At an average it takes 8+ months for someone after passing CCIE Written to attempt the lab.
As some of you might know, I attempted the CCIE R&S Lab in March and came pretty close to getting my number. However, being rusty on CCIE Written cost me my number 🙂 I was pretty pissed for a few days but what can you do? At an average it takes 8+ months for someone after passing CCIE Written to attempt the lab. During this journey you tend to forget some details on the CCIE Written blueprint because you have access to DOCCD in the real lab. With the introduction of Open Ended Questions, Cisco is making sure that we keep up with the theory throughout our CCIE Journey and even after. What I would recommend two months before your lab date is to start reading the following books (again) and take notes:
- CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Certification Guide (3rd Edition) (Exam Certification Guide) (Hardcover) by Wendell Odom (Author), Rus Healy (Author), Naren Mehta (Author)
- Routing TCP/IP, Volume 1 (2nd Edition) (CCIE Professional Development) (Hardcover) by Jeff Doyle (Author), Jennifer Carroll (Author)
- Interdomain Multicast Routing: Practical Juniper Networks and Cisco Systems Solutions (Paperback) by Brian M. Edwards (Author), Leonard A. Giuliano (Author), Brian R. Wright (Author
- Cisco QOS Exam Certification Guide (IP Telephony Self-Study) (2nd Edition) (Exam Certification Guide) (Hardcover) by Wendell Odom (Author), Michael Cavanaugh (Author)
- CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification Guide (4th Edition) (Hardcover) by David Hucaby (Author)
- CCNP BSCI Official Exam Certification Guide (4th Edition) (Hardcover) by Brent Stewart (Author)
Since this is not the first time you will be reading those books, it should not take long and you should start remembering most of the details. Now attempt the Q&As that Cisco provides in these books to test your knowledge. I am following this strategy and know a few people who have passed CCIE Lab recently following this methodology. I hope you enjoyed this post!
