The experience of two attempts to surrender JNCIE-SP

Introduction

Good afternoon or evening, or even night, dear Khabravchians. In this article I want to share my experience passing the JNCIE-SP expert exam. I have experience of two surrenders, in Moscow and Amsterdam.

The composition of the article will be most useful for those who plan to take this wonderful exam, but of course it is interesting for people who do not plan to spend a huge amount of time and money.

Let's consider in order. Certification objectives, preparation stages, flight, accommodation, atmosphere description in the exam, I will share the mistakes made in the preparation process and in the exam. I will also describe in conclusion, the second experience of delivery is already in Moscow. At different stages, I had questions, but the meaning was one: “what is the right way to do it? ", So I will share my experience and give answers to these questions.

Plan

1. goal
2. Stage of preparation No. 1
3. A trip to the country of tulips
4. JNCIE-SP Exam Attempt No. 1
5. Stage of preparation No. 2
6. Mistakes made before the second attempt
7. Passing the JNCIE-SP exam in the native Poplar, attempt No. 2
8. Happy end
9. Tips for fanatics, like me and everyone who decided to take the JNCIE exams
10. Summarizing

Figure 1 - The sequence of exams

goal

Let's start a little with the lyrics, actually the most important thing when planning for exam preparation is to set a goal. Correctly plan the training schedule, postpone personal affairs somewhere far away if you are a family person, be sure to prepare your family for the fact that the husband and dad, for some time becomes ½ of the current head of the family.

Once the JNCIE-SP exam was something unattainable for me.

I listened to terrible stories about people who went 3.4 times to the exam and could not pass, horrified by these stories, I moved farther and farther away from the goal. Looking at them, repeating to myself that if such giants can’t pass, then where can I go. In contrast, I watched the specialists who passed and passed the expert exams, and their result inspired me, and I understood that if they succeeded, then I would succeed. One of these gurus is Denis Zuev - he proved with his surrender that nothing is impossible. Therefore, do not focus on anyone, as in the movie “Set a goal, achieve a point”

Stage of preparation No. 1

Figure 2 - keep calm

From the lyrics we move on to practical rules that will help to prepare as useful as possible.

Rule number 1 - Timing

Decide for yourself how much, in total per week you can allocate for training and divide these hours proportionally to 7 days a week.

For an example, I proceeded from the mondragon article and scheduled 16 hours a week. True, I did not succeed in dividing these 16 hours proportionally. It turned out differently for me, it all depended on the amount of work, if there was a small load at work, then I used working hours, so I could prepare for 5 hours on Monday, and on Tuesday and Wednesday I had a huge load at work, which was necessary working late and tired, I did not start to prepare, being afraid of poorly absorbing material. In the end, it could happen that on Monday I practiced 5 hours, Tuesday 0, Wednesday 0, Thursday 2 hours, Friday 2, Saturday 2 hours, and 4 hours on Sunday. The preparation schedule was floating, but the most basic rule worked, I prepared the required 16 hours a week. In this case, I still advise breaking up more, less proportionally, with enhanced weekend training. From all the above, a very important advice, the rules of 16 hours of preparation per week, should always work, regardless of public holidays, birthdays, holidays, and so on. Otherwise, with our rich Russian soul and love for the holidays, it will be very difficult to prepare. By the way, before my second attempt, to prepare, my vacation in the GOA did not bother me.

Rule No. 2 - Material


Figure 3 - InetZero lab guides

As you figured out with rule No. 1, proceed to the next point. You need to collect all the material for preparation and plan what and how much you will decide and read. Consider first the practical materials, I used the following:

1. InetZero Technology Focused workbook
2. InetZero Lab workbook with detailed solution
3. InetZero Full Scale Labs volume 1.2
4. JNCIE-SP Bootcamp lab guide

Consider them in the order in which I advise them to study.

A) InetZero Technology Focused workbook

This book is the base. Preparation for JNCIE-SP is mandatory, it is worth starting with this book. It contains all possible topics and they are considered in order of complexity. I would advise you to solve this book twice, not paying attention to the super lab. The first time for acquaintance, the second time no longer peeping at the answers, and only after tuning to verify the results. At the end of this book there is a super lab, many advised me to solve it for a while, but I will advise you back, you can go through it, but no more than once and solve it for a while, I categorically would not advise. This book should be used for study / repetition, all possible designs and technologies.

B) InetZero Lab workbook with detailed solution

Things are a little different with this book, there are a lot of interesting tasks that can help to understand the wording of the tasks on the exam and how to solve, some tasks are complicated and move away from reality. To pass the book once is quite enough, although of course it is not forbidden to go through again to consolidate the material.

C) InetZero Full Scale Labs volume 1.2

These books appeared on sale closer to my first attempt, but still I decided to study them. Books themselves sometimes contain very difficult formulations and perverse tasks. That is, there seems to be a technology, it’s kind of configuring it like this, but at the same time, the author wants you to do this in a very crutal way. But I liked the detailed explanation in the answers, each step was parsed and contained a bunch of explanations.

In the previous books listed, sometimes this explanation is not enough. I advise this book (in two volumes) to decide once, for sure. The complex formulation of the tasks and the methods used to solve them will help you to more flexibly reflect on the solution of problems and will make it easier for you to further decipher the tasks on the exam itself.


Figure 4 - JNCIE Bootcamp books

D) JNCIE-SP Bootcamp lab guide

Of course, you cannot prepare for the Juniper exam without using the book of their own publication. I would advise visiting Bootcamp in Poplar itself, you will do more good out of this. But since, often the employer is not ready to pay, and to pay 120 thousand for himself is not always realistic. Actually, the course itself at Polar is conducted only once a year. It’s quite possible to find a booktemp online, we decide this book at the very end. Those who longed to solve the laboratory for a while, your time has come. Be sure to go through the assignment several times, on all topics, and to train for a snack with a super-weak. It is better to solve it for a while, and repeat it several times.

For the sake of completeness, it is impossible not to mention that I advise everyone to study the theory, use the official student guide and official documentation posted on the Juniper website.


Figure 5 - Unetlab virtual environment

Rule number 3 - Laboratory stand

Actually, the selected material with tasks needs to be solved somewhere. I prepared my training on Unetlab, it so happened that I did some laboratory tests on EVE-NG. The fundamental difference, I did not see, both virtual environments are suitable for preparation. Technical requirements, for full training, I would recommend 128 GB of RAM, although 64 GB may also be enough. I began to prepare on vMX images of version 14.1.R1, here I would caution against using vMX in preparation for JNCIE-SP. I want to advise you to get the mix done when on vSRX and when on vMX. QOS is not supported on vMX, and L2 LDP VPN is not supported on vSRX. By the way, starting to prepare on Unetlab and the old version of vMX, LAG interfaces didn’t work for me, besides this, I had to periodically have mac interfaces, to transfer from em interfaces to ge, this problem in the image of vMX 14.1.R1 and EVE-NG, I have not found. In order for vSRX to work as a router, you need to do 4 actions:

Delete security policies
Set security forwarding-options family inet6 mode packet-based
Set security forwarding-options family iso mode packet-based
Set security forwarding-options family mpls mode packet-based 

Regarding the assembly and purchase of a physical server, it is difficult for me to recommend something because I myself jumped from server to server, which my friends provided me with. Therefore, for a more detailed description and advice on using the server for preparation, I will post in a friendly article to the user mondragon .

Rule number 4 - Your environment

Now we planned the time, picked up the material and found the equipment. We sat down and began to read and complete assignments, periodically we encounter some errors in books or bugs in the lab, trying to figure it out. Sometimes to understand some subtleties of setting up a complex architecture. This is all good, but often there is not enough person with whom you could discuss your successes, some problems in the configuration, or try to figure out some complex topic together. I knowingly made this rule 4 paragraph, rule number 4 is in last place in importance. It’s not always possible to find people who are just as obsessed with the idea. But to go forward, it’s easier not to be alone. My initial preparation went along with my friend, we urged each other, sorted out topics together. There was a certain enthusiasm and additional motivation to keep up with each other. In rule No. 4, I advised finding people close in spirit and preparing together. Compliance with this rule will make training more productive and give additional motivation.


Figure 6 - On an Aeroflot company’s plane, before taking off to the city of Amsterdam.

A trip to the country of tulips

So my 6 months of preparation flew by, I would even say quickly and I didn’t feel any particular fatigue. The last week before passing the exam, I tried to unload myself as much as possible at work and repeat all the topics as much as possible. The exam was scheduled for Monday in Amsterdam, I took off on Sunday morning and was already in Amsterdam during the day, according to my plan, after arrival I did not repeat anything, but only got enough sleep and rested. Consider in order all the cases that will catch a networker planning to take an exam.

A) Visa - It is quite easy to get a visa to Amsterdam, it cost a total of about 5 thousand. Ordinary Schengen visa, you go to the site of the visa center, register, select the date and time of submission of documents. There you will find documents that you require. Here I would emphasize such advice that to make a visa in advance, a little red tape with documents distracts from the preparation, so at the final stages of preparation I would not advise doing this.
B) The week before the exam - before the first attempt, I did not take a vacation, but since I unloaded myself as much as possible at work and slept well on Saturday, I did not feel much tiredness on the exam. Here, I would give such advice: take a vacation a week before the exams and devote some time to preparation, while sleeping a lot, not repeating anything the day before the exam, try to spend the day calmly and go to bed early. It’s better to arrive two days before the exam so that there is time for acclimatization.


Figure 7 - View from the Western Plus Amedia Amsterdam Airport Hotel

D) Hotel - Juniper itself is located near the airport, as my friend calls it the "industrial zone", so it’s rather difficult to find any shops there, and in general it’s very quiet and calm. Since besides Juniper, there are many other companies, hotels are in demand. There really are a lot of hotels, it was a dilemma to choose a hotel. A list of all hotels can be found on the Juniper website, we stayed at the Best Western Plus Amedia Amsterdam Airport hotel, for Juniper renters, I would recommend this particular hotel. It’s located the hotel opposite the Juniper headquarters and it seemed to us cheaper than the rest. The rooms themselves are comfortable, which seemed to me an additional plus in my rest before the exam. All hotels in this "industrial zone" can be reached by free buses from the airport. The photo above, this was the view from the window.
E) Flight - everyone flies differently, of course everyone is trying to get a cheaper ticket. The exam itself costs a pretty penny, there are options to go with one change and invest quite a thousand in 14. I took an ordinary non-refundable ticket for 18 thousand, but there was one advantage - I had luggage. Believe me, at first I thought that this was a useless option and I just didn’t want to get tired of flights, but in the end, when you fly back with souvenirs, this baggage will be very useful.

JNCIE-SP Exam Attempt No. 1

Figure 8 - Information plate near the audience for JNCIE change

In this chapter, I will tell you everything that does not fall under the NDA, for obvious reasons. According to the plan, I had to get up in the morning, have a hearty breakfast and go to the exam in advance. This plan was successfully completed, the proctor met him, he opened an audience for us, where he said to get everything that is possible except for the passport and put it in this room. You can’t take anything with you. In order not to say anything extra that falls under the NDA, I will list all the tips that will help you.

1. Drink coffee as much coffee as possible.
2. Do not worry, the most dangerous thing is if you are overwhelmed by anxiety or the feeling that these tasks are too tough for you. You have been preparing for a long time and have studied all the topics, if you went through all the manuals, then you should not have not covered those that you could not solve. Therefore, be confident in yourself and your decisions.
3. Do not stay too long, if you feel that you are starting to get tired, then do not continue, thinking well now, I will add another policy and then rest. Having made a mistake in something not difficult from fatigue, it can very well spoil your nerves in the future. Therefore, do my advice consistently, but if you suddenly feel tired, get up and walk to the coffee maker, to the toilet. It doesn’t matter, you will come with a more fresh look.
4. If you forget the sequence of some settings, it does not matter. Open the documentation on your work computer and see how to configure it correctly.

Moving from advice to storytelling, the exam itself lasts 8 hours, with a break for lunch. Lunch takes you all to the dining room, where you can take whatever you want. I exclusively did not have an appetite during lunch, so I can say I did not eat. At lunch, you can safely talk on any topics that are not related to the lab. Also, during the entire exam, you will have free access to a coffee maker, various sweets and drinks. After leaving the exam, I already realized that a second attempt would be needed. Unfortunately, the first attempt turned out to be unsuccessful. When we went to another hotel, closer to the center, I analyzed the whole past day, tried to work on mistakes in my head. I understood one thing, that the problem was more psychologically, it was perfectly prepared. But when I saw the assignments, I was very confused and running from one task to another, made many mistakes that were superimposed on one another and it was already impossible to clear. The result was expected for about a week, the result was expected, fail.Well, well, and Moscow was not immediately built.


Figure 9 - Juniper office, street view

Stage of preparation No. 2

The first week after I found out the result, many questions arose. My opinion changed very often, the main dilemma was to go in two months in Moscow and continue to prepare, or postpone preparation for a month. If you pause the preparation for a month, then the change would accordingly take place much later in Amsterdam, which would entail additional costs. After some thought, I realized that if not now, then never. The second wave of preparation began almost immediately, a week of reflection and on the weekend, I was already sitting at the computer. By the way, I understood for myself why they say that the more attempts there were, the more knowledge you emphasized. After an unsuccessful exam, I looked at all the topics in a new way and the constructions that were not so easy for me before the first attempt had already become so clear and simple. But the difference is only 3 weeks, mysticism, not otherwise. This preparation was already easier, I knew my weaknesses on which to focus, I knew the tasks in which I had difficulty. Forcing yourself to study was harder, but there was only more motivation to prove to everyone and yourself that you can do it. In general, the preparation process was decent. I didn’t plan the time, I presented in my head a clear picture of those that need to be repeated or pulled up to the next attempt. After that, I just woke up and planned that I was obliged to make out today. As a result, everything went ahead of schedule and had to deliberately slow down in the end. but there was only more motivation, to prove to everyone and yourself that you can do it. In general, the preparation process was decent. I didn’t plan the time, I presented in my head a clear picture of those that need to be repeated or pulled up to the next attempt. After that, I just woke up and planned that I was obliged to make out today. As a result, everything went ahead of schedule and had to deliberately slow down in the end. but there was only more motivation, to prove to everyone and yourself that you can do it. In general, the preparation process was decent. I didn’t plan the time, I presented in my head a clear picture of those that need to be repeated or pulled up to the next attempt. After that, I just woke up and planned that I was obliged to make out today. As a result, everything went ahead of schedule and had to deliberately slow down in the end.

Mistakes made before the second attempt

Actually, they flew 2.5 months of preparation, by coincidence, two weeks before the exam, I took a vacation and flew to the GOA. I will not explain the reason for this act, I will say the following from this. Preparation for the GOA was very fruitful, I did not have to think about anything, I slept well, rested. While the first frosts came in Moscow, the GOA was sunny and the ability to work was higher. I clearly planned the period of time that I will devote every day for preparation. Delays in the preparation were crazy, about 250-300 ms. But I did not pay attention to it and continued to prepare. Actually, since the chapter is called "mistakes", then somewhere there should be cons, I will list them:

1. After coming back to Moscow you will undergo acclimatization all week, which may manifest in excessive fatigue
2. The time difference, after arrival - you will need to be rebuilt for another time, this will also affect your working capacity
3. If you, as a potential expert, are happy to spend your vacation studying, then your family is not at all happy, but instead of spending time with them, you spend on a laptop. In my case, I was of course lucky, my family supported me.

True, there is one clear advantage, because of such large delays, it seemed to me on the exam that there were no delays. I noticed them after 4 hours, when I was tired well, and before that everything seemed perfect.

In this chapter I want to give tips on how to behave immediately before the exam.

1. It’s best to take the last week before the exam, take a vacation and spend 5 days in preparation, last two days to have a good rest and try to do a little gymnastics to repeat some important settings, but no more.
2. Get enough sleep.
3. The day before the exam in Amsterdam, I almost did not sleep. Although I wanted to sleep well, but waiting for the next day, I was not allowed to fall asleep. Before the second attempt, I used supplements in the form of Melatonin. I found out about him, when I was already working on a shift and now I firmly decided that upon arrival from the GOA all week to normalize the schedule, I would drink and fall asleep at 22.00. Therefore, before the second attempt, I slept well.

Figure 10 - Poplar Awards

Passing the JNCIE-SP exam in the native Poplar, attempt No. 2

Actually, here came the day X, by the way, before the second attempt, I was worried a lot more. Familiar experienced experts said the point is that your third attempt flickers on the horizon. I thought about this for a long time, most likely yes, the fear of the third attempt puts more pressure on you. I will give organizational points that differed from the first attempt. In Amsterdam, besides a laptop, there was a monitor, in Poplar there was only a laptop, which can be very harmful. When you look at the monitor for about 8 hours, your eyes don’t see numbers and letters in a small monitor, and getting confused in any number is easy. In Moscow, we didn’t go out for lunch, we remained in the audience, which, in principle, was not bad. As always, according to tradition, I had no appetite. Somewhere at 13.00, I realized that I was tired. Fatigue rolled like a snowball it all happened very abruptly. Now I realized that it was not worth going to another continent, undergoing acclimatization, and the last week before the exam you should not overload yourself. By the way, the last week before the exam, I had a lot of work, and I did not limit myself in preparation. As soon as I felt this crazy fatigue, I brewed myself a very strong coffee, with a lot of sugar and continued to solve the exam.
Actually, I can highlight such tips here: do tasks in order and not rush. Not to go away from problems for a long time, to be distracted if something doesn’t work out a good idea, but don’t throw this problem in half the exam otherwise, it will not be sorted out. Actually, I finished, I was 40 minutes earlier, called the proctor, took my things and went home. Although I'm lying, not home, to the bar =)

Happy end

The result should come no later than 5 working days. When I left the exam, I was sure that I had not made a single mistake.

Then every day, I had various doubts about mistakes, most of course, could be made due to fatigue. 5 days passed and everyone who handed in a day earlier than me got the result. It seems to be simple mathematics, they handed over a day earlier, so tomorrow I should also get the result. Specially turned on the loudest mode on all devices with mail notification, woke up during the night 3 times and looked at mail. There were no results. Here, then crazy excitement began, if before that there was a slight suspiciousness in some tasks, now I was sure that I had solved many problems in completely wrong ways. It’s a shame to admit, but a big panic began, although I periodically reassured myself and repeated: "I’ll go for the third attempt, I won’t give up."
But the scarecrow, in this all, is that you stand still and do not move on. Already plans are born for further certification, and you remain in place. It was Monday and already 9 days from the date of the exam, I decided to write wherever possible. Wrote to all possible addresses in Juniper. Another two days have passed, and on Wednesday evening, I receive a notification from Juniper, asking me to follow the link. I follow the link, I see a list of my attempts, my eyes float with experience, fail, pass, PASS !!! I looked and could not believe.

I have had many victories in my life, but this one was special. I don’t even know if my certification will lead to a salary increase and career growth, but I do not regret at all the time spent and finances. The obtained skills in the preparation process and the joyful feeling of a positive result are worth it.


Figure 11 - Photo by JNCIE plaque

Summarizing

Of course, the article would not be complete if I did not express gratitude to the people helping me and supporting me. First of all, I wanted to thank my wife Antonina for her patience and support. My parents - mom and grandmother, for their support and faith in me. Two Andrei, for help in preparation and moral support. And to my friends, Igor and Roma, who also supported me and helped me deal with the material. Nevertheless, without all of you, I could not have achieved this. Also, the guys from the telegram and Poplar, represented by Leonid Mirenkov, who grew up more than one generation of JNCIE.

To be continued. Next-chapter JNCIE-DC, Denis Zuev, I am going to surpass your result.