Intensifying the Study

Beyond the basics, and in parallel with your acquisition of practical hands-on experience, you must begin building a deep understanding of the networking protocols. At a minimum, you should read the RFCs recommended in this book. Ideally, read as many relevant RFCs as you can. The best site is http://www.ietf.org.

Of course, not all networking protocols are described in RFCs. Look for advanced books, white papers, and tutorials on the non-IP protocols, that might be included on the exam. You should also study Ethernet and WAN protocols, such as T-1, ISDN, Frame Relay, and ATM. You can find a wealth of publicly available information at Cisco.com. And of course, Cisco Press offers a number of books besides this one and its companion volume that are specifically focused on CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE. Go to Ciscopress.com to find the books appropriate for your needs.

A useful study tool, incorporating both theory and practical knowledge, is the Cisco newsgroup at http://comp.dcom.sys.cisco. Copy particularly challenging questions and problems posted to the newsgroup and find your own answer. Then, watch for the answers posted from CCIEs and Cisco engineers and see whether you are right. If not, determine why. Post questions to the Cisco newsgroup, too. Most regular participants are friendly and willing to share their expertise.

Several online study groups focus specifically on preparing for the CCNP and CCIE exams. One of the oldest and most well-known of these is groupstudy.com. Joining such a group is an excellent way of locating resources, sharing experiences, joining discussions, and getting answers to thorny questions. I highly recommend joining an online study group.

Finally, if you have associates with the same goals, form your own study group. I know of CCIE study groups within several companies that have been very effective and have produced many CCIEs.