I just saw today that Sydney is back online for the wireless CCIE lab.  You can now book lab exams as early as late November.  So if you don’t feel like waiting 6 months to take your lab elsewhere, you have another option.

Join Piotr tomorrow (Wednesday) morning (10 AM EST) as he delivers a vLecture on the CCIE Security topic: Access Point 802.1x. To REGISTER, please visit this link.

If you’re unable to attend, I will be uploading this vLecture to our YouTube channel Wednesday afternoon or Thursday AM.

Also, here’s a complete list of the upcoming vLectures this year. We are working on Q1 2014 and will have that available within the next few weeks.

• Security: Access Point 802.1x (Nov 13th, 10am EST) (REGISTER)
• Wireless: CAPWAP AP controller discovery process  (November 18th, 1 pm EST) (REGISTER)
• Data Center: EvPC and FCoE (November 18th, 3 pm EST) (REGISTER)
• Data Center: MDS FC Security Features (November 28th, 3 pm EST) (REGISTER)
• Security: IKEv2 L2L VPN (Dec 4th, 10am EST) (REGISTER)
• R&S: Multicast basics (Dec 6th, 10 am EST) (REGISTER)
• Collaboration / Voice: 3750 Quality of Service (December 6th, 4 pm EST) (REGISTER)
• Wireless: Troubleshooting the CAPWAP AP Join process (December 9th, 1 pm EST) (REGISTER)

- Wayne

Just a quick note to remind all of our CCIE Voice Lab candidates that our LAST CCIE Voice Bootcamp will be held online December 2nd – 6th, delivered via our new Online-HD-ILT training solution. This class will be conducted a little bit differently than others, there will be no designated racktime associated with the class instead, you will receive rack vouchers so you can schedule your racktime whenever it’s convenient. If you’re looking to use your retake before the lab changes, this is your last opportunity. As a reminder, all CCIE Voice candidates will be getting free updates to our CCIE Collaboration content however, as most of you know Cisco has not yet released a topology so we are awaiting the details to ensure our topology is identical.

Also, for all CCIE Voice engineers already certified, or anyone else looking to pass the CCIE Collaboration Written - we have an online CCIE Collaboration Bootcamp being held January 6th – 10th. For more details, please visit this link.

Join us in congratulating the following CCIE on his great achievement;

• Muhammad Tahir Munir, 3xCCIE# 27270 (R&S/SP/DC)

Muhammad Munir, CCIE #27270
“I found IPexpert CCIE Data Center workbooks were definitely great assistance, without IPexpert workbook and rack rental  required CCIE level was not possible to achieve.

Thank you very much IPexpert Team!”

IPexpert is proud to boast the industry’s most complete and updated self-study portfolio for the CCIE Routing & Switching Lab, CCIE Voice Lab, CCIE Security Lab, CCIE Data Center Lab, and CCIE Wireless Lab exams. Have you also used IPexpert or Proctor Labs to help you pass the CCIE lab exam? If so, we want to hear your story! Please email us at success@ipexpert.com

We have 2 free vLectures going on today, aCCIE Wireless and a CCIE Data Center vLecture. Topics and registration details are as follows:

• Wireless: CAPWAP AP controller discovery process  (November 18th, 1 pm EST) (REGISTER)
• Data Center: EvPC and FCoE (November 18th, 3 pm EST) (REGISTER)

We are still working on adding additional online seats for these vLectures. Just over the past few weeks, we have had nearly five thousand of you who haven’t been able to attend one of our vLectures due to class size limitations. We are working on increasing our live Online-HD-ILT seating capacity as well as a better solution ensure that people who register show up and don’t consume a seat someone else could be using. However, in the meantime, if you’re unable to attend today, I will be uploading these vLecture to our YouTube channel tomorrow.

- Wayne

And yet, another “Next Generation” CCIE Lab Training Video (Yesterday’s vLecture Recording) – this time for the CCIE Wireless topic CAPWAP AP Controller Discovery Process.

Sorry it took so long to get this posted – it’s a lengthy video (2 1/2 hours), and took a bit to edit / format. Enjoy the following recorded CCIE DC vLecture, which Rick delivered yesterday on EvPC and FCoE.

Also, Please note – we have changed our vLecture that was originally scheduled on November 28th. The date and topic have both changed. It’s now going to be on December 2nd (3 PM EST) on: Fiber Channel 101. To register, click here: (REGISTER)

We’re looking for a few last-minute registrations for our upcoming (over 2 weekends) Mastering Unified Computing for CCIE Data Center Candidates class. Don’t miss out on this class – if you’re looking to ACE the UCS portion of your CCIE Data Center lab! To get your $500 discount, CLICK THIS LINK, and enter coupon code: UCSn500

Join us in congratulating the following CCIEs on their great achievement;

• Matt Breneisen, CCIE #41315 (Routing and Switching)
• Kevin Sheahan CCIE # 41349 (Security)
• Sandeep Ramakrishnan #41316 (Security)
• Marvin Rambhadjan CCIE #41330 (Routing and Switching)
• Erick Sanchez, CCIE #41314 (Routing and Switching)
• Mohamed Rabea Hassan CCIE # 40532 (Voice)
• Yli Schwartzman CCIE #41347 (Voice)

Matt Breneisen, CCIE #41315
I wanted to say that iPexpert CCIE training from top to bottom was a great help. The whole experience from purchasing the materials, the bootcamp all the way until after I attended the boot camp was top notch. Everyone at iPexpert was really helpful and willing to assist. In the beginning I received a hard copy of all the iPexpert material as well as a soft copy. I mean that’s extremely helpful to have hard copies to refer to. Also the instructor in the training class, Marko, was very helpful and knowledgeable. A great all around Engineer with real world experience. The troubleshooting scenarios he created for the class were challenging and helped me to understand the technologies even better. After the bootcamp the instructor was available via e-mail for any questions I had. This is different than those other guys. My coworker attended the training class for “the other guys” and sent several e-mails after the class was over and never received responses. I was very satisfied with the CCIE R&S class and would recommend this to anyone wanting to take on the challenge of becoming a CCIE.

Kevin Sheahan CCIE # 41349 (Security)
“It is with great pleasure that I can tell you I’ve passed my CCIE Security Lab on Tuesday in RTP. It has been a very difficult year both personally and professionally to prepare for this exam. This was my third attempt. For study, I leaned very heavily on iPexpert’s material/instructors/racks. Piotr Kaluzny – I can’t speak highly enough about this guy – suffice it to say that if you are feeling lost, get his attention and he will lead you in the right direction. His expertise, patience, and all around cool-dudeness are sincerely appreciated and valuable when you start to feel like you’re drowning in the blueprint. I also used my own personal hardware and read A LOT of Cisco configuration guides pertaining to blueprint (There are a lot of “Notes” in those config guides that provide great info).

I just wanted you to know that the material and instruction that Piotr is putting out there is top notch. I’m very much looking forward to using IPexpert for my CCIE R&S studies next year!!”"

Marvin Rambhadjan CCIE #41330
“I attended Marko’s CCIE R&S Bootcamp in San Jose. I passed my CCIE Lab exam in my first attempt! iPexpert really helped me with the last bit and bytes for my preparation. It was a real the best bootcamp and I will definitely recommend it to CCIE aspirants.”

Erick Sanchez CCIE# 41314
“My thoughts on iPexperts true value – Marko Milivojevic

“Just don’t mess up!”  This is the advice I received from Marko the night before my lab attempt.  “Just don’t mess up”… This seems simple enough but we all know how difficult and emotional this journey can be. So of course when Marko says “don’t mess up”, everything I have done to this point begins to replay in my head.  All the hours of labbing, all of the blogs, all the videos, and of course all the days spent in Marko’s class. No pressure… Just don’t mess up! It is at this point that I realized I am ready. If this is the only advice Marko has for me then it’s all about me, and staying out of my own way and I did just that! I am officially CCIE# 41314 and I couldn’t have done this without Marko and his approach.

A standard practice in many, perhaps most courses is the instructor review. Most people don’t have the time to really sit down and put thought behind the review as this is always brought up last minute while students are running out the door to catch a flight or get back to their lab prep.  Since I am now a CCIE and I have nothing else to do, I wanted to take this opportunity to point out Marko’s capabilities as an instructor and give a little insight to his classes.

When I first started this journey just like most people I researched for weeks. Trying to decide where I was going to invest my money. I decided to make a list of the 4 most important components I needed to help me achieve my number.

Knowledge
Obviously Marko is extremely knowledgeable not only in the areas on the CCIE RS blueprint but with multiple vendors. This broad knowledge allows him to highlight the differences between vendors and helps identify ones understanding. I was impressed by the interest he shows to acquire more knowledge and leverage it in his instruction. I have not seen a situation he could not navigate. Marko answered any questions regarding each subject we covered. I am really impressed by his depth of knowledge.

Hardwork and Enthusiasm
Marko is very hard working and his enthusiasm for networking is apparent in his classes. As far as instructors go Marko is well qualified, dynamic and enthusiastic to ensure that his students get quality answers and understanding. Thus I can state with absolute certainty that Marko is an exceptional instructor.

Communication Skills
Marko has very good communication skills. He is able to explain the subject in a simple and systematic way, which will provide any student with a confident understanding about the topic. As with most candidates there were topics covered that I initially had no prior experience with, but his approach and lectures solidified my understanding and brought me up to the speed in my studies.

Patience
Marko shows enormously great patience and will make anybody comfortable in the subject at hand. As stated earlier, Marko has spent many hours with us to explain various lab techniques, which made me thorough with my lab approach.  He is not only friendly but also is gauging our needs as CCIE candidates. He displays a genuine concern for the advancement of his students and as a mentor he freely shares his knowledge and experience and helps us to be confident in our journey.

All students have had classes that go very well and some that were simply terrible. Personally I attribute great classes to the strength of the lesson or instructor and that is why I can say with great certainty that Marko is one on the best instructors and mentors I ever had and I strongly believe given the opportunity other candidates will feel the same way. I hope this feedback will help influence potential candidates decisions to team up with Marko.

Marko, Thank you again… I couldn’t have done this without you!

Mohamed Rabea Hassan CCIE # 40532
“Vik Malhi is key person who helped me  pass the CCIE Voice, what I liked in his videos that he begin from ground and fly with you to sky. The iPexpert CCIE voice material was very helpful for me to pass my CCIE Voice and make my dream true.”

Yli Schwartzman CCIE #41347
“I just wanted to let you know that with the help of iPexpert’s study materials and Vik’s bootcamp I passed the CCIE Voice lab on 11/19.”

iPexpert is proud to boast the industry’s most complete and updated self-study portfolio for the CCIE Routing & Switching Lab, CCIE Voice Lab, CCIE Security Lab, CCIE Data Center Lab, and CCIE Wireless Lab exams. Have you also used iPexpert or Proctor Labs to help you pass the CCIE lab exam? If so, we want to hear your story! Please email us at success@ipexpert.com

Due to a scheduling conflict, we are cancelling the following vLecture (Collaboration / Voice: 3750 Quality of Service). We will be posting our Q1 vLecture schedule within the next week or so.

CCIE Candidates – We’ve just made your “Black Friday” a little more relaxing (we hope! ;-)

Do this —–> www.ipexpert.com/Company/Promotions/Black-Friday-Cyber-Monday

Do NOT do this:

Join us in congratulating the following CCIEs on their great achievement;

• Saleh Hassan Batouq, CCIE #41372 (Routing and Switching)
• Paul Lavelle CCIE # 25542 (Routing and Switching, Service Provider)
• Jody Lemoine #41436 (Routing and Switching)
• Salman Naqvi (Data Center)
• Mike Mahoney, CCIE #40870 (Routing and Switching)
• Jeremy Buck CCIE # 41461 (Routing and Switching)

Saleh Hassan Batouq, CCIE #41372
I have finally passed the R&S Lab (3rd attempt) in Dubai. I would like to thank every one at IPexpert for the great CCIE R&S training material & support. Special thanks to Marko for great audio/video material and support on this OSL. I really appreciated all the contributions made by members of this study list specially Bob McCouch.

Salman Naqvi (Data Center)
IPexpert’s CCIE DC workbooks were instrumental in helping me pass my CCIE DC lab. The workbooks can be considered an easy-to-read/understand version of the official Cisco documentation. The documentation relevant to CCIE DC literally goes into 10,000+ pages. The workbooks do an excellent job of condensing all the exam topics into a significantly smaller footprint. The last three chapters, the ‘Mock Labs’ are particularly helpful in helping recreate the exam environment. They employ similar wording, and even consist of a point system similar to the exam. Rick Mur and Peter Revill have done an excellent job with the workbooks. You have a great team of people working for you.

iPexpert is proud to boast the industry’s most complete and updated self-study portfolio for the CCIE Routing & Switching Lab, CCIE Voice Lab, CCIE Security Lab, CCIE Data Center Lab, and CCIE Wireless Lab exams. Have you also used iPexpert or Proctor Labs to help you pass the CCIE lab exam? If so, we want to hear your story! Please email us at success@ipexpert.com

This week we have 3 vLectures scheduled, which you can still register for.

• Today, (Monday December 2nd) at 3 PM EST, a CCIE Data Center vLecture on the topic of Fiber Channel forwarding will be delivered by Rick Mur.
• Wednesday, December 4th at 10 AM EST, a CCIE Security vLecture on the topic of IKEv2 L2L VPN will be delivered by Piotr.
• Friday, December 6th at 10 AM, Multicast Basics will be delivered by Marko.

To register for any of these free vLectures, please click here.

As always, if you’re unable to attend, I will be posting these on our YouTube channel when finished. Be sure to subscribe to our channel as we are adding new videos weekly.

Cisco has officially announced the anticipated CCIE R&S 5.0 Lab change :: From Cisco’s website:

On December 4, 2013, Cisco is announcing that the CCIE Routing and Switching (R&S) exam curriculum will be revised from version 4.0 to version 5.0. Cisco continually assesses and validates the technical expertise of network engineers working in global enterprise environments. The revision reflects both changes in technology and the evolution of job roles.

The last day to test for both the Written exam v4.0 (350-001) and Lab exam v4.0 will be June 3, 2014. The CCIE R&S Written and Lab exam v5.0 will be available for testing on June 4, 2014. This announcement provides a six-month notice to candidates allowing them time to schedule and pass Written and Lab exams v4.0.

We (iPexpert), will be conducting a free vLecture outlining the changes, as well as our CCIE R&S 5.0 Lab self-study portfolio, rack rental and CCIE R&S 5.0 Lab Bootcamp strategy on Friday, December 6th at 10 AM EST. We will be posting the registration URL on our social communities tomorrow AM.

We have changed the CCIE R&S vLecture that was originally scheduled on Friday from Multicast, to now be an overview of the new R&S 5.0 Lab Changes. It’s scheduled for this Friday, December 6th at 10 AM EST). To register, click here: (REGISTER). If you’re unable to attend, this vLecture will be posted on our YouTube Channel Friday afternoon.

Lastly, don’t forget about the CCIE Security vLecture scheduled today. This vLecture, along with the CCIE Data Center vLecture that was conducted Monday will also be posted on our YouTube channel this evening.

As promised, here’s the recording of Rick’s vLecture.

As promised, here’s Piotr’s CCIE Security vLecture that was delivered today :: IKEv2 L2L VPN

The new blueprint is upon us and all I want to say to anyone studying for CCIE R&S at the moment is – DON’T PANIC. Before I address that “don’t panic”, part, please allow me to say a thing or two about the new blueprint. Nothing there is unexpected, out of the blue, scary or unusual. In fact, of all the CCIE tracks that have been recently updated, this one is by far the best. Why? Because it’s relevant!

Brief History Lesson

CCIE has for the longest time been considered a golden standard in IT certification. It was always considered to be difficult, challenging and has been a kind of a “holy grail” for IT and network professionals. One thing that we always kept saying about the CCIE in the past was – “yeah, but it does not replicate the real life”. This has been true for many, many years. Now, we have the latest and greatest incarnation of the CCIE R&S – the “grandaddy” of all CCIEs. How and why is it any different than what we’ve had before? Well… because it is.

In the previous blueprints for example, content covered by the CCIE R&S blueprint was hardly relevant for real-life engineers. We had things like Frame Relay (including FR switching!), OER/PfR and WCCP in there, that were, at best, fringe cases of relevance for most enterprises and engineers. On the other hand, more relevant topics were not covered at depth that would test the deep understanding. The troubleshooting section, while fantastic at its core, failed to deliver much relevance, as we never had to explain our actions in any way. We just “did” things, fixed the issues and moved on. Not anymore, as things will change with version 5. For the better, in my opinion.

With the new blueprint, topics have been trimmed considerably and not only that, we now know how much each topic will be covered in terms of the percentage of the entire test! This has never been known before. Modern and relevant topics, like IPv6 are more tightly integrated with other exam content, but the biggest and the best change of all in my opinion is the change in the format of the lab exam.

Exam Format Change – Really, Don’t Panic

There are two changes of importance here. One is the exam format and the other one is the grading modification.

CCIE R&S lab exam now consists of three sections:

1. Troubleshooting Section (TS)
2. Diagnostic Section (DIAG)
3. Configuration Section (CFG)

Troubleshooting section remains mostly unchanged from the previous version, with one major difference. Candidates now have the option to borrow up to 30 minutes of time from the configuration section, should they need to! So this section can now be up to 150 minutes long! It consists of independent incidents (tickets), delivered in a virtual environment. A predefined minimum score in this section is needed in order to have a successful lab attempt. This score has traditionally been 80% of the available points. This time around, this is not explicitly stated, but if I was a betting man, I’d say it will be around that mark.

Diagnostic Section is the new kid on the block in the CCIE lab world. It takes old and (very!) broken idea attempted in the past with the open ended questions (also known as core knowledge section or “a massive failure section”, if you ask me) to a new and actually pretty cool and interesting level. It is going to be a scenario driven section in which candidates will have to analyze data supplied from simulated e-mail threads, diagrams, command outputs, packet captures, etc. and asses the possible root cause of the simulated problem. Unlike the actual troubleshooting section, there will be no access to any equipment in this section. This section will be fixed 30 minutes long and predefined minimum score is required to be successful.

Since this section is new, let me spend few more words on it, since I’m sure most students will be concerned about it. One of the major concerns Cisco had in the past with the CCIE candidates is inadequate understanding of the underlying technology. Candidates knew how to configure things (since they were trained to think about commands), but they didn’t know why they were typing certain commands. Also, in the more recent past, “recipe-based” troubleshooting training helped candidates pass the test without actually understanding what was wrong in the first place. With this section, Cisco is trying to ensure not only that candidates know how to solve certain problems, but also to understand why these problems existed in the first place, without actually applying the learned recipe to get the desired result. Deep understanding of the topics will be more relevant than ever, but that’s why you want to be a CCIE in the first place, isn’t it?

Configuration Section
The old friend is still there, the configuration section. This section has also gone through some changes. First of all, it’s also virtual, just like the Troubleshooting Section. It can be maximum of 330 minutes long, but beware that borrowed time from troubleshooting can make it shorter. However, if your troubleshooting skills are excellent and you’re faster than 120 minutes, unused troubleshooting time will carry over to the configuration section. Just like with the other two sections, a predefined minimum score is required to be successful. Traditionally, this used to be 80% of the score, but it may or may not be so this time around.

I did mention earlier changes in regard to the grading. If you read the description of the three sections so far, you’d probably be thinking how’s this different than what we had before. There is one more thing Cisco added for the version 5 – a minimum overall cut-score! So not only do we have to score a predefined minimum in each section, the overall score needs to be above a confidential cut-score. That sounds bad… but actually, isn’t! This simply allows Cisco to declare that, say, 20% of the top scores in the particular exam (or as they call it – test form) will be considered success. Now, that may actually mean 50% of the overall point value and not an arbitrary 80% like before! In my opinion, this is probably the best change in CCIE grading in years. It will create more balanced testing experience for everyone.

What’s New and What’s Gone

First of all, let me say that the best place to get this answer is Cisco Learning Network and the official “delta” document. This document details changes between the blueprints in excruciating detail (true story). Here is the link: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/certifications/expert/ccie_rs/docs/ccieRS_examUpdates4-5.pdf.

In short, there have been several “movement areas”. Some topics that were covered by v4 blueprint are now going to be covered only in the written exam, some have been removed and yes, some topics have been added.

Topics that are completely gone from the version 5 are:

• Flexlink, ISL, Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling
• Frame-Relay (LFI, FR Traffic Shaping)
• WCCP
• IOS Firewall and IPS
• RITE, RMON
• RGMP
• RSVP QoS, WRR/SRR

Perfect. We no longer have to worry about those. Now, some things are not going to be on the lab, but will be on the written exam. Some topics have simply been moved to the written status, while others have been added.

• Topics Added to the Written Exam
   
  • Describe basic software architecture differences between IOS and IOS XE
  • Identify Cisco Express Forwarding Concepts
  • Explain General Network Challenges
  • Explain IP, TCP and UDP Operations
  • Describe Chassis Virtualization and Aggregation Technologies
  • Explain PIM Snooping
  • Describe WAN Rate-based Ethernet Circuits
  • Describe BGP Fast Convergence Features
  • ISIS (for IPv4 and IPv6)
  • Describe Basic Layer 2 VPN – Wireline
  • Describe Basic L2VPN – LAN Services
  • Describe GET VPN
  • Describe IPv6 Network Address Translation
  • Use IOS Troubleshooting Tools
  • Apply Troubleshooting Methodologies
  • Interpret Packet Capture
  • Implement and Troubleshoot Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
  • Implement EIGRP (multi-address) Named Mode
  • Implement, Troubleshoot and Optimize EIGRP and OSPF Convergence and Scalability
  • Implement and Troubleshoot DMVPN (single hub)
  • Implement and Troubleshoot IPsec with pre-shared key
  • Implement and Troubleshoot IPv6 First Hop Security
• Topics Moved from the Lab to the Written Exam
   
  • Describe IPv6 Multicast
  • Describe RIPv6 (RIPng)
  • Describe IPv6 Tunneling Techniques
  • Describe Device Security using IOS AAA with TACACS+ and RADIUS
  • Describe 802.1x
  • Describe Layer 2 QoS
  • Identify Performance Routing (PfR)

Finally, some topics have been added to the lab exam as well. These topics are also covered in the written part and I have included them in the list above, but here is the list.

• Use IOS Troubleshooting Tools
• Apply Troubleshooting Methodologies
• Interpret Packet Capture
• Implement and Troubleshoot Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
• Implement EIGRP (multi-address) Named Mode
• Implement, Troubleshoot and Optimize EIGRP and OSPF Convergence and Scalability
• Implement and Troubleshoot DMVPN (single hub)
• Implement and Troubleshoot IPsec with pre-shared key
• Implement and Troubleshoot IPv6 First Hop Security

Let’s analyze this a little bit. First of all, there is nothing “insane” here. It all makes sense. The addition of “packet captures” may not mean you need to know how to operate embedded packet capture, as remember – there is DIAG section of the lab, where Wireshark captures may be provided for analysis. The addition of BFD is a welcome change, as it was notably absent for, say a decade, from the CCIE exam. EIGRP named mode is a new way of configuring EIGRP added in IOS 15.x, so nothing spectacular there, either and optimizing EIGRP and OSPF – as far as I’m concerned, that was already covered.

The real change is more emphasis on the VPN. If we take a look at the actual breakdown of the topics into sections, VPN has its own section even, but again, look at the notes. Pre-shared keys, single hub, etc. This is not a CCIE Security test! They want to make the security part of those technologies fairly easy and basic and focus on routing issues involved. Since in this day and age almost any enterprise uses some form of VPN, it’s an excellent skill to have in our engineering toolboxes. See what I meant by “relevant”?

How Much of Each Will I See?

The question that we as candidates always had to answer in our CCIE studies was – how much of each technology will I see on the exam? That was always an unknown and a lot of guesswork was involved.

With the version 5 – it just got easier! Cisco published the percentage associated with each major technology area. Here it is for the Written exam:

• Network Principles – 10%
• Layer 2 Technologies – 15%
• Layer 3 Technologies – 40%
• VPN Technologies – 15%
• Infrastructure Security – 5%
• Infrastructure Services – 15%

For the Lab exam, it’s very similar.

• Network Principles – 0% (arguably, 100% if you ask me!)
• Layer 2 Technologies – 20%
• Layer 3 Technologies – 40%
• VPN Technologies – 20%
• Infrastructure Security – 5%
• Infrastructure Services – 15%

One thing is clear – ROUTING is back into CCIE Routing and Switching! Combined with VPN technologies, this makes up whopping 60% of the exam! If we take a look at the infrastructure security and services, that makes up 20% and 20% is for Layer 2, it’s clear where the major focus of the study should be! See – I told you not to panic.

What is iPexpert’s Plan

Where does iPexpert stand in all this? Well, to answer those questions, I’m going to pass the pen to iPexpert’s CEO, Wayne to answer that. Here’s what he has to say:

We are still working out timelines that will actually be met. We will be focused on quality versus rushing a product to market. When we have timelines that our students can bank on, we will make them available to students. For now, I can provide you with the strategy that we’ve mapped out internally.

Self Study

Self-study materials such as our new high-definition Video on Demand, and our self-study CCIE Workbooks will be the initial products we will be releasing. Once content has been created, tech edited and beta tested, it will be made available to our clients. Also, I would like to mention – we will be making several major announcements in the upcoming months relating to our self-study strategy and some new features we will be rolling out. We will be rolling these new V5 products out at the same time we make this announcement.

Proctor Labs / Rack Rental

We have been testing, scripting and understanding Cisco’s strategy as it relates to their virtual software. We’re awaiting a response from my contacts @ Cisco regarding the potential direction(s) we may pursue as it relates to making IOS / topologies available to you. We have tested 2 of the 3 solutions we are considering offering, but the 3rd has not yet been tested. Personally, I’d prefer the 3rd option – and I’m expecting an announcement from Cisco (this month or next) on a technology we may be using. Once we have made a definitive decision, we will release an official announcement as to what virtual environment we will be creating as well as what potential hardware we may still be using within the Proctor Labs rack rental system. The goal @ iPexpert is to have unlimited rental capability, which is entirely on demand, while also utilizing the Proctor Labs scripting interface (with some additional features we have on our development schedule).

Bootcamps

Our V5 courses will go live in the April – June time frame. In all honesty, we aren’t anticipating Cisco releasing their topology details, or anything other than what’s been announced until on or around the new exam launch date. Therefore to ensure that our training is sufficient, we will very cautious as to when we will conducting our V5 class. We also want to ensure that students cramming for the V4 lab have ample seats available prior to the new lab being launched. I am working closely with my VP of Sales to ensure that our student’s needs are met.

Upgrade / Retake Policy

It’s very simple. All V4 students / clients will receive V5 self-study updates free of charge. We don’t want to hold up your preparation, and as Marko has outlined – a vast majority of our V4 content is still applicable. Your R&S vRack Vouchers will all work on our new V5 solution. In regards to our classes, all V4 students who have not passed the lab or used their retake are eligible for a retake in one of our V5 classes.

Back to Marko

What can I say – wow! I wish I could take this test tomorrow. It sounds like great fun, but I will do second best thing – I will be there to work with you to help YOU become a CCIE R&S with this new blueprint!

Happy studies!

–
Marko Milivojevic – CCIE #18427
Senior CCIE Instructor / Managing Partner – iPexpert

Join us in congratulating the following CCIEs on their great achievement;

• Ted Fynn, CCIE (Voice)
• Jason Lunde, CCIE# 29431 (Routing & Switching & Data Center)

Ted Fynn, CCIE
I would like to to personally thank Vik and iPexpert CCIE Training material for leading me through this journey, couldn’t have done it without it, had been a tough 3 years in total :-), but I put in my all after my previous attempt failed, and I am glad to say it’s a PASS this time. Still on cloud 9, but extremely exhausted from the many past sleepless nights.

Jason Lunde, CCIE# 29431
Wayne, Rick, & Simon,
I wanted to write and thank you all for the assistance you have given me in my CCIE DC studies. Between your unparalleled assistance in getting me some hands on lab time on your racks, and Mr Mur’s outstanding technology driven labs, and mock lab’s, I was able to pass my lab on my first attempt yesterday in San Jose! It has been a fun journey that could not have been done without iPexpert. Thank you again, I will personally be shouting your praises to everyone I speak with.

iPexpert is proud to boast the industry’s most complete and updated self-study portfolio for the CCIE Routing & Switching Lab, CCIE Voice Lab, CCIE Security Lab, CCIE Data Center Lab, and CCIE Wireless Lab exams. Have you also used iPexpert or Proctor Labs to help you pass the CCIE lab exam? If so, we want to hear your story! Please email us at success@ipexpert.com

As promised, here’s the recording of today’s vLecture. Enjoy!