Customer Reviews

CIM CCIE Expert Labs: IP Routing (Network Simulator CD-ROM)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I dont know why some rate these CIMs so poorly. They are much better than routersim by far. Where else will you find training with narration and the number of routers you get. Although these CIMs are very structured in the commands available for individual the labs I feel what they are trying to do is teach you a specific topic without allowing you to stray away from the intended lesson so you better understand what is being taught. If you read any of the books and the use the CIMs you will have a greater understanding of what you read and some hands-on to back up the theory. Yes it's a little pricey but I find the much more enjoyable to learn from than dry read the page routersim.

this interactive mentor does quite a lot to boost your knowledge of how routers work, and the basic configurations that you have to do to complete the labs, follow a strict rule...that you should read and reread the material that comes with the CD to help you through the labs. while the labs do not cover 100% all the configurations, it gives you ground to start from. i gave this 2 stars for the content, and left out the other 3 stars for failing to deliver what it tries to sell. you gain a good understanding from reading the material but the labs do not allow you to fully explore what you have learned through reading. and for the price i hope cisco review what they offer. other options for those determined to get some practice, think about the todd lammle CCNA with the RouterSim, as well as the SwitchSim, either from sybex, or from RouterSim.com. but still none of these can really beat the real thing.

CIM is like a course more than a simulator. RouterSim 2.0 or Sybex e-trainer are better simulators than all CIMs combined. Save your money and buy Routersim or Sybex.

For the Reviewer that rated 5 stars, Michael Woznicki, he does the same for all kind of stuff and books. I think amazon should stop paid people to post 5 star reviews for books they have not probably even read. Check his reviews for the McGraw Hills Technical Library (BCRAN, BCMSN, etc.)

These labs do not come close to reflecting the complexity of the CCIE one-day practical lab. I finished this entire CD (all 5 labs) in under an hour before breakfast. These exercises are not at an intermediate/advanced level as advertised. Very disappointed - an absolute waste of money.

Some friends of mine have attempted the CCIE Lab-exam and have failed - on the first day and on the second day the second time around.

what they did say was that while access to the equipment is great - you need to get some practice configuring some very convoluted lab scenarios....and this is what the CIM Expert Labs does. Start off by configuring FR - quite basic....but then move onto OPSF with FR backbone, then add some route summarisation, and then some BGP....this is what i think he meant.

I think this product is great....

I want a router simulator that actually lets me configure routers like I am sitting at the console port. This is not that product. I am extremely disappointed in Cisco and this product they are trying to sell as a router simulator. It does hardly anything at all. ...Don't waste your money on this rushed-to-market Cisco product. They are obviously just trying to sell on their name.

I was really surprised that Cisco considers this "Expert" material. I am no where close to ready for my CCIE exam but I ripped through all five labs in 2 hours. There are no difficult puzzles to solve here; It's all very straightforward configurations. It's not bad, it just needs more labs and more difficult scenerios.

I think this product is good for what it is. That is to simply practice some advanced ip routing scenarios. It is another tool that you can use to help reinforce your understanding of certain concepts. Like all simulations, it has its limitations but Cisco has the right idea. The only way to seriously prepare for CCIE Lab exam is to practice with a rack of real Cisco equipment.

With this in mind, you can go through lots of complex scenarios and build on your knowledge and experience.

Finally, simulations are good to use when your are still building your lab or if you want to practice basic scenarios from scratch at the click of a button.

I actually liked this little product, but it's clear they've had to defray the cost of developing the "simulation environment" by skimping on the lab exercises. I'd like to see them offer an upgrade for $50 with 10 more labs.

I must say that while the command set is limited strictly to what you need, the environment really does behave like a real router. I see it as a sanity check for people who think they're 20% ready for the CCIE lab (mileage may vary - I haven't taken the lab yet).

This is the great stuff to prepare CCIE Lab test for Frame Relay, OSPF, EIGRP and BGP. But, you still need to find more practice for ISDN, ATM, DLSW etc. This material can cover above items perfectly.