Re: Just taken the lab

Bradley:
Let us know when you get the official results - you might be surprised.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I was surprised to hear about the "big
monitor".

Thanks
Larry Hadrava
CCIE #12203
Check Out MyBlog: http://ccie12203.wordpress.com/

On Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 9:17 AM, Bradley Freeman <
bradley_at_communitystring.com> wrote:

> Hey,
>
> I took the CCIE R&S lab yesterday in Brussels and had a couple of comments
> that you might find interesting, now some of this came from the proctor over
> lunch and I may have misheard him, got confused so please don't take it as
> gospel;
> - All the CCIE labs are graded remotely at other CCIE lab locations with
> the exception of Voice which requires the person who marks it to be
> physically there. This is how they can mark the exam out of hours.
> - I asked the proctor about the exams at the Person professional testing
> centers and he said that the idea would be that they are not mobile labs and
> you will connect to equipment remotely and they are intended to eventually
> run proctorless, although he mentioned that a proctor would be available in
> the early stages while they test the exam in these locations if needed, I
> asked if this would be via telepresence and it was a no.
>
> Comments on the lab;
> - The proctor was brilliant, I asked quite a few questions and at one
> point thought I had a bug and he said "I think this is something you need to
> fix yourself" which was when I realised they were trying to play mind tricks
> on me.
> - There was 8 candidates taking a variety of tracks
> - For both the troubleshooting and configuration you are presented with a
> topology diagram which when you click on the device icon opens up a Putty
> window to the device
> - I had enough space, the big monitors were just enough for me organise and
> I could easily view 3-4 putty windows and the relevant items of the
> topology. Although 2 smaller monitors may have suited me better if I could
> snap the topology diagram and questions on one side
> - I read about candidates taking ear plugs in the past so I took some but
> they weren't needed it was a quiet environment as the equipment was in
> another room.
>
> Other comments;
> - The food at Cisco is amazing, I had a steak with chips and veg, cooked
> how I liked it while I waited, although continental Europeans looked at me
> strangely when I mentioned I was looking for vinegar to put on my chips.
> - Not really associated but when a continental European hotel says they do
> a cooked breakfast, its nothing like an Englishman's idea of a cooked
> breakfast. Bacon should not be cut up into 1inch squares..
> - I stayed at the NH Brussels Airport hotel, its directly outside the
> Diegem train station and just the behind Cisco. Expensive at 155 Euros
> advance rate for B&B but worth every penny as its so close.
> - Brussels has a great train network if your in Europe on a Eurostar line I
> highly recommend travelling with them, as a single change at Brussels Midi
> takes you directly to the hotel/testing center, so no worrying about
> Shuttles/Taxis/Buses/Trams.
>
> Personal note;
> I havn't got the marks back yet but I think I just missed out on the
> Configuration section, will definitely nail it next time its just a mind
> game.
>
> Hope this helps, and please don't bother unicasting me asking for the
> material on the lab.
>
> Cheers
>
> Bradley
>
>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
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Received on Sat Mar 27 2010 - 09:28:36 ART