From: Robert Thompson (Robert.Thompson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Fri Apr 23 1999 - 23:35:13 GMT-3
At 10:33 PM 20/04/99 -0400, Scott F. Robohn wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>
>Here are some other questions:
>
>(1) On documenting your steps: Is there any particular
>format that's helpful? Should we be using anything in
>particular from CIT?
>
With the troubleshooting doc I adopted the format of writing a
single line of what I had spotted, a line about what the fault was.
I used the word "fixed" for faults I got. And for any steps where
I made a change I put a big asterix at the start of the line so
I could easily go back and spot where I had done something.
This is of course just my normal fault finding doc style.
Don't go into length, the proctor will know what you are on about.
Even by keeping it brief I was into my third page of doc when I
was told I could stop. You *don't* have time for long write-ups so
keep it brief.
My CIT instructor also confirmed that you "keep it brief". There are
no marks for overdocumenting. Just have the essentials there and
that it makes sense if you read it.
One last thing on the troubleshooting side. This was the easiest bit
for me. Most of the dirty tricks are somewhat known and I really
enjoy troubleshooting so I knew if I could make it to the troubleshooting
part I was gonna pass. Note that you cannot keep any configs of
what has been working before to compare back to - you have to figure it
from what is on the routers and the docs you have made.
>(2) How much will the CD reference material really help you
>during the test?
>
One guy I talked to had "seen it all before in practise". Not
me. I had up to 4 searches going at a time on the CD while
I was working on what I did know, coming back every so often
to see what clues they had turned up and to start more. I used
the CD aggressively.Odds are there will be things you don't
know how to do. Be ready to make use of the CD, it is a
valuable tool.
In a real sense the CCIE lab is for people who *can* make
something work they have never come across before in a
time-critical enviroment. Just be able to solve problems,
don't panic and you'll do well.
>(3) Are there any _good_ statistics on the first-time pass
>rate for this exam? There's alot of speculation out there,
>but I'm just curious to see if there are any good numbers.
>
Last I heard via an interview in March that CCIEPrep did, first
timers have an 80% failure rate. From asking around most CCIEs
seem to have had two or three goes to get there so I believe
this. However if you do go for the exam you *will* get your
CCIE. The statistics say (according to the Cisco guy in
the interview) that virtually everybody passes - like about
99% pass. Because they usually pass second or third go.
No-one who has invested the effort to take the lab once
is willing to call it quits - they get through no matter how
many tries. I got through first time, but I had it all arranged
with my employer to book in my second go on the same
day [if] I flunked the first go. I wasn't going to give up and
if that is how you approach it you will get your CCIE.
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