Passed -- Cisco 300-135 -- TSHOOT

Well that was a fun test.

Test Info:

• Total of 21 questions
• handful of multiple choice
• 2 mini scenarios
• 13-15 are the scenario based problems. These are based on the published topology from Cisco.

Test Studying Thoughts:

• First of I believe you need to master the scenario by practicing. You have 2 hours to knock this one out, and answer 20ish questions while trying to learn the network map is going to be a huge challenge. I used CBTNuggets course from Mr. Barker again. I didn't find much value in Jeremy's course nor the official book (sorry). This is hands on practical of what we've learned in ROUTE & SWITCH. Using and reusing the scenario from Keith should teach you some important things to remember when troubleshooting. Remember where your transition points are going from Layer 2 --> Layer 3; EIGRP --> OSPF; Inside --> Outside. Break it into smaller problems. Its hard to solve a big problem. Solve a bunch of small ones.
• Is your layer 2 good? Can you ping from client1 to DSW1?
• Is your internal EIGRP good?
• Is your OSPF to EIGRP transition clean?
• Is your OSPF good?
• Is your BGP to OSPF good?
• Is your BGP good?
• Is your inside to outside transition working?
• Know your routing show commands and what the output means
• Show ip route
• show ip protocols
• show ip route ospf
• show ip route eigrp
• show ip route bgp
• show ip ospf int
• show ip ospf neigh
• show ip eigrp int
• show ip eigrp neigh
• show ip bgp
• show ip bgp summary
• show ipv6 of the relevant items listed above
• Know your layer 2 commands
• show vlan
• show int trunk
• show port-security
• Know the scenario information
• show ip nat trans
• show access-list
• show ip access-list
• show ip dhcp bind
• show ip dhcp stat
• Know how to source your pings and traces
• Show run is your friend, but only at the end. Sifting through 10 devices worth of show run is going to take too long on 13-15 questions to finish in 120 minutes. The show run should be the last step to find the actual syntax of the mistake. The other shows should get you 95% of the way home.

Test Taking

• You are asked to find the device causing the problem, the technology in use, and the resolution to the problem.
• This was the only time I asked for a sheet of paper. Being left handed and smearing your notes suck. I usually wrote a quick note on the problem such as (C1 --> Web). Then I made notes on what wasn't working. for example, if the client couldn't ping DSW1 that's the note. When I found the device I thought had the error, I wrote its name down. I also wrote down the best guess of what I'd call the technology. Finally, on step 3 of the problem, they ask for the solution. Syntax matters. READ the possible answers. They will blur together and almost seem the same. UGH.

Good luck. My brain are tired :)

Passed -- Cisco 300-115 -- Switch

Another down! Yay! Thoughts and comments time

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.

Study Material:

• 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.

Study Environment

• 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.

Overall, the test was pretty much what I expected. I think only one question surprised me in terms of content. The testing objectives lined up well and the official study material did well to cover the objectives. It didn't hurt having 15 years of managing 2000+ campus switches so a lot of it was old hat.

Anyhow, onto TSHOOT. Good luck.

Passed -- Cisco Route 300-101

I took the Cisco Route 300-101 exam today and some how managed to pass it. It was a long test for me as it took 87 of the 90 minutes allotted. This was due primarily to the simulations. I had trouble getting one working although I thought I had it configured correctly. I re-lab'd it up at home and it the solution worked as I expected it. Strange. Anyhow, a quick review.

I used the CBT Nuggets material and the Cisco authorized book via Safari Books Online. This pair seemed to work well. CBT provided the practice labs, the overview of most of the technologies covered, and the practice test from SelfTest and Transcenders. The book filled in the gaps when taking the practice tests. There were definitely questions in the practice tests that weren't in the Nuggets info. Having said all that, the items played well together and gave me enough information to pass.

The test was relatively short (under 60 questions), but 4-6 were simulations. Remember, this is a Cisco test so there is no going back so these have to be done when presented. I ran into some difficultly on a couple of them due to ... imprecise information. Some of the simulation questions required very precise subnet information, while others wanted me to grab the entire classful network. However, it wasn't clear until testing my solutions what they were looking for. Looking into the routing statements, interfaces, etc to help, simply didn't help. So I had to configure ACLs etc, multiple times, test each version, and clear out the wrong information. This drained my time very quickly on two questions as they took 15 minutes each. I had to leave one wrong (according the simulator, but not gns3 at home) and move on. I was 13 questions from finished with 15 minutes to go. Yikes. Luckily the last simulation was relatively easy for me and I finished at 2:45 left to go.

Anyhow, I like the idea of simulations and practical experience, but the engine needs some work still. Some commands aren't always available, but then you are given access to "show run" in the same question. Sometimes sifting through the run when a single concise show is faster. Next, there needs to be more screen space for the sims. Trying to view 4 routers consoles, the scenario question, and a diagram on a single monitor is a chore. I spent a lot of time flipping between those items while completing the simulations.

Last, I didn't like the fact that one topic was not covered at all in the test from the layer 3 techs area that required a significant effort while another single topic in infrastructure was hammered on 4 times. Maybe it was just luck of the draw.

Anyhow, onto switch while we hunt.