CCIE

General Questions

Q: What is Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab?
A: Cisco CCIE® Assessor Lab is a remote practice lab and assessment on live Cisco equipment that candidates take from their own desktop. CCIE Assessor is the first official Cisco CCIE lab preparation aid.

Q: What does Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab include?
A: UEach CCIE Assessor Lab session includes a four-hour practice lab designed to simulate the format and difficulty of the actual CCIE R&S lab exam. An assessment report provides feedback on the user’s solutions and includes configuration tips, specific command lines and suggested study resources. The report can be accessed at any time during the four-hour session and is also mailed to the user at the close of the session. As of September 1, 2006, an additional two hours of time on the live equipment is also provided, to review the practice configurations or try out other solutions. Candidates should be aware that the four-hour practice lab cannot cover all of the topics on the eight-hour lab. The topics covered are listed in the specific CCIE Assessor Lab session blueprint, found online.

Q: Who is Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab designed for?
A: CCIE Assessor is currently available for the CCIE Routing and Switching lab. CCIE Assessor Labs for Security and Voice labs are being considered. Users are encouraged to pass the CCIE written exam before preparing for the lab exam.

Q: What benefits does Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab offer candidates?
A:

• Users can increase confidence and reduce exam anxiety through practice with live equipment and exam-quality scenarios.
• First-time lab candidates can identify gaps in their preparation and devise an effective test-taking strategy to maximize performance.
• Candidates working on their second attempt can use the live equipment for additional practice in areas requiring further study and improve performance.

Q: How should I prepare for the Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab?
A: You should prepare for CCIE Assessor the same way you prepare for the CCIE Lab Exam. Review the list of topics covered on the CCIE Lab Exam by visiting the appropriate track page on the CCIE Website. In the right-hand column of that page you will see a list of Preparation Materials including the exam blueprint, the equipment used in the lab, recommended books and training courses, online resources and some test-taking tips.

Q: How is CCIE Assessor different than the Cisco 360 Learning Program for CCIE Routing and Switching?
A: The Cisco 360 Learning Program is a separate offering from CCIE Assessor, and is a much broader, comprehensive system of training, hands on practice, and diagnostic feedback, designed to bring candidates to an expert-level of skill and knowledge and prepare candidates for the CCIE Lab Exam. On the other hand, CCIE Assessor is a Practice Exam for the CCIE Lab, designed to give candidates the opportunity to practice for the Lab Exam by experiencing the Lab Exam environment for themselves. No training system accompanies CCIE Assessor. CCIE Assessor is ideal for self-study candidates who are not currently enrolled in a comprehensive CCIE Training Program like the Cisco 360 Learning Program.

Scheduling a Session

Q: What is the cost of the Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab?
A: A single Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab session costs US$279, including the four-hour practice lab session, access to an assessment at any time during the four-hour session and a complete report at the end of the four-hours, and two additional hours of time on the live equipment. Special pricing is available for the purchase of two CCIE Assessor Lab sessions for a total of US$399.

Q: How do you schedule a Cisco CCIE Assessor Lab session?
A: Scheduling information is available online at www.cisco.com/ccie/assessor. Credit card payment is accepted using the following credit cards: American Express, Mastercard and Visa.

Q: What is the difference between Session A and Session B of the CCIE Assessor Lab for Routing and Switching?
A: The main difference is in the advanced topics covered. Both sessions cover the more fundamental concepts, but the advanced topics could not all be covered in a four-hour session, so they have been divided between the two sessions. A specific list of topics for each session is shown in the online blueprints.

During Your Session

Q: What are the requirements for access?
A:

• Internet access with bandwidth of 56K or higher
• Microsoft IE 5.5 or higher, with default security settings and pop-ups allowed
• Security firewalls must allow client to establish outbound TCP connections

Q: Is the CCIE Assessor practice lab the same length as the real exam?
A: No, the practice lab included in Cisco CCIE Assessor is four hours—one-half the length of the actual lab. The scenarios and questions were chosen so the four-hour session would be as close as possible to the real exam in terms of format and difficulty level. The idea is for the candidate to feel the time pressure of the exam, but keep it to four hours to enable more candidates to work through it in a single sitting.

Q: What happens if the equipment malfunctions during my session?
A: Please report all equipment failures to Cisco CCIE Assessor support as soon as they occur. If you promptly report the failure during your session, you will be able to reschedule if the failure cannot be addressed immediately. Session time cannot be rescheduled if you do not report the failure until after you complete your session.

Feedback and the Assessment Report

Q: When should I run the assessment report during my session?
A: You do not necessarily need to run the Assessment Report at all during your session. A link to the complete report—with all the correct commands, all the configuration tips and all the study suggestions will be mailed to you when your session expires. However, many candidates choose to run the Assessment Report during their session—to check their performance on a difficult topic, to get a hint on a topic they get stuck on, or if they finish the practice lab before the four hours are used up. Be aware that each time the assessment runs, it will analyze the entire lab, even if you haven’t yet attempted many of the questions. This takes time which comes out of your four hour session.

Q: What if there is more than one solution to a scenario?
A: The proprietary assessment engine used by Cisco CCIE Assessor, called AutoVerify™, is capable of evaluating multiple correct solutions. However, all solutions must result in a functioning network that meets all of the configuration requirements given in the question. As long as your solutions does that, you will receive full credit (100%).

Q: Why does my assessment report show 0%, when part of my configuration was correct?
A: The CCIE Assessor Lab is graded the same way the actual CCIE lab exams are graded. Multiple solutions are accepted, but they must result in a network that functions with the specifications given. Always make sure to test your solutions and check to see that the network is running. As on the real exam, solutions are either correct (100%) or incorrect (0%); no partial credit is given.

Q: Is my score on the Cisco CCIE Assessor recorded?
A: No, the score you receive on the assessment report is only for study and preparation purposes and is completely confidential. It is not added to your account in the CCIE database and no one besides yourself has access to your report.

Q: What score is needed to pass the CCIE lab exam?
A: Candidates must score an 80% on the actual CCIE lab exam to pass. Remember that the actual exam is eight hours long and will include topics that can not be covered in the shorter CCIE Assessor Lab. Make sure you know all the topics on the lab blueprint as well as those that appear on the CCIE Assessor Lab.