NetMasterClass.com blog

Question of the week #6

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:19:10 +0000

You are told to supply a DSCP value of 46 for an IP SLA Monitor stream of traffic. When you access the IP SLA Monitor configuration mode, you encounter only the following command to enter in the DSCP value:

R2(config-sla-monitor-jitter)#tos?

<0-255> Type of Service Value

What is the correct value you need to enter for this IP SLA Monitor stream of traffic to be assigned a DSCP value of 46?

Come back next week to learn the correct answer, or join an NMC Live On-line Group Mentoring session to discuss this topic and many other CCIE related topics.

Answer to the Question of the Week #5

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:22:41 +0000

The VLAN number is “8” because the configurable spanning root bridge priority value on a Cisco Catalyst switch that is closest to 8200 is 8192. When this configurable value of 8192 is subtracted from the supplied value of 8200 in the Question of the Week, the remainder is “8”. This calculation is performed due to the 802.1T structure of the Spanning Tree implementation supported on Cisco Catalyst switches. For more information, see the Cisco 360 Link-Layer Lesson Module or sign up for the NMC Live On-line Group Mentoring sessions that supplement Cisco 360 content.

Read the Question of the Week #5

admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:33:09 +0000

You are told to assign a group of routers to a common VLAN; and you are not explicitly told what the VLAN number is. However, you are told that the unknown VLAN must possess a root bridge that is assigned bridge priority value of 8200. What is the unknown VLAN number?

Please come back to view the answer on Friday, May 21th.

Core Knowledge Questions section is removed from the CCIE lab

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:01:15 +0000

Effective Monday, May 10^th the Core Knowledge Questions section will be removed from the Routing and Switching and Voice CCIE labs. The 30 minutes that was previously allocated to the Core Knowledge Questions will now be allocated to the configuration section.

Consequently, the revised format of the Routing and Switching CCIE Lab will be only two sections
– a two hour long troubleshooting section and a six hour long configuration section.The same lab format is being used in the Assessment Labs and Exercise Workbook practice scenarios of Cisco 360 Learning Program making it easier for students to prepare for the exam under time pressure.

UPDATE
Official Cisco announcement:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-6484

Question of the week: the following two CCIE level problems were presented to the students in a recent NetMasterClass Live On-line Group Mentoring Session

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:46:29 +0000

Question #1: Given the following block of IP prefixes, how many filtering statements (standard access-lists, extended access-lists or prefix-lists)are needed to permit these prefixes and only these prefixes:

172.16.20.0/24
172.16.21.0/24
172.16.22.0/24
172.16.23.0/24

Question #2: Given the following block of IP prefixes, how many filtering statements (standard access-lists, extended access-lists or prefix-lists)are needed to permit these prefixes and only these prefixes:

172.16.30.0/24
172.16.31.0/24
172.16.32.0/24
172.16.33.0/24

Please note the extreme similarities between the address blocks listed in both Question #1 and Question #2. This similarity generated many surprising results for many of the students in the NetMasterClass Llive On-line Group Mentoring Session. Please come back to view the answer on Friday, May 7th.

Question of the Week 3:

chris — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:41:51 +0000

What is the recommended DSCP name for the telephony (VoIP) service class according to the appropriate RFCs?

A) EF
B) AF41
C) DF
D) CS4
E) AF31

The Answer is A) EF

Issue
What DSCP name and value are recommended for VoIP traffic?
Solution
RFC 4594 recommends the Telephony service class use DSCP name EF (Expedited Forwarding). This has a DSCP marking of 101110. Devices should be configured to prioritize traffic with this marking in a low latency queue and should never drop this traffic selectively.
More
(A) RFC 4594
(A) Classifying VoIP Signaling and Media with DSCP for QoS

Question of the Week 2:

chris — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:59:33 +0000

Question
You want EIGRP to consider load in its metric calculation in your Cisco network infrastructure. What K value do you need to set?

A K1

B K2

C K3

D K4

E K5

————————-

QOW 2 Answer

Issue
Which K value results in load being used in the EIGRP metric calculation?
Solution

Study the formula for the EIGRP metric calculation shown in the more information link. Notice that setting K2 to one would allow load to be part of the metric.

More information: click here

Question of the Week:

chris — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:54:22 +0000

This is the first in our question of the week series:

(click for larger version)

Check back Friday for the answer!

The answer is B - Type 3.

Issue
What type of route is on R10? Why?
Solution
R10 possesses a single OSPF route in this configuration. Because it is part of a Totally Stubby area, this device will possess a single Type 3 Summary LSA. Specifically, this summary is for the default route 0.0.0.0. This default route is generated by the ABR of the area so this router can reach destinations beyond its stub area.

Check back Monday for the new question.

Core Knowledge Waiver for Cisco 360 Advanced Workshop Students

Ivan — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:39:16 +0000

The new Routing and Switching CCIE lab is comprised of three separate sections:

a computer based core knowledge section
a hands-on troubleshooting section
a configuration section

In order to pass the Routing and Switching CCIE lab, one must pass all three sections. This creates great stress on a CCIE candidate. The Cisco 360 Routing and Switching CCIE Learning Program helps reduce this stress by offering what is called a “Core Knowledge Waiver”. If a student attends either a Cisco 360 Advanced Workshop I course (CIERS1) or an Advanced Workshop II course (CIERS2) and receives a recommendation from a certified Cisco 360 instructor to receive the new Core Knowledge Waiver, the CCIE candidate can then bypass taking this section of the Routing and Switching CCIE exam and begin the lab with the hands-on troubleshooting and configuration sections. This helps reduce the pressure of taking the CCIE Lab.

The Core Knowledge Section is a thirty minute section where you answer the computer based questions to show that you have competency in the core technology area. If you take the a Workshop, complete the work in the class and your show your instructor that you understand the material from which the core knowledge questions are derived, you can ask your instructor to recommend a waiver for you. The waiver is not automatically given because you take a class, but rather is designed to allow the instructor to evaluate your knowledge and recommend you to Cisco as a candidate that you knows this material.

The Core Knowledge waiver program will leverage Cisco 360’s international pool of 40+ certified instructors that are more than capable of determining whether a CCIE candidate is worthy of bypassing this section of the CCIE Lab exam. We are a more than confident that all Cisco 360 instructors throughout the world will use good judgment when administering this program.

Great news for all our students who want to get the Core Knowledge section out of the way before exam day!

Here is the quote from Cisco Learning Network:

Beginning April 1, 2010, Cisco will allow Cisco 360 Learning Program students who attend a Cisco CCIE® Routing and Switching or CCIE Voice workshop to request a waiver and skip the Core Knowledge Section of the CCIE lab exam. All waiver requests must be approved by the workshop instructor. No end date for the Core Knowledge Waiver has been announced, but Cisco will provide at least 60 days’ notice before discontinuing the waiver.
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-6842

More information on Cisco 360 Workshops offered by NetMasterClass:
http://www.netmasterclass.com/CCIE/Training/

21-week remote Group Mentoring Sessions

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:27:45 +0000

Preparing for the CCIE certification can be an overwhelming experience! One can spend months, even years, preparing only to discover that he or she has been studying in the wrong manner. After attending the Group Mentoring Sessions, you can make a better informed decision regarding what components you want to purchase from the Cisco 360 portfolio.

With NetMasterClass Webinar series you will receive:

A 10 page NetMasterClass CCIE Preparation Roadmap using the Cisco 360 content. This roadmap applies the recommended three phase CCIE preparation approach outlined by Cisco 360.
A NetMasterClass CCIE Self-Assessment spreadsheet
A schedule for the Group Mentoring Sessions you can attend.

The Group Mentoring series is of fifteen 90-minute sessions that are delivered over a 21 week period. Each week a specific topic is covered. Please note that this Group Mentoring series starts every four weeks. Therefore, if you missed one session on one week you have two options: (1) attend the same session in the next iteration of the NMC Group Mentoring Sessions or (2) listen to a recorded version of the specific session . When you attend the NMC Group Mentoring Sessions , do not except to simply be a passive viewer! Your Mentor will be proactively monitoring who is asking questions during each session and will make adjustments for lesson plans according to the activity of a given student. Also, you will be able to e-mail the mentor questions and suggestion for topics to be covered in each Group Mentoring Session.

Topics of the 15 ninety minute session of the NMC CCIE Group Mentoring Sessions:

Session #1: CCIE Deep Dive – Gaining Initial Exposure to CCIE Level Problems and CCIE Level Problem Solving Approaches
Session #2: Link-Layer – Catalyst 3560 Connectivity Issues
Session #3: Link-Layer – Frame-Relay and Point-to-Point Technologies
Session #4: Attaining Connectivity Beyond the Link-Layer – OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, Policy Routing and OER/PfR
Session #5: Redistribution
Session #6: BGP
Session #7: STOP!!! CONSOLIDATE AND REVIEW ALL TOPICS DISCUSSED SO FAR – Review all core topics and Re-affirm our single and consistent “options analysis”
Session #8: MPLS
Session #9: Multicasting
Session #10: IPv6
Session #11: Router QoS
Session #12: Catalyst QoS
Session #13: Security
Session #14: IP Services Part 1
Session #15: IP Services Part 2