What are /r/ccie's favorite Products & Services?

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Assuming we're talking about CCIE R&S, there are no shortage of lab dates. There's no rush to take your written exam in order to schedule the lab. What I would personally do is start with the reading for the written, supplement it with videos and lab work, and rinse and repeat.

A big point of a bootcamp is to "know what you don't know". The idea is that you will come out at the end realizing what you're solid with and which topics you need to work on more before the lab. If you take the class too early, you'll be overwhelmed with the sheer volume of topics.

Source: been teaching bootcamps for almost 15 years ;)

Here is a very simple python script that establishes an ssh connection to a switch from a linux machine and runs a command to a switchport using tclsh. The output of the script shows you the before and after config while it is taking place. The config change is minor but can serve as a template for more complex changes. https://asciinema.org/a/177308

Check this out : https://tinychat.com/room/gottastudy (password : getstudying)

It's an amazing community with people all over the world and from different fields (medical, biology, computer science, law ...) the users either share their desktop screen or put camera on to avoid slacking while study periods. and eventually they can chat and help each other during breaks :)

https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Illustrated-Protocols-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/0321336313

Overkill, but you'll want to know this IRL anyway. Esp if you ever have to explain a wireshark to a dev/server guy/guns pointed at 10 paces meeting with vendor

How big (or small) it's the installed base of the switches described in https://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Switching-Fundamentals-David-Barnes/dp/1587050897/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516985129&sr=8-1&keywords=Cisco+Switching+fundamentals in today's networks.

I'm also reading Cisco Switching Fundamentals https://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Switching-Fundamentals-David-Barnes/dp/1587050897/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516985129&sr=8-1&keywords=Cisco+Switching+fundamentals

An wow, it's an eye opener for how the switching architectures work and are designed, I'm enjoying the reading so far, and combined with the Cisco LAN Switching (CCIE Series) is being really interesting, there is some overlapping of course but I found on the first one the section about negotiation is really good, and from there I went to read about the IFG on Ethernet, and that lead me into the clocking needed for synchronization, so far I love it.

This may be a stupid question, but why are you even doing this mess? Why not simply use one of these.

Raspberry Pi - $35

USB-to-4 RS-232 - $48

Follow this guide

I'm using this right now and it's great. The RasPi also makes for a nice little SAMBA and TFTP server, which makes it a breeze to load new images on my physical switches.

http://www.amazon.com/Routing-Cisco-IOS-Understanding-Implementing/dp/1587144239/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462207767&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=routing+on+ios+ios-xe+and+ios-0xr

i have enjoyed and used this book.

All-in-One CCIE Service Provider 400-201 V4.0 Written Exam Guide -- http://www.amazon.com/Service-Provider-400-201-Written-Guide/dp/1514754614

And, some free 400-201 dumps for practising -- https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-ob6L_QjGLpVkYtTGdtRWFodXM

Take note that TCP/IP vol1/2 is relatively old so will be limited in IPv6 and Multicast coverage. VSS and embedded packet capturing, that sort of thing will also be left out. I did mine on V4 which everything could be done on the ISR and didn't have that stuff on it. I've worked as a consultant for large financials for 5 years now, all of which own their own MPLS core and the like, so that's how I got my experience. I would recommend reading as much as you can and plan on at least two tries are the written when you feel you're ready. There are a couple great multicast books out there that will help.

More and more Cisco has been going towards the mind set that you need to be a lab certified engineer to pass the written exams, knowing the protocols backwards and forwards. Going in the first time when you feel you're ready allows for you to find your weak points and readdress where you feel you need to improve to pass the written. They'll be different beasts, but if you take it in stages, you'll be fine.

Routing TCP/IP Volume 2 covers Multicast. The more in-depth books would be:

Developing IP Multicast Networks

Interdomain Multicast Routing: Practical Juniper Networks and Cisco Systems Solutions