CCIE Security v5 Blueprint Update Announced

Finally, Cisco has made the official announcement on the upcoming changes for CCIE Security Version 5. Both the written exam and the lab exam will be changes go live starting 31st of January 2017, which gives you the usual 6 months window to pass the Version 4 exam, before the change to Version 5 occurs.  As opposed to the old blueprint, there are major changes in both the technical content and exam delivery format.

As expected, the new exam topics are inline with Cisco’s current Security product line with pretty much nothing missing. Yes, you got that right! Also, as expected, Cisco is trying to push the same exam delivery model for all CCIE tracks.

Blueprint Technical Topic Changes

We now have a Unified Exam Blueprint,  covering topics for both the written and lab exam, similar to the change that was introduced with CCIE Data Center Version 2. The Blueprint for Version 5 is divided into 6 sections, with the last one being relevant only for the written exam:

• Perimeter Security and Intrusion Prevention
• Advanced Threat Protection and Content Security
• Secure Connectivity and Segmentation
• Identity Management, Information Exchange and Access Control
• Infrastructure Security, Virtualization and Automation
• Evolving Technologies*

*Written Continue reading

Congrats to Neil Moore – **NINE TIME** CCIE & CCDE!

Congratulations to Neil Moore on passing the CCDE Practical Exam this week, and becoming a NONTUPLE (9x) CCIE & CCDE!

Neil was a student in both my CCIE Data Center Bootcamp and CCDE Bootcamp within the past few years, and is truly an inspiration to us all. Neil’s brother Kelly is also a CCIE in Data Center. Neil likes to introduce himself and his brother to people at Cisco Live that they have 9 CCIEs between the two of them! This year Neil gets to bump that up to 10 CCIEs and CCDE between the two of them!

Neil for sure will win the longest badge this year at Cisco Live 2016 Las Vegas!

Neil currently works for VMWare as an NSX Systems Engineer, is a VMware Certified Implementation Expert — Network Virtualization (VCIX-NV), and has plans to pursue the VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX).

Congrats Neil!

OSI Model…moving up-and-down the stack

Hello everyone!
I recently received an email from a learner who is studying for his CCNA Routing-and-Switching Certification and he had a few excellent questions about the OSI model and how, exactly data moves from one-layer to the next. I figured my response might prove valuable to others studying for their CCNA so…here it is!
…..

1. Learner-Question: In video of the osi model, you said that the session layer should provide the source and destination port number but the fields of those ports are at the transport header- my question is how does the session layer put this number on field which does not exist in that time (when i send the date the encapsulation process goes down from the app layer)?

   In order to thoroughly answer all of your questions below, one really needs to know about computer programming, APIs, etc…which frankly, I know very little about. But what I do know, I’ll try to explain. From my understanding, there are some kind of software “links” or “hooks” which are used to allow a program at one layer of the OSI model to communicate with a program at another layer. Many applications have software built-in that provide multi-layer functionality. Continue reading

INE & VIRL Webinar – Using INE, VIRL, & the Cloud for Large Scale CCIE Preparation

This coming Tuesday, April 19th 2016, at 09:00 PDT (17:00 UTC) I will be joining the VIRL team for a discussion and demo of using cloud hosted servers, VIRL, and INE material for CCIE preparation, with a focus on large topologies (30+ devices). The Webex signup link is here. The session will also be simulcast on live.ine.com.

Specifically in this session I will be covering:

• How to deploy VIRL on cloud servers
• Loading INE topology files into the VIRL cloud instance through GIT
• Launching and managing multiple large topologies

Attendees will also have an opportunity to submit questions to me as well as the VIRL team.

Hope to see you there!

CCIE SPv4 Rack Rentals Now Available

Rack Rentals for INE’s CCIE Service Provider v4 topology are now available at rentals.ine.com.

Both CCIE RSv5 Full Scale Labs and CCIE SPv4 now share the same topology in the scheduler, which consists of the following devices:

• 20 x IOS XE virtual machine instances (R1 – R20)
• 4 x IOS XRv virtual machine instances (R21 – R24)
• 4 x Catalyst 3560 physical switches (SW1 – SW4)

IOS XRv instances can be managed through the control panel similar to other devices in the topology, as seen below:

CCIE Data Center v2.0 Blueprint Announced

Cisco has just announced CCIE Data Center Written and Lab Exam Content Updates.Important dates for the changes are:

• Last day to test for the v1.0 written – July 22, 2016
• First day to test for the v2.0 written – July 25, 2016
• Last day to test for the v1.0 lab – July 22, 2016
• First day to test for the v2.0 lab – July 25, 2016

Key hardware changes in the v2.0 blueprint are:

• APIC Cluster
• Nexus 9300
• Nexus 7000 w/ F3 Module
• Nexus 5600
• Nexus 2300 Fabric Extender
• UCS 4300 M-Series Servers

Key technical topic changes in the v2.0 blueprint are:

• VXLAN
• EVPN
• LISP
• Policy Driven Fabric (ACI)

More details to come!

CCIE Benefits – What are they?

Original content from Roger's CCIE Blog Tracking the journey towards getting the ultimate Cisco Certification. The Routing & Switching Lab Exam
Now that I have passed the CCIE Lab exam people are asking me “What are the CCIE benefits?” As for tangible benefits to me personally they are in no particular order: I can now go to the CCIE Apparel store and purchase my CCIE Leather Jacket and other clothing with my CCIE digits on them […]

Post taken from CCIE Blog

Original post CCIE Benefits – What are they?

Cisco Reverses CCIE Scheduling Policy Changes

As we reported last April, Cisco changed the CCIE Lab Exam retake policy to an exponential backoff, meaning that the more attempts you took at the lab the more time you had to wait between attempts.

In a sudden change of heart, today Cisco announced that they are reversing their policy change until at least December 31st 2015. Per Cisco:

“For a limited time, we will waive the current lab retake policy so that all lab candidates will be able to retest for their lab exam with only a 30-day wait period.” “If you register for any CCIE lab exam between now and December 31, 2015, you will have the option of retaking the exam with only a 30-day wait regardless of the number of attempts you may have already made.”

Frequently Asked Questions about the policy changes:

Q: Does this mean that between now and December 31, I can take the lab every 30 days?
A: Yes.

Q: Is the original policy back in place after December 31?
A: What happens after December 31 is dependent on the results of our research from now until that date.

Q: What does this mean if my current Continue reading

CCIE SPv4 Advanced Technologies Class Continues Today

INE’s CCIE Service Provider v4 Advanced Technologies Class continues today at 08:00 PDT (15:00 UTC) with Inter-AS MPLS L3VPN. All Access Pass subscribers can attend at http://live.INE.com. Recordings of some of the previous class sessions up to this point are now available via AAP library here.

Additionally, INE’s CCIE SPv4 Workbook is now available in beta format here.

Hope to see you in class!

CCIE RSv5 Lab Cram Session & New CCIE RSv5 Mock Labs Now Available

INE CCIE RSv5 Lab Cram Session is now available for viewing in our All Access Pass Library. This course includes over 35 hours of new content for CCIE Routing & Switching Version 5, including both technology review sessions as well as a step-by-step walkthrough of two new CCIE RSv5 Mock Lab Exams. These new Mock Labs are available here as part of INE’s CCIE RSv5 Workbook.

This class is designed as a last minute review of technologies and strategy before taking the actual CCIE RSv5 Lab Exam. Each of the two Mock Labs covered in class are subdivided into three sections – just like the actual exam – Troubleshooting, Diagnostics, and Configuration.

Rack rentals are available for these mock labs here. Technical discussion of the labs is through our Online Community, IEOC.

Happy Labbing!

PPP CHAP Authentication Question

The following question was recently sent to me regarding PPP and CHAP:

At the moment I only have packet tracer to practice on, and have been trying to setup CHAP over PPP.

It seems that the “PPP CHAP username xxxx” and “PPP CHAP password xxxx” commands are missing in packet tracer.

I have it set similar to this video… (you can skip the first 1 min 50 secs)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ltNfaPz0nA

As he doesn’t use the missing commands, if that were to be done on live kit would it just use the hostname and magic number to create the hash?

Also, in bi-directional authentication, do both routers have to use the same password or can they be different as long as they match what they expect from the other router?

Thanks, Paul.

Here was my reply:

Hi Paul,

When using PPP CHAP keep in mind four fundamental things:

1. The “magic number” that you see in PPP LCP messages has nothing to do with Authentication or CHAP.  It is simply PPPs way of trying to verify that it has a bi-directional link with a peer. When sending a PPP LCP message a random Magic Number is generated. Continue reading

BGP Listen Range Command

Original content from Roger's CCIE Blog Tracking the journey towards getting the ultimate Cisco Certification. The Routing & Switching Lab Exam
BGP Dynamic Neighbors are a way to bring up  BGP neighbors without specifically defining the neighbors remote IP address. Using the BGP Listen Range command you specify a range of IP addresses typically on your Hub site (maybe in a DMVPN environment) that you trust to become BGP neigbors with you. When a TCP request... [Read More]

Post taken from CCIE Blog

Original post BGP Listen Range Command

OSPF Path Selection Challenge

I had an interesting question come across my desk today which involved a very common area of confusion in OSPF routing logic, and now I’m posing this question to you as a challenge!

The first person to answer correctly will get free attendance to our upcoming CCIE Routing & Switching Lab Cram Session, which runs the week of June 1st 2015, as well as a free copy of the class in download format after it is complete.  The question is as follows:

Given the below topology, where R4 mutually redistributes between EIGRP and OSPF, which path(s) will R1 choose to reach the network 5.5.5.5/32, and why?

Bonus Questions:

• What will R2′s path selection to 5.5.5.5/32 be, and why?
• What will R3′s path selection to 5.5.5.5/32 be, and why?
• Assume R3′s link to R1 is lost.  Does this affect R1′s path selection to 5.5.5.5/32? If so, how?

Tomorrow I’ll be post topology and config files for CSR1000v, VIRL, GNS3, etc. so you can try this out yourself, but first answer the question without seeing the result and see if your expected result matches the actual result!

Good luck everyone!

New CCIE SPv4, CCIE RSv5 & Multicast Classes This Week

This week I will be running the following free online classes:

• CCIE Service Provider v4 Kickoff – Tues April 14th @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)
• CCIE Routing & Switching v5 Overview and Preparation – Thurs April 16th @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)
• Intro to IPv4 & IPv6 Multicast^* – Fri April 17th @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)

^*Free for AAP Members

INE will also be offering the following free upcoming online classes:

• CCNA R&S Overview and Preparation – Tues April 21st @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)
• CCNP R&S Overview and Preparation – Thurs April 23rd @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)
• CCNP R&S TSHOOT Overview and Preparation – Thurs April 30th @ 09:00 PDT (16:00 UTC)

More information on these classes can be found here.

This class marks the kickoff of INE’s CCIE SPv4 product line for the New CCIE Service Provider Version 4 Blueprint, which goes live May 22nd 2015!  In this class we’ll cover the v3 to v4 changes, including exam format changes and topic adds and removes, recommended readings and resources, INE’s new CCIE SPv4 hardware specification and CCIE SPv4 Workbook, and the schedule for INE’s upcoming CCIE Service Continue reading

CCIE Data Center Rack Rental Scheduling Changes

In an effort to make our CCIE Data Center Rack Rentals have a better fair scheduler, we’ve implemented a new QoS policy for them as follows:

• Users can have a maximum of 3 concurrent sessions scheduled
• Sessions can be a maximum of 9 hours apiece
• Maximum hours per month limit is now removed
• Base sessions (Nexus 7K/5K) and add-ons (UCS/SAN & Nexus 2K/SAN) are now 8 tokens per hour

Note that these changes will only affect new session bookings, not any sessions that you already have reserved.

For those of you looking for more dedicated rack time I would suggest to look into our CCIE Data Center Bootcamp, where students get 12 days of 24/7 access to all hardware platforms in our racks (Nexus 7K/5K/2K, MDS, & UCS).

Happy Labbing!

Share your Expertise – Become an INE Instructor!

Do you think you have what it takes to become a featured instructor at INE? We are looking for talented individuals to propose and execute new courses across multiple domains including: networking, programming, systems administration, and security. If you’re an expert in any of these domains, or related topics, then it’s time to share your knowledge with the world! Speak a language other than English? That’s great! We’re open to ideas for courses in different languages.

Click here for more information and to submit an application.

Not interested in becoming an instructor but have some ideas for content you’d like to see us cover? Drop us a line at [email protected].

New CCIE RSv5 Workbook Troubleshooting & Full Scale Labs Posted

Troubleshooting Lab 3 and Full Scale Lab 3 have now been added to the CCIE RSv5 Workbook!

The new Troubleshooting Lab 3 uses the Full Scale Lab 1 logical topology, but breaks all of the protocols you’ve previously built. I suggest you take your time with each ticket so that you can fully digest why each fault occurs. Practice your time and knowledge skills by taking the Troubleshooting Lab 3 challenge!

Full Scale Lab 3 is built on a brand new logical topology, and has a strong focus in MPLS and BGP technologies. The solution guide features detailed breakdowns of each topic domain to give you a better understanding of the solutions used to solve each task. Keep in mind that there are multiple ways to solve most problems.

For discussion on these new labs visit our online community, IEOC.

Enjoy!

New CCIE RSv5 Workbook Labs & Enhancements

Foundation Lab 2 has now been added to the CCIE RSv5 Workbook.  This lab is great for working on your configuration speed and accuracy when combining multiple technologies together.  It also has a great redistribution section that I hope you’ll all enjoy  More Full Scale, Troubleshooting, and Foundation labs are in progress and will be posted soon.  I’ll post another update about them when they are available.

In addition to this we’ve added some feature enhancements to the workbook in response to customer requests and feedback.  First, there is a new Table of Contents for the workbook that allows you to view all tasks, and to check off tasks that you’ve already completed.  This will help you track your progress as you’re going through the workbook.

You can additionally check off the progress of a task in the upper right hand portion of the individual lab page.

Multiple bookmarks are now supported, and will be added to a section under the Table of Contents.  When you open the workbook it will now also prompt you to load your latest bookmark.

Lastly, configuration solutions are now hidden by default when you open a lab.  This will help prevent “spoilers” in the Continue reading

Using Cisco VIRL for CCIE Preparation

Click here to download the INE VIRL topology and initial configs

After long anticipation, Cisco’s Virtual Internet Routing Lab (VIRL) is now publicly available. VIRL is a network design and simulation environment that includes a GNS3-like frontend GUI to visually build network topologies, and an OpenStack based backend which includes IOSv, IOS XRv, NX-OSv, & CSR1000v software images that run on the built-in hypervisor. In this post I’m going to outline how you can use VIRL to prepare for the CCIE Routing & Switching Version 5.0 Lab Exam in conjunction with INE’s CCIE RSv5 Advanced Technologies Labs.

The first step of course is to get a copy of VIRL. VIRL is currently available for purchase from virl.cisco.com in two forms, a “Personal Edition” for a $200 annual license, and an “Academic Version” for an $80 annual license. Functionally these two versions are the same. Next is to install VIRL on a hypervisor of your choosing, such as VMWare ESXi, Fusion, or Player. Make sure to follow the installation guides in the VIRL documentation, because the install is not a very straightforward process. When installing it on VMWare Player I ran into a problem with the NTPd Continue reading

Eight CCIEs. Need I say Moore?

A long time student of INE, Neil Moore has done it again, last time becoming the worlds first 7x CCIE, and this time becoming the worlds first and only 8x CCIE. And no, he doesn’t work for Cisco.

As a side note, INE has been experiencing phenomenal growth, and tremendous passing rates for people that have been sitting our R&S, Data Center and Collaboration bootcamps. In fact, of just the bootcamps we’ve held this year, nearly all of our students have reported back to us a pass in the 3-4 weeks following their bootcamp experience. Now mind you, these folks come to us studied up and prepared for the bootcamp, but they all credit us as being the deciding factor in their pass.

We’re also adding new content all the time, including Python scripting, Openstack and SDN such as OVS. Check out our Black Friday deals and grab an All Access Pass or sign up for a bootcamp and check out what’s new!