I have finally kicked the last of the whatever disease has been trying to kill me for the last week so I’m off to kill some brain cells (hopefully the ones that hold all of my Britney Spears/Lindsey Lohan/Paris Hilton/Insert Talentless Bimbo Here knowledge and not the ones that hold OSPF LSA information) at a New Year’s party.
To those of you out there who abide by the Gregorian calendar: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Here’s hoping that 2008 is the year that you get your CCIE number.
1 Troubleshooting
Although this is the first section, you will very rarely discover the two errors in the network right off the bat (or in the 10 minutes assigned to this task). It’s a better strategy to make an initial check of the network for obvious errors and then look closer at the devices once you start configuring them. In most cases the errors will prevent you from successfully completing a task so they’ll be quite obvious once you encounter them.
In this lab I quickly found one of the errors because it was on the first device that I was configuring:
sw1#
01:14:53: %IP-4-DUPADDR: Duplicate address 190.1.17.1 on FastEthernet0/1, sourced by 0011.93b0.7640
Initial config error or just my screw up? [I have to alter the initial configurations to work on my rack so it is possible that I accidentally changed the IP address. I reviewed the intial configuration and found that it was not my mistake.] A quick look at sw1 and r1 shows that they are sharing an IP address:
sw1#sh ip int br | e ass
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
FastEthernet0/1 190.1.17.1 YES manual up up
Loopback0 150.1.7.7 YES manual up upr1#sh ip int br | e ass
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
FastEthernet0/0 190.1.17.1 YES manual up up
Loopback0 150.1.1.1 YES manual up up
sw1 should be using the .7 address:
sw1(config)#int fa0/1
sw1(config-if)#desc ->r1 fa0/0
sw1(config-if)#ip add 190.1.17.7 255.255.255.0
sw1(config-if)#^Z
One error down!
The second error popped up later (still in the layer 2 configuration though). I was configuring an SVI on sw3:
sw3(config-if)#int vlan 2569
sw3(config-if)#ip add 190.1.0.9 255.255.255.0
190.1.0.0 overlaps with Vlan2596
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
Vlan2596 190.1.0.9 YES manual down down
Nicely played IE. 🙂 There was an existing SVI configured that had the last two digits transposed. I got rid of that SVI and configured the correct one:
sw3(config-if)#no int vlan2596
sw3(config)#int vlan 2569
sw3(config-if)#ip add 190.1.0.9 255.255.255.0
sw3(config-if)#no shsw3(config-if)#do sh ip int br | i Vlan
Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol
Vlan2569 190.1.0.9 YES manual up up
In a recent post concerning Internetwork Expert’s Graded Mock Lab product, I wondered aloud:
IE runs two weeks of Mock Lab Workshops. Each week includes 4 mock labs. I am going to try to get my employer to pay for one of these workshops this year. If you are planning on booking one of the workshops as well as some of the $99 mock labs, you may want to check with IE to see if they use the same labs in the workshop(s) so that you don’t end up repeating labs. I’ll fire off an email to IE and post their response later.
I did email Internetwork Expert about this issue and they responded:
The Mock Lab Exams used in the Mock Lab Workshops are unique and not available elsewhere in our study materials, so you shouldn’t have to worry about overlapping any exams. I have double-checked this info with the Brians and they did confirm this.
Since the Graded Mock Labs don’t overlap with the labs used in the Mock Lab Workshops, I went ahead and booked 3 more of them. If I can get my employer to pay for one of the Mock Lab Workshops, I will have a total of 8 mock labs before I take my actual lab.
One other piece of information: you can book and reschedule your Graded Mock Labs using IE’s new rack reservation system. I was able to quickly schedule my mock labs and even reschedule my existing mock lab from 30 January to 26 March. This process was very simple and painless. Now I should be (somewhat) ready for my first mock lab. Plus I was able to get rack 1 for all 4 of my labs (this makes it easier for me to use the lab documentation).
The IE Graded Mock Lab $99 Special ends today. For $99 you can book one now and schedule it for (nearly) any date in 2008. If you’re looking into taking a mock lab, this is a great deal.
CCBootcamp has posted the recording of their December 27th free CCIE Voice session:
Thanks,
Brad Ellis
CCIE#5796 (R&S / Security)
CCSI# 30482
CEO
Network Learning Inc – A Cisco Sponsored Organization (SO) YES! We take Cisco Learning credits!
brad@ccbootcamp.com
www.ccbootcamp.com (Cisco Training and Advanced Technology Rental Racks) www.routerie.com (Routing and Switching Forums)
www.securityie.com (Security Forums)
www.voiceie.com (Voice Forums)
Voice: 702-968-5100
FAX: 702-446-8012
Just a quick reminder that CCBootcamp is offering couple of free training sessions this week for those who are pursuing the Voice and Security tracks:
Complimentary LIVE eLearning Webinars – December 27th and 28th
CCIE Voice – Gatekeeper – December 27th 2007, 10:00 AM – 02:00 PM PST (GMT-8)
CCIE Security – VPN – December 28th 2007, 10:00 AM – 02:00 PM PST (GMT-8)December 27th – Avner Izhar CCIE Voice#15999
December 28th – Ramy Sisy CCIE Security#17321Due to the number of people that have signed up, we ask that you enter the room at least 15-30 minutes prior to the start time. The online classroom will only accommodate 500 participants and is available on a first come first serve basis. You can enter the room as early as 45 minutes prior to the beginning of the session.
You will need either speakers or a headset to listen to our instructor’s lecture. The online classroom requires multiple downloads. Please make sure you have these downloads installed prior to the start of the session.
Starting at 9:00AM PST each day, you can use the corresponding links:
December 27th Webinar link
December 28th Webinar linkWhen you log in, you may be prompted to download Sun Microsystem’s Java Web Start (or OpenJNLP for Mac), a pre-requisite to Elluminate Live!.
You only need to do this the first time you use Elluminate Live!.The minimum PC requirements are a Pentium III 500 Mhz CPU running Windows 98/ME/2000/XP with 128MB of memory and a sound card.
The minimum Mac requirements are Mac OS 9.1/9.2, Mac OS X 10.1.5/10.2/10.3/10.4, running on a G3 233 Mhz CPU with either 64 MB (OS 9),
128 MB (OS X 10.1.5/10.2/10.3) or 256 MB (OS X 10.4).
The minimum Solaris requirements are Solaris 9/10 (SPARC only), UltraSPARC 11c 300Mhz, 128MB of memory.
The minimum Red Hat Linux requirements are RHEL 4, Pentium III 1 Ghz processor, 256MB of memory.
The minimum Novell SUSE Linux requirements are SLES9, Pentium III 1 Ghz processor, 256MB of memory.I would suggest going through the downloads about 30 minutes prior to the start of the session.
If you would like to preview the software used for our online classroom and verify that you have all the requirements necessary to run the software, please visit join the configuration room in the following link:
http://www.elluminate.com/support/
If you have any technical support issues, please email brad:
brad@ccbootcamp.comIf you have questions after the lecture, please post them on our forums:
http://www.voiceie.com/
http://www.routerie.com/
http://www.securityie.com/thanks,
Brad Ellis
CCIE#5796 (R&S / Security)
CCSI# 30482
CEO
Network Learning Inc – A Cisco Sponsored Organization (SO) YES! We take Cisco Learning credits!
This week started out strong, but then I ended up contracting a severe case of Ebola. I felt like shit from Friday night on (I am still feeling crappy as I type this). Although I did finish Volume III lab 3, I quickly discovered that labbing while wishing for death to come swiftly and end my misery is not a good combination. I had planned on getting a lot of studying done during the Xmas holiday, but I spent most of yesterday asleep so that plan was blown.
Here are my goals from last week:
Volume I BGP labs. Read 4 random labs from each of Volume I OSPF, EIGRP, RIP (12 total). Do 4 random labs from each of Volume I OSPF, EIGRP, RIP (12 total). Review route redistribution. Do Volume III lab 3. Build work lab.
I completed Volume III lab 3 (still working on the post). I finally did review route redistribution. I did not get around to reviewing Multicast (yet again!). I finished most of the work lab (cards, cabling, and IOS). I did not do any other labs as I was too sick. Instead of labbing some more, I reviewed the IEATC Advanced OSPF lessons.
Goals for this week: Volume I BGP labs. Read 4 random labs from each of Volume I OSPF, EIGRP, RIP (12 total). Do 4 random labs from each of Volume I OSPF, EIGRP, RIP (12 total). Redo Volume III lab 1.
| Days Until Lab: | 159 |
| Readiness (1 to 10): | 2 |
| Lab Hours This Week | 15 |
| Study Hours This Week (estimate): | 5 |
Section 7 – IPv6 – 4 Points
7.1 IPv6 Addressing
Very easy IPv6 configuration task.
“The host portion of the IPv6 addresses should be based partly off of their interfaces’ respective MAC addresses”
This should ring a very loud bell to use eui-64:
ipv6 address eui-64
Configuring IPv6 Addressing and Enabling IPv6 Routing
r2(config)#int fa0/0
r2(config-if)#ipv6 address 2001:CC1E:1:202::/64 eui-64
r2(config-if)#do sh int fa0/0 | i bia
Hardware is AmdFE, address is 000d.bc01.3400 (bia 000d.bc01.3400)2(config-if)#do sh ipv6 int br | sec Ethernet0/0
FastEthernet0/0 [up/up]
FE80::20D:BCFF:FE01:3400
2001:CC1E:1:202:20D:BCFF:FE01:3400
7.2 IPv6 Tunneling
Crap! Tunneling is something that I have managed to put off studying. Luckily if you can configure a GRE tunnel, you can easily complete this task as the sub-tasks pretty much step you through the process.
Oops:
r2#p FE80::20A:B7FF:FE57:3A41 <-r4’s tunnel address 😦
Output Interface: tu0
% Invalid interface. Use full interface name without spaces (e.g. Serial0/1)
Output Interface: s0/0
% Invalid interface. Use full interface name without spaces (e.g. Serial0/1)
Output Interface: Serial0/0
% IPv6 isn’t enabled on this interface
Output Interface: quit
% Invalid interface. Use full interface name without spaces (e.g. Serial0/1)
Output Interface:
I couldn’t break out of this — until I used cntl+c 🙂
Section 6 – Multicast – 8 Points
6.1 PIM
This was a basic task. You need to configure IP Multicast on some fo the routers and then PIM on certain interfaces. Make r5’s loopback 0 the RP for a certain set of multicast groups. The rest should not use an RP.
So we know that we have a mixture of PIM dense and PIM sparse because certain Multicast groups will require an RP while others will not. Thus we need to configure “ip pim sparse-dense-mode”.
Good luck looking at the 12.4 command reference though:
ip pim register-source IMC-183
The Page You Have Requested Is Not Available
The page you are trying to access may have been moved to a different location or removed. If you typed the address, please verify that the spelling is correct.
I’m not sure how you would handle this in the lab, but I just jumped to the 12.3 documentation:
To use lo0 (the wrong way):
To configure the IP source address of a register message to an interface address other than the outgoing interface address of the designated router (DR) leading toward the rendezvous point (RP), use the ip pim register-source command in global configuration mode. To disable this configuration, use the no form of this command.
ip pim [vrf vrf-name] register-source interface-type interface-number
no ip pim [vrf vrf-name] register-source interface-type interface-number
I had everything that I needed EXCEPT a way to limit the RP to certain Multicast groups. I was completely lost. The answer was easy, but I took a wrong turn with “ip pim register-source”. I really need to review Multicast.
You need an ACL and these two commands:
To use Auto-RP to configure groups for which the router will act as a rendezvous point (RP), use the ip pim send-rp-announce command in global configuration mode. To unconfigure this router as an RP, use the no form of this command.
ip pim [vrf vrf-name] send-rp-announce interface-type interface-number scope ttl-value [group-list access-list] [interval seconds] [bidir]
no ip pim [vrf vrf-name] send-rp-announce interface-type interface-number scope ttl-value [group-list access-list] [interval seconds] [bidir]
ip pim send-rp-discovery
Don’t forget to configure ip pim on the RP interface:
r5(config)#ip pim send-rp-announce lo0 scope 16 group-list 69
Must first configure PIM mode on the interface: Loopback0
The solution guide has a nice write-up on this task.
Nice verification command:
r1#sh ip pim rp mapping
PIM Group-to-RP MappingsGroup(s) 225.0.0.0/8
RP 150.6.5.5 (?), v2v1
Info source: 150.6.5.5 (?), elected via Auto-RP
Uptime: 00:02:04, expires: 00:02:51
Group(s) 226.0.0.0/8
RP 150.6.5.5 (?), v2v1
Info source: 150.6.5.5 (?), elected via Auto-RP
Uptime: 00:02:04, expires: 00:02:54
Group(s) 227.0.0.0/8
RP 150.6.5.5 (?), v2v1
Info source: 150.6.5.5 (?), elected via Auto-RP
Uptime: 00:02:04, expires: 00:02:55
6.2 Multicast Forwarding
r2#sh ip igmp mem
Flags: A – aggregate, T – tracked
L – Local, S – static, V – virtual, R – Reported through v3
I – v3lite, U – Urd, M – SSM (S,G) channel
1,2,3 – The version of IGMP the group is in
Channel/Group-Flags:
/ – Filtering entry (Exclude mode (S,G), Include mode (*,G))
Reporter:
<mac-or-ip-address> – last reporter if group is not explicitly tracked
<n>/<m> – <n> reporter in include mode, <m> reporter in excludeChannel/Group Reporter Uptime Exp. Flags Interface
*,228.22.22.22 0.0.0.0 00:00:27 stop 2SA Fa0/0
*,224.0.1.39 136.6.245.5 00:09:01 02:54 2A Se0/0
*,224.0.1.40 136.6.29.2 00:19:26 02:51 2LA Fa0/0r2#sh ip mroute | sec 228.
(*, 228.22.22.22), 00:01:32/stopped, RP 0.0.0.0, flags: DC
Incoming interface: Null, RPF nbr 0.0.0.0
Outgoing interface list:
Serial0/0, Forward/Sparse-Dense, 00:01:32/00:00:00
FastEthernet0/0, Forward/Sparse-Dense, 00:01:32/00:00:00
(136.6.245.5, 228.22.22.22), 00:00:35/00:02:30, flags: T
Incoming interface: Serial0/0, RPF nbr 136.6.245.5
Outgoing interface list:
FastEthernet0/0, Forward/Sparse-Dense, 00:00:35/00:00:00
(150.6.5.5, 228.22.22.22), 00:00:35/00:02:30, flags: T
Incoming interface: Serial0/0, RPF nbr 136.6.245.5
Outgoing interface list:
FastEthernet0/0, Forward/Sparse-Dense, 00:00:35/00:00:00
6.3 Multicast Filtering
It took me a while to understand this question, but I was able get the points for this task (it really helps that the task was called “Multicast Filtering”). 🙂
Pretty simple config using and ACL and “ip igmp access-group”
r4(config-ext-nacl)#int e0/0
r4(config-if)#ip igmp access-group FILTER_MULTI ?
<cr>
This must be inbound only:
r4#sh ip igmp int e0/0
Ethernet0/0 is up, line protocol is up
Internet address is 136.6.4.4/24
IGMP is enabled on interface
Current IGMP host version is 2
Current IGMP router version is 2
IGMP query interval is 60 seconds
IGMP querier timeout is 120 seconds
IGMP max query response time is 10 seconds
Last member query count is 2
Last member query response interval is 1000 ms
Inbound IGMP access group is FILTER_MULTI
IGMP activity: 1 joins, 0 leaves
Multicast routing is enabled on interface
Multicast TTL threshold is 0
Multicast designated router (DR) is 136.6.4.4 (this system)
IGMP querying router is 136.6.4.4 (this system)
Multicast groups joined by this system (number of users):
224.0.1.40(1)
If you look at the documentation for “ip igmp access-group” it has some interesting ACLs:
The following are examples of extended access lists:
The first part of the extended access list clause controls the source (multicast sender), and the second part of the extended access list clause controls the multicast group.
Deny all state for a group G
deny igmp any host G
permit igmp any anyDeny all state for a source S
deny igmp host S any
permit igmp any anyPermit all state for a group G
permit igmp any host GPermit all state for a source S
permit igmp host S anyFilter a particular source for a group G
deny igmp host S host G
permit igmp any host G
6.4 Multicast Filtering
I had no idea on this one. I gave it the old college try by going under the interface and looking at the options for “ip igmp” and “ip pim” to see if I could steal some points, but nothing looked promising:
r1(config-if)#ip igmp ? [output filtered]
last-member-query-count IGMP last member query count
last-member-query-interval IGMP last member query interval
querier-timeout IGMP previous querier timeout
query-interval IGMP host query interval
query-max-response-time IGMP max query response valuer1(config-if)#ip pim ?
bidir-neighbor-filter PIM bidir capable peering filter
bsr-border Border of PIM domain
dense-mode Enable PIM dense-mode operation
dr-priority PIM router DR priority
nbma-mode Use Non-Broadcast Multi-Access (NBMA) mode on interface
neighbor-filter PIM peering filter
query-interval PIM router query interval
sparse-dense-mode Enable PIM sparse-dense-mode operation
sparse-mode Enable PIM sparse-mode operation
state-refresh PIM DM State-Refresh configuration
version PIM version
<cr>
I should have done this:
r1(config-if)#ip multicast ?
boundary Boundary for administratively scoped multicast addresses
helper-map Broadcast to Multicast map OR Multicast to ip-address map
rate-limit Rate limit multicast data packets
tagswitch Enable IP Multicast Tagswitching
ttl-threshold TTL threshold for multicast packets
As I blogged earlier, Internetwork Expert is offering (unproctored) mock labs for $99 (normally $249) so I went ahead and booked one. At $99 it was too good of a deal to pass up. I booked for the end of January. I fully expect to fail, but it should give me a good indication of where I am at in my studies.
Once you pay for and schedule your lab you’ll see a “Graded Mock Labs” section appear on your Internetwork Expert subscriptions page.
Below are your graded mock lab reports. Your lab, topology, physical topology, and configs will appear 1 hour prior to your mock lab, and your mock lab number will be locked in. Your mock lab will be graded within 48 hours of its completion.
Click “View” to open a pop-up window displaying your graded mock lab. Click “Overdue” to automatically send a support ticket about not receiving your graded mock lab.
Take some time and look at the information there. It turns out that you have a choice of 7 different mock labs (mine was defaulted to lab 3, you can change this with the drop-down menu and ‘update’ link).
Mock Lab 1 – 6
Mock Lab 2 – 7
Mock Lab 3 – 7
Mock Lab 4 – 9
Mock Lab 5 – 8
Mock Lab 6 – 8
Mock Lab 7 – 10
A 7 is equal to the difficulty CCIE exam. A 6 is easier, and levels 8 to 10 are harder than the actual CCIE exam. If you can score above 80 on lab 7 then you are most likely going to do very well on your actual CCIE lab.
You can preview the labs by selecting a lab and clicking the ‘preview’ link. The preview list the lab difficulty rating as well as section summaries and topic summaries (I did not look at these as I don’t want any hints as to what I might encounter in the lab). You may want to choose a lab based on your weaknesses. For instance, say that you are weak in Bridging and Switching. Lab 3 has 20 points of Bridging and Switching while lab 2 only has 10 points in that section so you would want to go with lab 3.
You don’t receive your lab documents (test and topologies) or initial configurations until 1 hour prior to the lab. I’m not sure if IE preloads the configurations on the rack for you or if you need to copy them in. I would take a look at the configurations and make sure that the IP addresses are correct for your rack. For instance, I am scheduled to use rack 4 so if the configurations are not preloaded, then I’ll make sure that the IPs are correct for rack 4.
Ethan Banks recently took an IE mock lab. As always, he did a great job blogging about the experience:
From his description, it sounds like an actual human being completes (at least some of) your scoring report.
NOTES:
The $99 special runs through 31 December. When I booked my mock lab you were allowed to book it through the end of January. While the special may still end on 31 December, it looks like you are allowed to schedule your mock labs past the end of January. If that is the case, then I will probably purchase at least 3 more mock labs and schedule them prior to my actual lab attempt. This information is just my speculation based on mucking about with IE’s site. You will want to verify with IE that this is correct.
IE runs two weeks of Mock Lab Workshops. Each week includes 4 mock labs. I am going to try to get my employer to pay for one of these workshops this year. If you are planning on booking one of the workshops as well as some of the $99 mock labs, you may want to check with IE to see if they use the same labs in the workshop(s) so that you don’t end up repeating labs. I’ll fire off an email to IE and post their response later.
Here is a brief video (.asf format) that gives us a glimpse into the CCIE Lab (you’ll need to cut and paste it into your browser as WordPress keeps replacing ‘mms:’ with ‘http:’:
mms://us-eu-st11g1.att-idns.net/v1/1304/4042/wms/global/pbespaly_4_28_2005_15_14_32/offering3/vod-multi.asf
I found this in a post over at the IE forums:
It turns out that this video is part of a longer video that you can view at the Cisco Certifications Community(you’ll need to have a CCO account or Cisco Certified to log in) under “Community TV” tab and the year 2005:
27 Apr 2005
How to Become a CCIE
Take a virtual tour of the CCIE lab and review ways you can earn your CCIE.
[Updated 20 December: I initially posted about the wrong VOD (there are multiple “How to Become a CCIE” shows. The 27 April show contains the clip referenced in this post. The 14 December show has some good, basic information on the taking and preparing for the lab though.]
I haven’t watched the entire video yet. I’m sure that it’s somewhat dated, but it is interesting to get a peek inside the lab. This quote stood out to me:
“The biggest mistake that most candidates make is that they do not read the entire exam before they begin. Therefore, during the course of the exam they lose precious time because they make configuration errors early on that they find they have to go back and fix…”
In the same forum post, one of the posters gives us another glimpse into the lab:
I’ve been to Brussels for the R&S lab before (unfortunately a failed attempt [he passed on his next attempt]). In a nutshell:
You arrive between 7.20 and 7.40 at Cisco, sign in at the front desk, get your badge and wait in the lobby with other candidates (the tension is palpable ), unsurprisingly only guys there, 8 to 10…). At 7.45-50, the proctor comes and guides you to the CCIE room. He explains basics for a few minutes (where the toilets are, shows the break room with a couple drink machines, cellphones/bags/etc. to be put on tables at the back of the room, assigns pod number, explains that he will answer any clarification question about the exam but won’t give or hint at the solution). The exam starts around 8.00, the proctor distributes the questions. There are a couple scratch sheets on the table (more can be asked from the proctor if needed), as well as a dozen pens of various colours, and of course a PC (with on the desktop shortcuts to SecureCRT sessions to all the routers and switches; also available are Notepad, Calculator and Internet Explorer for the univerCD).
Lunch at 12.00. The proctor distributes a coupon so you can eat for free (sort of, $1500 lunch, 20% VAT and service included ), then guides you to the cafeteria (self service). Eat quickly or a light meal, because before 12.30 it’s time for everyone to get back to the lab until 16.30.
You’ll get the results in your mailbox the same day or the next day, usually (except if you take the exam on a Friday, then you can have to wait until Sunday evening, as was the case for me).
CCIE Pursuit Blog 