CCIE #26654

Between my first and second attempts I drilled down on my weaker areas, as per the points below;

- read every service provider related feature guide for all IOSs

- read the OSPF, IS-IS and Frame-Relay chapters of the following books;
CCIE RS Exam Certification Guide
OSPF Command & Configuration Guide
Troubleshooting IP Routing Protocols
Routing TCIP/IP, Volume 1
- read the Network Management / IP Services chapters of “Routing TCP/IP Volume II”
- did not do any practise labs
- went through the INE OEQ again
- read through notes from previously going through INE OEQ

By the time the date came around I was feeling confident, I was spending less time studying each day because i had literally run out of material to go through. I got to the lab early and slammed down a redbull then I was ready to begin.

The OEQs were done and dusted in the first five minutes. I’m pretty sure I got them all right, this wasn’t because I knew the material better – they were just easy questions. This further built my confidence, I knew I had definitely gotten the three I needed for the lab to count.

I started by reading the entire lab through, nothing really stumped me. I drew up a table of sections/points/time and got started. By the time lunch came around I had already completed around 70% of the paper. There was a major issue on several of the CEs which really scared me. During the lunch break I explained the symptoms to the proctor knowing full well that it was going to be intentional, he laughed and tormented me on not being able to figure out what the cause was (this was warranted as I was a little bit of a smart ass, the proctor is a good guy either way). I started thinking how many points would I lose so that I could calculate if I could still pass or not. When I went back after lunch I had some ideas (gotta stay inside the NDA) and managed to resolve the issue.

This left me with around four hours to finish the configurations and verify everything again. By the time I got to the end I had about two hours left. I felt that I had got every question correct, and went through and made sure everything was still working.

After going through verification twice I got to the point where I felt like “I think we are done here”.. I think that’s from a movie or something… so I cleaned up my desk and handed the exam back to the proctor insisting that there was no more for me to do here. I had left the exam over ninety minutes before the finish time, feeling that it was just too easy and that I had absolutely destroyed it.

I headed back to work to find some of the guys to have a few drinks with. When I eventually got home the results were still not up, then a little while later they appeared.

There was no score breakdown, no marks, just a “PASS” and my CCIE number 26654.

It has been an incredible journey, two years ago I was not even CCNA qualified and it still feels like that was only yesterday. I have to thank my girlfriend and family for supporting me through this endeavor and also all my peers, teachers and those who have mentored me during my career. Although it is true that I took this goal into my own hands, without the influence of others around me I would definitely not be where I am today.

Now I am at the end of this journey.. I have been so focused for so long that it feels strange to not know where I am going, what to do next or what the future holds.. At the very least I think this justifies taking it easy for a while before I guess I will have to start on something else…

There is one other matter to attend to, I started this journey with the thought

“Do CCIEs have special powers?”

I would have to say the answer is no, all it takes is a commitment and the finance to see it through – it’s something anyone can achieve if they want it bad enough!!