Dale was in the Mock Lab Workshop in Reno. He was knocking out labs in under 4 hours (under 3 hours sometimes). If my sources are correct, he took the lab on Friday in RTP and – after sweating it out over the weekend – got his digits today.
Way to go Dale. Have a beer or ten. Get reacquainted with your family. Order about a hundred shirts with your number on it. I’ll try to meet you on the road to the CCIE Wireless. You will probably be a triple-CCIE by then. 🙂
With the recent upgrade of the 12.4 documentation, the 12.4 Master Command List was broken into sections based on alphabetical order. This means that you are no longer able to do an ‘in page’ search of all of the commands. You either have to know what letter the command starts with or search multiple pages. The ‘workaround’ to this was to use the 12.3 Master Command List.
Alas, that too has been segmented into multiple pages.
Recently minted CCIE #21236 found where the old skool Master Command Index is hiding:
I noticed right before my test that that list was missing, but it still there, just moved. Goto 12.3, then the 12.3T references, then the link is at the very bottom.
If you open the 12.3T documentation and use the Master Index, then you can hit this page.
I don’t know how long this will be around though. It looks like we’re going to have to get used to the fact that ‘mining the DOCCD’ is going to be a bit more difficult going forward. Hopefully Cisco will make PDFs available with all of the commands so that there will still be one place to search through all of the commands at once.
I switched WordPress themes because the Rubric theme that I was using seemed to eat my CCIE jpeg occasionally (probably NOT a good omen). I decided to find a new theme. After spending way too much time messing around I settled on Simpla. I also decided that I’m going to eventually move to my own server so that I have more control over aesthetics. Plus I’ll be able to make billions of dollars in advertising. 🙂 This won’t be happening anytime soon and I plan to mirror all content on WordPress.
Anyhoo…back to labbing.
Brian Dennis talked about this a bit during the workshop last week, but now that it’s on their blog it’s “official”. 🙂 There’s a new version of the ATCOD coming in the next couple of months. Brian promised that this version would include a button to skip the corny jokes. This prompted a response of “So the COD will be about 15 minutes long then?”
This format is a lead-in to our new CCIE Routing & Switching Advanced Technologies Class-on-Demand Version 5.0, that will be nearly THREE FULL WEEKS OF CONTENT. While the current 4.1 content is exceptional, there are certain topics that were cut short to fit into the two week format. We envision a 100% complete release of Volume I Version 5.0 and the CoD Version 5.0 within the next six weeks, and optimistically a large portion of the new Volume II Version 5.0 and Volume III Version 5.0 content. Beta testing will begin for all of this material shortly.
From the comments (via Brian M):
Class-on-Demand version 5 is not an update to version 4, it is a major forklift upgrade. It will be delivered both online and in DVD format. The release will start with online first and then the DVDs will become available a few weeks after.
Absolutely it does [Investment Protection gives current members access to the new COD and workbooks]. The only thing not free is new printed copies of workbooks or new DVD copies of the Class-on-Demand. There is a minimal production and shipping charge for these items.
Brian had mentioned that they may reorder their workbooks as well. Volume I will still be the technology-focused labs (they have beta currently up for switching, Frame Relay, and RIP). Volume II will most likely be the current Volume III core labs. Volume II (full-scale labs) will become Volume III. There may be a new Volume IV which will be comprised of mock labs.
Scott Morris is now blogging at the Internetwork Expert blog. His first post concerns some changes (and possible changes) to the CCIE Service Provider lab. A number of the people in the workshop last week expressed interest in pursuing multiple CCIE certifications. All of them said that they would most likely go after the SP next as there is a significant amount of topic overlap with the R&S lab. Also, you can use Dynamips exclusively for the SP track.
IPv6 will be coming to a Service Provider CCIE exam near you. This shouldn’t be a surprise as it has been in the R&S CCIE exam for over a year now. What will make it interesting, of course, is just how much EXTRA stuff expanding other topics like MPLS labeling, VPN creation, VPNv6 routes and other stuff like that which will need to be discussed and dissected along the way.
IOS-XR may be coming in at some point. Most likely in the form of a GSR router. No, I have no details on exact models or what exciting level of software/modules/stuff will be included with it! Just watch for further announcements! In my own personal opinion, with the use of the GSR we may also find some SONET links added into our topology with the 7200VXR routers already being used. I have no other basis than my warped sense of humor for that, and thinking that it “just makes sense”.
Cisco recently launched a new “Web 2.0” (does that term really have any meaning anymore?) certification portal/site. The site looks great and should be a good resource for those pursuing the various levels of Cisco certification. I popped in to check out the new CCNA Wireless certification(basically an “add-on” to your existing CCNA).
The site does require a password and my existing CCO account(s) did not seem to work.
The Routing and Switching CCIE section is a litte threadbare at the moment, but I’m sure that it will be growing pretty quickly once the site gets more popular.
IPExpert is tweating (I think that’s what the kids are calling it today 🙂 ) from Networkers at http://twitter.com/ipexpert. They have been giving away everything from rack rentals to end-to-end training packages to followers who are the Nth person to email them once a tweat goes up. I don’t know how much more stuff they’re giving away, but they did just have a winner about 2 hours ago so this looks to still be live so it might be worth watching the feed for the chance to nab some free product.
I got an email from IPexpert with their response to Scott Morris joining Internetwork Expert. I don’t have a link to the IPexpert announcement so I’ll post it in it’s entirety here:
Wayne Lawson’s Statement on the Departure of Scott Morris from IPexpert
Over the past five years, since Scott Morris joined IPexpert, we have worked together towards a common goal of making IPexpert the world’s best CCIE training organization. In this time, the company has faced many successes and challenges in our journey to stay at the top of our game.
Growing from a team of just three, a short time ago, to our staff of near 20 today illustrates the continued evolution of our business model. One effect of adding new employees to a team is that their contributions and effort draw comparisons to those already on board. As we have continued to add new faces to our group of instructors, the individual roles have evolved for each of them, based on various criteria.
In order to ensure that IPexpert’s business goals, product objectives and growth strategies continue to be realized, I felt that it was time for IPexpert and Scott to move in different directions. In our early years, it was easy to roll with issues that may arise during the course of business. Today, I bear the responsibility of ensuring the success of IPexpert for the benefit of a full staff and their families. My decisions, however difficult, must be governed by this broader interest and that of the customers we serve.
To be clear, I sincerely appreciate the contributions Scott has made with our company and, in the bigger picture, the CCIE community. We are all better for it, without question. I am confident that, as one of the most recognized network engineers around, Scott will find great success along the next path in his career.
Moving forward, I can guarantee that the IPexpert team will continue to develop, innovate and deliver the best possible products and courses in the CCIE training space. We are more excited than ever about the new product line recently announced for the R&S, Voice, Security and Service Provider tracks.
If you have any questions, concerns or comments about this announcement, I welcome you to contact me directly. We appreciate your business and the opportunity to be a part of your success!
– Wayne Lawson II – Founder & President, IPexpert, Inc.
I expect that GroupStudy will be pretty active today. 🙂
Okay, I guess that this is the big announcement (thank you to Alissa and Adam):
Brian Dennis and I are proud to welcome Scott Morris, four-time CCIE #4713, to the Internetwork Expert team as a new CCIE instructor. Scott Morris has been in the Cisco networking industry for over 12 years and belongs to an elite group of engineers worldwide holding four CCIE certifications. Scott was one of the first individuals to pass the Cisco Design Specialist certification in 1998, and soon after passed the CCIE Lab Exam in Routing and Switching. He then went on to obtain CCIE certifications in ISP-Dial, Security, and Service Provider. Scott is currently preparing for the Voice CCIE, and the newly announced Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE).
Prior to joining Internetwork Expert, Scott was Vice President of Technical Training and an Instructor at IPExpert. While working at IPExpert, Scott developed and delivered CCIE classroom training, as well as initiated new product development. Scott is currently a regular columnist for the TCPMag Journal.
You can read more about this here.
I won’t even pretend to know anything about the CCIE training market, but it’s a bit strange to see Scott Morris hosting a beer and wings party for IPExpert on Monday and then joining the IE team on Wednesday. If this was the price he had to pay to get into the Networkers’ CCIE party, then the price of admission was too high Scott. 🙂
I’ve never had the chance to see any of Scott’s training, but if he is as good at teaching as he is at writing witty posts in GroupStudy, then IE picked up a great instructor. Plus, I don’t think that he’s slept in the last four years. 🙂
I could be wrong about this (as well as everything else that I type) but I think that Cisco used to offer an exclusive CCIE party at Networkers each year up until last year. It looks like they’ve brought back that tradition this year. Brian McGahan gives a brief recap of the mayhem.
Brian Dennis kept dropping hints that there would be a big announcement from IE this week. Brian McGahan seems to be confirming that with this statement:
Keep checking the blog in the next few days for more detailed write-ups on the sessions we attended, including the upcoming CCDE, and for a *very special announcement* that will be posted (hopefully) later today.
One of the many downsides to losing Ethan’s site during the recent CertGuard dust up was that we lost Keith Tokash as a blogger. Last Thursday he got in the ring with the R&S lab and knocked its teeth out of its head. Congratulations to Keith.
Kevin Dorrell passed his lab over a month ago now, so I’m a little slow on reporting his success. Still, late love is better than no love, so surf on over and congratulate him on a job well done.
CCIE bloggers seem to be creaming the lab lately (many on their first attempt). I have until October, but I will need to step up my game so that I don’t break the streak.
CCIE Pursuit Blog 