The Test:
- I used 87 of the allotted 90 minutes to complete 44 questions with a mid 900 score. Remember, there is no going back so you have to answer the question then and there when it is presented. Waiting for an moment of clarity later in the exam isn't an option. You gotta grind it out right then when the questions/scenario comes up.
- Two or three of the questions had 4-6 parts on configuration review, analysis, troubleshooting and remediation options/recommendations. These chewed a significant chunk of time. Most of it was spent reading the questions to figure out what they are really asking plus reviewing the configs. These are the ones where you truly want more screen space. It felt like most of the time was spent using show commands and having to maneuver windows so I could see the relevant information between two or three devices. I'm sure dual monitors would have saved me about 5-10 minutes here.
- There were three configuration items. The configuration tasks were somewhat long.
- The steps had to be completed in a specific order compared to what is permitted in real life. I'm sure most people would do the steps in the order I chose. For example, configuring AAA, I always configure my authentication sources first, then do the actual AAA methods. However, on the test, AAA methods had to be done first, THEN the authentication source commands worked. That took 5+ minutes of going, "WTF, is there another way of configuring RADIUS/TACACS servers I don't know and didn't practice?" So I launched into the AAA methods and all of a sudden I could do my AAA servers after that. Basically if the command you -know- works doesn't work right away, try another portion of the question. The failing command may all of a sudden work later.
- The configuration tasks had LOTS of requirements on a couple of them. Some of the validation for the early items relied upon the completion of the later items. I probably could have read the full question two or three times to figure out what order to do the steps, but I didn't.
- As you type your commands and change interface status you may get messages (even if you administratively shutdown the interfaces). Int up, protocol up. 2 seconds later, Int down, protocol down. Pretend its the TV, and don't believe everything you see. Check your interfaces with your commands. Check the changes you made with the other show commands (trunk, channels, monitor, dot1x, whatever).
- There were a handful of review the exhibit, here's a problem, what's the most like cause or what is the best remediation option.
- The rest were standard multiple choice fare including edge cases, do you know the protocols well, do you know the difference between protocols, etc.
- I thought there were two questions with no right answers. Example, what happens to a standby track priority when the track interface goes down and comes back up. Essentially, nothing in my book. Yes, it decrements, but then it returns to normal value. The question asked about the end state value. No delta or up and return weren't on the list.
- I used CBTNuggets video series from both Jeremy and Keith along with the Safaribooks version of the 300-115 Study Guide from Cisco Press.
- Jeremy's was a good introduction to most the topics. There wasn't always a lot of meat in the material in regards to answering the last bullet above.
- Keith and Jeremy's labs were very good. Again, I got to the point I could do the labs on my equipment (or least type the commands in the right order and location) by just looking at the topic that was going to be covered. One of the important points in these labs if to listen if either of them say something that would make you think, EDGE-case question! I went through Keith's twice and a couple of Jeremy's twice to catch these. The second time through on the labs, I paused the video after the setup and goals were established and tried to complete the task without watching the video. Good practice for the exam simulators.
- The SafariBooks piece had all the extreme information, what the min, what is the max, what are the timers, what are the defaults, what are the ports/protocols, etc. Safari also covered RPR, RPR+, SSO, and NSF.
- Practice tests were those provided by CBTNuggets via Transcender and SelfTest. The content in these bordered on useless. It seemed like 40% of the material was old and dated and not on the test (wireless, voice, cef, etc). In addition the explanations were wrong. (vtp version 2, not vtp-mode v2 like the explanation given). These were used mostly to get used to deciphering the test questions.
- Pure GNS3, v1.3. I used the IOU L2 images along with c7200 routers when I could. These did most of the commands. Short-comings on the images I used
- SPAN/RSPAN doesn't work at all. Just typed the commands to practice.
- Private VLAN doesn't "work". The commands are permitted and required in the correct order. However, the configuration isn't supported so no functional changes are done but the commands are there. The show commands pretty much work, but tell you, yep, it doesn't work.
- 802.1x not fully implemented on interfaces
- radius-server host didn't exist
- lldp doesn't exist
- vlan acls do not work
- sdm is not there
- ip dhcp snooping doesn't work right. commands are available, but turning it on with trusted ports causes DHCP to break. DAI is not there at all.
- int vlan x; ip add x.x.x.x; t didn't always work between the IOU devices, especially with FHRP protocols. EIGRP/OSPF would neighbor great, but the FHRP simply wouldn't see each other. I had to use the 7200 routers to do FHRP practice.
- RPR, RPR+, SSO don't work (duh)
- Stackwise isn't there (duh)
- None of these were a deal-breaker. If the command wasn't supported, I just watched the video, typed the command at the right location, review the video results, moved on. Its all about repetition to memorize the commands.
- Another thought on the GNS3 for practice was seeing the odd messages that shouldn't appear with a admin down interface made the strangeness on the exam simulator not so shocking.
Anyhow, onto TSHOOT. Good luck.
