Using notepad during your lab practice

When you hear about what you have available to you when you take your CCIE lab, you learn that you’ll be using SecureCRT (an older version before tabbed windows), Windows Calculator, and Windows Notepad.  Originally when I heard that, I thought that I may use the calculator for subnetting or ACLs.  But I really didn’t think that I would use notepad.  After watching a number of the IP Expert Blended Learning Solution (BLS) videos, my mind has definitely been changed.

As I watch Scott Morris do his thing on the videos, he makes good use of notepad in terms of helping him write up configurations.  The more I watched, the more I realized how much easier it made things, and also how much of a time saver it is.  And if there is one thing that most CCIE candidates are looking for, it’s ways to make yourself faster.  8 hours goes by pretty quick.

After watching Scott, I started using notepad myself in my lab practice time.  I can already see how much of a difference it has made for myself.  So here are some of the benefits that I have seen myself in making use of notepad for configuring your devices.

Let’s start off with an example.  Often times when doing tasks, you’ll need to enter the same (or at least similar) commands across multiple interfaces or multiple devices.  For instance, say you are setting up hub and spoke frame relay across 3 different routers.  Each of the routers connects to the frame relay switch using s0/0, and you are supposed to use a multipoint subinterface to set things up.  So pop open notepad and enter the following.

R1 (just signifies that the following code is for router 1)

int s0/0
encap frame
no shut
exit

int s0/0.10 multi
ip add 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0
frame map ip 192.168.1.2 102 broad
frame map ip 192.168.1.3 103 broad
frame map ip 192.168.1.1 102

So far, you really haven’t saved any time.   But you do have a nice clear config to look at.  Sometimes as you are entering commands into the router, it’s hard to get a clear picture of everything that you have entered since messages are popping up as you enter commands.  Also, say you had a whole bunch of frame map commands to enter.  Just copy one or a small group and paste more lines into note pad.  Then you can easily change one or 2 octets of the IP address or a few of the DLCI digits very fast.  Much faster than you could in the CLI.

So now let’s write up the configs for R2 and R3.  Simply copy what you already wrote for R1, paste it twice, and just tweak it.  All you’ll have to change is the IP addresses and DLCIs.  You just saved yourself a bunch of time, and probably a bunch of typos.  See the config for R2 below.  90% of the config stayed the same.  It took me about 10 seconds to edit R1’s config to fit R2.

R2

int s0/0
encap frame
no shut
exit

int s0/0.10 multi
ip add 192.168.1.2 255.255.255.0
frame map ip 192.168.1.1 201 broad
frame map ip 192.168.1.3 201
frame map ip 192.168.1.2 201

(router 2 is a spoke if you are wondering why I used the same DLCI for each IP)

Finish out what you want to configure for the task, then just copy and paste into SecureCRT.  Configs go in nice and quick.  If you did make a mistake, it’s pretty easy to fix.  Just correct it on the config you copied from in notepad and paste the updated config into SecureCRT.  If you need to get rid of a command or two (or 10), just plop a ‘no’ in front of your command(s) in notepad, copy, and paste.

Now when it comes to a unique config on an individual router, notepad might not buy you much.  But any time you start to repeat commands on a device, or across devices, notepad can be a great tool to use.  And as you get used to using it, you get pretty fast.