There are some other things I’ve added to my daily routine to help me build knowledge.
- I’ve subscribed to the Cisco NetPro Lan, Switching and Routing RSS feed. The forum doesn’t see too much traffic, but the issues presented there are the kinds of things that a CCIE candidate should know the answers to, period. For instance, an issue came up today regarding a problem with a PBR route-map not sticking to a 3750 (stackable version of the 3560) SVI. Seems that the issue might be related to the switch SDM template. Really? Huh – cool. I was aware of SDM templates from a standpoint of making a 3560 a dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 router. But are there other SDM templates I should know about? Apparently there are. So I’m going to read up on it.
- I am printing and reading the InternetworkExpert.com workbooks, Volume 1, version 4.1. IEWB Vol.1 focuses on individual technologies. For example, I read the frame-relay PDF last night. The PDF took every possible frame-relay scenario and explained how ARP, LMI, DLCI assignments, and static mappings all worked together, so that you could clearly understand how a frame was making it from point A to point B, no matter what the topology. The PDF was very well done. I knew 90% of what was in that PDF already from having hammered on frame-relay via the NetMasterClass.com DOiT labs, but even so, there were some new things that made me smarter about frame. I’m hoping to get through the IEWB Bridging & Switching PDF today – about 150 pages of material. Let me give you a better description of what’s in these workbooks, so you can understand why I’m enthusiastic about them. What IE does in these workbooks is as follows:
- Describe a specific technical task.
- Diagram the task.
- Write out each step in plain English to accomplish the task.
- Possibly, they’ll give you a list of questions to ask yourself while performing the task.
- Provide the IOS code to accomplish the task.
- Show you device output that verifies the task was accomplished.
- Possibly, they’ll conclude with a plain-spoken paragraph reviewing everything that was just accomplished and why it worked the way it did.
- Provide a URL so that you can read even more about the topic if you so desire.
- I’m planning to go through all of the cisco.com/univercd technology overview PDFs, at least for the parts that apply to the R&S lab. I’m going to add to that a review of the available IOS commands for R&S technologies. That should be good exposure to anything that a proctor might throw at me on the lab. I’m thinking about following that up with a series of blog posts called “10 Words Or Less” where I take a group of IOS commands, and in 10 words or less, describe what each command is used for.
- Of course, I’m still doing practice labs. Practice, practice, practice. But I believe I have to do this other stuff too, to be ready for the lab by my April 29 date.