NETMASTERCLASS MPLS ONLINE MENTORING SESSION

I attended the MPLS online mentoring session today from Netmasterclass. Bruce Caslow was the instructor. Now, you might be asking why would I attend this since it is geared toward CCIE R&S candidates and I passed the lab over 7 years ago.

The answer is simple – I think everyone needs to stay up on technologies and needs to stay fresh. I have been in more of a managerial role for the past year or so. I need every chance that I can get to dig back into the “fun” stuff.

Anyway, the class was really good. We were given a very detailed document that gave basic configurations and diagrams to lab up and test MPLS. There were also an extensive list of troubleshooting commands as well as good tips on MPLS. Bruce stresses a “predictive” approach to learning. This means that he teaches and mentors and encourages everyone to learn to the level that you can predict what the output of a show or debug command should be to verify the correct operation of a solution. By doing so, you really learn the technologies well beyond spitting out commands in reaction to a requirement. This type of learning is also very beneficial for the troubleshooting section of the lab (and in the real world). I found this approach to be refreshing. If I would have had this type of training available when i was studying for the lab, I would have had less “expensive lunches”!!

This was meant to be a demo of some new online mentoring sessions that they will be offering. The sessions will be held several times a week over a 21 week period. They will be recorded so they can be reviewed. There was a lot of live interaction with Bruce during the session and Bruce said this is how he wants all of the sessions to be. My opinion is that these sessions would be of benefit to candidates as well as CCIE’s that are looking to brush up on the tricks of the trade.

Here is a link for more information:

http://netmasterclass.com/CCIE/Live-Online-Group-Mentoring/

Thanks
Larry Hadrava
CCIE #12203

SCHEDULE FOR NARBIK & SCOTT SUPER-BOOTCAMPS

Narbik and Scott CIERS-12 Day Boot Camp Dates

As we have been reviewing the dates and our abilities to travel to these locations we have arrived at a semi-final agreement on locations.  Scott and Narbik will be traveling as follows;

Bangalore India – January 17 – 28, 2011

Milton Keynes, UK – April 11 – 22, 2011

Wilmington, DE USA – July 18 – 29, 2011

Dubai, UAE – October 17 – 28, 2011

Sydney, Australia – January 2012

What you can expect is the best CCIE R&S boot camp offered anywhere for any price.  You pay $4,500 for 12 days of lectures, training, labs and mentoring from the two TOP GUNS of CCIE training.  For details on the classes please send an email to promotions@ccieflyer.com

COME JOIN US AND LET’S MAKE HISTORY TOGETHER!

BIG NEWS – NARBIK, SCOTT & EMAN JOIN FORCES!!!

Can it be true? Get trained by Scott and Narbik – Together? Yes, it’s true – read this announcement that Eman just sent me:

Narbik, Scott and Eman

A CCIE Flyer Exclusive

Today was a real busy day for me.  I drove to visit with Narbik at one of his CCIE Boot Camps he was teaching in Herndon, VA.  Since I was driving so far to see him I asked our mutual friend Scott Morris to join us for lunch.  I am amazed at how the fifteen students in Narbik’s class responded to Scott dropping by to say hello.  He is still held in awe by many neophyte CCIEs and some well established CCIEs around the world.  Both Scott and Narbik have paid their dues as CCIE trainers and mentors.  Both have made their mark on the CCIE community by giving freely of their time to motivate, mentor and improve the arena as a whole.  For me sitting with the two of them was a treat because I have known them both for so long and only at the CCIE party this past Cisco Live have I had the pleasure of their company together.

Big Plans

As we chatted we finalized some of the preliminary planning for a series of quarterly training events.  Beginning in January I am proud to announce that the CCIE Flyer has brought both Narbik and Scott together for twelve day CCIE R&S Boot Camps.  It’s true they will both conduct the same classes together splitting time on the podium.  Both of these guys are responsible for motivating, training and guiding so many CCIEs along their journeys and careers that this partnering of giants is big news.  Twelve days of career building, life changing, inspiring CCIE training like none ever offered before is being made available to you through the CCIE Flyer.

Where?

Bangalore is our first stop for the dynamic duo.  January 2011 Narbik and Scott will hold the first of these historic twelve day sessions.  This will be followed by Sydney, Australia in April, Milton Keynes, UK in July and finally Wilmington, Delaware in October.  These twelve day comprehensive classes will equip aspiring CCIEs for success.

How Much?

You pay only, $4,500 for both Narbik and Scott, for twelve days of learning unavailable from any other source, anywhere in the world.  There may be other twelve day or longer classes offered but none have these two dynamos taking the lead.  You might pay more and you might now find lower priced venues, but the CCIE Flyer has both Narbik and Scott.

More!

You want more?  Well how about the chance to pay nothing for the second attempt at the lab if you fail the first attempt after taking this class?  Yup, both are Cisco 360 Learning trainers.   So you get the added insurance of knowing you are joined on your journey by Cisco Systems approved trainers.  The two weeks of training will also have a few surprises after class activities and career networking opportunities.

COME JOIN EMAN, NARBIK AND SCOTT FOR TWELVE DAYS OF LIFE ALTERING CAREER ENHANCING TRAINING!

For more information send an email to me eman@ccieflyer.com and I will be happy to share more details as the planning is finalized!

Interview With Martin Voelk: CTO ProNetExpert

It is my pleasure to introduce Martin Voelk, CTO of ProNetExpert and Instructor at CCDEBOOPTCAMP.Thank you very much Larry. Pleasure to be here.

Tell us about ProNetExpert & CCDEBOOTCAMP
ProNetExpert is almost 4 years old now and I was one of the founders of the company. We specialize in Cisco Consulting & Cisco Training Solutions and are a Cisco Learning Partner Associate as well as a Cisco Premier Partner company. 2 of the founding members are CCIE certified, so I would say we have a fairly technical management which helps us in understanding customer requirements from both the commercial as well as from the technical angle. We have started our CCDE Bootcamps in 2009. Reason? Excitement about a new Expert Certification focusing on Network Design. We were the first company to ever run a CCDE Bootcamp worldwide.

What got you into the networking world?
Good question! I am actually from a Telecommunications Background. When “The Internet” took off in Europe in the Mid 1990s, I more or less accidentally got involved in a huge ISDN Data roll out project in Germany and I guess that’s when I first got in touch with Cisco. I was fascinated by the new medium and decided to start a career in Cisco Networking. Over the years and prior to ProNetExpert I have worked as a freelancing Network Engineer and Consultant for ISPs, Banks, Governments, Cisco Partners and Cisco Learning Partners.

Does CCDEBOOTCAMP plan to offer classes in the U.S?
Absolutely. We have plans to open an office in the US in 2011. At the moment our main focus is the UK and mainland Europe, but we certainly will offer CCDE Classes in the US in due course.

How long has CCDEBOOTCAMP been teaching the CCDE classes? Is the instructor for the bootcamps a CCDE?
Our first CCDE Written boot camp took place in June 2009 in the UK. We have then delivered a written and a practical bootcamp for a large Service Provider in-house in September 2009 and in November 2009 we ran the first public schedule class. Our instructor, Radu Hambasan is a fully certified CCDE. He brings  a wealth of real world Design Experience into the classroom. He only got into the training business, because we asked him to. When he isn’t teaching, he is designing large fortune 500 networks.

Having sat the CCDE practical exam yourself, do you have any words of advice for those of us that have not taken it yet?
Learn how to read fast and separate the important from non-important information. I must also say that it’s not a textbook exam. Real world experience (especially in Enterprise or Service Provider Networks) is key. It’s all about the “why” and not about how to configure it. This can be quite challenging for real techies.

I’m sure that we can all appreciate a deal in these times; do you have any special offers for readers of this blog?
We always have deals on. Some are made public on the website, some are on a case-by-case basis. Just contact us and see what have on offer. We usually do group discounts and combo offers, but also have a few nice deals in there for individuals.

Any parting items you would like to discuss?
I’m waiting for the CCDE exam results (2 – 3 months) is a stressful experience. Unlike with the CCIE lab exam, you will need to wait a long time before you receive the results.
I wish everybody the best of luck in their CCDE preparation efforts and look forward to see some of you on our classes.

Martin can be reached at MartinVoelk@pronetexpert.com

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Martin.
Stay tuned – I will be doing an interview with Radu Hambasan – CCDE #20090002 and CCDEBOOTCAMP instructor.

Thanks
Larry Hadrava
CCIE #12203

Thoughts On CCDEBOOTCAMP’s 1 DAY Mini CCDE BOOTCAMP

I took the 1 Day CCDE Mini Bootcamp from CCDEBOOTCAMP yesterday. For those of you working toward the CCDE or who have passed, you might say – what can you possibly do in one day that could be of benefit?

I was curious about that as well, but for less than $400 I figured I’d see for my self. I am sure glad that I made the investment!!! We definitely covered a lot of material quickly. The idea of the course is to give people an idea of where your head needs to be concerning the technologies to be successful on the CCDE practical exam.

I was really impressed by the way we covered each topic, with plenty of interaction. This, like any other expert level class, expects a certain level of competency with the technologies before attending.

Here is the agenda from the class:

Data Center & General Design

– General Design Concepts & Best Practices

– OSPF Best Practices

– EIGRP Best Practices

– Fast Convergence Time Techniques & Best Practices

Service Provider

– BGP Optimization

– Intra AS-VPN Options

– Optimization in SP Networks

Quality of Service

– The Need for QOS

– General QOS Design (PE – CE)

– MPLS QOS

Tunneling

– L2TP

– MPLS VPNS

– VPLS

– VPWS

– Pseudowire

Security & Network Management

– Network Management Design Best Practices

– Security Design Best Practices

As you can see from the agenda, it was a busy day. We obviously talked about the technologies not from an idea of learning them, but from a level of best practices, tweaks and overall best design scenarios. We also were able to cover some “what if” discussions surrounding some of the technologies to illustrate the why of the recommendation.

This class is of course much different from their regular CCDE bootcamp class which is ALL based on doing scenarios like you would see in the practical exam.

So, I went in a skeptic about what someone could glean for the CCDE practical and came out with an open mind seeing how one could benefit from learning and focusing on the thought process required to be successful on he exam.

Thanks Martin and CCDEBOOTCAMP for the great day!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Larry Hadrava

CCIE #12203

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