Friday, April 19, 2013

CCIE Voice Lab Strategy Part 2 - The Read Through

What started as a single blog entry quickly became two and after finishing Part 2, I am fairly certain there will be one or two more entries to round out this "thought". Before diving into this entry, I'd recommend taking a look at Part 1: Formulate Your Strategy

In Part 2, I am going to talk about my personal strategy a little more and focus on the Read Through phase of taking the lab exam. Not because I think my Read Through is all that fascinating. I just feel that by talking about the Read Through I can further illustrate my actual strategy. 

CCIE-V Lab Strategy Part 1 - Formulate Your Strategy

I know what you are thinking, yet another blog on CCIE-V test taking strategy. Well, of course I would do that. It is almost a right of passage. An obligatory first step for any who have passed the exam. It is a glorious sign that you have arrived! Right? Not really. It is actually a sign that you have nothing better to do and are struggling with how to burn through the huge amount of free time that now lay in front of you! 

So, yes I am going to talk about test taking strategy. This started as just a single blog entry and then I realized it was becoming a little too long for just one blog. I wouldn't really go as far as saying this will be a series but it is certainly going to be more than one entry. 

For part 1, I wanted to walk through a couple strategies I came across as I was trying to determine my own path. I also want to discuss some of the factors you should account for when coming up with your own, personal strategy. You see, I believe that a well-prepared candidate will have a strategy that is unique to them. Even if that strategy borrows heavily from other approaches. You don't want to blindly follow someone else's strategy just because they appear to know what they are talking about. Listen, learn, and form your own opinion. 


Thursday, April 18, 2013

Using SQL to Look at EM Profile MOH Sources

In this installment of the SQL query series I wanted to actually explore a request that came by way of the Cisco Support Community. The scenario/question:
What would the query be to obtain the MOH source for DN's that are assigned to EM Profiles?
The individual posing the question was primarily interested in listing MOH sources for directory numbers associated with Extension Mobility profiles. The query to grab this data is a simple variation on a query I presented a few months ago in the blog entry: Using SQL to Look at MOH Source Configurations.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Read the News Today, Oh Boy! I Passed the CCIE in Cisco RTP

Yesterday, I sat for the CCIE Voice lab in RTP.  At 0300 EDT my mailbox received the grade notice. A few hours later I actually opened the email and followed the link to get my exam report. 

For some reason I stared at the screen for what seemed forever before it sunk in that I passed this beast. Though, in a way I am still numb.