CCIE Notes
Many people ask me is it hard to get the CCIE, its like asking how long is a piece of string. I typical answer to a question like that is as follows.
The CCIE practical test is very difficult and I think that unless you have access to about 5-6 Cisco routers to practice and train on you will have great difficulty completing the practical test. The lab would be easy if you had 5 days to complete it, but you don't you have 2 days, there is alot of work to do.
"You don't find many CCIE's who just learnt from a book, most have quite a bit of experience. You cannot pass the CCIE lab exam without a fair bit of hands on router configuration and troubleshooting. I did all my training through Global Knowledge Networks. I had about 3 years pretty full on experience with Cisco routers and networking, then I spent about a year or so ramping up to the CCIE Lab Exam. I passed the CCIE Theory exam without studying. I failed the first time I did the CCIE lab exam and got 97% on the second attempt. Its hard, but achievable. The most important thing is not to get stressed. Concentrate and do like it was just another training exercise, be methodical and thorough.
There were no CCIE study books available when I did my CCIE, but Sam Halabi's BGP Book is very good and the DLSW Design Guide and the OSPF design guide on the Cisco web site are very good. Study hard is the best advice I can give."