Progress Update – 12/18/09

So, I have not been keeping up my end of the bargain when it comes to posting interesting and relative articles in a timely fashion. 1 update a month? That is absolutely terrible and unacceptable. I don’t really have any excuses other than my laziness. Maybe its because I don’t think you want to hear me blather on, but maybe you do. From this moment on, I will assume that you do.

Now on to the reason for this post. I have been preparing to take my CCIE Voice written exam over the past few months. A week or so ago, I decided that I needed to have an end date, or I would never get serious about getting through the material. So, I have finally spent the $350 and scheduled the exam. I am locked in for 12/23/09 @ 12:45p.

Over the past month I have accumulated a few items that I think have been helpful in preparing me for the written exam, some more than others:

• CCBootCamp’s CCIE Voice Written Study Guide
  • This is a very in depth guide that takes you through all of topics that you could covered during the written exam. At first I thought I was going to read it cover to cover (about 400 pages), but after the first couple chapters, I figured that I would just pick and choose the topics that I am least comfortable with, QoS, CME/CUE & IPCCX.
• Robert Webber’s CCIE Voice Written Study Guide.
  • I found this guide on eBay while researching some prices on used phones and 2800 series routers. Robert is a CCIE Voice and has tailored this guide towards passing the written on your first attempt. According to the auction notes, he guarantees that you will pass on your first attempt or he will refund what you payed, provided you study the guide and all of the sample questions. So far, I am really liking the guide. It is written very well, not dry like most technical material, and it doesn’t stray off on tangents that you don’t really need to focus on. I definitely recommend this to supplement your other materials.
• CCIE Voice Exam Quick Reference Sheets
  • This is a good supplement to existing material. I wouldn’t use this as your only study material, but, as the name suggests, it is a good reference for the day or two prior to your exam.
• End-to-End QoS Network Design: QoS in LANs, WANs, and VPNs
  • I purchased this book because Q0S is way over my head. I understand the concept and know why it is important, but implementing it is just out of my grasp. This book, like many other CiscoPress books, is a little on the dry side, but it is full of excellent information and examples. I won’t be using this book much to prepare for the written, but for the lab I can see this being very helpful.
• Voice over IP Fundamentals & Cisco Call Manager Fundamentals
  • Honestly, I can’t say I have cracked the cover on either of these two books. I am pretty sure I purchased them so I could get the 40% off that CiscoPress was offering. Like the QoS book, these probably won’t factor into my studying for the written, but will probably become a good resourse when I start preparing for the lab.

I am pretty confident that I will be ready on 12/23 to pass the written portion, if for some reason it all goes wrong, I won’t be able to take another crack at it until after the new year.