CCNP Route Part 1.

It has been close to 3 months since I picked up any CISCO Certification books or materials. There has been so much going on and I had to put some of my goals on hold while I sorted everything out. Since I have been sick due to vertigo, dizziness and bouts of light-headed feelings I figured it would be good for me to get back on track.

I have started watching the CBT Nuggets CCNP Route video series. So far I have completed the the first 6 videos in the series. The first video is an overview on the how the CCNP is structured and changes have taken place since the CCNP Certification has been implemented in 1999.

The second video is about being a planner. Stressing on creating an implementation plan, verification plan and documentation. I find that it is quite interesting from taking a shot gun approach of troubleshooting to being methodical when creating an implementation plan, verification plan and Network Documentation. The instructor being methodical and taking care in the beginning can lead to less downtime and network issues.

I am going to be taking those tips and I will be applying them when setting up labs and working on networks in real life because I can see the value of planning and proper documentation.

The Third video is an overview on EIGRP and explaining terminology and basic theory on how the Hybrid Distance Vector Routing Protocol works.  Most of this video was review to me since I remembered most of terminology from the CCNA study material. I was able to take notes as best as I could and moved on to the fourth video.

Video four was how to configure basic EIGRP. It showcases manual route summarization,  how to inject default routes into the routing table without redistribution, UnEqual Cost Load Balancing in a GNS3 Lab format. I printed out the lab and created a implementation plan as well as a verification plan, which took me about 20 minutes of paperwork. Once I did that I was able to build the topology and get it working correctly. Once I was done with the lab I watched the video to see if there was anything I could have missed and I did well without watching the video.

Videos Five and six were on configuring EIGRP over Frame Relay and setting up authentication. I was able to get the point to multi-point Frame relay topology set up in GNS3 just fine. I did, however, stumble a bit when setting up EIGRP to work correctly over the NBMA network type.  It took me quite some time to troubleshoot it to get it running. After that small stumbling block I was able to easily set up the md5 authentication between all routers with no issues.

It looks like I am going to have to study up on the different types of NBMA network types so that I don’t run into those configuration problems again. I think I will continue to read the associated chapters in the CCNP Route Book to make sure I understand that technology before moving onto OSPF in the following CBT Nuggets.

I feel that I should make sure I understand the topics completely before moving on that way I have a solid understanding of what I need to do to be a Network Professional.

On a side note I am planing on taking my CCNP Route Exam by the end of January or middle of February.  I will post regular updates here as I go through my studies.

I hope this has been informative. Have a great day.
RTA