CCIE Data Center Coming Soon!!!

It was just announced that CCIE Data Center is coming out this fall! I'm really excited about this one because I've been hearing big things about it. There's a few other things I need to wrap up first, but I'd really like to start working on this as soon as it gets released.

Further details here

CCIE Recert Time

It's been nearly 6 months since my last post. In that time I've been mostly focusing on family and running and getting some rest.

But March 2nd of an even year just passed, which means one thing: The clock is now ticking to recertify my CCIE!

The CCIE has a pretty unusual recert process. Most exams you typically are certified for x years from the date you pass the recert exam.

But the CCIE works differently. It is always based on your lab passing date, which for me is March 2nd.

So when you first pass the CCIE, you are certified for 2 years past the date of the lab. Meaning you're already eligible to recert. So right after passing the lab, you can go take a written exam (same or different than the lab) and extend your suspension date another 2 years out, or essentially 4 years.

So currently my CCIE suspension date is March 3rd 2014. And if I pass any CCIE written it then becomes March 3rd, 2016 (whether I pass on April 3rd, 2012 or March 2nd, 2013).

Chicago Marathon

I finished the Chicago Marathon over the weekend with a time of 4:29. Not quite as fast as I had hoped, but it's still a personal best, and also a best half marathon time of 1:56.

I've also now reached my original goal weight of 155. So I'm finally at my correct weight, at least by BMI standards.

Down to a somewhat loose size 30 jeans (from a snug 36) and medium size shirt (from XL).

Even with as thrilled as I am with all of that, still nowhere close to seeing any sign of abs. My bodyfat is still 22% and from what I've researched I need to have it down to around 10%. That equates to having to lose 12% fat at 155 pounds, or 18 pounds of fat.

So I'm going to try to lose another 10 pounds.

Next up, I'm going back from long slow running to short fast running. My current 5k best is 22:06 and I'd like to see if I can get that down to 19:59 by the end of the year.

Racing and Strengthening

Yep, I'm still on the working out kick and haven't gotten back to studying anything in the networking arena. I did have a couple of big milestones this week, however.

I finally beat my 14 year old 5K record of 24:03, with a new best of 23:16. I've knocked about 2 minutes off my time in the past month so I'll keep working at this until it plateaus.

I signed up for the Chicago marathon this October. There are 40,000 entrants so it could take 30 minutes or more to pass the starting line in the open bracket. I can get moved up considerable to a preferred start by posting a 1:50:00ish half-marathon by August. This equals an 8:23 pace. My 23:16 5k is a 7:30 pace. So if I can just stretch that out from 3.1 miles to 13.1 miles, I'll have plenty of room to spare. And no, it's not NEARLY as easy as it sounds.

The interesting part about running is it is taking the place of college and CCIE studying for my need for acquiring technical knowledge. I spend probably an hour or two a week on my training plan and optimizing it for things like increased VO2 max, lactate threshold, and running efficiency. And then there's the daily eating plan, in which the struggle is typically to get enough lean protein into my diet.

On top of all of that, after 6 months of calorie restriction I decided to take a break. I was at one point within 5 pounds of my goal weight but my hunger was getting ravenous and I couldn't fight it any more. So I threw in the towel and got back with my personal trainer to go with a 1 month bulking session on my upper body and core. I now get to eat about 3000 calories a day, but have to stuff down even more lean protein, with the goal of putting on 1-2 pounds of muscle a week.

In the past month I have gained 5 pounds back. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty disheartening to be going back the other direction. But on the bright spot I bought some almost uncomfortably tight jeans right before my marathon just to have a reference point for the current shape I'm in. And even with the weight gain, the jeans are still getting looser. So that's reassuring.

Finally, after my marathon, I tried on my Air Force uniform. For the first time this millennium, it actually fit. It was a little snug in the midsection, though. I just tried it on again and it fit comfortably.

I think I can safely mark this as the time in my life I undid the 10+ years of personal abuse and am now in the best shape I ever been in.

Now it's time to keep going and see how far I can take it. Under 20 minute 5k? Less than 4 hour marathon? 100 push-ups? 10 pull-ups? And of course the original goal of washboard abs. I'm not even close to that yet and man it's still not going to be easy.

5 months later...

It's now been 5 months since I've been putting CCIE level effort into improving my health. No washboard abs yet, but I'm pleased to say I have made a lot of progress. I've lost over 20 pounds, 7% body fat, 6 inches off my waist, and now have a medal to hang next to my CCIE plaques: 2011 Myrtle Beach Marathon finisher (4 hours 55 minutes).

Here's pretty much what my schedule has turned into:
Monday: 1 hour weights at the gym
Tuesday: 4 mile easy run
Wednesday: 3 mile fast run to the gym, 1 hour weights, 3 mile easy run home
Thursday: 4 mile easy run
Friday: 1 hour weights at the gym, 20 minute sprint intervals
Saturday: rest
Sunday: long slow distance run (12 - 20 miles)

I'm still sticking with my original quest for now. In running the numbers, it looks like if I keep on track I should be in the ballpark around June.

It's been awhile, again

Yep, things have been quiet on the CCIE studying front. Work has been busy and I have a 6 month old at home now too, who keeps me even busier.

Additionally, I've been spending a lot of time at the gym trying to get rid of some of the additional "baggage" that comes along with getting 2 ccie's. It looks like it's going to take 3 months of hard work to get where I want to be. I just don't see having the energy to study while I'm wearing myself out on a daily basis. But right now that's definitely the priority.

So hopefully around xmas my name will change to "Double CCIE with 6 pack abs" lol. Ok, I probably have as much chance of that as somebody who has never seen a router passing the CCIE in 3 months. But hey, no harm in dreaming :).

MSPRP Complete

As expected, I was able to knock off the MSPRP exam without studying. A little better knowledge of XR would have been very helpful, but I had a high enough score on it and the remaining sections to carry myself through.

On to MSPVM

CCNP SP Operations Page Live

Cisco has the CCNP SP Operations page up now:

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccnpspops

CCNP SP Operations

Now it's time for me to begin working on CCNP SP Operations. This certification is not fully live yet, but the details are at https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-8149

There are 4 exams required:
642-770: Operational Foundations for Cisco Service Provider Core Networks (OFCN)
642-775: Maintaining Cisco Service Provider Routing Protocols (MSPRP)
647-780: Maintaining Cisco Service Provider VPNs and MPLS Networks (MSPVM)
642-785: Maintaining Cisco Service Provider Quality of Service (MSPQS)

All 4 show up on Vue's website, so it looks like the certification is fully live.

Now I just need to decide what to take first.
OFCN is all about processes and management tools. I'll need to study a lot for that so I'll hold off for now.
MSPRP focuses on BGP, OSPF, and IS-IS. Sounds like a great place to start!
MSPVM is the MPLS exam. Another good one!
MSPQS covers QoS. Not a bad topic but I'm a little rusty on some of the details.

So I should be able to knock out MSPRP and MSPVM by the end of August. I'll give myself another 2 weeks on MSPQS and then 6 weeks on OFCN. That would get me the CCNP SP Ops by the end of October. I like doing my CCIE studying over the winter anyway, so the timing should work out well.

CCNA SP Operations Complete

Well, I decided I'd just go ahead and take the SSPO exam 640-760 so that I can target my studying a little better. I was pleasantly surprised when I scored a pass.

The blueprint and study questions on Cisco's site are pretty accurate. I was also happy that most of the information on the exam was pretty relevant. I didn't find many of those "who the heck cares" questions. So all in all I'd say it was a pretty good exam.

CCNA SSPO Review Questions - Set 3

Key Performance Indicator:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator

Incident Management vs. Problem Management:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology_Infrastructure_Library#Incident_Management

CCNA SSPO Review Questions - Set 2

Here's what I need to review for Set 2:

Network Management:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_management

FCAPS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCAPS

NMS Model:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Management_Network

Cisco information center:
http://www.ciscosysteme.com/en/US/products/sw/netmgtsw/ps996/index.html

Cisco ip solution center:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/netmgtsw/ps4748/index.html

CCNA SSPO Review Questions - Set 1

The quiz is located at https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-7318

Topics I need to review:
NGN Architectural Layer
Service Exchange Framework
ITIL
eTOM

For NGN Architecture, there's an ASR9k link which seems the most relevant:
http://cisco.biz/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps9853/solution_overview_c22-501795.html
I'll be reading this many times over.

Service Exchange Framework is here:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns549/net_implementation_white_paper0900aecd80592c03.html

Cisco's Introduction to eTOM:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/technologies/collateral/tk869/tk769/white_paper_c11-541448.html

As for ITIL, there's a comparison to eTOM on the above link. We'll see if I need to know more than that.

SP Operations CCNA

A search on Amazon for 640-760 (the ccna spo exam) comes up with nothing Cisco related. Uh oh, this really is new territory. Interestingly, the CCIE SP written was very much the same. There was little to no material dedicated directly toward it.

However, Cisco does have several quizzes on their site that provides a general idea of the types of questions. I'll try to absorb this information before taking my first crack at the CCNA OPS exam, hopefully this week.

Maybe a different direction...

I keep trying to steer myself toward Security, and I can never seem to get motivated to start working on it.

The bottom line is my current role has little to do with security. I'm primarily working with service provider technologies. Little did I know just how much the SP CCIE would help me. I'm ahead of the curve now on mpls and the time and effort I put into the lab has already paid off nicely.

So, the more I think about it, combined with my current lack of motivation to get going in Security, tells me it's time to switch to another track. The new SP Operations ccie should be right up my alley. I'm sure there will be a lot of carry over from R&S and SP, and I have a bunch of NGN experience as well.

The big issue with SPO is there is practically NO training material for it yet. So I'll be running with this one almost completely on my own--at least until the training providers catch up.

So that being said, I'm going all the way down to the associate level and am beginning to study for CCNA-SPO.

Stay Tuned...

I've been busy with other things and decided to hold off on the studying for a bit. My wife and I had a baby last month, and that definitely took priority over ccie #3.

Once things start to settle down (relatively) I'll be trying to get back into the groove.

.net file for INE CCIE Security volume I

I've had a request for the .net file for volume 1. Here is what I have been using, more or less. For assistance getting the pix setup, see blindhog's blog at http://www.blindhog.net/category/pemu/

Note: I've removed the serial number and registration key. This is a linux version of the Dynagen.

begin file
----------------------------------------
model = 2620
ghostios = True
sparsemem = True

[localhost]
workingdir = /home/ccie/working

[[2620]]
ram = 64

image = /opt/images/C2600-IK.BIN
idlepc = 0x804a39b8

[[ROUTER R1]]
fa0/0 = sw 1
model = 2620

[[ROUTER R2]]
fa0/0 = sw 2
model = 2620

[[ROUTER R3]]
fa0/0 = sw 3
model = 2620

[[ROUTER R4]]
fa0/0 = sw 4
model = 2620

[[ETHSW sw]]
1 = dot1q 121
2 = dot1q 122
3 = access 123
4 = access 124
10 = access 123
11 = dot1q 1
12 = access 124


[pemu localhost]

[[525]]
#for pix 7 & 8
serial = xxx
license = 0xyyy 0xyyy 0xyyy 0xyyy
image = /opt/images/pix804.bin

[[fw fw1]]

# Connect the firewall's e2 interface to the virtual switch, which will bridge it
# to the real network
e0 = sw 10
e1 = sw 11
e2 = sw 12

INE Vol 1 Access Control and Configuring NAT Complete

Nothing too difficult here. I did run into a little bit of an issue getting DNS doctoring to work, but it was because my inspect dns was turned off. Once I got the inspect rules right, everything worked as it should.

INE Vol 1 labs underway

Over Thanksgiving I did 9 or 10 of INE's vol 1 labs. It's quite nice to have such a small topology for a change. My laptop has no problems running 3 routers and a Pix in Dynamips/pemu, which is plenty of devices for the first part of vol 1. With the SP laps I needed another dedicated box to get all 12 routers running smoothly.

I haven't really touched any security devices in a year and a half, although I did spend several years with Pix/ASAs, 3000 series vpn concentrators/clients, IDS, etc. For the most part Vol 1 is encompassing getting back in the groove on the old equipment, and is showing me how to do the CCIE level configs on these devices.

I'm really not in a rush at all. If I get Vol 1 done by the end of the year I'd be pretty happy with my progress.

And Away We Go

Two down, four to go. I don't know if I'll actually make it through all six, but continuing down the CCIE road still feels like the best road for me to follow. None of the alternatives are very appealing at this time: PhD, MBA, open source development, or CCDE. So I'll keep getting CCIEs until my priorities change.

I think I've learned a lot in the process of getting R&S and SP and can hopefully apply it to Security.

First, I tried to fly through SP way too fast. It still ended up taking about a year to complete. This is covered in rfc 1925: you can't make a baby in much less than 9 months.

Second, I should have begun labbing much sooner. Personally, I NEED experience before I get theory thrown at me. I'm not going to touch the class on demand, books, or written exam before I go through volume 1. Otherwise, the theory is over my head and I end up zoning out for much of it. I do better learning the how's first, and then getting to the why's after the fact.

Third, I need to do full scale labs from both IPX and INE before my first lab attempt. Last time I tried to just use INE first, and I had a lot of gaps going into my first attempt.

That being said, my rough schedule is something like this:
November 09 - March 10: INE Vol 1
April - May: Written
May - June: INE Vol 2
July - August: IPX Vol 2
September: Lab Attempt #1