Moving in a new direction... new name for the Blog.

I've really enjoyed putting all of this down in one place, and since I'm moving in new directions, have a new book released, and am working on a possible run at some security certifications, I think I'll fire this back up.

I'm currently working within GNS3 and have successfully, up and running, a couple ASA instances.

I'll probably add a CCNA security tab to the top here shortly and add the process I've gone thru to get them up and running shortly.

I'm in the process of running through a few labs on site-to-site vpn's through ASA's both in and out of ASDM.

Well, It's done. I'm an Author now. "CCNA Home Lab Purchase and Build Guide" is now available for Kindle on Amazon.

I've pulled a lot of what is in this blog together to make a small guide for building CCNA home labs.

It will be interesting to see if there is demand.

You can get a copy here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L7CT8NK

Looks like I may have to remove the "or Bust" from the Blog title...

A long road complete.

The T-SHOOT test was as much fun as I thought it would be. The break-fix work I did at my last job probably helped. With limited actual configuration rights on the Carrier core network, the test was like work was, just ping your way to the the answer and find the incomplete or incorrect configuration.

So... Now, I'm an unemployed CCNP.

We'll see how the rest of this next week plays out and that may change.

I'm pretty sure that either position that is high on my list will require me shuttering this blog for a good while, if not indefinitely as I'll possibly be moving back into the management track, and the way I work, there won't be a lot of time for extra-curricular activities like this, or likely much more Cisco certification need.

It's been fun, I'll keep people posted, and look for me to promote a book that I've been working on, related to what I've learned in maintaining this blog. It's about half complete and I expect it will be available on Amazon, and possibly iTunes/iBooks.

And one day until T-Shoot...

Just been running through the CBT nuggets vids and simulating some of the issues that CBT Nuggets has to rectify on the set up I built simulating the Cisco Topology.

My CCNP rack is already listed on Ebay. If I don't pass, I'll have to decide if I want to leave it or not...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251467713528?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

T-Shoot simulation setup IPV4 layer 3 topology

Just wanted to drop a pic of the physical set up. I guess you could say it's not a simulation, since it's on live equipment.

It is setup to switch to the Layer 2/3 topology by moving the connections to the 2811 in the middle of the rack setup which is set up as a Frame Relay switch.

hostname FRSW1
enable secret cisco
no ip domain lookup
!
interface Serial1/0
no ip address
encapsulation frame-relay
serial restart-delay 0
clock rate 56000
frame-relay intf-type dce
frame-relay route 403 interface Serial1/1 304
no shut
exit
!
interface Serial1/1
no ip address
encapsulation frame-relay
serial restart-delay 0
clock rate 56000
frame-relay intf-type dce
frame-relay route 302 interface Serial1/2 203
frame-relay route 304 interface Serial1/0 403
no shut
exit
!
interface Serial1/2
no ip address
encapsulation frame-relay
serial restart-delay 0
clock rate 56000
frame-relay intf-type dce
frame-relay route 201 interface Serial1/3 102
frame-relay route 203 interface Serial1/1 302
no shut
exit
!
interface Serial1/3
no ip address
encapsulation frame-relay
serial restart-delay 0
clock rate 56000
frame-relay intf-type dce
frame-relay route 102 interface Serial1/2 201
no shut
!
line con 0
no exec-timeout
!
line vty 0 4
no exec-timeout
password cisco
login

T-SHOOT scheduled

taking T-SHOOT about a week from Switch.

One more week of craziness, then hopefully a bit of a break... at least for a weekend maybe ;-)

Link to the T-SHOOT demo. It's pretty cool actually. I think I'm actually looking forward to this one:

T-SHOOT demo

CCNP Switch cleared...

The test ended up being more difficult than I thought it would be, and I stumbled a bit in the Sim's but ended up passing, although I wasn't sure it would be a pass until they printed out the results.

So... one step closer to CCNP, one step away from Bust.

I took the test to the day, exactly one year from taking ROUTE.

I hadn't really intended for it to take that long, but life intervened. So now, I'm scheduling T-SHOOT for a week from now.

Amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

One day...

And this will probably be my nemesis:

Pouring it on...Test in two days.

In case anyone wanted to know, the method to my madness.

$99.00 month subscription to CBT.nuggets.com
Cisco Press Route/Switch/T-Shoot books
YouTube labs from others for the test
Self-created practice test from the Cisco Press book

So how I go about it is:

Watch Jeremy Sciorra's video for a section, and do any configuration he runs through on my homelab.

Re-read the section in the Cisco Book

Run through a few You Tube labs on the section on my home lab

Take practice test's, created from questions in the Cisco Press book. Keep going until I hit 95%

I'm about 3/4's through the book/videos, with really just WLAN's to go, and two days until the test.

Then six days until the next test. I've lost some of my Route skills over the last year. (I'll be taking SWITCH exactly a year from the day I took ROUTE...)

Long time no post

Well, I've been a busy camper lately. Between the business, and now looking for new opportunities, It's been tough to think of helpful things to post for others.

That said, the CCNP journey continues, with a little more urgency. I'm in the midst of interviews right now with several great companies, but won't know more for a few weeks. Sitting at home without a plan is not really part of my M.O. , so I've scheduled my CCNP Switch test. No going back. The plan is to schedule CCNP T-Shoot the week after completing Switch should I pass.

I should be able to remove the "Bust" from the title of the blog within two weeks, barring any unforeseen loss of grey matter.

Thought I'd drop a pic of the lab set up for HSRP/VRRP/GLBP labs: