How to Study for the CCIE Data Center Lab Exam

Probably one of the most frequent and common questions I get is how to approach studying for the CCIE Data Center lab exam. So, I thought to myself, why not write a blog that I can just point people to!

After typing out, or explaining, the same preparation strategy a few hundred times, I decided writing something, somewhat official, might be the best course of action. So here it goes! Be mindful though, there is no “wrong” way to study. Not any one method will fit every candidate, so you have to be flexible and identify what will work for you both professionally and personally.

Now, I urge you to first think about this – How much time can you actually dedicate to studying? Be reasonable here. If you work full time, and have a family, you’re probably not going to be able to study 8 hours a day. A reasonable expectation, at least for someone under those circumstances, is to allocate approximately 2 to 3 hours a day. In my case, it was after I put my kids to bed, from about 8 to 11 PM every weeknight. I also hate putting numerical values around total studying hours with regards to these exams. So I’m not gonna to sit here and tell you that you need at least x-so-many hours of studying to pass this test. One candidate could put in 500 hours, and have a boatload of on-the-job experience that puts them in a good position to pass the exam. Another candidate may come in relatively green in all of the subject areas, and it may take them 1000 hours or more of prep time to finish, so it varies greatly depending on the candidate background and existing knowledge of Cisco technology. My methodology doesn’t necessarily base itself around total study hours, but rather a way to track through the technologies themselves.

The first thing I will say, is to go take and pass your written! That old theory of “oh I will just wait until I am ready for the lab to take my written,” is long gone! The theory behind that was that you could pass your written really late in the game, and then immediately schedule your lab and have plenty of cushion in that 18 month window. Guys, guess what…the available lab dates in both US locations (Exhibit A) are out till next February! So please, get out there, pass the written, and schedule your lab! Trust me, you don’t want to get to that “ready” state, and then have to wait 7 months for your day.

Exhibit A

San Jose

RTP

Now, once you have a lab date set, you can invoke what I call backwards planning. This means that you can plan, from the date of your lab, back to the current date, and schedule your studying accordingly. I personally gave myself a 2-week window from my lab date to do mock labs and run-throughs. From there, I gauged myself. I urge you to do the same. Download the blueprint from Cisco’s website, and use this to plan your preparation strategy accordingly around the technologies and topics seen there.

Take those topics and copy then into something like excel, evernote, onenote…something. A lot of people I know like to create a single tab / notebook in one of those programs for every line item so that they can take notes. Once you have had an honest look at the curriculum figure out where you are the strongest, and where you are the weakest. I personally had been doing so much with NX-OS, that I gauged I was by far the strongest in that category, and the weakest in storage, so I pushed those strong areas to the end of my study regime. From here I tried to dedicate an entire week to a particular topic, so I opened up a new Google account and utilized Google Calendar for this. I marked my lab date, and started planning. Again, my strongest topics were the ones I would cover, if I had time, the closest to my date. In the end it ended up kind of looking like this:

• Week 1 – Fibre Channel Basics (101) and oversubscription – section 2.0/2.1.f
• Week 2 – FC port-channels, Cisco ISL, and trunking – section 2.1a
• Week 3 – VSANs, enhanced and basic zoning – sections 2.1b-c
• Week 4 – FC domain parameters – section 2.1d
• Week 5 – FC security features – Section 2.1.e

Now this was just a part of it… I did that for every line item. This allowed me to create my own “curriculum” around those specific topics. I found it best to go through a regimen of watching iPexpert’s VOD for the individual technologies. I would watch the entire video, and then I would read as much as I could on the topic. This included white papers, configuration guides, blogs, and traditional books. I think you guys know how to parse the internet for information, but book compilations I always found useful, so here were my top 5 for CCIE DC studies:

1. Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals by Gustavo Santana – Gustavo easily became one of my favorite Cisco Press authors with this book (he joined the company of Wendall Odom here J). The book is about as close as an end-to-end guide for the DC track as there is out there, and it’s the only book I read end-to-end for this entire track!
2. Storage Networking Fundamentals (Vol 2.)  by James Long – This book is not for the faint of heart, or the storage newbie. It is packed full of protocol-specific information.  I found it extremely useful for referencing materials.
3. I/O Consolidation in the Data Center by Silvano Gai et all – This book is a definite resource for FCoE studying.
4. NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching by Ron Fuller et all – This book was great as well. It really gives you a good look into Nexus devices, and how the NX-OS systems operate, and are configured.
5. IBM Redbooks – Introduction to Storage Area Networks and System Networking – A free read on SAN’s and the protocols that they run on. It’s also a great reference for beginners to storage area networks.

After I had read until my mind was adequately numb, I found it time to lab. When labbing I tried to exclusively use iPexpert’s CCIE Data Center racks, which are accessible via Proctor Labs. At Proctor Labs, within the DC realm, we have one full-scale Mock Lab Rack that has everything needed for CCIE DC studies, and we have many technology racks which are perfect for 90% of your endeavors. (These racks contain 2 x Nexus 7k’s (VDC’s), 2 5548-UP, 2 x 2232 FEX’s, 2 x MDS 9216i’s, 1 C-220 M2 UCS server, as well as 2 Virtual Supervisors Modules for Nexus 1000v studies, and 2 UCS-PE’s for UCS training on emulated systems.) See Exhibit B additional details of both DC rack types.

Exhibit B

General Rack Interface Summary : Remote Control Tools

• All routers and switches can be controlled via the web with our GUI remote control system.
• You will not waste time on our racks… when you begin your session, your routers WILL BE set to the default (blank) setting.
• Web GUI access to all devices allowing you to start / stop / and revert to clean configurations.
• Each device can be power cycled by our RPC (Remote Power Control) system with a click of a button.
• Single Page Login (no need to telnet to rack’s terminal server). Login and begin using our online hardware instantly.
• Session Management (view scheduled time and reschedule without human intervention)

Technology Rack Details

Within our CCIE Data Center Technology racks, you will have access to the following devices / software:

• Nexus 7010
• 2 Non-Default VDCs
• 8 each N7K-F132XP-15 Ports
• 8 each N7K-M132XP-12L
• 2 Nexus 5548 with Layer 3 module
• Enhanced Layer 2 License
• FCoE NPV License
• Storage (Native FC) License
• 2 Nexus 2248TP
• 2 MDS9216i
• SAN Extension over IP License
• Enterprise Package License
• 1 Fibre Channel JBODs
• 2 UCSPE (Platform Emulators)
• 1 UCS C200 M2 rack servers
• Xeon X5670 2,93Ghz 6-cores
• 48GB RAM
• 2 450GB SAS 15k harddisks
• UCS P81E VIC card
• The 2 Nexus 7000 VDC’s can be configured to simulate extended distribution topologies and the ‘core switch’ layer within the network.
• Nexus 5548 will be used as a ‘Aggregation’ layer within the datacenter network. The Nexus 2k’s can be configured as FEX for the Nexus 5000 and simulated Fabric Interconnects for the UCS series server. The VDC’s are a major component in the network as the number of devices is limited and the connectivity is very much based on a best practice design.

Mock Lab Rack Details

Within our CCIE Data Center Mock Lab racks, you will have access to the following devices / software:

• Nexus 7010
• Sup1
• LAN Enterprise License
• Advanced LAN Enterprise License
• Enhanced Layer 2 License
• SAN Enterprise License
• Scalable Feature License
• MPLS License
• DCNM LAN License
• DCNM SAN License
• 32 Port 10Gb (F1 Module)
• with FCoE license
• 32 Port 10Gb (M1 Module)
• 2 Nexus 5548 with Layer 3 module
• Layer 3 License
• Enhanced Layer 2 License
• FCoE NPV License
• Storage (Native FC) License
• VM-FEX License
• 2 Nexus 2248TP
• 2 MDS9222i
• SAN Extension over IP License
• Enterprise Package License
• 2 Fibre Channel JBODs
• 2 UCS 6120XP Fabric Interconnects
• 8-port FC Expansion Module
• UCS 5108 blade chassis
• UCS 2104XP Fabric Extenders
• 4 UCS B200 M2 blade servers
• Xeon X5670 2,94Ghz 6-cores
• 48GB RAM
• 2 300GB SAS 10k harddisks
• UCS M81KR VIC mezzanine card
• 2 UCS C200 M2 rack servers
• Xeon X5670 2,93Ghz 6-cores
• 48GB RAM
• 2 450GB SAS 15k harddisks
• UCS P81E VIC card
• One of the servers will be used for hosting supporting VMs. You will not have direct access to this server
• ACE 4710
• The Nexus 7000 will be configured with VDC’s to simulate various different topologies and create multiple ‘core switch’ layers within the network
• Nexus 5548 will be used as a ‘distribution’ layer within the datacenter network. The Nexus 2k’s can be configured as FEX for the Nexus 7000, Nexus 5000 and the Fabric Interconnects of the UCS system to connect the UCS C-series rack mount servers. The VDC’s are a major component in the network as the number of devices is limited and the connectivity is very much based on a best practice design.

I would hop on these racks, and I would lab my technology for the week. I used iPexperts CCIE Data Center Volume 1 (Technology-Focused Lab Workbook) for this. (This workbook was amazing. It, in my opinion, over-prepared me for the exam, however I’m also in the process of making some updates for existing customers – which I will continue to do on a regular basis as frequently as I feel fit.) But I digress…I would lab the technology and try to gain an understanding as to what the “base-config” was for the technology. From there I would build upon that, and add the proverbial “nerd-knobs” that are so infamous in our industry. Between the videos, reading, and labbing, that was normally sufficient for me to feel really good about a technology. If, after my initial labs, I still felt a bit weary (like I did with the iSCSI gateway feature), I would go back and watch the VODs again, read, and re-lab. (I think that I labbed iSCSI about 30 times before it clicked!)

So in short, my preparation was such:

1. Choose a technology
2. Watch iPexpert CCIE DC VOD around that technology
3. Read everything I could on that technology (whitepapers, config guides, blogs, books)
4. LAB with iPexpert’s Volume 1 Workbook
5. If necessary start the cycle over again

I never moved on until I was feeling good with the technology. I found it best to break each technology down into crucial, little “manageable chunks of work”. Take iSCSI gateway for instance, there’s a lot of configuring needed there, so I had to break it down into something like this:

1. Enable feature/enable module
2. No shut iscsi interface
3. Configure initiator
4. Configure virtual-target
5. ZONE!

Each one of those sections had their little individual configs. But when I looked at it from this regard, rather than everything as a whole – it was a lot less intimidating and a whole lot easier to remember and configure.

I went into my last 2 weeks feeling pretty prepared, so I decided to go through iPexpert’s stellar Volume 2 Mock Lab Workbook, which, when I was preparing for my lab, contained 3 full-scale mock labs (now it contains 4, with the 5^th and final coming this month).  I did not have racks for these, so I did everything in notepad, and the UCS-PE (download this if you don’t have it!). It actually worked out, as doing my NX-OS and MDS configs in notepad really let me see how my mind was digesting a technology and how my brain worked through the necessary steps to get it working. Even if my syntax was not 100% accurate, I knew that I was at least going down the right path and that if I were on a real device that the context-sensitive help would have pulled me through. Now I don’t recommend this for everyone! Some may find this extremely difficult, and it may not fit your learning style. So, if you can get a full rack, definitely use that instead of notepad! Ok, back to the preparation strategy I used during before my lab attempt…To be honest, I don’t think I passed a single one of my mock labs. They were generally harder than what I felt the actual lab was. But I did get a good end-to-end assessment of what I thought the lab was going to feel like. So it put me in a good position for when I went into my lab day – which, I did pass on my first attempt!.

Had I the opportunity, I would have chosen to attend a CCIE Data Center Bootcamp in my final weeks, but my work schedule didn’t permit. Now that I’m teaching for iPexpert, and have analyzed every product in our CCIE Data Center portfolio, I can say that the best time for someone to attend a bootcamp is about 3 to 6 weeks before your lab date. As a colleague of mine mentioned, take it late enough that you can ensure that you’re not confused in the bootcamp and use it to fill any gaps in your knowledge, but not so late that you can’t correct any misconceptions that you might have had coming into it. iPexpert’s 5-Day CCIE Data Center Bootcamp is an awesome resource at the end of your studies to really get some last minute training, mentoring, tips and probably the most important of them all – dedicated racktime! Like I said, it will really help to solidify your expert-level knowledge of the technologies that you have so diligently been studying!

I hope, if nothing else, that this give you an idea of how to study for this lab exam. It’s nothing to take lightly, and the things that you will learn throughout your studies will benefit you throughout your career. The icing on the cake however, is the day you open that portal page, and see those shiny digits waiting for you!

Jason Lunde
CCIE #29431 (Data Center and R&S)
CCIE Data Center and R&S Instructor – iPexpert, Inc.

About Jason:

Jason Lunde is a dual CCIE who passed the R&S v4 lab in 2011, and the CCIE Data Center lab in December of 2013, both on his first attempt. Throughout his lab preparation, he utilized iPexpert’s CCIE lab training materials exclusively. He also holds a BS in CIS from Colorado State Univ.- Pueblo, and a MS in Infosec. Mgmt. from Colorado Technical Institute.

Jason has been in and around the networking industry since 2006, and his real-world expertise spans many corporate verticals such as oil & gas, education, banking, entertainment, and retail. His past several years have been spent doing post-sales design work, configurations, and troubleshooting for a Cisco partner in the mid-west; providing services for both SMB and enterprise-level clients. His primary focus over the past two years has been around datacenter technologies such as OTV, FabricPath, VPC, and converged networking.

Jason joined iPexpert in May 2014, and is primarily focused on CCIE Data Center product and bootcamp development and instruction.