FYI
-----Original Message-----
From: Lorne Braddock
To: pimmo@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 07/17/2001 8:42 AM
Subject: RE: Change in CCIE...
Mr. Immo,
I understand how important and valuable CCIE
certification is. I want you to know that the exam has been improved,
not
compromised. I can tell you that the quality and effectiveness of the
exam is
our first priority. We had several well known and highly respected
Internet
industry notables take the exam revised exam during the beta period and
they
all gave us a heads-up on the changes we made. I have write-ups from
two of
them so that's all I can send you now but well will be receiving written
feedback from the others. Here are two:
Mr. Bruce Caslow with Mentor Technologies. Mr. Caslow co-authored the
book
entitled "Cisco Certification :Bridges, Routers, and Switches for
CCIEs". This
was part of a Cisco Technology Series and it is considered to be the
best text
currently available for individuals preparing to take the CCIE lab exam.
If
Mr. Caslow is not the most respected, non-Cisco, authority on Cisco's
CCIE
Certification process, he is clearly one of them.
To: Lorne Braddock, Cisco Systems
From: Bruce Caslow, Mentor Technologies
Subject: A Review of the New One Day CCIE Lab Examination
Format
After reviewing the new one day CCIE lab examination format, I report
the
following observations:
When I was first asked to review the new one day CCIE lab examination
format,
my first reaction was that
many of the tasks that are currently in the traditional two day CCIE
lab would
be removed from the new one day lab and as a result, the new one day lab
format
would be easier than the traditional two day lab. When I actually
reviewed the
new one day CCIE lab exam, my first presumption was affirmed however my
second
presumption was not. Yes, tasks that are in the current two day CCIE lab
exam
have been removed from the proposed one day CCIE lab exam. However, the
new one
day exam is not easier to pass than the two day exam. From the very
beginning
of the test, the new one day CCIE lab forces the test taker to
immediately
begin configuring a hefty load internetworking topics. For the entire
period
of the one day test, there is a relentless pressure to complete an
extensive
list of configuration tasks. One may ask the following questions, "What
topics
are covered in the new one day CCIE lab exam format? Is the list of
topics used
to create the one day CCIE lab exam different from the list of topics
used
create the current two day exam?" From an internetworking configuration
requirements perspective, there seems to be no difference between the
two day
CCIE lab exam and the one day CCIE lab exam. Every internetworking
topic that
is considered "fair game" in the two day CCIE lab might also appear in
the new
one day exam format. Therefore, from a "breadth of topics to study
perspective", the new one day CCIE lab exam is identical with the two
day CCIE
exam.
Quite simply, the new one day CCIE lab exam format is a rigorous single
day of
performing a series of configuration tasks on the same wide range of
internetworking topics that are found in the current two day CCIE lab.
Emphasis
of the previous sentence must be placed on the word "CONFIGURATION". In
the
two day CCIE lab the following tasks are encountered:
Day One
1. Review examination tasks
2. Examination equipment rack cable up
3. Terminal server configuration
4. IP address planning
5. Configure of a range of internetworking technologies for the
remainder
of Day One
Day Two
6. Review examination configuration tasks for Day Two (Redundant
with Step
1in Day One)
7. Continue configuring a range of internetworking technologies
for the
first half of Day Two (Redundant with Step 4 in Day One)
8. Troubleshooting the second half of Day Two
The new one day CCIE lab examination format consists of the following
tasks:
1. Review examination tasks
2. Configure a range of internetworking topics
When comparing the two day format with the one day format, it is obvious
that
the following tasks have been removed from the new one day CCIE lab
exam:
Examination equipment rack cable up
Terminal server configuration
IP address planning
The explicit troubleshooting section
In the two day CCIE lab exam, the explicit troubleshooting section
consumed one
half of a day. Also, the two day CCIE lab exam required test takers to
perform
the following three "morning of the First Day" tasks: (1) cabling up
the
equipment rack, (2) configuring the terminal server and (2) planning an
IP
addressing scheme. Performing these three "morning of the First Day"
tasks
consumed at least one hour. When the explicit half day troubleshooting
section
as well as the three above mentioned "morning of the First Day" tasks
are
removed from the two day CCIE lab, what is let is the heart of the CCIE
lab
exam: approximately nine hours of rigorous CONFIGURATION tasks. The
identical
core of the current two day CCIE lab an extensive set of configuration
tasks
involving a wide range of internetworking topics- is found in the new
one day
CCIE lab. While the two day CCIE lab provides approximately nine hours
to
perform a set of configuration tasks over a one and one half day period,
the
one day CCIE lab provides only 7.5 hours in a single day.
It appears that the formula the Cisco CCIE testing team used to create
one day
CCIE lab is the following:
1. Take the current configuration tasks used in the existing CCIE
Two
Day Lab exam and reformat them into a one day format.
2. Apply the configuration tasks mentioned in Step One above to
the
exact same rack of test equipment used in the existing two day CCIE Two
Day Lab
3. Remove the follow tasks from the CCIE lab:
Examination equipment rack cable up
Terminal server configuration
IP address planning
The explicit troubleshooting section
By removing the tasks above, at least four hours of time needed to take
the two
day CCIE lab has been reduced. This leaves approximately nine hours
time to
perform configuration tasks in the two day CCIE lab exam. The nine
hours of
configuration tasks in the two day CCIE lab have been compressed into
the 7.5
hour time length of the one day CCIE lab exam. This compression may
require the
reduction of the number of configuration tasks to perform in the one day
CCIE
lab when compared to the number of configuration tasks performed in the
two day
exam. However, the configuration tasks of the one day CCIE lab will be
selected
from the same range of topics as the two day CCIE lab.
In summary, the core of the two day CCIE lab is retained in its entirety
in the
new one day lab exam. The exact same configuration tasks and equipment
racks
that were used in the two day lab exam are being used in the one day
exam. The
exact same range of internetworking topics that are relevant to the two
day
CCIE lab exam are relevant to the one day exam. Therefore, CCIE
candidates that
are studying for the one day exam will need to study just as hard as
those that
have taken the two day exam.
Conclusion
The one day CCIE lab does not make attaining the CCIE certification any
easier.
It has streamlined the CCIE certification testing process so that more
people
can take the test. This will help Cisco address its CCIE lab exam
administration backlog problem. At any point, if Cisco feels the one day
CCIE
lab exam has gotten too easy, it can easily adjust the test to make it
more
difficult while keeping the test in a one day format. There seems to be
no
absolute correlation between the level of rigor of a test and the
number of
days of a test. It is possible to make a single day test extremely
difficult.
It is also possible to make a two day test extremely easy. The key
factor in
measuring the level of rigor of a test is the test content itself and
not the
test length. Cisco seems committed to retaining the high level of
challenge
associated with attaining the CCIE while shifting the test length to one
day.
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-----------------
Mr. Phil Remaker is one of the first people to achieve CCIE
certification and
in 1995 Mr. Remaker was featured in a Wall Street Journal article
focusing on
the technical genius behind the exploding Internet. Mr. Remaker is
employed
by Cisco Systems as a technical advisor. His reaction to the improved
CCIE
lab exam were:
"Well, first of all, to end the suspense, I failed the lab with a score
of 34/100. This is not unexpected, since I didn't study and have never
worked much with the Catalyst switches. And taking a few years off the
day-to-day hands-on work really rusts your skills. So the good news is
that the test is not easy.
It is also not impossibly hard. It is full of nuance and
interdependency, and has some very good exercises in interfacing to
external networks (IPX, BGP, frame-relay) and administrative issues
(filtering, redistribution, port security). Stuff you do in one
section affects others, yet it is not so interwoven that you cannot
skip around and focus on ones strengths. Also, by dropping the mundane
basic config stuff, more time is focused on the things that really test
your skills, not your ability to type in tedoius information (people
that fail to type in the tedious info will probably also fail the lab).
I had the luxury of reviewing the exam question by question with
feedback from Jeff and Howard, and I gave some feedback on how the
questions might be clearer of how the scenarios might be tweaked. But
on the whole, the exam as it stands was very good, testing time
management, documentation reading, and network configuration skills.
I did miss having the wiring just a little, but I think that modern
networks are much more virtualized and that wiring is less relevant in
complex networks as everything gets VLANned. The ability to find a
wiring problem is still a serious skill, and I suggested that maybe one
of the prewired networks be wired on the wrong port and force people to
find it 8-).
The lack of partial credit killed me, too. I got SO CLOSE on so many
of the questions! But I agree with the policy, since subjectivity
could kill the exam credibility. You might want to emphasize to
candidates (maybe you already do) that there is no partial credit.
Another measure of a good exam is "Did I learn something from taking
the exam?" The answer here is YES! I learned about ISL and ATM (which
I had never used before, only read about) and a little about
route-tagging and distribution lists that I had not previously known.
I even learned about some Cisco capabilities that I didn't know existed
(port security).
I am a believer in the one-day lab. Anyone CCIE that thinks it
cheapens the CCIE should come in and try to pass it. We should invite
the anti-one-day activists to come in and take the test for free
ONCE so they can give us feedback. I think the test hits the mark.
Thanks for inviting me in to try the exam. And thanks to Jeff and
Howard for their overtime to accommodate my San Jose schedule. Kudos
to the exam authors."
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----
-----
Mr. Immo, the CCIE lab exam that we have been using is a wonderful exam
but
that does not mean in can't be improved.
We knew that public opinion would be a challenge but that is not a good
reason
to hold back on improvements. All we ask is that you let the exam speak
for
itself. Thanks for caring!!
**Please read:http://www.groupstudy.com/list/posting.html
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