While Cisco has since evolved its certification tracks—retiring the CCIP and integrating its topics into the CCNP Enterprise and CCNP Service Provider paths—the fundamental BGP knowledge taught in this classic CBT Nuggets course remains entirely relevant today. Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is still the routing protocol that runs the internet.
Network protocols can be dry, theoretical, and overwhelmingly complex. Jeremy Cioara flips this script completely. His training philosophy relies on high-energy delivery, real-world analogies, and live whiteboarding rather than static PowerPoint slides.
. If you were an aspiring network engineer in the mid-to-late 2000s, this specific course——wasn't just a training video; it was a rite of passage . The Setting: The "Wild West" of the Core
The training places a heavy emphasis on diagnosing BGP issues, an essential skill for any engineer. Key Topics Covered in the Training
: Using Route Maps, Prefix Lists, and Community strings to manipulate traffic flow. Jeremy Cioara flips this script completely
Jeremy does not read slides. He draws. In the 642-661 series, he famously uses the whiteboard to turn BGP into a story about "The Postal Service" or "Airlines flying between cities."
The Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional (CCIP) certification was a cornerstone credential for network engineers looking to master service provider technologies. At the heart of this curriculum was the exam. Among the various training resources available, the CBT Nuggets course led by legendary trainer Jeremy Cioara stands out as one of the most effective and memorable learning series ever created for networking professionals.
While the 642-661 exam has since been retired by Cisco, the fundamental BGP concepts taught by Jeremy Cioara remain highly relevant for modern certifications like the CCNP Enterprise (ENARSI). Course Overview
For a comprehensive understanding of route selection, see the Cisco BGP Case Studies , which remain the industry standard for protocol logic. Detailed configuration guides are available via Cisco IOS IP Routing: BGP Configuration Guide Alternative Training Providers The current version of this training is hosted on the CBT Nuggets CCNP Enterprise Other expert-led BGP deep dives can be found at INE (Internetwork Expert) If you were an aspiring network engineer in
The training covers the essential pillars of BGP operations required for high-level network engineering: BGP Fundamentals
While the labs are demonstrated on Cisco IOS, the underlying logic of the BGP state machine, loop prevention, and attribute evaluation applies seamlessly to Juniper (Junos), Arista (EOS), Nokia, and cloud environments like AWS and Azure ExpressRoute.
Cioara consistently balances exam objectives with production-network realities. He frequently highlights common engineering mistakes, such as: Accidentally turning an enterprise into a transit AS. Misconfiguring synchronization rules. Creating routing loops through improper route distribution. Deep Dive: Critical BGP Concepts Covered
If you locate a copy of the collection, you will typically find between 20 and 30 video modules. Here is a typical syllabus breakdown based on the original release: multi-AS internet topologies. Thanks for reading!
Despite the exam being retired, the technical concepts taught by Jeremy Cioara in this series are timeless.
Modifying the split-horizon rule by creating central hubs that pass updates safely to client routers.
Ideal for emulating real Cisco IOS software to build complex, multi-AS internet topologies.
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