Cisco Live 2012

I have chosen to attend Cisco Live again this year. Last year I attended VMworld to get a better understanding of virtualization and the challenges/opportunities it presents to network design. This year I’m going back to my networking roots.

I have two of primary goals for this year’s event:

1) Get a better understanding of how implementing L2 between two data centers will affect my network design and stability. I expect that this will become a requirement at my organization in the next year and I want to get a solid handle on how we can implement it without significant fate-sharing implications.

2) Prepare for the introduction of IPv6 in our environment. While I do not have any specific IPv6 techtorials scheduled, I may end up switching into one or more during the course of the week. I would like to exit Cisco Live 2012 with enough knowledge to answer the following questions:

1. Where should we implement IPv6 first? Test DMZ, Internal network, elsewhere?
2. Which IGP should we use internally?
3. How should we allocate our /48 subnet?
4. Where do we implement NAT66? (just kidding)

My secondary goals are to get a better understanding of the CCIE DC technology stack, figure out what TrustSec is and whether I should fear its introduction into my environment, and continue learning network design technologies.

 

Here’s my tentative schedule… If you see me, say hi.

 

Sunday
Start: 10:30 AM End: 12:45 PM		CCDE Written Exam	CCDE Written Exam
Monday
Start: 8:00 AM End: 12:00 PM		TECCCIE-9544 Meeting Room 8	CCIE Data Center Techtorial
Start: 1:00 PM End: 3:00 PM		BRKRST-2335 Meeting Room 17B	IS-IS Network Design and Deployment
Start: 3:30 PM End: 4:30 PM		GENSK-4356 Ballroom 20D	Solutions Keynote: The Future of the Enterprise Network in the Post-PC Era
Tuesday
Start: 8:00 AM End: 9:30 AM		BRKCOM-2001 Ballroom 20D	UCS Deep Dive
Start: 10:00 AM End: 11:30 AM		GENKEY-4346 Hall G/H	Keynote and Welcome Address
Start: 12:30 PM End: 2:30 PM		BRKRST-2509 Ballroom 20D	Mastering Data Center QoS
Start: 3:00 PM End: 4:00 PM		PSOCCIE-9302 Meeting Room 11B	Cornerstones of CCIE Success
Start: 4:00 PM End: 5:30 PM		PNLRST-4001 Ballroom 20A	Panel: LISP Executive Panel
Start: 7:00 PM End: 10:30 PM		DISC4871 Hard Rock Hotel Woodstock Terrace	Data Center Virtualization and Switching Customer Networking Reception
Wednesday
Start: 8:00 AM End: 9:30 AM		BRKDCT-2131 Ballroom 6D	Mobility and Virtualization in the Data Center with LISP and OTV
Start: 10:00 AM End: 11:30 AM		GENKEY-4347 Hall G/H	Cisco Technology Keynote
Start: 12:30 PM End: 2:30 PM		BRKDCT-2223 Meeting Room 32B	Evolution of the Data Center Edge
Start: 3:00 PM End: 4:00 PM		PSODCT-3863 Meeting Room 11B	Journey to the Cloud: Benefits of a IT-as-a-Service
Start: 4:00 PM End: 6:00 PM		BRKARC-3471 Meeting Room 31AB	Cisco NX-OS Software Architecture
Thursday
Start: 8:00 AM End: 9:30 AM		BRKCRT-8862 Meeting Room 8	Cisco Certified Architect: How to complete the journey from CCIE to CCDE to CCAr
Start: 10:00 AM End: 11:30 AM		BRKSEC-2022 Ballroom 6D	Demystifying TrustSec, Identity, NAC and ISE
Start: 12:00 PM End: 1:30 PM		BRKDCT-2214 Ballroom 6E	Ultra Low Latency Data Center Design - End-to-end design approach
Start: 2:00 PM End: 3:00 PM		GENKEY-4358 Hall G/H	Closing Keynote: An Afternoon with Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman
Start: 3:30 PM End: 5:30 PM		BRKMPL-3101 Ballroom 6AB	Advanced Topics and Future Directions in MPLS

CCIE Data Center Written Exam

I took the CCIE Data Center written exam yesterday. It’s still in the Beta period, so I have no results, but I felt good about the content. The Written Exam Topics on Cisco Learning Network is accurate (Login required).

Speaking of ‘login required’ on Cisco.com… Is anyone else annoyed with the number of times you have to log into the various Cisco websites? It seems like over the last few years I’ve had to log in multiple times per day. Perhaps this is a security ‘improvement’, but I'd rather stay logged in for weeks at a time.

I came at this exam with a fair amount of routing and switching knowledge, and a solid background in Nexus 7k/5k/2k/1kv. Where I occasionally ran into trouble was with the storage and UCS portions of the exam. I have a basic understanding of Fibre Channel and FCoE, but I’ve never been a storage admin. And while I’ve configured the UCS fabric networking portions, I have not been responsible for the activating server blades, nor have I been responsible for the UCS chassis itself. My biggest weakness on the exam was certainly DCNM; I haven’t used it and my organization does not intend to install it.

I was slightly disappointed in the number of ‘trivia’ questions, such as ‘what is the format of the command to see XYZ’, with four different combinations of ‘show [x] [y] [z]’. Another trivia-style question is the ‘What is the default username and password for [hardware_x]?’ (Neither of these is a direct question from the exam… I believe in NDAs!) Knowing the answer to either of these questions doesn’t make me a better network engineer. They only save me a few moments of search engine time during an activation or troubleshooting.

I hope these types of questions get weeded out during the beta process. I have been spoiled by the vendor-agnostic format of the CCDE program... I recall many of these sorts of questions from the now-retired CCIE WAN Switching program.

Next Steps

If I passed the beta, will I take the lab? I don’t yet know. If my current role takes me in a direction where I get more hands-on work with our UCS and MDS gear I may feel comfortable enough in my skillset to attempt the lab. I enjoy the challenge of learning and testing my knowledge, so I’m somewhat inclined to move in that direction. And if I didn’t pass the written, I’ll probably attempt it again, since I hate giving up on something. There is no shame in failing a Cisco exam, but once I pursue something it is tough to quit.

July 2012 CCDE Practice Exams

(The below information is historical... updated information and pricing can be found at http://www.jeremyfilliben.com/2012/06/july-ccde-practice-exam-updated.html)


Registration is now open for the July 2012 CCDE Practice exam offering. I have completed two new scenarios, which brings the total offering to four scenarios. This equates to a full CCDE Practical exam. The scenarios have been written with the CCDE 2.0 technology changes in mind. The review session for the first two scenarios will take place on Saturday, July 14th at 9am EDT. The second review session will take place the following Saturday, July 21st at 9am EDT.

Pricing for the CCDE Practice Exam Offering is:
Two Scenarios (one review session) – $1095
All Four Scenarios (both review sessions) – $1795

As before, all participants are invited to attend the CCDE overview which will take place on Saturday, July 14th at 9am ET. It generally lasts one hour, and is followed by the scenario reviews. And as always, previous students are invited to attend the overview and the review session for any scenarios they have reviewed in the past. Simply send me an email at jeremy@filliben.com and I will provide the Webex login details.
In addition, I am extending a $400 discount to all prior participants for the new scenarios. If you previously participated in the two scenario sessions, I invite you to register for the new scenarios for a total price of $695. If you are interested in this offer, please write me an email at jeremy@filliben.com and I will provide you with a discount code.
Additional details can be found on the registration page at  http://july2012ccde.eventbrite.com.

Thank you for your interest,
Jeremy Filliben
CCDE #20090003

Save the Date! July 2012 CCDE Practice Exams

(removed post as some details have changed)


See http://www.jeremyfilliben.com/2012/05/july-2012-ccde-practice-exams.html for updated information.

February 2012 CCDE Practice Exams

Cisco Certified Design Expert Program Changes

It has been quite some time since Cisco last offered the CCDE Practical exam. During this time they have updated the exam to version 2.0 and made several noticeable changes to the covered technologies. Cisco has also updated the online CCDE Practical Demo. Here are links to the new resources Cisco has published:

CCDE Written Exam Topics - This link lists the technologies covered on both the written and practical exams. This is the only Cisco-published listing of technology for either exam; Cisco does not publish a separate technology document for the CCDE Practical exam.

CCDE Practical Exam Demo - This has been updated from the initial version. I do not know if all the bugs have been removed (ie, Is a perfect possible?)

CCDE Practical Exam Checklist - This lists the types of questions you will face on the exam. It also provides general guidelines on how to answer the questions. I've spoken with several CCDE candidates who found this document to be less than useful, but I highly recommend spending time reading each line item. This links to the more detailed version, which is somewhat buried on the Cisco Learning Network.


February CCDE Practice Exam Offering

I have scheduled the next CCDE Practice Exam offering for February 25th and March 3rd. These dates will give participants sufficient time to incorporate their practice exam results into their study plans before the actual Cisco exam on March 29th. This offering will utilize the same base content as my previous practice exam offerings. I have updated the exam results presentations to identify the category of each question. I have also significantly revised the CCDE Practical overview presentation to include the following:

• Differential analysis of the CCDE version 1.0 and 2.0 blueprints
• Removal of all CCDE version 1.0 specific information
• Listing of all new technical content on the CCDE Practical exam, as listed in the Written 2.0 Blueprint

I want to reiterate what I've said in previous blog posts about this offering. I do not cover all the technical content that candidates will face on the CCDE Practical exam. That would be impossible to do in two (or even ten) practice scenarios. The goals of this offering are:

1. Provide an experience-based overview of the CCDE Practical exam
2. Familiarize candidates with the depth and breadth of individual CCDE Practical scenarios
3. Share my methods for determining the correct answer for each type of question on the exam

I am confident that my practice exam offering meets these goals. I encourage candidates to use the links below to register for this offering. As always, previous participants are encouraged to attend these sessions at no cost. Just drop me an email and I will send you the Webex link.

If you have any questions about the offering or the CCDE program, please write me at jeremy@filliben.com.

CCDE Enterprise Practice Exam

CCDE Service Provider Practice Exam

CCDE Combo (both scenarios at a discounted price)

Random Ramblings - November 2011

I want to get some thoughts out 'into the world', but I haven't found time to write up individual blog posts. This is my attempt at getting back into blogging on a regular basis.

Quick Personal Update

I'm taking an interest in programming again, after a 15 year hiatus. Much has changed in the field, but it hasn't been too difficult to get caught up. I am taking a pair of Stanford online courses, which have been very interesting. This first is Intro to Databases, and the second is Machine Learning. Machine Learning has been especially eye-opening.

I have also been reading a lot lately. If you read Moneyball, you should check out Michael Lewis's December Vanity Fair article. In some ways it is a prequel to the book, as it attempts to explain how people fool themselves into making irrational decisions. A great book (short, only 20,000 words!) is Race Against the Machine. It relates our technological progress to current unemployment in the US, plus it gives some predictions on the future effects of computational gains in computers. If you read this blog, you're probably well-positioned, but it was interesting none-the-less.

One last link is from slate.com: Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period. This is a habit I've had since high school, and I've been trying very hard to break it. For now, each of my sentences ends with three key strokes... two spaces, following by a backspace. :(

Technology

I'm beginning to like Cisco's ASDM firewall GUI (Gasp!). I recently helped a company turn up a few ASA-based VPNs and I found the VPN wizard to be quite intuitive. If it wasn't for a Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) mismatch, the activations would have gone very smoothly. Alas, one of the VPN devices was an old Pix, and the version of ASDM I was running didn't support the device.

I am becoming a Mac guy. I've used a Macbook Pro for about a year now, and I've pretty much become a convert. I cannot say it makes life any easier, but the laptop is much more stable than my old Windows machines. The lack of MS Visio is the only major issue I've faced. I tried OmniGraffle, but I was not impressed.

Amazon Web Services might be taking over the world. It may not make a ton of sense for established companies to migrate to AWS (unless they want to blow up their infrastructure teams), but if I worked with a startup, there is no way I would build my own data centers. AWS, or cloud computing in general, might end up as a key differentiator between older companies and newer ones. The ability to scale quickly (both up and down) is bigger than I originally imagined. The most difficult part of AWS seems to come when you attempt to integrate legacy systems and AWS-based ones. That's the major advantage a startup would have.

Closing

That's all I have to say today. Let me know what you think of this format, either in the comments section or via email. I occasionally feel guilty about not writing more content on this blog, but professional and personal commitments make it difficult to find the time.

LISP-VM Mobility white paper now available

I was just alerted to the posting of the LISP-VM Mobility White Paper on cisco.com. I haven't had an opportunity to read through it, but I fully intend to soon. I'm in the midst of a project to deploy VMotion between data centers, and this technology could be a great benefit.

The direct link to the paper is:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ECATS/Solutions_Guides/White_Papers/LISP-VM_Mobility_White_Paper.pdf.

You can also reach it by going to the LISP page at www.cisco.com/go/lisp.

If you read it before I do, please let me know what you think!

Jeremy