Tutorial: BGP Route Aggregation Part 1 – Using an Advertise-Map to control aggregation

BGP Route Aggregation is not only an important topic to learn for the CCIE exam, its what keeps the internet routing tables manageable. The basic idea is simple, instead of BGP advertising lots of different prefixes, we can summarize individual prefixes as an aggregate. In this series of articles we will be looking at BGP Route Aggregation using various methods that you should be familiar with before attempting the CCIE lab.

Study Tip: CCIE>Blog – Blogging as a study tool!

IPexpert has just recently launched their CCIE>Blog site. The site allows you to create your own blog or add your existing blog to the CCIE blog directory. I had a browse through and there were a few jems that I hadn’t seen before! They have also released the new IPexpert Blog. So far it contains a [...]

Blog: Cisco Announces New CCIE Learning Program…Why didn’t they Partner?

Cisco has just announced a new Cisco 360 Learning Program for CCIE® Routing and Switching. CCIEPursuit has an excellent post on it, and a few of the guys on groupstudy were buzzing this morning discussing it. It got me thinking. Why didn’t Cisco partner with one of the existing CCIE training providers like IPexpert, InternetworkExpert or Micronics? They certainly deliver the bulk of successful CCIE candidates.

Tutorial: Filtering Routes in OSPF Part 2 » Filtering Between Areas Using area filter-list

In our last article on filtering Routes in OSPF we looked at filtering routes within an OSPF area. In this article we will be filtering routes between areas using the area filter-list command. OSPF route filtering is an important concept to be familiar with for any CCIE candidate. We will be looking at the area filter-list command first. Part 3 will then look at some of the more obtuse ways of filtering using the area range and summary-address commands. Part of being a CCIE is knowing multiple ways of configuring the same task…just in case those evil proctors decide to restrict which of those methods you can and can’t do! :)

Tutorial: OSPF Network Types & Frame-Relay Series

Knowing the OSPF Network Types and how they work with different frame relay topologies is one of those things that you should know inside out if you are attempting the CCIE lab. This five part series of tutorials are designed to take you through all the different OSPF network types and demonstrate how they interact with Frame-Relay over various partial-mesh topologies.

Tutorial: OSPF Network Types and Frame Relay Part 5

In my previous tutorials we looked at the different OSPF Network types and also how they interact with each other. In this tutorial we will be looking at implementing OSPF over a partial mesh Frame-Relay network with multiple hubs and spokes. This is the last of the OSPF Network Types and Frame Relay series of articles….unless I find something cool! :)

News: Antonie Henning Passed!

Antonie Henning, the blogger behind the Last 40 days CCIE blog, has passed his CCIE lab. Great news! Head on over and congratulate him! Well deserved!

CCIE Salary Survey

I got an email this morning from Emmanuel Conde asking this to be posted. I think a salary survey is a great idea and Emmanuel does a fantastic job servicing the CCIE community so I encourage everyone reading this to take the time, fill it out and send him a response.

News: Narbik Kocharians joins forces with IPexpert and Free Stuff!

IPexpert release their newsletter today, with some big news for the CCIE training sphere. After last weeks shakeup where Scott Morris left for InternetworkExpert, it looks like IPexpert has joined forces with superstar Narbik Kocharians! (Does this seem like a superstar trade to anyone else?)

Blog: Cisco, the new CCIE Plaques suck!

I got my CCIE plaque in the mail yesterday.To be honest, I’m really disappointed. I wish they didn’t get rid of the old ones (Greg I’m soooo jealous!). After all that hard work, this thing looks like its made out of plastic. What am I saying, it IS made out of plastic! Plastic with a bit of glass stuck on the front. Bring back the old medallions. That is something you can show of with pride! Continue reading for a photo…

Blog: My IPexpert Voice Stuff Has Arrived!

My IPexpert CCIE Voice Blended Learning Solution (trying saying that three times fast!) has arrived! Woohoo! I’ve been waiting for this little puppy for about a week. It contained all the printed material for the Blended Learning solution: Workbook 1, 2, and 3 as well as a printout of the slides for the Video On Demand DVD….

Cisco Spamming Blog Comments For New Learning Portal….Nice!

They are obviously trying to get you to go to their new Cisco Learning Network Portal. This portal actually looks pretty cool. Its a web portal with a discussion forum etc. The CCIE section is pretty bare at the moment, but hopefully they put some cool tutorials or videos etc. Now I wonder how many of those comments on the forum are real….

Scott Morris Joins Internetwork Expert

Man this is huge news. Scott Morris joins the all-star team at Internetwork Expert! Scott Morris, Quad CCIE, Uber Geek, The man behind that lab, has officially joined Internetwork Expert. Scott was Vice President of Technical Training at IPexpert where he delivered and developed CCIE classroom training.

Keith Tokash CCIE#21236

Keith passed! Well deserved. He’s built a monster gaming rig and celebrating right now. Head on over to CCIECandidate and congratulate him!
“F*&^ this lab! That’s right, right where it hurts. I decided that if the lab exam was a person I was going to do the equivalent of knocking its damned teeth into its [...]

News: New CCNA Concentrations – CCNA Security, CCNA Voice and CCNA Wireless

Cisco has announced three new concentrations to the CCNA program – CCNA Security, CCNA Wireless, and CCNA Voice. Candidates at the associate level (CCNA) are often expected to operate and maintain voice, security, and wireless equipment and this program is designed for such candidates. You must have a valid CCNA to achieve these concentrations. The concentrations allow a current CCNA to specialize and serves as a stepping stone to the Professional level certifications.

BGP Best Path Selection Algorithm

I found this great link from Richard Bannister’s CCIE Blog. Richard has put together a great BGP Best Path Selection flow chart that details the order in which a path is chosen. Great work!

CCIE Job Search Article

Emmanuel Conde has written a fantastic article on job search considerations when you are a CCIE. Emmanuel is a CCIE recruitment guru who specializes in locating CCIEs and Senior Network Professionals for Cisco Systems and their international Partners. Next time I’m in the job market I know where I’ll be going for help! Awesome work [...]

Tutorial: Filtering Routes in OSPF Part 1 » Filtering Within An Area

In addition to knowing all the different OSPF Network Types and how they relate to Frame-Relay, a CCIE candidate must be familiar with the different methods of filtering routes in OSPF. This two part series of tutorials will focus on filtering routes in OSPF, both within an area and between areas. This tutorial will focus on filtering routes within an area using distribute-lists, access-lists and using a route-map.

IPexpert 2008 Networkers Party!

If you are heading out to Cisco Networkers in Orlando be sure to check out IPexpert’s 2008 Networkers Party on Monday night (June 23rd).
They are giving away $100,000+ in prizes including: 8 CCIE “End-to-End” All-Inclusive Training Programs ($10K+ value each!), 10 of IPexpert’s NEWLY-RELEASED Blended Learning Solutions ($1600+ value each!) and 5 CCIE [...]

Public Apology from Robert Williams, CEO of CertGuard

Robert Williams from CertGuard has issued a formal public apology to Ethan and the CCIE community. I’m glad we can now put an end to this soap opera and the rest of us can get back to studying and writing articles for the CCIE community.

Return of the Jedi…Ethan’s Back!

Ethan’s back…
Great response from the CCIE Community. I posted my take on the whole fiasco here, and I am glad if it helped in any way. In the end common sense and justice prevailed. The reputation of both NetworkWorld and CertGuard has been severely tarnished by this, and I hope CertGuard and Robert Williams are [...]

Blog: The Whole Ethan Thing….

No doubt if your a follower of the other CCIE blogs, and a regular reader of groupstudy you would have seen this whole thing about Robert Williams from CertGuard slamming Ethan Banks for cheating on his exam. CCIEPursuit summed it up nicely, as did Matt Hill, Collin McNamara, Deon Botha and Greg Ferro.

Blog: CCIE:R&S…Done…Now What?

After doing what anybody passing their CCIE does (killing brain cells with beer), I had time to reflect on what has been an awesome year so far. I’ve had emails from all around the world, calls from family and friends congratulating me. But you wouldn’t believe how many emails, and conversations I’ve had that contained the question “What are your plans next? Now what?”…

IP Routing Protocols FAQs

I was trolling through the Cisco website and I found this awesome list of Freqently asked questions created by Cisco in its IP Routing Technology Q&A webpage. Check them out, they are definitely recommended reading for a CCIE candidate:

IP Routing: Frequently Asked Questions,
BGP: Frequently Asked Questions,
OSPF: Frequently Asked Questions,
EIGRP: Frequently Asked Questions,
ODR: Frequently Asked Questions.

IPexpert on Twitter

Looks like IPexpert is on twitter! They’ve got a promotion on there with $2500 off security and voice bootcamps! Awesome! Follow them here: http://twitter.com/ipexpert