IP Expert Blended Learning Solution

My IPExpert Blended Learning Solution arrived today, well that is not strictly true as it was delivered yesterday but I was at work so missed delivery. I phoned up to find out about re-delivery and found out that the warehouse was open for collections on Saturday, but only till 11am. So I rushed across town trying to beat traffic found the warehouse and got my parcel just before the warehouse closed phew.

I was surprised how light and small the parcel* was, as the previous parcel I have received from IPExpert was pretty huge but then again that was the old CoD and printed manuals. At first I thought I had been given the wrong parcel, however I checked my name on the front and the fact that it had an IPExpert logo on it so it was definitely mine.
When I got home I removed the FedEx envelope and discovered an IPExpert branded box inside. Inside the box was a little note saying that the drive had been checked before shipment. There was some instructions for the drive itself which appears to be a diskGO EDGE 2.5" inch portable drive. As I picked up the drive it felt really light and I must say a little bit cheap. It comes with a double USB lead and although you do not need to plug in both USB connections on my Mac or any of my PC's.
The disk has options to run both a PC and Mac version of the software. When you start the software you get a menu screen as shown below.

The workbooks are not included on the hard disk you have to access these from your online account. This information on the drive tells you this is to ensure that you always have the latest versions of the workbook. When you click on the Video on Demand option you are presented with the screen below. Then when you start a video you get Scott Morris in all his glory :-) as shown below.
Finally be assured that unlike the previous version of the IPExpert Video on Demand you get to see the CLI utilized as well.

I intend to post notes on the various videos and I will do a review of the BLS when I have had more of a chance to use it.

(*I decided against using the word package due to all the unwanted attention it would bring to my blog ;-) - warning you might not understand this if you do not live in the UK)

Great Post comparing IT Training and the Olympics

Greg at Ethereal Mind has written a great post comparing IT Training and the Olympics. Get your manager to read it or if you are a manager then read it by clicking here.

Trainsignal is 6 Years Old!!

Trainsignal in case you have never heard of them are an IT training company and it is their 6th birthday. They do not produce CCIE level training materials they work in a similar space to CBT Nuggets. That is they focus on Microsoft and Cisco Associate and Professional level training. They do make some great training products and as it is their 6th birthday they are doing a massive giveaway so click here to check them out.

Internetwork Expert FREE Technology V-Seminars and CCIE Interviews

Thanks to cciepursuit for pointing this out to me but Internetwork Expert are now offering FREE Technology V-Seminars. The upcoming ones tend to be heavily focused on the Voice track but there is one on multicast coming up and several recorded ones that are to do with the Routing and Switching track. Anyhow click here to check them out.

While on the topic of Internetwork Expert Brandon Carroll's blog pointed me in the direction of this IE blog post on possible CCIE lab interviews. If it is true then I think it would be a pretty good idea although I am not sure what would happen if someone just passed the lab but did not pass the interview. What would their score report say? So what does everyone else think?

Comparing Configurations

I was reading David Bombal's "Cool IOS Commands Networking Tips Newsletter*" the other day and in it he has a link to a video showing you how to use ExamDiff to compare configurations. I had never heard of ExamDiff before and so decided to compare it to the file comparison tool that I use. I must say that ExamDiff is a very nice little tool. It has a lot of sophisticated functions and in my opinion it displays the differences in configurations nice and clearly, which is a must when you are scrolling through hundreds of lines of configuration at 3 in the morning and your eyes are stinging like hell. My only problem with it is that you need to upgrade to ExamDiff Pro at a cost to be able to compare directories.



Comparing directories of configuration files is a feature that is very important to me. I use this feature to download all the configuration files I am working on before a change and then download them after a change and compare directories to see the differences. So for the moment I will keep using Microsoft's WinDiff which allows me to compare directories and is still free. On the downside it has a lot more of a basic feel to it compared to ExamDiff (see below). Does anyone else have any configuration comparing utilities that they can recommend?


* If you have not subscribed to the newsletter then head over to http://www.configureterminal.com/ and subscribe. David Bombal is also the guy who produces the CCIE command memorizer and I was thinking of getting it. I have seen a couple of blogs asking people for their opinions on it, so I will join the club has anyone else used this tool and if so what did they think?

Written Moved

The last few weeks have been pretty brutal with work and family commitments. I did a change last night that went on for 7 hours and have had 3 hours sleep so far. This has ment I have slipped a bit in my CCIE written preparation and so have moved the exam till the middle of September. I should have a couple of weeks coming up where I can put in a lot more study time and get myself to a level that I feel will enable me to pass the written.

Study Update 25/08/08

Studying this weekend has been non-existent due to helping out with some family issues. I managed to finish the Internetwork Expert Volume 1 BGP labs before the weekend which was good practice. I will go over some of the last labs again as I need to drum things like advertise-maps and as-sets into my head. I also have one more chapter in Internet Routing Architectures to read and will publish a review on the book when I have finished.

I have also decided to upgrade my IPExpert workbooks to the Blended Learning Solution as I will be going away in a few weeks and will probably not have Internet access. So I will not have access to my Internetwork Expert CoD as I only have the online version and not the DVD version. Also my IE CoD was playing up this morning as I could not get the CLI on the first IPv6 video to display. Since I had a couple of excuses to upgrade and decided to go for it. I will write up a review when the BLS arrives and have got round to using it.

Mike Down Leaves IPExpert

Mike Down for those of you who know who he is has left IPExpert. For those of you that do not know Mike was not a famous triple CCIE trainer, he was just what IPExpert call a Training Advisor. So someone who helps you choose what CCIE products you will buy from IPExpert. However Mike had a higher profile than other people in a similar postition as he launched his own blog which I have listed at the bottom of my page he also started contacting candidates about placing IPExpert logos on their blogs as well as doing a lot of other promotional work.

So Mike is the reason for the glut of blogs out there with IPExpert logo's on them. Hey he is even the reason that this site has an IPExpert logo on it even though I did not recieve any benefit for it. I enjoyed communicating with Mike and so I decided to place a banner on this site for IPExpert. The reasons Mike left are obviously confidential but there is a post on his blog thanking him. So I would like to say my own thanks and good luck Mike whatever you decide to do.

IPExpert did seem to need a bit of a pick up after Scott Morris left and Mike did seem to raise their profile in the CCIE community after Scott left. So lets hope that IPExpert can do it again and that neither of these events will prove to much of a distraction to them providing top quality CCIE training materials. We need competition in the CCIE training community as it helps improve the quality of the products and keep the prices down.

Finally does anyone have an opinion on the IPExpert Blended Learning Solution? I am thinking of purchasing it to get a different perspective to Internetwork Expert. I am mainly interested in people's opinion's on the CoD as I already have the first two workbooks. I have the Internetwork Expert Advanced Technologies CoD and their first two workbooks so maybe this is enough. Anyhow any opinions would be appreciated.

New Blogs

While browsing the web the other day I found a new technical blog that I had not seen before so I have added it to my blog list. It compares favorably with my favorite technical blogs Cisco IOS Hints and Tricks and Packetlife. So click here to check it out. I have also just found The Packet University site which also looks really good.

CCIE Wireless Beta Exam

I have just received the email below from Cisco. So for those of you who are interested in Wireless here is a new track to pursue. One track is enough for me so I will not be taking Cisco up on their kind offer :-)

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Cisco is now soliciting beta candidates for Cisco's upcoming CCIE Wireless Written Exam. We are looking for an exclusive set of professional and expert level Wireless Networking Engineers who can dedicate 3 hours of their time to take the beta exam.

The CCIE Wireless certification, to be launched later this year, will validate that professionals have the expertise to design, manage and support mission and business critical wireless networks and the job skills and technical knowledge required of expert level network IT practitioners. This written exam is the first step in obtaining the CCIE Wireless certification. Successful candidates will have mastered broad theoretical knowledge of wireless networking and demonstrated a readiness for the CCIE Wireless lab examination. Be one of the first wireless professionals to get a peek at the new CCIE Wireless exam.

• Location: Pearson Vue Testing Centers, Worldwide
• Registration Date: October 7
• Last Test Date: November 14, 2008
• Cost: $US50
• Exam Number/Name: 351-050 CCIE Wireless Beta Written Exam

To learn more about the exam blueprint, job skills and reference material, please go to http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/ccie/wireless/index.html