Amp’s CCIE Quest

Ok I know the title is cliché and a bit corny, but hey I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Well first let me say congrats to two good buddies of mine that have tackled and passed their CCIE lab exams.

James Key passed his CCIE Voice and Brian Luers passed his CCIE R&S. Brian and I started at WorldCom at the same time in the same group and have motivated each other for the past 9 or so years to go hard or go home. Both of these guys are not only outstanding engineers but they are two of the most standup guys you could meet.

Now, what’s been up with me? A whole lot. I spent a good 2 or 3 months working on Juniper certifications for my company and that took a good bit of studying time away from CCIE Voice prep. I have until June to at least sit for the exam or I will have to retake the written and I REFUSE to do that. My lab date is set for April 16, 2010. I am scheduled to take the 2-week bootcamp with IPExpert from March 15 - 26, I am sure I will learn a whole heck of a lot there with Vik.

I have some other stuff going on that I am not at liberty to discuss in an open forum like this, just stay tuned for the HUGE announcement that is on the way.

Well back to my VOD boys and girls….

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything; but that’s been by design. I’ve been working on some pretty big moves. I’ll talk about all of that in a minute.

Since my last post we’ve had another dude on the team pass his R&S lab, congrats to Bryan Byrne, that dude is incredibly sharp.

Over the past month or two I’ve had to step up in the Juniper arena. I have two Juniper tests that I have to knock out before I can really get back to 100% of my efforts being back on Voice. I’ll be taking the JNCIA-ER & JNCIA-M exams this coming week.

167 days from today I will be taking my CCIE Voice lab (4-16-10). Since some folks have been asking I guess I’ll post a brief synopsis of my study plan. Just not right now. I will get that up by tomorrow. In the meantime send up good thoughts for a couple of my buddies that will be labbing soon.

James Key taking CCIE Voice in Dec.
Chris Snow taking CCIE SP in Feb. Chris has his R&S and Security CCIE’s (he passed both on his 1st attempt in each).

Ok so now the pressure is mounting. I sit in a corner surrounded by 3 CCIE’s (All R&S of course). Now the pressure is mounting to get this monkey oops I mean awesome cert off my back.

This time it was my colleague Dan White (Wooo Hooo) that passed his CCIE R&S Lab in guess what…….RECORD TIME… as well. He didn’t beat Dozier’s time of 1:15 but he came damn close for someone of his ability. Dan finished his lab at 1:47 and that was after ALL OF HIS CONFIGS WERE LOST, due to a power failure and a possible IOS bug AND a dead router due to the power failure!!!!

That dude is awesome!!!!! The pressure is on now!!!!!

Congrats to all of our men and women that have served and are currently serving in our U.S. Military. After serving in the Marine Corps for 5 years I have a special place in my heart for all of our armed forces members, especially our MARINES!!! OOH RAH, Semper Fi!!!

I also want to send a congrats shout out to a friend and co-worker of mine, Scott Dozier, who passed his R&S lab on June 30, 2009 on his first attempt. I already knew that this dude was scary smart but this kat finished his lab by 1:15 and was punked by one of the proctors TWICE (LMAO) before leaving the facility. If anyone deserves his number it is Scott. Congrats Scott!!!

Well time to get ready for 4th of July festivities.

P.S. Wayne Lawson if you get a chance to read this, I just wanted to say Thank You for all the great work you guys are doing over at IPexpert and Semper Fi Devil Dog. I stepped on those yellow footprints on July 31, 1994 and ended my service on Feb. 28, 1999 (after a 7 month extension.) Anyway, thanks and congrats!!!

Ok I had been going back and forth with choosing which date to actually book for my lab. According to my employer I have to at least sit for the lab no later than 4th Quarter 2009. With that in mind I was planning on taking the lab in November,  November 23 to be exact. After thinking about where I am at with my subject knowledge, I quickly changed my mind and settled on December 21, 2009. Now here’s the deal. I will be attending IPexpert’s CCIE Voice boot camp out in San Jose, CA. They have two dates that I have been considering, October 19 - 30, 2009 and November 30 - December 11, 2009.

I know that these boot camps fill up rather quick so I said to myself, “Self, let’s be smart about  how we schedule these events!” So I came up with this solution. Schedule the boot camp for October 19 - 30, 2009, work my arse off to make sure I am ready for it by at least September or early October. If not, then reschedule the boot camp for November 30 - December 11, 2009 and keep my lab date of December 21. However, if I am ready for the boot camp and I do well during the boot camp in October, then reschedule my lab date for November.

All I have to do now is keep an eye out for good plane tickets, right now they’re $243 round-trip from Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) to San Jose (SJC). If you guys here of some good deals or websites that typically have good deals on plane tickets, let me know. Until next update, keep studying people…

It’s been a couple of days since I last wrote about getting back on the horse. I have had to recommit my mind, heart, and efforts to this journey. I’ve also had to refocus on a structured approach to my studies. I have somewhere around 136 days before I go to IPexperts boot camp in San Jose, CA, and about 169 days before I sit for the lab. I figure if I can get a MINIMUM of 5 hours of focused studying in per day everyday, that will put around 685 hours of studying by the time I go to boot camp.

IPexpert has a recommended  approach to using their BLS program; it’s broken down into 3 steps.

1. Video on Demand: Watch the video on demand series beginning with Chapter 1 and follow through with the Video on Demand Exercises for Chapter 1. Then work through the corresponding chapters in the Volume 1 Workbook.
2. Move on to Volume 1 Technology-Focused labs. Work through all 16 chapters. DO NOT leave one chapter for the next until you have successfully completed the exercises and you FULLY understand them.
3.  Move on to Volume 3 (Mock Labs). Work through each of the labs individually; and DO NOT move on to the next lab until you can complete the lab you are on in 6 hours.

So I have started all over with the BLS Video on Demand videos.

Infrastructure:

2.3 VLANs and Trunking

2.4 DHCP

2.5 VTP

UCM Basics:

 3.1 UCM Basics

5.0 Calling Search Spaces and Partitions

3.2 Calling Search Spaces and Partitions ( Exercise Walkthrough)

I am in the process of building a functional lab, as best I can anyway. The lab sessions with Proctor Labs are 8 hour sessions and so far for the month of June, all filled up until next Saturday (June 13, 2009). I need all of the hands on practice that I can possibly get. My plan in the mean time is to watch the videos, watch the corresponding exercise walkthrough, and read or reread about the sections in either the SRND or one of the many books that I have.

Tonight it’s all about Calling Search Spaces and Partitions. I will watch the videos a few times, take notes each time, and read the chapter about the Calling Search Spaces and Partitions in Cisco CallManager Fundamentals and the CUCM 7.x SRND.

Well that’s all for now people, time to press play.

OK, I know it has been almost 4 months since the last time I posted anything on here. I have to admit, I had fallen off the wagon pretty hard, and while I was on the ground from the fall I wallowed in the murkiness of uncertainty until yesterday, (May 27, 2009).

So what happened you might ask? Well for starters I was able to finally meet one of the mentors that I have adopted along this journey, James Key. He is in town to take and pass his lab on today (May 28, 2009). We met for an early dinner and talked like we have known each other for years. He is one of the most genuine persons that I know and I am fully persuaded that he will pass his lab this go around. As we sat and talked, my motivation for this journey began to rise again.

If the conversation with James wasn’t enough, he gets a call from a mutual friend who has been on this journey as well (Ayo aka Skybaba). Ayo sat for his voice lab a few days ago and finally received his results….PASS (CCIE # 24456). Not only is he a first time passer, but he did it in 6 months!!! After celebrating with James and Ayo I went home re-motivated and ready to finish what I started. 

My pastor has been teaching a series titled “Real Finishers Become Real Winners”. I have committed myself to finishing this journey. My lab is scheduled for November 23, 2009 and I have 179 days before my lab attempt. I will be going to IPexpert’s 2 week CCIE Voice Bootcamp from October 19 - 30, 2009 so that leaves me with  143 days to go through all of their BLS workbooks and become as proficient as I possibly can in the process.

I really feel like I am starting from the beginning and I know doing this in 6 months will be extremely challenging, but I also know that it is not impossible. Not because my buddy Ayo did it in 6 months, but because my God said that ALL things are possible if I trust him and believe. He also reminded me that I can do ALL things through Christ, who is going to replinish my strength along the way.

Well that’s all for now, I won’t promise that I will be posting something everyday, I can promise that I will make an attempt to post something everyday. I will most definitely promise (not to you, but to me) that I will study hard every friggin day.

After much anticipation I received access to the new and updated IPexpert v3.0 Voice Workbooks and Proctor Guides. From what I can tell so far, these updated workbooks are on point and a must have. Thanks to Wayne, Mark, Matt, Vik, and all the other folks over at IPexpert for making getting us these updates so quick.

Tonight I will dive into the first section and let you all know how it goes…

Amp

When I set out on the journey to becoming a CCIE, I knew that it would be a tough and tremendous undertaking from a mental and technical standpoint. I had no idea, and thus never prepared myself for, it being such a strenuous emotional slap, punch, and kick in the face. Most of us that decide to pursue excellence via certifications do so because we not only want to advance in our career but also prove that we are the best according to standards set by an industry. In today’s climate, anyone can purchase supplements (which I DO NOT condone) that almost guarantee that you will pass any one of the Cisco Associate and Professional level certs, as well as, any one of the CCIE qualification exams. But it takes a special person to prepare for and pass the actual lab.

Let’s see, on my journey so far, almost a month in, I have been on an emotional roller coaster that I had no idea existed. No where on Cisco’s webpage did they mention that a candidate had to posess a high level of emotional fortitude in addition to the mental, technical, and maybe even physical strength that is needed to prepare for this exam, let alone pass. Yeah I know maybe somewhere in my mind I should have KNOWN that it would be such an emotional task, but guess what? Everyone that I have either personally known, or talked to have NEVER, not even ONE time said “Hey kid get your emotional makeup checked out before you start this”.

Those of us that like to solve problems and look forward to taking on and overcoming challenges usually don’t like to have a problem beat us. How many of you have stayed past your quitting time or came in early to attack a problem that was trying to show you up at work? I know this week alone I logged in from home during my off hours to check on a problem, I went in early and stayed late, and I even had terrible dreams of Unity, Exchange and MWI Resynch problems ganging up on me in an attempt to beat me to a pulp. You know what? I won, I fixed the problem. Hoo Rayyy for me right? WRONG, the CCIE is a different beast. Just when you think you have something whipped you turn the page and start on another section that not only kicks your butt but it undo’s what took you a lifetime to do previously.

Now add in the fact that you are taking away one of the only commodities that you can not replace, TIME, and the pressures begin to mount. I have to sacrifice time with my family which I try and convince myself that it’s them that I am doing this for. I work the Midnight shift, which means my family have to sleep all night without daddy, I barely sleep during the day (here comes the physical fatigue), I have committments to my community and church (so much for making the world a better place), and then I have a non-standard manmade test that is kicking my butt. It seems like my foundation is crumbling right in front of my eyes.

I am, was, and will always be a United States Marine, and I am as physically and mentally tough as they come, but this is beginning to be a bit much emotionally. It feels like my wife and I are losing our closeness, I feel so guilty when I tell my babies, daddy has to study I’ll play with you later and later doesn’t come, I feel like the more I think I know something the CCIE proves to me I know nothing.  Ladies and gentlemen, this is hard. I have no other way to put it. Just down right hard. The CCIE not tests your technical expertise and your Tiger Woods mental toughness, but it tests your emotions. If we’re being honest with ourselves, let alone each other, how many of us have actually mastered the art of being an emotional expert?

Well to answer my original thought of “Why I Respect CCIE’s”, it is not just because they have proven to be some of the elite in their field, they can not only leap complex problems in a single bound, but most importantly because they have weathered the emotional storm and roller coaster and made it. They didn’t let it get the best of them. Even without digits, they won what to me is the toughest battle that we’re all fighting, the fight for their emotional dignity.

I am off to take a shower, think, pray, and probably like most days recently, cry.

Where do I begin…

Last week was a complete and total waste as far as studying goes. I just couldn’t get things together. I felt like a child lost in the woods surrounded by lions, tigers and bears that are ready to pounce on me because I am looking like a deer caught in headlights. James Key who blogs over at Blindhog shot me a very encouraging email that helped me out tremendously. After getting back on my grind I ran into a buddy that told me about the Cisco Aset Program for Cisco Partners. The Aset Labs Program basically gives you 72 hours per month of remote access to Cisco remote labs and scenarios if you have passed your written, have a lab date in sight, and are a Cisco Partner.

Well I had my first 5-hour block of lab time today and officially got my behind kicked. I don’t mean I made a few mistakes here and there, no I was absolutely completely beat like an out-of-tune drum. The most challenging part is that you do not have any solutions to verify your work or to see where you went wrong. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not completely a bad thing, but it is challenging for someone like me just starting out on this journey.

Here are a few things that I know for certain:

1. I need access to a lab, even the smallest of labs, so I can practice the basics. I am a little rusty right now.
2. It is going to be imperative that I remain on a very focused schedule for my studies.
3. In order to be ready by October I am going to have to eat, sleep, drink, and have sex with CCIE Voice.
4. I have committed to staying at least 1-hour after work EVERY workday so I can steal an extra hour of studying.
5. I am going to read, re-read, and re-read what I re-read, from every book on the Voice Book List and the SRNDs, Case Studies, and Tech Notes.
6. Post questions on IPexperts mailing list OnlineStudyList like I am getting paid to do it. (So no rumors get started, I AM NOT and WILL NOT, be getting paid to post questions on that list. I am just saying I am going to be posting on the list as if I were getting paid.)
7. I am going to engage in physical exercise everyday. The stronger my body becomes, I will be better able to manage stress, and operate with an invigorated mind.
8. One of the most important things that I know for certain is that I must, scratch that, I WILL have fun along this journey.

So to my readers, please drop me an email or comment with your thoughts, your method to this madness, your encouraging or discouraging words (both are appreciated). Tell me what it was like for you guys when you started on your IE journey and how you all overcame these same obstacles that I am now facing. I believe that we are all family in this fight. I love how when one person passes we all feel a since of pride, and when one person fails we all feel anguish and a tinge of fear for our attempt. Talk to me family, I need to hear from you guys.

Amp