Core Knowledge Questions Added to Remaining CCIE Lab Exams

 An email came out from the Cisco Learning Network regarding Core Knowledge Questions and the remaining CCIE tracks that do not already have them.


Core Knowledge Questions Now on All CCIE Labs

Effective January 4, 2010, the CCIE. Service Provider, Storage, and Wireless Lab Exams will add a new type of question format in a section called Core Knowledge. In this new section, candidates will be asked a series of four open-ended questions which require a short written response be entered into the computer--typically several words. The questions will be randomly drawn from a pool of questions on topics eligible for testing. Candidates can review the topics by visiting the CCIE track information on Cisco.com or Cisco Learning Network. No new topics are being added as a result of this change. Candidates will have up to 30 minutes to complete the Core Knowledge section and may not return to it once they have moved on. A passing score on the Core Knowledge section is required to achieve certification. Core Knowledge questions were implemented on Routing and Switching labs in February 2009, Security labs in June 2009, and Voice labs in July 2009, and allow Cisco to maintain strong exam security and ensure only qualified candidates are awarded CCIE certification. Candidates with exam dates January 4, 2010 or later should expect to see the new question format on their lab exam.

CCIE Statistics Month over Month Changes

An updated CCIE number list has been published. The recent trend is a real slowdown in CCIE numbers, specifically in Security and Routing and Switching after the recent changes in the tracks.

Click the picture for the full size image.

CCIE R & S Lab v4 Beta Review

Another review on the R&S Lab version 4. This time from Wendell Odom at NetworkWorld.


http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/46561

A Sneak Peek at the CCIE R/S Lab

Wendell's Fun Time Beta Testing the New CCIE R/S Lab

By wendell on Wed, 10/21/09 - 10:58am.

CCIE R&S Version 4 Beta Review

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/thread/8262

A review covering a Beta experience of the CCIE R&S updates over at the Cisco Learning Network by

Denise Donohue

"For those who don’t know me, I’ve been a CCIE since mid-2002 and am the co-author of several CiscoPress books, including “CCIE Route/Switch Exam Certification Guide 4^th edition”, “Cisco Voice Gateways and Gatekeepers”, and “CCNP Quick Reference Sheets”.  I recently took the beta of the new version 4.0 CCIE R/S lab exam to offer feedback to Cisco.  With their approval, I'd like to offer my impressions to those preparing for, or considering, the CCIE R/S lab exam.  A big caveat – my job does not routinely involve configuration anymore, and I didn’t get a chance to study until on the flight there, so a prepared candidate’s experience will definitely vary from mine! 

Overall, I was favorably impressed.  It has some cool and interesting new features.  The most visible difference is the computer interface.  All documentation is web-based now, including the lab instructions.  No more binder on the desk.  The main web page has the overall diagram and links to instructions and documentation.  You click on a router to open a SecureCRT console session with it. There is also a link to manage the devices (reboot one, for example.) You can access CCO documentation from a link on the main page also.  You can’t search CCO, though, unfortunately.

I didn’t know what to expect from the core questions since they weren’t on the lab when I took it seven years ago, but I thought they would be trivial.  They weren’t.  But they also were well within what one would expect someone sitting the exam to know easily. 

The two-hour troubleshooting section is new for the one-day exam and follows the core questions.  There are multiple trouble tickets, all relating to the same network so you don’t have to learn a new network for each one.  You can do them in any order. I felt that the questions were fairly representative of things you might run across in a production environment.  If you’ve set up your own lab and done all the experimenting you should while studying, you’ve probably already made most possible mistakes anyway!  Probably the best way to ace the troubleshooting section is to have a very in-depth knowledge of all the technologies covered in the lab.  One thing you should know is that the computer closes the exam exactly at the end of two hours.  You don’t have any wiggle room to finish things up, so keep an eye on the time.  If you finish early, you can end that portion and start the configuration portion of the lab.

The configuration portion is the last 5 ½ hours.  I found it easy to get used to the web interface and having the instructions on the screen rather than on paper.  The monitor screens are big enough that you can have multiple windows open at once. However, it was annoying to move the windows to see the lab diagram.  If the actual lab doesn’t offer a paper version of the diagram, I recommend that you draw your own. The equipment was sometimes a little slow in responding to commands, because the actual routers and switches are in San Jose and I took the exam in RTP.  It was nothing to worry about, just something to be aware of.  I think the equipment has been remote for a while now, so if you’ve taken the lab recently then it’s familiar to you.  The equipment sat beside us when I took my lab.  There are some new technologies in the blueprint, and the configuration part is two hours shorter, so one would expect that portion to be scaled back somewhat. 

Studying for version 4.0 should be no different than studying for the CCIE lab has always been - know the core routing, switching, and WAN technologies cold. Practice them until you can do them in your sleep.  Then tackle all the other things on the blueprint, paying attention to the odd and unusual things you can do with them.  As always, having a strong understanding of as many technologies, techniques, and IOS features as possible gives you time to research the tasks you’ve never heard of. 

Good luck with your exam!  I'm interested to hear about your experiences with it!

CCIE R&S Updates from Cisco and CCBOOTCAMP

Link to recorded version for version 4.0 (may be a little while before being posted)

https://ciscosales.webex.com/ciscosales/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=40520377&rKey=4a695ccb75726703

Some of the items that were discussed:

Lora O'Haver
- New economic conditions
- Intense competition for the BEST Human Capital
- Employers need to identify and develop talent
- Individuals need to adapt and enhance their value
- 15 years of performance based testing
- Avergae salary in US of 120,330 up 8% from 2007
- CCIE salary premium is 20% higher worldwide than network engineers without certification
- Numbers from Certification Magazine and PayScale.com
- Revision is key to program to align job tasks, deliver services, and encourage skill building and career development
- Network Engineering is often a path to specialist roles, or network architecture, and management

Maurilio Gorito
- New Skills - planning and evaluating network changes, performance routing, optimized edge routing, EIGRPv6, IPv6 Multicast, MPLS and Layer 3 VPN as non core items
- Equipment upgrade to ISR running 12.4(T) and 3560 Catalyst IOS 12.2 Advanced IP Services
- Scenario based questions added to Written Exam
- Troubleshooting added to Lab Exam, to be done on virtual environment like dynamips but better
- Less emphasis on professional level tasks
- Lab exam to remain 8 hours, short answer - 30 min, troubleshooting- 2 hours, configuration- 5.5 hours
- Troubleshooting includes multiple scenarios described through "trouble tickets" to diagnose and resolve faults on preconfigured topology, network must be operational to receive credit
- CCIE v4.0 blueprint publsihed May 5, 2009 and exames will be released on October 18, 2009
- Troubleshooting scenario coverage

Rick Smith
- Cisco 360 Learning Program and 4.0 changes
- Enhanced preassessment lab, performance assessments, and revised instructor-led workshops
- 5 additional lab added to workbook, 2 new self-paced lessons, and new content to reference library
- Cisco 360 LabSafe Program to cover a failed lab attempt, for those who complete all 4 performance labs and score 80% on 1 of them, and have instructor recommendation.
- Cisco 360 program coming to Security track in 2010, and announcements to come in ~November
- Cisco 360 LabSafe program will expire July 31st 2010
- Cisco 360 LabSafe program is not available to Cisco Employees

Brad Ellis
- Why did CCBOOTCAMP join the Cisco 360 Program
- High quality contentn alignedd with the exam, dedicated development team of CCIEs, and auto graded assessment lab
- Expecting CCIE Lab to change more frequently
- 11 years of CCIE training experience, largest authorized provide in the world, instructors are also field engineers, $7M in Cisco lab hardware, and a dedicated student coordinator
- Offer written Exam preparation and boot camp
- Discussed lab approach and methodology

Dawn Tesar
- Discussed CCBOOTCAMP training options
- 3 learning options, self-paced, self-paced with instructor led training, and instructor training only.
- 3 learning packes, premium, preferred, and essentials

General Statements and Questions
- CCIE Number Growth - cisco's opinion is that world does not have enough CCIE's to handle the growing world and all technology interaction and it intertwines where it did not use to in the past.
- There is documentation access during troubleshooting just like for the configuration section.
- Between 9 to 12 "trouble tickets" for the troubleshooting section.
- Need to pass all 3 sections individually to pass the lab, but still will not find out until after all is completed
- OEQ 4 questions, need 3 of 4 to pass, get direct to the point, i.e dont write a book
- Troubleshooting, 20-25 points, does not include switches in virtual environment, expect 30 routers, but that number to isolate trouble tickets so fixing one ticket will not effect another ticket
- Configuration, 70-75 points, items slightly lessened to account for less time allocated for this section
- MPLS is non-core topic and will simply need base configurations, as well as other new topics
- Configuration portion will be looked at to move to virtualized environment like the troubleshooting section, but no plans at this time

360 Lab Safe Promotion:

http://www.ccbootcamp.com/360/cisco-lab-safe.html

MPLS Video on Demand for V4 Blueprint:

http://www.ccbootcamp.com/news/mpls.html

For any additional questions/concerns/comments on the webinar, please post them here:

http://www.routerie.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=101;t=000001

Article on Cisco IOS 15.0 by Michael Morris at Network World

Article from Michael Morris at Network World on Cisco IOS 15.0
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45883

A copy of the text.:


Cisco today released IOS 15.0. This is the next major release after 12.4. It's been over 4 years since Cisco has delivered a major release of IOS code. 12.4 was released in May of 2005. Apparently Cisco was not interested in using the 12.5 name; or 13.0 or 14.0 names. I can't really say why this is. Perhaps internal code work in Cisco had a few other main line releases in the last 4-years that never materialized into real products.
15.0 includes a few new supported hardware devices and a large set of new software features.
Cisco removed only two software features in 15.0 - AppleTalk Phase I & II and Service Selection Gateway (SSG). I doubt anyone will be missing those. If you are still running AppleTalk forever live in shame after reading this blog. ;-)
There are a few notable hardware lines that are not supported in 15.0. The 2600XM, 3600, and 3700-series routers are now officially gone. A complete list of memory requirements and supported hardware in each router line is provided also.
Oh, and yes, there are those bugs...or as Cisco likes to call them in a new IOS release, "caveats". Here are a few scary ones (with my pithy comments of course):

CSCso97304
Symptoms: Configuring and unconfiguring hierarchical QoS may cause memory leak on a Cisco router.
Conditions: This symptom occurs on a Cisco router that is running Cisco IOS Release 12.4(15)T4.
Workaround: There is no workaround.
Hope you like your current QoS policy.

CSCsu66197
Symptoms: Cyclic redundancy check (CRC) errors increment on Cisco 2800 router.
Conditions: Occurs during normal operation.
Workaround: There is no workaround.
That's sort of the catch-all bug.

CSCsz38342
Symptoms: FTP traffic is not policy routed.
Conditions: Above symptom is seen on Cisco routers configured for local PBR with set IP next-hop clause.
Workaround: Add a static route to the next-hop network
ADD A STATIC ROUTE??? That's like my idea to fix anything with a tunnel!

CSCsz97091
Symptoms: Packet drop occurs when show version, show run, and write memory commands are issued.
Conditions: Packet drop will be observed as input errors accounted as overruns. The rate of packets being dropped will be proportional to the rate of traffic.
Workaround: There is no workaround.
New policy - no CLI use on the routers anymore. HTTP for everyone!!!

---

Ok, back to seriousness. One of the biggest changes in 15.0 IOS is the release model. There is a new release model that provides maintenance releases (labeled "M" releases) along with the traditional T-train code. Regular mainteance releases on a (somewhat) stricter schedule are also included. The defined life of 15.0 (and the birth of 15.1 and so on) is part of the release model. This should prevent another 4-year gap between main line IOS releases.
Cisco previewed the release model in graphical form to my team a few weeks under NDA. Alas, it is still not simple, as I have demanded in the past. Thus, a picture will help explain it better. Once Cisco releases that (or I find it on Cisco.com) I will blog about it.

---

Finally, we are jumping on the 15.0 code. We have been using 12.4 mainline as our standard IOS code for over 3-years and we are in need of an update. One of my engineers will be downloading the code tomorrow to begin lab testing. He will also be reviewing the bugs...err...caveats and checking feature support. As soon as we can identify an acceptable main line mainteance release, we will begin pilot testing and then deployment.

Jeff Doyle Article on Large Scale NAT

A good article on Larg Scale NAT by Jeff Doyle over at NetworkWorld.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45776

CCIE Lab Exam Inside Look Video

This is a video from CCIE Program Manager, Kathe Saccenti, with an inside look into the CCIE Lab and a brief overview. It is useful for those who have never been to a lab exam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-WXl68EJl4

Month over Month Active CCIE Changes

I crated an update to the graph showing month over month active CCIE number changes.

It shows the normalized Month over Month changes in Active CCIE Numbers per certification track as well as total.

Click on it for full size.

INE’s CCNP Bootcamp Class-on-Demand Now Available!

INE’s CCNP Bootcamp Class-on-Demand Now Available!

INE is proud to announce that our CCNP Bootcamp Class-on-Demand is now completed and available for viewing! Developed from ground-up by INE's elite team of CCIE instructors and taught by Triple CCIE, Brian McGahan – CCIE #8593, the class includes more than 45 hours of videos covering the latest BSCI, BCMSN, ISCW, and ONT exams for the CCNP. Whether you are preparing for the CCNP, or brushing up for the new Core Technologies section of the CCIE R&S Lab Exam, this series will exceed all your expectations. Using our tried and true hands-on learning approach, by using this series you will not only learn how these networking technologies work in real-world design scenarios, but you will also see live IOS command line and SDM GUI examples of how to configure, verify, and troubleshoot them.

In addition, we will be releasing in the near future our CCNP Lab Workbook to complement the CCNP Class-on-Demand and solidify your understanding. This workbook will be included FREE for all purchasers of the CCNP Class-on-Demand. Further details about the workbook will be posted on our CCIE Blog next week.

Purchase the CCNP Bootcamp Class-on-Demand now at the introductory price of just $495 ($500 off the regular price of $995!).

Limited Time Offer (Expires September 30th, 2009):

Receive a $50 store credit for each friend or colleague referred by you who purchases the CCNP Bootcamp Class-on-Demand.

Also right now you can stack the coupon code Sep09 on top of this Intro price to further reduce the cost.

If this message helps you and you do decide to order this product, please let them know that you were reffered by Craig Tompkins, and I will get credit for the referral credit.

CCIE Lab Safe Program Announcement

Cisco Lab Safe Promotion: Protect Your Training Investment
Learning@Cisco is pleased to introduce the Cisco Lab Safe promotion. The Cisco Lab Safe promotion allows qualifying Cisco. 360 Learning Program for CCIE. Routing & Switching students who don't pass their first CCIE lab exam attempt, to retake the CCIE lab exam (a $1,400 US Value) at no additional cost.

The Cisco 360 Learning Program for R&S guides engineers who have three to five years of networking experience through an effective, job-relevant, and proven program to build expert-level skills and to prepare for the rigorous Cisco CCIE R&S certification exams. Together, the Cisco 360 Learning
Program for CCIE R&S and the Cisco Lab Safe promotion provide added assurance in the quality and value of your training investment.

How the Cisco Lab Safe Promotion Works:
Students must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for the Cisco Lab Safe promotion:
A recommendation from their instructor
Completed the Cisco 360 Learning Program for CCIE R&S Essentials Package or a CIERS instructor-led workshop
Scored 80% or better on one of the CIERS 1-4 performance assessments
Only select Authorized Cisco Learning Partners offer the Cisco 360 Learning Program curriculum and Cisco Lab Safe promotion.
Find out more about Cisco Lab Safe promotion and the official terms and conditions on the Cisco Learning Network.

Links:
FAQ - https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/docs/DOC-5894
Brochure - https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/docs/DOC-5912
Terms - https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/docs/DOC-5913

Cisco Announces 4 New Certifications (Including Cisco Certified Architect)

Cisco Introduces Four New Career Certifications
CCNP Wireless, Cisco Certified Architect, and two New Data Center Unified Computing Specialist Certifications Announced at this Week's Cisco Live!

In response to the growing demand for IT professionals who can design, manage, and maintain converged technologies across global network infrastructures, Cisco announced the release of four new certifications at the Cisco Live! show, held this week in San Francisco, CA.

Cisco Certified Architect, CCNP Wireless, and two new Cisco Datacenter Unified Computing Specialists reinforce Cisco’s commitment developing state of the art, technology driven, role based certifications that meet the demands of today’s network professional.

• Cisco Certified Architect (Available January, 2010) Cisco Certified Architect is the pinnacle for individuals wishing to establish formal validation of both design and IT skills in Cisco technologies and infrastructure.
• CCNP Wireless (Available July 24th, 2009) CCNP Wireless recognizes the expertise and technical acumen of wireless professionals who support and manage Cisco wireless LANs and networks.
• DC Unified Computing Design Specialist, DC Unified Computing Support Specialist (Available Late, 2009) The Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Design Specialist and the Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist validate a data center computing professional's knowledge, expertise, and ability to run mission-critical computer operations.

Further information will be made available on the Cisco Learning Network in the coming weeks in support of these exciting new Cisco Career Certifications.

Quote of the Week 06/29/09

I found this on the Martin Luthor King Waterfall Monument outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The picture may be hard to make out.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.

Giant Video Screen CCIE Support

A picture of the giant video screen showing CCIEs in attendance. If you look close you can find my name.

Giant Cisco Live Lettering

I thought I would send in a picture of the giant lettering.

Quote of the Week - 06/19/09

"Some things in life can never be fully appreciated nor understood unless experienced firsthand. Some things in networking can never be fully understood by someone who neither builds commercial networking equipment nor runs an operational network."
- Ross Callon in RFC 1925

CCIE Voice Exam Updates

A couple of updates to the CCIE Voice Lab Exam

LAB EXAM REFRESH: Effective July 16th, 2009, important content changes will be implemented in the CCIE Voice Lab Exam. Candidates for lab exams scheduled July 16th, 2009 or later should prepare using the v3.0 Lab Equipment and Software Versions. Candidates scheduled on or before July 15th, 2009 should continue using the v2.0 Lab Equipment and Software Versions.

CCIE Voice Lab Exam Adding Short Answer Questions:

Also effective July 16, 2009, the Cisco CCIE Voice Lab Exam will feature a new type of question format in a section called Core Knowledge. In this new section, candidates will be asked a series of four open-ended questions that require a short, typewritten response (typically several words). The questions will be randomly drawn from a pool of questions on topics currently eligible for testing on the CCIE Voice Lab Exam. No new topics are being added. Candidates will have up to 30 minutes to complete the Core Knowledge section of the exam, and may not return to the questions later. First introduced to the CCIE Routing and Switching lab exam in February 2009, Core Knowledge questions will eventually be added to all CCIE tracks. The changes allow Cisco to maintain strong exam security, and they help ensure that only qualified candidates are awarded CCIE certification.

NetQOS Subnet Calculator

Here is a link to a good tools section including this subnet calculator from NetQOS. You can get to all the different tools from NetQOS via the link as well by clicking on the links at the top. It is nicely done and is valuable to beginners and experienced engineers alike.


Link to Calculator
http://www.netqos.com/resourceroom/calculator_subnet/index.html

Internetwork Expert Product Updates

For those of you that are interested, INE has posted about some product updates.
http://blog.internetworkexpert.com/2009/06/10/cumulative-product-updates/

Cisco Certification Online Support

A link to Cisco's Online Certification Support page

http://ciscocert.custhelp.com/app/