From: Fear, Russell H (Russell.Fear@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Mon Aug 20 2001 - 04:46:34 GMT-3
Frank,
Can you say( without any NDA implications ) whether there were errors
already present in the network to compensate for the loss of the
troubleshooting section ?
Russell
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Jimenez [mailto:franjime@cisco.com]
Sent: 18 August 2001 06:46
To: ccielab@groupstudy.com
Subject: New Lab Format - Quick report from the field...
List Members,
Well, I have just had the honor of failing the new Lab Format (1-day lab)
for CCIE-Security out at San Jose this week.
I've waited a bit before posting for a couple of reasons - I wanted the
fallout from the current off-topic discussion to die down a little (my
$0.02, it's wasted noise on this list), and I wanted to reflect on what I
can say about the new lab testing format without violating NDA.
First, a couple of disclaimers - This message consists of opinions that
are mine alone and not necessarily that of my employer. Also, this message
is my opinion and my viewpoints only, not facts carved into stone and
carried down from the top of Mt. Sinai, and certainly nothing to base life
decisions upon.
Enough of that - onto the new format.
For those of you that feel that the 1-day format is going to cause a
decrease in difficulty level in the lab environment, I only have two words
for you: Worry Not. The lab that I saw is every bit as difficult (if not
just a wee bit more so) as the two-day labs that I have seen.
The format changes can be boiled down into four bullet points, and mainly
confirm the speculation previously on the list. 1.) My rack was preset,
with terminal server and IP addresses on many (but not all) interfaces, and
with the wiring (again mostly) in place. 2.) The quantity of configurations
required has remained pretty much the same, you just have less time now.
3.) No explicit troubleshooting section. 4.) No pass/fail at the end of the
day.
In many ways, the new format jives with what most of my professional
networking career has been. In the past 477 days that I've been employed at
Cisco, I can probably count on one hand the amount of new (built from
scratch) networks in which I've assisted customers. Usually we're bolting
on new functionality to an existing infrastructure; or replacing a core
component/protocol of a network; or adding new locations, etc. The truly
new network opportunities are now becoming a rare breed in the US Enterprise
market.
The new lab format gives you an already-started network that you will
have to complete. Just like in the real world. You don't get to start
completely from scratch, and you don't want to mess with what's already
there too much for fear of breaking something. (What if I need that later?!
- Can I change that? - Should I? - Dang, did I already commit those changes
to mem?)
So, bottom line, you'll still need to know all of the same stuff to pass
the 1-day format, you'll just need to know how to implement it that much
faster. The same rules apply as have applied since the mid-1990s....
-The primary enemy is still time. Given enough time,
you can do almost anything - here, you don't
have the time.
-Learn ways to avoid wasting time
(Hint: no ip domain-lookup is the first thing I put on
almost ANY lab router)
-The importance of Caslow's "Spot the Issue" technique
is increased. Find the issue in the lab question.
Configure. Test. Repeat until done.
-If there are three ways to accomplish a task, the lab
will typically ask you to do it in the fourth way.
-Type fast.
-Practice speed drills to be able to configure common
items in your sleep. If you can't configure a basic BGP
session in under a minute, you'll probably not pass.
I'm not kidding.
-Know the Documentation CD
-But realize that if you have to refer to the Doc CD
more than a few times, you're going to run out of time.
-Learn what to ditch. Don't obsess over a 2 point question early
and run out of time to even get to the last 30 points worth of
lab configs.
-And remember - NO STATIC ROUTES (unless specifically allowed).
The more things change, the more things stay the same. There's no
substitute for knowing your stuff, spotting the issues, and configuring
things quickly. I'll be back to take the Security Lab again in the Spring,
after I have some time to lick my wounds and learn some more.....
Any other questions that I can address without violating NDA, post to the
list. Good luck to all!
Oh, and if you want to buy a bunch of Cisco gear, who ya gonna call? ;-)
Frank Jimenez, CCIE #5738
Systems Engineer
Cisco Systems, Inc.
franjime@cisco.com
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