Foreword

The most frequently asked questions in CCIE certification forums have always been "What does it take to become a CCIE? Is there a magic formula?" Anyone who has ever felt the special ambience that exists in the actual lab environment knows that there's a considerable amount of sweat and tears lingering in the air at any given time. I remember running my hand across the desk of the candidate who had just left and brushing the all too familiar sediment of erasure shavings, pencil points, and skin cells into the wastebasket. I always felt great empathy, as I clearly know the heat of the stress of this battle. Many candidates compare sitting the exam to sitting on the edge of a cliff between heaven and hell. All the months of study seems to create a sort of inertia of nervous anticipation that keeps a body rigid and bent and motionless in front of that exam in those final eight hours. Will this day's efforts put an end to all the pain?

It would be great if a magic formula could be conjured up that would take one soaring to the winning peak, but unfortunately this writer does not believe that one exists. There are plenty of websites out there that boast that they can guarantee a win, and there are even those sites willing to stand in for you and hand success to you on a very tarnished silver platter. But the fact is the true reward of CCIE certification is that gratification that one gets from having pushed themselves hard enough to earn it, through hard work and sacrifice. One could argue what the rewards really are or what is the value of a CCIE certification. Some say it's that raise in pay or the confidence of the customer, but the best will admit the real rewards are the realization that they actually had an incredible learning experience.

Every person approaches exam certification study from his or her own unique position and with his or her own theories on how to study. The qualities that make an expert lie in that person who understands that they have to go far beyond the surface of any topic and meet the challenge of the exam head on. After all, one has just enough time to get it right the first time. Countless hours of practice are a huge part of this type of study. The person with the persistence to revisit concepts in different scenarios as the core of their practice knows that it takes great persistence, intelligent use of resources, and ultimately countless hours of rack time. The hunger for different scenarios to bring back to one's gear to chew up as they hammer away at the keyboard for hours is the nature of the CCIE candidate facing his or her lab.

The Routing and Switching exam is the core of the CCIE program. The popularity of this exam is proof of the fact that every network deployment rests on a routing and switching infrastructure. Therefore it makes absolute sense that regardless of what one's personal pursuit is in the networking industry, that a CCIE Routing and Switching certified professional will always have a fundamental role in any project. This book possesses solid and practical guidance for anyone pounding away at the keyboard whether it is in pursuit of the CCIE or of the source of a real problem. This is a resource that was written by folks who have not only shared the experience of the exam but have also shared in the experiences of many who have sat before them as candidates. There are few that can offer advice with the empathy and experience of a lab proctor. Therefore, in the spirit of an old proctor and fellow CCIE, I say, "Take this book and go forth with keyboard and pound away."

--Kathe Saccenti, fellow CCIE No. 2099 and CCIE Product Manager, Cisco Systems, Inc.