Course Overview
The CBT Nuggets Cisco CCIP BGP course, taught by Jeremy Cioara, is a video training series designed to help network engineers prepare for the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or Cisco Certified Professional - Internetwork Professional (CCIP) certifications, specifically focusing on Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). The course covers the fundamentals of BGP, including configuration, troubleshooting, and advanced features.
Course Content and Structure
The course consists of 642-661 (or 642-661, as the old track was) video lessons, spanning several hours of instruction. Jeremy Cioara, a well-known and respected instructor in the networking community, delivers the content in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner. The course is structured to cover various topics, including:
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The CBT Nuggets Cisco CCIP BGP course by Jeremy Cioara is an excellent resource for network engineers looking to improve their BGP skills and prepare for CCIE or CCIP certifications. The course provides a comprehensive and engaging look at BGP, with clear explanations and hands-on examples.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Recommendation
This course is recommended for:
Target Audience
Alternative Options
If you're looking for alternative BGP training resources, consider:
Keep in mind that this review is based on the course's general outline and might not reflect any updates or changes made to the course.
Jeremy Cioara’s CBT Nuggets course for Cisco CCIP BGP 642-661 succeeded by transforming a dry, attribute-driven protocol into a relatable narrative. His use of whiteboard diagnostics, failure-first simulation, and consistent analogies offers a template for teaching any complex routing protocol. As network engineering shifts toward intent-based networking and multi-cloud BGP (e.g., Azure Route Server, AWS DirectConnect), instructors should revisit Cioara’s core insight: Students don’t need more commands; they need better mental models. cbt nuggets cisco ccip bgp 642661 by jeremy cioara new
Hands-On Focus – Every video included a CLI demonstration. Cioara showed not just the correct configuration, but also common errors and debugging commands (show ip bgp, debug ip bgp updates).
Exam Relevance – The course mapped directly to Cisco’s exam topics: peer relationships, route maps, BGP neighbors, and filtering. Cioara often highlighted “exam tips” that proved valuable for test-takers.
New Content Updates – The “new” version of the course reflected changes in Cisco’s exam objectives, including added coverage of IPv6 BGP and MPLS VPN interaction.
A course is useless without practice. The new CBT Nuggets series integrates seamlessly with CBT Nuggets Labs (their in-browser virtual environment). You don't need to own a physical 7200-series router. Jeremy provides downloadable topology maps (usually a 4-router cluster) so you can follow along.
Classic BGP Labs included: