned about pawns and aims for early piece activity. White has a better pawn structure and prospects of a better endgame. The main line continues 4.Nc3 exf4 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.d4 Ne7 7.dxc6 Nbxc6, giving positions analogous to the Modern Variation of the gambit accepted.

The Classical Defense to decline the gambit is 2. .. Bc5, the "classical" KGD. This seems a bit easier for me to play. I'm not sure I could remember d5 instead of f6 or f5 instead of f6. I could easily confuse them. But to remember "Freddie isn't ready" (don't move on the F file right away) and use the Bishop. Well, that just follows better for me. That leaves the pawn on f7 - so the Queen can't check with h5 or pin with h5 and then gobble up my pawn and Bishop. Queen to h5 could be met with Queen to e7 - protecting the center pawn and the Bishop. If the Queen went for any of the 3 pawns she can reach, she would be captured - or exchanged evenly.

Game 2 - Botched opening > Mate in 8

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 d5 <--- Here's where I lost this game.
4. exd5 Nd4
5. O-O Nxf3+
6. Qxf3 Bc5
7. d6 cxd6
8. Qxf7#

This could have been any number of openings if I hadn't botched it with 3. .. d5.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Italian Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 Giuoco Piano
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Evans Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7 Hungarian Defense
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 Two Knights Defense

Then I played the same person as above -- again, as Black and won! However, I actually correctly used the Giuoco Piano opening - which seems to have worked for me.

The next game reviewed looked strange at first. However, if you realize that White's 2nd and 3rd moves in reverse order - make this actually the Three Knights Opening.

1. e4 e5
2. Nc3 Nc6
3. Nf3

Black usually plays 3...Bb4 or 3...g6. The game will then typically continue 3...Bb4 4.Nd5 or 3...g6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5. The Three Knights is almost never seen at master level nowadays, as Black players have sought more active tries, even within the Four Knights.

In my case, I played (as Black) 3. .. Bb4 and lost. However, I know I lost in the middle game or endgame. At least for this one I made it out of the opening alive.

And the next game reviewed can say the same. It was a properly played Four Knights Opening. I was White in this game, and lost. I would probably have to dig much deeper to find out where I went wrong in this game, but I know it was not in the opening.

1. e4 e5
2. Nc3 Nf6
3. Nf3 Nc6
4. Bb5 a6
5. Bc4 Bc5
6. O-O O-O

If I remember correctly, this was one of my favorite games. It was challenging and seemed to go on forever. I felt that I was evenly matched in this game and enjoyed the play.

The next game reviewed looked like it might be another transposed opening - and if you look closely, it transposes into the Italian Game.

1. e4 e5
2. Bc4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6

Unlike the move 2.Nf3, which attacks Black's e-pawn and therefore limits Black's possible responses to some extent, the Bishop's Opening allows Black a wide range of second move alternatives. Fortunately, none of them are especially good. But White should be prepared to face them from time to time, especially in club or blitz play.

However, once I played Nc6 and he played Nf3, we had an Italian game on our hands. The other Italian game (above) was the one I lost in 8 moves. I played 3. .. d5 for that train wreck. This time I played 3. .. d6. If I remember correctly, I was just trying to get the Bishop out with that move. Again, this looks like a game that was lost further down the page. So, I'm somewhat satisfied with d6, but again, want to either push my Bishops out or get my Knights activated.

The last Open game reviewed used the Portuguese Opening. Wow. I was White. I didn't really know I was using that opening - I guess I was just trying to do something different?

1. e4 e5
2. Bb5

The Portuguese is an uncommon opening. In contrast to the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5), by delaying Nf3 White leaves the f-pawn free to move and retains the possibility of playing f4. The trade-off is that White's lack of pressure on e5 leaves Black with a freer hand.

[Since I was playing against Joel in that game... I shouldn't have given him such a free hand.]

So that covers my Open Games so far. I was glad to realize that the unknowns weren't botched openings. Two turned out to be transposed openings and three turned out to just be openings that I didn't recognize.

The charts have long since disappeared and all I have left is a 3 X 5 card with the approximations of the cycles. This may someday be helpful to someone. I'm putting it on my blog so that it doesn't disappear. I don't have a description of eacy cycle, but they look pretty self-descriptive. Not really sure where this comes from or the person's name who created the chart for me.

Cleansing ends 9 days after the birthdate. Each cycle (except for the first) lasts for 7 weeks and 3 days. Cleansing lasts for 7 weeks and 4 days.

CLEANSING

NEW BEGINNINGS

SCATTERED ENERGY

GOALS

CREATIVITY

SUCCESS

NETWORKING

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.

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...

It was smaller than I imagined. I guess you can't take a sample of 1 (night) and extrapolate very well, but it seems like there are less players on the weeknight than there were at MetroWest Chess Club. But then again, the commute to MWC is a bear and not really feasible.

I lucked out and was able to play due to an odd number of players in the tournament. Well, I'm not sure anyone else would have called it 'luck'... I played someone twice my rating. Of course, I lost. But I really gave him a good run for it - until I made a goofball mistake. Hopefully if I keep playing and learning, I'll make fewer of them.

One of the things I noticed is that I got sort of lost at the endgame. I felt that if I knew endgames better, I could have done much more with that game. However, I don't really think I'm ready to move on from studying openings yet. I know that with a good opening you can set yourself up for a better position in the middle and endgames. So I know that the more I put into openings, the easier it will be later.

I need to start learning the 'classic' openings. I waste a bit too much time thinking through positions that have been played and analyzed to death. I need to know that if my opponent moves a certain piece in response, he/she is trying to use the "x" opening versus my "y" opening and how that normally plays out and what the "book" response should be to it. The beginning of the game should be much more swift than I play it. The "meat" of the game should be the middlegame (if one exists) or the endgame. The opening should be rote - but that only comes from memorization and recognition of patterns. Practice - practice - practice.

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.

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...

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.

I'm sitting at work and like a million times before - an email comes whizzing into my Inbox. Wait. It's from CISCO. Hmm. "Congratulations on becoming Cisco certified! " WTF? I didn't just become certified. Oh... yeah, I did. I was -converted- from a CCSP to a CCNP Security.

There's been a lot of whinning and worry and speculation since Cisco announced the CCNP Security. Now we know. Those with a valid CCSP certification are now CCNP Security certified.

I just verified all my personal information -- and I think they're going to send me a new certificate.

FYI - The valid dates are the same as the CCSP. It's just a new name.

But I have to say "Good Cisco"....... They could have made us wait to renew to 'update' the cert name. They could have made us test again to get the new cert. Hey, they could have been like MICROSOFT and said that this was just so totally new that you had to take ALL the tests again. But they didn't. And that's good.

So now I have another new piece of JPG on my sidebar.

The lab I had mentioned worked well for me - for a while. Once we transitioned to the new company, we were moved. But the lab reorganization completed too. So I moved my equipment back into the lab (now racked again) and again patched it into my new cube area. So while I'm doing that and a bunch of other stuff... the clock ran out. It has been over 18 months since I passed the CCIE R/S Written Exam. I have not tested for the lab. Therefore I have to retake the written exam to be eligilble for the lab again. Oh joy. I'm not too hard on myself for that one - after all, I did manage to persue and complete a CCSP track in the meanwhile.

The Nexus switches are in and are part of our network. Everybody hovered around them when they were new, we got training from an authorized Cisco partner, and we had cake and ice cream over it. Now they're just chugging along - no big deal. The adventure I went on with that was with informIT - when I ordered the book. I pre-ordered the book while starting to read it on Safari. Then we took the class (of course we got workbooks with it). Then the book was available for order. I checked my old email. I never got a confirmation email saying that I had a pre-order, but I thought I remembered ordering it. So I waited a few months. Still no book. Hey...I guess I didn't pre-order it. I couldn't find any indication anywhere that I had done so.... So I ordered and received the book. About a month afterward, they charged my account and shipped the book. Now I guess nobody ever told them that a book on PREORDER before it's available is ordered because someone wants it when it first comes out....not a few months later. Not to mention a process to know that the preorder was received / pending or even a method to cancel if you already have the book in your hands....

At least I know I won't do that again. One of the BEST benefits of the transition is that we have an Advanced Services account with Cisco. Ah - so here's where I make you really jealous. ; ) That means that we have access to the Cisco Technical Knowledge Library (TKL). I have access to all the Cisco Press books in (locked) PDF format. You may as well have just poured money in my lap. That's a few hundred dollars that I don't need to spend on books - on top of the hassle of carrying them around or getting rid of them when I'm done or they become obsolete. Between that and my Library subscription to Safari (the 'reward' I gave myself for not smoking), I have all my digital reading covered. So I expect my 2011 stats to be pretty solid.

Speaking of stats - no, I didn't put the 2010 stats on the page in lemon juice. I've been reading, but not completing again. But since I have to retake the written and I have a bunch of books on my to-do list, I'll be at least better than my worst stats (that's my goal for the end of the year).

Another reason why I haven't been updating the blog... I created a new one. It's my CCIE study blog - where I have my study notes for the written and lab - without any of the personal stuff that this blog holds. I know, I know, this blog is nowhere near a Lifetime movie channel saga but I wanted something a bit less personal, more professional, and linked to my LinkedIn account. Of course, the non-Cisco stuff ends up here too whereas that one is all about the CCIE R/S exam.

Speaking of learning non-Cisco stuff... The new position has also brought with it a bunch of new toys! I've been going through all the OPNET training for ACE Live - which is software that pulls stats out of trace files and helps you analyze them better and faster. I also now have access to the VitalNet and Mazu stats - along with the CNC (Cisco Network Collector) and an Anue device. It seems like every week there's something new to explore. Not that I've never been exposed to Network tools before - just that each place has their own set of tools. On top of that, I've been without access to ANY tools - so what I did know is either obsolete or now fuzzy.

So now that I've updated, it's time to get back to the books. Normally, that helps me to keep the blog updated - since I usually blog when I update my stats. Enjoy!

Meanwhile - the lab I was using is going to be reorganized. I got the head's up and grabbed the stuff I was using...uh, I mean...got my things out of the way. It ended up being a good thing. Now I have my 'rack' in an area where I can access it from the comfort of my desk at work. I think it's going to be a lot easier and less strain to come in early and stay late that way. I have total access to all of it and don't have to go upstairs to a hot lab and hope my books are still there, or hope I can get in the open door, or worry about eating/drinking in that area. Even though the guys on the other side of the wall would break for 'lunch' and there was evidence of other people bringing drinks in the area - still, I felt uncomfortable with a drink up there (and it was way too dusty and cramped to even think about eating anything). At my desk, I'm much more comfortable with sipping coffee and eating supper while I work on labs. It's all good.

The other thing that happened while I was sick -> INE updated the Vol 1 Routing and Switching Workbook. I downloaded the new version and I'm going to start over from the beginning. Reinforcement never hurts and the practice might be good for confidence-building.

Also - as I was studying, the account that I'm assigned to decided to 'insource' the work we're doing. There was a lot of stress and distraction associated with all that. But I was made an offer and accepted - so now I can focus again on my studies. Of course, whenever one distraction leaves, another rushes in to fill the void. >> We got several Nexus 7000 switches in the Data Center. So now I have to/want to squeeze in some learning on those and the NX-OS... It never ends.

I updated my Safari account again so I could get at the Rough Cuts of the Nexus book. On top of that, we were invited (by the client) to attend a 2 1/2 day Cisco class on the Nexus. The class is scheduled for early April. I'm really looking forward to that!

I'm getting a little frustrated with the workbook. It is what it is, but it's a little different from the way I think. I didn't even realize this until tonight. One of the frustrations is that the exercises are iterative rather than cumulative. At work, we're used to building something. We put this up. Then we add that. Then we need to reconfigure this to do that. With the workbook, you're setting this up. Then you need to 'undo' what you just did and do it another way. Granted, this will probably help for the test, but it's hard to figure out how much of what you just did needs to be undone to do the next exercise. On top of that - I was a bit eager to start. I didn't really clear off the previous configs on all the devices. So sometimes I have to go over and over and over it until I find out why following the steps in the workbook doesn't exactly come out right the first time. But, in a way - that's helping me to learn too. I'm finding out what has to match up and where I left off and just how much needs to be done to get it to work.

I'm looking forward to doing the whole labs, but I realize I'm not at that point yet. I'm still re-sharpening skills and getting a deeper understanding of some of the things I'm doing. It's all good. And I'm sure the troubleshooting practice will come in handy later...

I guess the biggest thing I'm learning is : patience with myself.

My first obstacle was the diagrams. I put most of the rack together and started on Section I - Switching and Bridging. This should be easy, right? This is what I do all day. Not so much.

From the INE materials that I downloaded, the diagrams didn't match up. I knew I had to be on the wrong page or something. I went through the exercise where you put the VLANs you need on the switches. Well, putting the VLANs on the switches themselves is the easy part. I do that all the time. Figuring out which VLAN goes where - that's a kick in the head.

The first thing I ran into was that the v4 rack setup is for Workbook II - or at least I think it probably is...haven't gotten there yet. The second thing is that in these configurations and setups, you're trying to represent a macro environment using a micro physical environment. If this were the 'real world' you would be using a considerable increase in equipment to replicate the environment.

One of the guys from work who is studying for the SP track gave me the best advice -- draw out the environment with colored pencils for the VLANs. The other thing that helped me through this patch was this: if this was a work scenario or environment, I wouldn't have any trouble figuring this out. So I sat at my desk at work and used highlighters and was able to figure out the VLANs. Ta-da!

You use the logical diagram from Workbook I and the TABLE of connections in the workbook to figure it out. You find the connection - see where it's going to (physically) and then color that stem for that VLAN. Once you do that, it's obvious what VLAN needs to be on which switch.

Another thing I noticed is that I'm rusty on a lot of things that I don't use in my current job. Sure, they say that experience is the best for this. Not really. Experience doesn't tell you *why* you're doing what you're doing - just that this works. Granted, you have more opportunities if you're working in the field, but at the same time, you can focus on one or two areas to the exclusion of other topics/protocols. Or you might configure something in only one way - and end up rusty on the other ways of doing a task. Experience is good - but you have to study.

I'm hoping that once I get 'in the groove' on this, things will start going faster. Inertia is always the hardest at the beginning.

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.