CCIP completed

After 40 days of hard preparation (there were times i was feeling more exhausted than the days of my CCIE preparation) for the MPLS exam, i finished my CCIP certification. The MPLS exam was the most difficult, because it was almost new to me, besides some basic theory which i already knew (and 2-3 labs on my dynamips setup). So i had to spend a lot of time on understanding the concepts behind it, creating various L2/L3 VPN scenarios and experimenting with TE. BGP & QoS were like a review of my recent CCIE plus some extra (more detailed) information.

CCIP
Start day: 1 Feb 2008 (12 days after my CCIE; would you believe that? i still don't)

• 642-901 (BCSI): 4 Jan 2007 (from CCNP)
• 642-642 (QOS): 6 Feb 2008
• 642-661 (BGP): 9 May 2008
• 642-611 (MPLS): 22 Jun 2006

End day: 22 Jun 2008

I'm thinking of publishing on my blog some MPLS tutorials for "dummies" (like myself) in the near future, based on my last month's intensive reading/writing/experimenting. I don't consider myself an expert in (M|V)PLS, but i have gathered some nice info while preparing for the CCIP/MPLS exam. Also Networkers 2008 in Orlando was a major source of information.

But first i have to pass the CCIE SP written exam (hopefully before the end of this summer), because i'm planning (and hoping) to book for a 2008 lab date (will another 3 months be enough for a new CCIE certification???). Or maybe i'll have to wait a little more; until Cisco decides to retire that ugly looking plaque :p

CCIP and then -maybe- CCIE SP

The poll has been closed and it's time to announce my decision...


I guess the majority of those who voted will be disappointed, but my decision is to take the CCIP exam...and then -maybe- (see the explanation at the end) the CCIE SP.

I have already passed BSCI from CCNP and some days ago i passed the QoS exam. That means i still have BGP & MPLS. BGP should be easy, because i know most of the stuff (because of the recent CCIE exam).

MPLS will be the most difficult exam, because i have very little experience on it (although i have read the theory behind it). My job involves many things, but not MPLS (there is another engineer responsible for this). Recently i started experimenting with some L2/L3 VPNs based on MPLS and the basic stuff seemed easy. On the other hand, there were a lot of advanced features that seemed unknown to me. Based on my learning experience on past subjects i would say i'll need a month in order to gain a good understanding of MPLS. Something above the basic, but still not all the advanced topics.

Now....the explanation about the forementioned "maybe". If at the end of the CCIP i have enjoyed MPLS (i must enjoy a technology in order to understand it fully and experiment more with it), i'll probably proceed with the CCIE SP exam. MPLS/VPLS seems like (i won't say "is" because some other vendors have different opinions) a technology of the future (although it's already widely deployed) and i'm definitely interested in it. Surely VPLS looks more interesting because of my LAN "passion".

But there is another prerequisite. I don't know what will happen with my job. I was given a bonus for passing the CCIE lab, but i was to told to wait (for some weeks/months/years?) for an answer to my salary increase request. In the meantime i "rejected" another job, because i thought i would get the salary increase immediately (after the end of February) on the current job. I've asked to have a meeting with my boss hoping to get a more specific answer: when and how much. Based on this, i'll either continue with my current job or continue the who's-looking-for-a-ccie job hunting. And if i decide to change my job, i don't know whether i'll have the needed free time to go through another CCIE lab (at least in the beginning). So, only time will tell.