CCIE Data Center preparation

Before we begin, it would be necessary to know some basic concepts regarding the CCIE Data Center Exam.

Completing the written exam

I set a goal in order to pass my written exam of CCIE Data Center at Cisco Live and did just that in May 2014.  I found that watching instructional videos from trusted training providers that really helped with the understanding of the technologies well enough so as to and prepare pass the written exam. I took copious notes, many of them hand-written, which others agree that it would aid in helping you retain information more so than just unconsciously typing.

Study Strategy for the Lab exam

I later found some other sheets online that like-minded people had created and made adjustments as necessary so as to improve my tracking.

Take copious notes

For note-taking, I would most often use or Evernote.  With Evernote, I have clipped anything from the web that I have needed to study, annotate or reference, making it searchable in my library. I took some notes as well, organizing them by name, tagging them with the topic and blueprint ID.

Gain Hands-on lab training

I was privileged enough to have some spare VDCs in a production set of Nexus 7000s, and a lab UCS chassis with a pair of Fabric Interconnects.  I bought myself a pair of MDS 9216i’s and a JBOD (Xyratex Storage Array RS-1600-FC) from eBay, which I ended up connecting to the UCS Fabric Interconnects for storage studies.  This was a wise purchase, and I have spent many hours with these MDS to be able to fully understand the concepts of storage.  The only things I was unable to do were FCoE and F_Port-Channel trunking.  For these topics, I relied on previous implementation experiences as well as on the Cisco PEC labs and deep-dives during my IPexpert Bootcamp with Jason Lunde.

Practice Practice and only Practice!

When CCIE Data Center preparation going through the blueprint and reading the configuration guides, make sure to actually get on the UCSM or CLI and configure these technologies.  Know what the minimum requirements are to configure any topic, and then you should go deeper until you have the proper understanding of what the consequences are of configuring the most advanced capabilities and features.  So, don’t be afraid.  Break stuff find out why it broke, and later know about how to fix it. Troubleshooting would be definitely a part of this exam and is critical for your success.  If I didn’t understand something well enough, that I would re-watch a training video or re-read documentation to try and bridge any gaps.  If documentation or Google wouldn’t be able to help me, I would reach out to the Facebook CCIE Data Center study group.  Do yourself a favor and join right which would be having the excellent resources on the same path with many on the other end reaching out to help you cross.

If you can find a study partner, this would be really going to help you as well.  I have to give some special thanks to my study partner Juan Lazcano; we have spent many hours in the labs and challenged each other to the near point of insanity!

Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts Data Center or CCIE Data Center is not an easy task; you would need to have lots of training and practice so as to earn this certification. If you want some further SPOTO CCIE Club, would be the best place to gain knowledge regarding it.