On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 8:14 PM, I have been in the networking field for over 10 years working as a consultant. I do work full time and have been preparing for the CCIE for the last year. I spent about 3 months preparing for the written exam. For this i used the Video On demand from IPepert. I was very pleased with the product. I supplemented with Cisco Press books and some tinkering in a lab environment.
I started study for the lab exam in January and have been working through Vol1-3 of the IPexpert lab work books. I will also be attending the One week lab experience from IPExpert. The lab workbooks are great and I personally feel that they are a MUST for studying. Eventhough i work on different networks on a daily basis doing design/installs/troubleshooting i don't feel that i could dream up the lab exercises need to drill home some of the concepts. At least i could not do it in a timely fassion. I am lucky in the fact that i have a full rack of gear that completely replicates the IPExpert topology. My rack is made up of (3) - 3650, (1) - 3550 , (2) - 2801 , (6) - 3640 , (3) - 2620XM , (1) 2600. The 2600 are the backbone routers and frame relay switches. The 3640 are maxed out with memory and flash. The only thing they don't support that i have found is EIGRP IPV6 routing. Some other minor things like IOS Firewall services are not supported but i just adjust and do the configuration on one of the 2800 routers. Having my own lab rack allows me to work on a lab or 2 during the week and i don't have to finish them one 8 hour sitting. On the weekend i try to get 2-3 labs done. With a full time Job dedicating continuous hours to rack time is verify difficult. In your situation with dedicating 100% of your time to studying you may benefit from Proctor labs rack rental which is the IPexpert topology along wit their lab work books. I use Proctor Labs just so i get a different feel than my own rack. I don't want to get lulled into a false scene of security. I also found it very useful to have the VOD and AOD during Vol1 labs to go back and brush up on some topics. So in summary, yes i would recommend 3rd party study material for sure. You cant go wrong with IPExpert. Regarding the rack it all depends on how much continuous time you have to dedicate to lab time. If you can dedicate large chunks of time often i would say save the money on equipment an put it toward rack time and other training material. If you are like me where you cant dedicate chunks of time during the week having your own rack is extremely valuable. I would however have on hand 2 switches and 2-3 routers just so you can tinker with things as you have doubts/questions as you study. Hope this helps Happy studying Aaron gaurav nunia <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm preparing for ccie, rs, as of now, everything is on my own. > i'm not working and completely involved with the preparation. > but I have some insecure feelings, > i passed route and switch exams last years, and for 3-4 months in between i > was out of touch. > because, as i'm studying on my own, using GNS, and planning to buy 4 > switches (2 3550- 2 3560) > > > the point i need to ask is- is it really important that i should get > associated with some third party that provide classroom studies, > or i should study on my own. > > the point here is, I need to choose between a rack and a thirdparty. > which one i should go for. > > i have been reading a lot lately, to understand the technologies, haven't > got into configuring anything yet, > > -- > > thanks > > gaurav > _______________________________________________ > For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please > visit www.ipexpert.com > > Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out > www.PlatinumPlacement.com <http://www.platinumplacement.com/> > _______________________________________________ For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please visit www.ipexpert.com Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out www.PlatinumPlacement.com
