CCDE 20090006

Yesterday I received the letter from VUE confirming my pass of the CCDE practical exam: 352-011. I am now CCDE #20090010. At least according to VUE – the Cisco site is still not updated with a number. Correction: the Cisco site was updated with a number (20090006). The results were mailed on 11/13/2009 so it’s taken at least 3 days to update the Cisco system.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled.

I will begin posting some info on my path in the hopes that it will shed some light on the process for others. I will say, it certainly helped that I had the requisite 10 years of industry experience before attempting the practical. It may be possible without this, but the breadth is wide enough, and the depth just deep enough that you can’t really study for this exam.

That being said, I did study for it, and learned quite a bit over the last year and a half of reading & watching VoDs. The reading list is good (and yes, I recommend you read all of them), but there are a few books that should be highlighted:

Definitive MPLS Network Designs
Optimal Routing Design

I’m old enough to remember reading (several times) the precursor to Optimal Routing Design : Advanced IP Network Design, which is not on the reading list, but I recommend with the caveat that not all of the material is relevant anymore.

This gets into one of the most difficult parts of any exam: ignoring or realizing what is no longer relevant.

Anyway, thanks everyone for the congratulations, and keep tuned in for more.