From: Darby Weaver (darbyweaver@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Nov 18 2006 - 16:42:55 ART
wow!!!
Thanks again to the NMC Team in Herndon.
All labs are updated?
Kewlicious!
--- Andrew Bruce Caslow <abcaslow@netmasterclass.net>
wrote:
> Hi Dennis,
>
> Here are some links related to end-to-end Lab
> testing taking strategies and
> tactics:
>
> The first was posted by Jongsoo Kim last April
>
>
http://www.groupstudy.com/archives/ccielab/200504/msg00126.html
>
>
> The second is a detailed response that I made to
> Jongsoo's checklist at the
> same time.
>
>
http://www.groupstudy.com/archives/ccielab/200504/msg00129.html
>
>
>
> As we discussed on the phone, it is essential to
> have many Checklists and
> procedures formulated in your mind on the day of the
> CCIE lab. You want to
> have several technology specific checklists and
> multiple test taking
> strategy checklists.
>
> Some of the test taking strategy checklists include:
>
> (1) An end-to-end test strategy checklist like the
> ones described in the
> links above.
>
> (2) A general practices checklist
>
> (3) A pre-exam checklist
>
> (4) Even a desperation checklist to help you in
> difficult situations
>
> All of these are described in some manner in the NMC
> Technical Library.
>
> Furthermore, you want to have multiple technology
> specific checklists that,
> at the very least, outline an "opening move"
> strategy for configuring a
> specific technology. At the very least, you need
> such checklists for the
> following technologies and topics:
>
> 1. Frame-Relay
> (Note: check out our new Class-on-Demand Frame-Relay
> module:
> http://www.netmasterclass.com/site/cod_fr.php )
> 2. Catalyst 3550/3560
> 3. Point-to-Point Interfaces
> 4. Address Assignment Techniques including DHCP
> 5. RIPv2
> 6. EIGRP
> 7. OSPF
> 8. Redistribution
> 9. BGP
> 10. Multicast
> 11. QoS
> 12. Security
> 13. IPv6
> 14. NAT
> 15. All First-Hop Routing Protocols
> (HSRP/VRRP/GLBP/IRDP)
>
> It cannot be over-emphasized, you need to have an
> "opening moves" strategy
> for the above listed 15 topics. These topics very
> likely will comprise at
> least 65% over your CCIE lab. Many of these topics -
> such as BGP, Multicast
> and QoS - are vast. You need to formulate multiple
> checklists/and
> configuration procedures for sub-topics within each
> of these larger topics.
>
> We attempt to help get students started with
> formulating these technology
> specific Checklists with our Decision Diagrams in
> the NMC Tech Library.
>
> Oh, it must be also noted that you need to formulate
> similar "opening moves"
> strategies and checklists for the many IP Services
> as well. However, I will
> say this: Focus on mastering the 15 topics listed
> above first. It has been
> our experience that these are the dominant topics in
> the Routing and
> Switching CCIE lab. With the exception of IPv6, they
> are also the dominant
> technologies in enterprise internetworks as well.
>
> Over the last few years, we at NetMasterClass have
> worked hard to develop
> one particular product on top of a robust web
> platform. That product is the
> CHECKiT assessment product. We currently have 10 in
> inventory. When a
> customer performs multiple CHECKiTs, we record their
> results in the
> customer's personal web-portal. From the multiple
> CHECKiTs we trend their
> results. It is very cool sutff. You should check it
> out at our web-site (No
> pun intended.) However from a perspective of
> trending, we go one step
> farther, we collect data from all CHECKiT users that
> go on to pass the
> actual CCIE lab. From the data of this statistical
> "group of special CHECKiT
> users", we compare all other CHECKiT users trend to
> provide a probability of
> passing the actual lab. This really helps in
> answering one of the ultimate
> CCIE preparation questions, "Am I ready for the
> lab?"
>
> Why do I bring this up? Since we have lots of people
> in the CHECKiT program,
> we are able to see what candidates are successful
> and what candidates are
> not. We oftentimes perform an exit interview on the
> successful candidates
> and many of them attribute their success to
> formulating the multiple
> checklists I have mentioned earlier. Many of them
> say that they can
> visualize the operation of a technology, they can
> "become the technology"
> (this is called the "be the packet approach");
> others say they can mentally
> walk through the configuration process.
>
> I suggest you pursue this same objective for, at the
> very least, the
> technologies I listed above. At NMC, we are very big
> on ongoing assessments.
> Central to this is our CHECKiT technology and our
> web-portal. Our mantra is
> the "you don't need one assessment, you need
> multiple, ongoing trended
> assessments". This is what we try to supply with
> bundles of CHECKiT labs.
>
> However, I will also say this, while ongoing
> assessment is key to the
> success of many a CCIE candidate, the most important
> ongoing assessment, is
> one that does not cost a penny, and you don't need a
> CCIE preparation
> company to perform it- it is a "self-assessment".
> In fact, you need to
> perform multiple self-assessments on the many
> technologies that you may
> encounter in the lab. Central to this
> self-assessment is the construction of
> checklists, decision trees, configuration
> algorithms, configuration
> procedures - whatever you want to call them. At the
> very least, these
> checklists-procedures should clearly frame all of
> the necessary and
> invariant steps of configuring a specific
> technology. You should be able to
> literally see and feel these steps. Furthermore, you
> should be aware of each
> and every configuration option at each step ("Know
> thy Options/Spot the
> Issues"). Common general options found in these
> procedures are: "static"
> versus "dynamic" configuration options; of the
> dynamic options "Cisco
> proprietary" versus "open standard" configuration
> options. You should also
> have very well defined procedures for both
> configuring a technology and
> verifying the stablility of the configuration. To
> borrow my collegue Bob
> Sinclair's words, "You must constantly configure and
> verify at each step,
> configure and verify; verify and configure". Bob is
> very, very big on this.
>
> Once you have formulated these technology specific
> checklists and
> procedures, you must not be hesitant to apply them.
> Apply them to all lab
> workbooks such as the IE workbook or the NMC DOiT
> workbook. These two
> workbooks have the reputation of having hard and
> challenging labs with
> highly detailed answer keys. If your technology
> specific checklist is worth
> a damn, it should at the very least help penetrate
> the
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