[c-nsp] OT - CCIE Questions..

[Scott Keoseyan]

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almog ohayon wrote:
| Hi everyone,
| I have couple of questions regarding the real CCIE lab exam :
| 1. how similar the real exam is to Internetworkexpert Labs(of course
version
| 4)  ? and to ipexpert labs ??
| 2. i did most of the version 4 labs and there are inconsistent issues
for me
| :
|      -  when to use bgp next-hop-self ?? (i assume that when we move from
| ebgp to ibgp we need it ?!)
|      -  when to use redistribute connected ?? example ??
|
| That's it ..
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First, I want to say sorry for the length of this response... I know
that this is the NSP-list, not a CCIE Cert list, and that this is really
off-topic, but I have to respond.


1.  Similarities - I think they all require that you know how to program
a router, how to use routing and routed protocols, how to manage IOS, an
understanding of L2 protocols, etc... please see:

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/ccie/rs/wr_exam_blueprint_v3.html

As for differences; well, the real thing costs a lot of money and if you
pass it, you get this nice piece of paper with your name and a number on
it... the practice sites don't get you that.

2.  You need to use commands like bgp next-hop-self when it's
appropriate, and then make sure that you don't use it when it's not
appropriate.  You'll either know when to use them when you get there or
you won't.

Seriously though... there are no shortcuts.  You  need to know when and
when not to use valid approaches to solve the requirements you receive
in the lab (yes, non-valid approaches are fair-game).  It's important to
know the technologies well enough to understand the implications of
specific commands used both appropriately and inappropriately because
you might need to use them in the wrong way to solve a requirement.  You
should also be able to quote verbatim from books like TCP/IP Routing
Volume 1 & 2, Internet Routing Architectures, and the like.

I would not count on test-prep sites, brain-dumps, and the like.  Those
sites might give you the edge on the qualification-exam, and give you a
good idea what "kinds" of things might be asked on the test, but they're
not going to get you where you need to be with regards to knowledge
about the protocols, the technologies, and Cisco products, that are
really required to pass the test.  This is the reason so many people
don't pass... they think there's a finite list of things that can be
asked and that you can memorize your way through to passing.  That's a
bad assumption because while the list of technologies that are present
on the test is finite, the variation on implementation is limitless.
The only path to success is to really understand what bgp next-hop-self
is for to begin with an why it's important.

I think, for a while at least, Cisco lost their way with regards to what
was important, regarding the CCIE... for instance, I can remember taking
the qualification-exam for my recert in 2006, and it seemed like there
were a lot of questions about Cisco-specific technologies and
non-essential esoteric features that didn't really have anything to do
with real technologies, and those questions were written to obfuscate
what they were really asking for just in an effort to make them harder
to answer.  It felt lame.  I went back last month and re-certified
again, and I was shocked by just how different the test was than any
other time I had taken it (this was my 4th recert-cycle).  The test
seemed very focused on routing technologies, protocols, and standards...
I was really pleased because the test felt relevant for the first time
in a while.

Now... there's a significant amount of CCIEs that lurk on this list, but
that doesn't make them any smarter than a lot of other people who
regularly post (for years now) on this list that don't have the cert.  I
am never surprised by the depth of knowledge certain people regularly
exhibit on some of the most esoteric topics and they haven't bothered to
take the test.  They don't need those letters on their sigs to prove
what they know and they don't need to pass the lab to prove their worth;
they are qualified experts by experience.


Scott
- --
Scott A. Keoseyan (scott at labyrinth.org)
Homepage : http://www.labyrinth.org/homepages/scott
Blogpage : http://www.labyrinth.org/wp1
PGP Keys : http://www.labyrinth.org/homepages/scott/pgp.html
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