Part Five - CCIE Lab Words of Wisdom
In Part One, we went over some ways to purchase your first router. In Part Two, we looked at how to Access the router, HyperTerminal, TFTP software, and Token Ring setup. In Part Three, we went over which switches you may want to purchase for your home lab. In Part Four, we discussed adding more routers to your lab and the purpose of the Frame Relay switch. If you haven抰 read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Four, click on the links at the end of this page.
We were going to do Part Five on ISDN setup, etc. However, we have been busy and have not gotten to it yet. So, we thought we would do a short piece on some of things others have recommended regarding setting up your own lab. These were taken from www.groupstudy.com. If you抮e planning to pursue a career in Cisco prodUCts, you should get involved with this group.
This first piece of Excellent advice is from Dennis Laganiere, a Cisco eXPert who has written material for various companies, material for Network Learning, Inc., and teaches advanced Cisco material throughout the United States.
Dennis says:
Here's the short list of books I would recommend to read (at a minimum) during your lab preparation. Find yourself a shady spot outside, and crack the spine of each of these page-turners, it's the only chance you'll have to see the sun for a few months:
1.) Cisco Certification: Bridges, Routers and Switches for CCIEs, Second Edition by Andrew Bruce Caslow
2.) Internet Routing Architectures, Second Edition by Bassam Halabi
3.) CCIE Prof. Development Routing TCP/IP Volumes I & II, Jeff Doyle
4.) Cisco LAN Switching (CCIE professional development)
5.) Cisco Catalyst LAN Switching by Louis R Rossi, Louis D. Rossi, Thomas Rossi
6.) Configuring Cisco Routers for bridging, DLSW+, & Desktop Protocols by Tan Nam-Kee
7.) My own lab prep book, once I finish writing it (look for it sometime in 2003)
Building your own lab:
One of the most important elements of your CCIE lab preparation is having equipment to practice on. My advice would be put together a home pod watching every dollar very carefully, and then sell it on eBay when you're done. If you do everything right, your practice time should only cost you the interest on your credit card, and the depreciation in the value of the equipment. What follows is a list of what I think has the makings of a great CCIE Lab practice pod:
1.) One (1) Cisco 2511 router to use as a terminal server. A 2509 would work fine if you have one, but trust me, before long you'll need the extra ports.
2.) A router with multiple Serial ports to use as a Frame Relay switch. Cisco 2522's are popular for this, although in my own lab I use a 2610 with an 8-port serial module.
3.) Two (2) Cisco 2503's.
4.) One (1) Cisco 2504 (for the FatKid labs).
5.) Four (4) or five (5) more Cisco 2500 series routers with a selection of Serial, Ethernet and Token Ring ports, (I love 2513's, because they have all three).
6.) One (1) ISDN emulator.
7.) One (1) 3550 Switch.
8.) One (1) Cisco 3620 or 2620 with at least one Fast Ethernet port and a
pair of FXS ports for VoIP.
9.) Two CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC. These 8-lead octal cables (68 pin to 8 male RJ-45s) are used with the terminal server
10.) One (1) Token Ring MAU. (CCxx Note: No longer required since the CCIE Lab no longer tests on this)
11.) Lots of DTE/DCE serial cables, AUI adapters, patch cables, and crossover cables.
* Please note that all 2500 series routers should have 16 Megs of memory, 16 Megs of Flash and be loaded with an Enterprise Version of 12.1 IOS appropriate to its physical configuration.
The only things missing from the list above is ATM. I consider ATM just too darn expensive for a home pod. I would recommend renting some on-line lab time for ATM.
OK, The Equipment Looks Good on the Rack, Now What?
You'll also need practice labs to run on your routers. Here's a list of lab materials I think are useful, in order of complexity (easiest to hardest):
1.)Cisco CCIE Lab Study Guide, Second Edition by Stephen Hutnik and Michael Satterlee
2.) www.fatkid.com (these have the added advantage of being free)
3.) www.solutionlabs.com
4.) www.IPExpert.net
5.) www.ccbootcamp.com
Advice on Preparation:
Know the Cisco Documentation CD. When you're in the lab, this will be one of your few friends. Know where the command references are, and most importantly, know where the sample configurations are. Think how much time you can save if you cut-and-paste samples from the CD into your configurations.
Print out and keep posted on the wall in your lab a copy of the exam blueprint. This should be a constant reminder of what you know, and what's left to figure out.
Avoid first time pressure. Only a small percentage of people pass on the first attempt, and your four (CCxx Note: now five) digit number is not de-valued if you make several attempts. Prepare for what you expect the exam to be, but be ready to accept the first attempt as exploratory expedition; a chance to map the terrain for future trips. Who knows; the extra calm of reduced expectations may actually help you pass.
Watch the news feeds at www.groupstudy.com because these are excellent free resources. People are always posting problems, and working out how to help them not only builds goodwill, but helps develop your own understanding of these technologies.
Focus on the core technologies; ISDN, Frame Relay, bridging, routing protocols, redistribution, etc. These will represent the bulk of the points in the lab, and you MUST have a very firm understanding of them to have any chance at all.
Have a bucket of tools at your disposal. You should have a good grASP of IP Tunneling, Bridging, NAT, IRB, CRB, route filters, passive interfaces, adjusting Administrative Distances, as well as summary, default and static routes. You never know when these will come in useful.
Search on-line for resources that might be useful sources of equipment, practice labs, advice, configurations, etc. Remember the old standards: www.groupstudy.com, www.ccbootcamp.com, www.fatkid.com and, of course, www.cisco.com.
Budget your time like you would budget your money, conservatively. Once you've got a lab date, review the exam blueprint and figure out how much time to spend on each technology, leaving at least 30% of your available time for performing multi-technology labs, like the ones from www.ccbootcamp.com.
Formalize your notes. When you force yourself to write something for others, it forces you to really understand what you抮e talking about.
Don't exclude your spouse, children, friends and significant others. While the CCIE is a valuable certification, it抯 meaningless without having people around who can help you spend the money once you get it. I know one fellow who taught his wife the basics of IOS so she could introduce problems into a finished configuration to help him practice troubleshooting (not a formal part of the exam any longer, but still something you better know on lab day).
Enjoying the actual Lab experience:
Don't start entering configuration commands until your initial network design is complete, carefully detailing IP addresses, masks, routing areas, links, tunnels, etc.
If you can bring colored pencils with you to the lab, do so. Create a network diagram that works for you, perhaps with each routing protocol in a different color. You'll be provided paper in the lab, and it may be quite large, but practice doing your diagrams on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet. It will make it much easier to manage in the very small cubicle space you're likely to have on lab-day.
Use a list of well practiced alias commands. These will save keystrokes and the frustration of mis-keyed commands.
Make sure you know how to disable DNS lookups and prevent messages appearing on the screen while you're working.
Type up templates of common configuration elements in notepad to facilitate cut-and-pasting. I have a standard router config that includes all my aliases, loopback interfaces, line configurations, etc. Whenever I'm starting a practice lab I type it up in notepad and paste into each routers. Cutting and pasting is a lot faster and more accurate then typing things over and over again.
Cut-and-paste addresses and other lengthy information from show commands to prevent mistakes.
The best time to save your configurations is when you're getting ready to change routers. Get use to doing a "wr" just before you move from one router to another. This will make sure you save often, and avoid the long delay of watching a configuration get saved.
Create ping scripts;
a set of ping commands stored in text format that can be pasted into a config to test connectivity to all devices on the net.
When talking to the proctor, always be respectful; keep your questions to the "yes" and "no" varieties, and notify them as quickly as possible if you suspect an equipment failure. Above all, don't create a hostile relationship with the proctor, and if they create one with you, swallow your pride and do what you need to do to keep the channels of cooperation open. Consider it good practice for the real world later.
This next piece of excellent advice is from Wes Stevens and is a follow-up to Dennis抯. Wes is a participant on the Groupstudy Forum:
Wes says:
Instead of a 2511 you might consider a CS-516. It is a 2511 without the two
serial ports. They go for around $300 on eBay.
On the voice side, you might consider a 3810 instead of adding voice to the 2600.
The VCM for the 2600 is expensive. You need one on the 3810 also but there
are usually quit a few for sale on eBay with this and the FXS ports
installed in the $500 to $600 range. Programming the voice on them is the
same as a 2600. I also bought a couple without voice for $300 each instead
of the 2501's. They have a much faster processor.
This final piece of excellent advice is from Brad Ellis, CCIE #5796 (R&S / Security) and also an owner of Network Learning, Inc. and Optsys, Inc.
Brad says:
Here's what I have recommended in the past and like to offer to my CCIE students, Also, our labs (www.ccbootcamp.com) work well with this gear:
2 x 2501s
2 x 2503s (for ISDN)
1 x 2511 (reverse telnet AS)
3 x 2513s (TR/Ether)
1 x 2522 (frame-switch)
ISDN Simulator
3550 Switch
2610 w/ voice
2620 w/ voice
Misc. cables, etc
You can contact Brad at bellis@optsys.net for equipment quotes and advice. He can offer quality used equipment at reasonable prices.
