CCIE Success Story 



The path to Success!!! 

I have been waiting to write this post. But could not help partying & had to get over all the stress first. I am just so excited & happy right now.

 

Before I start, I want to thank my loving mother, grandmother & sisters for all there support. I simply cannot explain how supportive they all were, that gave me all the confidence & told me to just keep going, and never give up when I’d lost hope. I simply cannot thank them enough.

 

Background


I have all the certifications what my company & job required and could challenge most of my peers technically. What always got me was that a newbie would come around in the firm and say I am certified for this XXXX track and I would feel I am lacking behind being more experienced I should do better and I need to update myself. Of course this was not the one & only reason for me to pursue my CCIE, but it did lead to a lot of frustration at times over the years.


The surprising thing is at my last work place many did not even know what a CCIE is and any such certification exists which was an absolute shock to me.

But saying that some key people from my Senior Management Team wanted me to stay behind at any cost (not resign) but at the same time were extremely supportive of my dream, they wanted to see my dream turn into reality and had full confidence in my dedication, determination & sincerity that I would achieve my goal. I would like to Thank Mark Hoyland (Operations and Delivery Director),

Steve Hodges (Operations & Delivery Director), Fay Heathcote (Human Resources Director).

 


So here I finally decided to pursue this goal to challenge myself if I can put myself to test, stand out in the crowd and identify myself as an EXPERT!!!

 

I wanted challenge myself by achieving a CCIE in the R & S track to start of with J

Yes!!! you read it correctly this is not the only one there will be many more to come.


This all started off in 2001 when I gave my CCNA but I would not dare attempt the CCIE R & S track at that point in time. I had barely had 6 months of experience with any Cisco kit. So back than I had decided to give it a rest and said to myself, “I will do this one day when I am more confident and more experienced”. But the burning desire was there at the back of my mind and the thought would come into my mind sometimes weekly or every couple of months!!!

 

Not to forget in 2001 there was hardly any material available to prepare for this exam unlike nowadays information for CCIE is all over the world very easily accessible.

 

My CCNA expired in 2004 and I was even more depressed of the idea that I had lost my CCNA for which I worked so hard to pass.

 

In early 2008 I felt I have to start planning now for this goal and was confident I could achieve this goal still unaware of what it will really require & the level of commitment. I started to do some research on this track and Sadikhov & Group study was where I found a wealth of the information, which was of great help and a great kick start and boost to my confidence.

 

www.sadikhov.com

www.groupstudy.com



“Go for the moon. If you don't get it, you'll still be heading for a star.”
Source for the above Quote: Internet


Challenges

 

"Winners never Quit & Quitters never win!!"


Source for the above Quote: Internet

I decided to resign from my current job in April 2008 with a heavy heart as honestly speaking I love what I did and I was good at it too!!! But had no choice it was either now or never and I could not have lived with the thought I never gave it (CCIE) a shot. So here I was going through the first challenge of resigning after being with the company for such a long time, of course I had to agree this action with my family too prior to the resignation and they were all so positive & supportive about it than I did not have a shadow of doubt left in my mind that I could not do it.

 

Many at work were extremely positive and wished me luck and some who were aware of this track and how difficult it is (of course they never dared I guess to attempt it) were absolutely sure I could not accomplish my goal. But I ignored the negative feedbacks & that would not have shaken my focus away from becoming a CCIE.

 

Prior to my resignation I had done a lot of research for details like the time and money involved for which I had saved up as opposed to taking a loan which I am not comfortable with to be honest.

 

As soon as I resigned, immediately I flew back to Bombay / India where it was all going to take shape slowly. It was easy for me as I already had family over there & I have lived there for many years so getting my way around was very easy.  

 

I had a few places on the shortlist for my CCIE boot camp and I had to finalize on one of them within 1 weeks time. Effectively I had to eliminate the con artist out of the list which had fantastic websites to fool international students and had an absolute horrible reputation locally. So in no time I rejected most of them and in the end I decided to go with Excel Networks which till date has a fantastic list of CCIE working in the best of the companies in India and abroad.


Plan of action was to not start straight on my CCIE but from ground up i.e. CCNA > CCNP > CCIE R&S.

This was simply to get a good foundation to ensure my CCIE would become very easy which it truly did help.

 

So in end of April 2008 I started my intense training and it was non-stop from then on; there was no turning back. I was at Excel Networks® for almost 13 / 15 on average daily. Would reach home revise my notes and the same the following day for months to come J I cleared my CCNA & CCNP all papers by end of July 2008 which was personally a great achievement.


I started my CCIE boot camp on 4th August 2008. To be honest I found the boot camp to be more intense than I initially envisaged. J 

 

It could simply be due to the fact that I had completed my last CCNP paper in the last week of July and had barely given myself to relax which my body desperately required L but with the last 4 years of my life being so busy at work and sometimes even working 7 days a week non-stop for couple of months with all the projects & pressure it was not that scary after at all.


By end of July 2008 I was so frustrated that I wanted to get back to work and quit in between, this thought was tough to fight and overcome as I have been working non stop for many years and had never been un-employed for more than 2 months so the frustration was kicking in big time!!!

 

Another challenge was that I would come and visit family in my holidays and would go out with family & friends. This time I could not and would lock myself in a room whenever I was home so it was very difficult to get used too that environment, also I did not inform many of my friends that I am in India & some I had to convince that I cannot go out period!!! It took me almost 1 month to come to terms that I am not on holiday and this is my career at stake.

 

All I can say that if your family is positive and supportive you can achieve great success and I am extremely lucky to have been blessed by such a good family. They were always encouraging me every step and would show me the positive side of things once I would become a CCIE and that would give me the boost.

 

Huzaifah on steroids is how I felt with all the positive comments from each of my family members. J

 

TIP: Ensure your family is all positive about this (CCIE Track) as the frustration is so much that you could land up offending them sometimes in your conversations and not know about it. At least I did L I would later apologies to all of them; I know it sounds ridiculous or silly but it is true. So get your family to agree on this decision as there support while you are studying is absolute paramount.


Materials Used

 

Boot Camp:

 

Excel Networks®

Mr. Abid Khan CCIE # 13181

 

I must say he is a fantastic, talented & a gifted Trainer and he never touched a book while teaching, no power point presentations either. Over all I would grade the boot camp 100% and highly recommend it personally.

 

I need to also thank a few members at Excel one of which is Munawar Sattar Khan he is the person who laid down the strong foundations and made my CCIE as easy as possible. He taught me CCNP over a period of couple of months answered all my silly and complex queries and made them as easy as possible in his ability, I must say his analogy are very funny at times but you would never forget them J. He also is the key trainer for (CCNA / CCNP / CCSP / Checkpoint) at Excel etc..

 

Another person is Sayed Zulfikar Ali (Admin / Marketing) he had been so supportive about me becoming a CCIE since day one & when it came down to inspiration he would always introduce me to old CCIE students to share there experience which inspired me a lot. He also ensured we all got Rack slots which are so difficult to get at times, when I needed the most J when money is running out every bit helps J  Thank you Zulfikar.

 

Not to forget hours of free Rack time after the boot camp was completed. These hours would be awkward sometimes but it helped me in saving a lot of money,

 

I learnt a lot of very useful tips and tricks on the boot camp. I should improve my time management.

 

Tip: “Bad Time management” was one of the primary reasons for my first attempt failure”

 

Falling down is not defeat. Defeat is when you refuse to get up

Books:


Routing and Switching certification guide, its from Cisco Press.
Routing TCP/IP Volume 1 from Jeff Doyle, also Cisco Press
Routing TCP/IP Volume 2 of the Jeff Doyles Book

Cisco Press BGP Internet Routing Architectures 2nd.Edition 2000 by Sam Halabi

Cisco QOS Exam Certification Guide (IP Telephony Self-Study), 2nd Edition by Wendell Odom

Cisco Press books for CCNP helped me a lot as well as a lot of stuff is overlapping and already covered in the CCNP track especially the switching track.

For more books click here

 

Workbooks:

Excel Network (These have no solutions you need to research your answers) (Proctor assisted at times for tips)

 

Internetwork Expert Practice labs

 

Video:

 

Internetwork Expert [Class on Demand] Absolutely Priceless, they want you to learn the material and not just pass the lab.

 

CBT Nuggets


The Preparation

 

August 2008 8 hrs * 15 days (Excel Racks – Excel LABS) = 120

September 2008 8 hrs 20 days (Excel Racks – IEWB LABS) = 160

October 2008 18 hrs 20 days (Dynagen  – IEWB LABS) = 360

October 2008 12 hrs 15 days (Online Racks (Router Sale) – IEWB LABS) = 180

November 2008 12 hrs 30 days (Online Racks (Router Sale) – IEWB LABS) = 360

December 208 15 hrs 10 days (Dynagen  – IEWB LABS) = 150 (This was in preparation for my second attempt)

 

Approximately 1330 hrs of practice!!!


 

Yes you better believe it; my fingers would hurt so badly that sometimes I could not sleep.

 

Approx 12 hrs of daily practice I would share an online rack with a boot camp member for 12 hr slots for 30 days in November. Once the 12 hr slot would be over daily I would sit with the Cisco Doc cd and clear some doubts. If that was not enough I would post that on Sadikhov and discuss stuff there which was great.

 

That was including practicing on online Racks + Rack practice @ Excel + Dynagen + Notepad.

 

To be honest my initial plan was to build a rack but I had to change that plan because of financial constraints and a couple of other reasons. I would highly recommend buying one if you can and that is the indeed the best way forward.

 

Dynagen / Dynaimps you cannot simulate the switching side of things; so you will lack all the practice in switching and you will have to take an online rack to ensure you are confident with the commands.


Online Racks


I used Router Sale for almost 45 days to get my speed to an acceptable level. This was one of the cheapest CCIE Rack providers at the time.


Home PC

 

I than decided to do most of the labs on dynagen @ home as I could not afford the online racks and the fact was I did not need the racks anymore.

 

Excel Racks:

I did practice for a fortnight 2 week’s before the exam @ Excel which was great. I saved a lot of money by that too; they were indeed very helpful and generous.

There were some restrictions that after the boot camp we were allowed on the racks for almost 30 days, but once that period was complete we had allow the new team to take over and we were requested to visit the center only at nights depending on availability of Rack slots (prior booking) i.e. after 23:00 hrs. Unlike some I am an early morning types so it would be a big challenge to stay awake and complete the labs in time. At times when I could not keep my eyes open I would go to sleep on the floor with a piece of cloth which was so difficult but believe me I was so tired that I would be off to bed within minutes. I have to keep in mind this is a training center and not a bedroom. :)

Some of the tips have been consolidated by me from Sadikhov post from various members.



Tips before the exam

 

.

1.       Arrive to your hotel 2 days before the exam. It will give you time to settle down and overcome all the traveling, change in weather etc..

2.       Bring comfortable and warm clothing to the lab.

3.       Remember to not stress out too much and breathe regularly.

4.       Week before your lab dates don’t over study.

5.       The day before don’t study simply relax, eat, watch a movie and sleep. No need to be nervous.
 

The LAB DAY

 

1.       Arrive early to lab at test day at least 1 hr prior and settle down.

2.       When you are done verify everything as many times you can.

3.       Read the questions very carefully more then once. But do not over think the solution as you are more than likely to get it wrong. The exam is not about best practices.

4.       Pay attention to details and wording of questions.

5.       USE ALIAS command it saves a lot of time.

6.       Ask the PROCTOR always if in doubt as the lab has many grey areas.

7.       Watch out for restrictions in the LAB.

8.       The day of the exam, have a nice breakfast. I decided to pack my breakfast and arrived early at the Cisco office and finished it in the canteen peacefully felt very relaxing. Another reason for this action was that in Dubai the exam starts at 07:30 and I had left my hotel at 05:30 hrs to reach the office by 06:15 / 06:25 & the hotel did not serve any breakfast till 06:30 hrs either. This would stress me out so much that what if something went wrong with the taxi on the way to the office and so on…

9.       I did get lost on my way due to heavy fog and the taxi driver did not have a clue where he was once he reached DIC & he landed up taken me to DMC twice believe it or not. L But I was all relaxed as I had plenty of time 1 hr 10 minutes. J

10.    Don’t fly the same day, if you have NO choice take a late night flight so it does not stress you out simply thinking of the flight & the travel back to the airport will you make it back in time or not for the flight so on………………

11.    Read the entire lab once and quickly.

12.    Check the diagrams. My first attempt I was shocked to see how disgusting the diagrams were absolutely unacceptable. The second attempt it was better but still a joke. So be prepared to draw a diagram of your choice with the fancy pencils provided to you.

13.    Do not try to walk out with the A4 sheets given to you, you are guaranteed a failure result if you do so. It is also possible you will get banned from all Cisco® exams for a year.

14.    Be calm. Don’t get disappointed / scared by the people you meet before the exam as some try to put you off by saying Oh! It is your first attempt, blah! blah! Need not worry it is my third and so on….. < wink >

15.    Stay for the full duration of the test. Don’t leave early even if you feel you are done


 

The LAB Environment

 

1.     The room temperature is cold.

2.       In Dubai there were at the time no voice racks so it was pin drop silence.

3.       2 A4 sheets of papers were provided and you could ask for many more. I did 5 more sheets. J

4.       Lunch was provided by Cisco I hear some places it is provided more lavishly but we were asked to order and I agreed upon a chicken burger & unlimited drinks were available in the canteen. Expensive lunch of my life in the first attempt. L

5.       Windows XP in Kiosk mode. (Effectively lock down with bare minimum options).

6.       Two types of shortcuts were available; one shortcut for the access server & 10 other shortcuts for each device individually (multiple terminal server sessions) and the choice is yours what you are comfortable with (6 Routers) R1 – R6 & (4 Switches) SW1 – SW4.

7.       Old version Secure CRT without tabs.

8.        You had plenty of colorful pencils to choose from & of course a few ball pens as well.


 

I was unaware of my results until I arrived home and my Mum opened the door and she started crying out of happiness and I too cried a little simply could not help it, I knew I had passed. My family did not sleep that too. I was so excited simply did not know what to do and how to react & express my happiness.

 

My Sisters had sweetly written the CCIE # 23368 on a very nice chart paper with all decorations around it when I arrived at home.

 

Then started the celebrations & all the partying!!! J

 

Oh! Yes it was all worth it in the end. A [ 7 year ] dream turned into reality!!!

At the point when I passed my exam on 29th Jan 2009 the CCIE worldwide stats had been updated on 6th Jan 2009.

 

United Kingdom

940

India

538


click here for a detailed report