- Exam Details
- Trouble Spots
- Preparation Hints
- Recommended Study Resources
- Exam Objectives
- Where to Go from Here
Recommended Study Resources
The CCIE Security is a natural progression for candidates who have chosen the security track and have completed the Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) or the new Cisco Certified Network Professional Security (CCNP Security) qualifications.
If you have recently passed the CCSP or CCNP Security then you are in a great position to tackle the CCIE Security written exam. The first time I passed the 350-018 it was a few weeks after successfully completing the CCSP and I achieved a respectable passing score with the knowledge I had gained from my CCSP studies.
Passing the CCIE Security written exam will renew any CCIE track. If you passed the R&S but fancy giving the security written a try, then there are a couple of books aligned with the current exam requirements.
There are two books which are ideal study resources for the CCIE Security written exam. These are Network Security Technologies and Solutions by Yusuf Bhaiji, and the 2nd edition of CCIE Security Exam Certification Guide by Henry Benjamin. There is some overlap between these books, but between them they cover a lot of the topics you need to know for the exam.
A third book which deserves a mention is the 2nd edition of Designing Network Security by Merike Kaeo. I have owned both versions of this book and can recommend it as a good study resource.
Due to the general nature of some of the questions, I would also advise to keep abreast of the current security news and read some of the following Web sites in order to understand some background material:
- The Cisco Network Security site is a good resource for finding out what Cisco are currently offering in the security marketplace.
- Bruce Schneier’s blog is one of the leading security blogs and Bruce is a regular speaker at various security events.
- The Catch22 blog by Chris John Riley is an excellent insight to some of the more technical aspects of security.
- The Security section of The Register is a great UK-based news source for all things happening in the security world.