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Blog: CCIE Assessor Lab A

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I just finished my CCIE Assesor Lab A. I got 72%. I have mixed feelings about this one. The script looks for very specific answers but it gave you a fantastic insight on what Cisco is looking for in terms of configuration and how they mark your exam.

Feel free to read below as it should contain few if any spoilers.

Points Lost Breakdown:

• I lost 2 marks, where i configured a subnet mask wrong! I can’t believe I missed this one. If I had more time to check I might have found it, but it was a stupid mistake. 2 points.
• I got a redistribution question wrong. I’m not sure the script was correct on this one. It said that you had to have a specific metric on a route, and mine did. It was a sub task and I got every other task correct according to the script. 3 points.
• My Router Id didn’t match up on one of the routers even though it didn’t explicitly ask for this particular router-id to be set. 3 points.
• Lost 2 points, for not using a next-hop self even though it wasn’t technically required. I should have read the question more carefully. I read the question and I thought “well you don’t really need that, because we will still have reachability”. I think I was over thinking it and should have just entered the damn command! 2 points
• Stuffed up the easiest question because I missed a step! I totally overlooked the subpoint. Stupid! 1 point.
• Had no idea about a particular type of access-list they were looking for. Never seen this one before. Couldn’t find it on the docCD. I went with a 3 line access-list that did the same thing, but you were only allowed two lines for the complete configuration. 3 points.

So 2+3+3+2+1+3 = 14 marks lost = 36/50 marks = 72%.

I think i should have got an extra 6 of those marks because the script was looking for a very specific solution. Which would have pushed me over the 80% mark. Still I made some really REALLY silly errors. This seems to be happening a lot, and I need to formulate a strategy for double checking everything. I thought I was checking as I was going along, but obviously not hard enough.

Have a read through the comments on my 68 days to go blog post. Scott Vermillion and Tassos, among others both gave me great advice about the CCIE Assessor, and I’m sure glad they did (thanks guys).

Things I noticed:

• Most of the loopbacks address that i have been using in the internetwork expert lab books use the 150.1.x.x/24 range, where x is the router. The lab used a different range for the loopbacks. You wouldn’t believe how many times I typed in 150.1.x.x when a loopback was required. I had to redo a whole BGP section because of it. I think I need to break those habits.
• I really liked the grading scripts. It had its flaws, but you really got a glimpse of how the actual CCIE will be marked. Sure there was no proctor to go through it afterwards, but you really saw what type of solutions they look for. I wish the mock lab’s and other rack rental places had an inbuilt grading script that you could use to get feedback straight away.If anybody has any doubts about the Assessor labs, this alone reason enough to do it.
• I’m getting fast at most things, but searching the doc cd is still a big weakness for me. That thing has become an absolute nightmare since the changes, and i really need to spend more time and making a note of where stuff has moved to etc.
• I started to panic when a router-id problem surfaced. I ended up reloading the router which fixed the problem, but I panicked. I’m thinking about it now, and it seems silly. I suddenly thought, oh crap I’m going to fail and I started to crumble a little. This psychological aspect of the exam is something I need to overcome. There was nothing in this exam that was really challenging or I hadn’t seen before (except that access-list type..which I’m going to have to research). I knew most of the configurations rote. Everything is made up of small simple tasks. I have to remember that in my throws of panic and not loose hope.

Still waiting on my mock lab 6 results (the website says 2 hours remaining). Hopefully I do better on that one. My next Assessor is on Friday. I’m going to redo the lab in dynamips this afternoon in the mean time. I’m beat, time to grab some lunch and take a break for a bit before I start up again this afternoon. Ahhh…the life of a CCIE candidate.

Only 3 weeks left today for my lab.

Related posts

• Blog: 68 Days to Go….
• Blog: My CCIE story….
• Blog: CCIE Assessor Lab B
• Blog: 40 days to go…

© 2008 Arden Packeer. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in anyway. This material is not sponsored or endorsed by Cisco Systems, Inc. Cisco, Cisco Systems, CCIE and the CCIE Logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and its affiliates