Starting Your Engines

Every journey begins with the 1st step... which is the hardest.
So, i need to plan how I'm going to achieve this.


Books:

Routing TCP/IP Volume 1 & 2 from Jeff Doyle, also Cisco Press

First, I read the routing and switching guide and then the Jeff Doyle's books, but I reccommend doing the opposite, the Doyles cover everything in detail, so you want that first, then the cert guidie, covers everything with less detail and adds some new features that the other books dont cover.

After reading this 3 books I did and passed the written test, this took like 1 or 2 months.


Workbooks:
I used internetwork Expert's core lab workbook and volume 1&2 complete workbooks, thats like 40 labs and lots of hours.

I first did all 30 labs from the workbooks and then the core labs, but, again, this is not what I recommend, its better if you do all Vol.1 labs then all cores and then all Vol.2 labs, if you can do some of them 2 times, do it!

I did from 2 to 3 labs per week, did 1 lab and the next day I graded it. One week I did 4 labs and the last study week I did 8 .

*note: this will be what gives you all the practical knowledge, so do it!


Videos
After my first lab attempt, I realized I had much more to learn, so I used some videos, this were the CoDs form Internetwork Expert and the CBTnuggets.

The CBTnuggets were the first I saw, they are short and can teach you some things with out boring you. Have some mistakes, so you need to validate some things, but they are OK and short. Wont hurt if you use them.
Then I used the IE CoDs, those are some good videos, but if you are like me and used to sleep at school when the teacher is talking, it will be hard, I couldnt finish the videos because they are too big, so I slept in most of them.


Practise Labs
When I praticed InternetworkExpert, each day I did a lab so I can take you 25 to 30 days to finish Workbook 2 and 3. One month before the exam, I started doing internetworkExpert workbooks 2 and 3 again for the second time. This gave me the excitement.

When you do the second round, it is quite easy, this is the time your need to control the time, and develop you own strategy when doing the real lab exam.


Racks
Build your own racks... save $$$ in the long run.

DocCD
VERY IMPORTANT! use it daily, use it for work, use it for studying, use for everything! why? maybe you wont use it at all for the exam (I used it for 2 questions) BUT will give you a huge boost at work, you can find everything there, so use it! know it! 2 questions can be either a pass or fail. Read IOS 12.4 topics.

Tips before the exam
-the week before try doing some labs, but dont over study. I did labs daily
-do it on your mind and just see if your thinking was right, this is less stressful
-arrive to your hotel 1 or 2 days before the exam.
-take some books to the hotel, maybe you wont even open them, but it wont hurt you.
-do some labs in your mind, do it fast, you can finish one in 30 mins, BUT DONT MEMORIZE!
-the day before dont study, go to eat, watch a movie and sleep. No need to be nervous.
-the day of the exam, have a nice breakfast! get a shower!


Tips for the lab
-Read all the lab once and quickly
-Check the diagrams (I didnt draw them again)
-BE CALM
-Ask any doubt to the proctor
-Resolve everything quickly so you get lots of hours to check answers
-READ EVERY WORD!! AND PAY ATTENTION!
***VERY IMPOTANT: ENJOY!!!!!!!!

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Both the written and lab exams have been refreshed with new questions covering MPLS and VPN networking. The written exam includes new scenario-based questions. The lab exam now requires hands-on troubleshooting of preconfigured networks, in addition to configuration. Exam duration and pricing will remain the same, with the two-hour written exam at USD $350.00 and the eight-hour lab at USD $1400.00

30 Minutes OEQ
2 Hours Trobleshooting
5.5 Hours Lab / Hand-On

Passing mark = 80%