揭密CCIE R&S V5考試更新

來源：塔塔 更新時間：2014-08-17

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揭密CCIE R&S V5考試更新 

為什么要發(fā)布有關(guān)CCIE 路由和交換的博客? 

 

過去四年在每一個Cisco Live session上我都會被要求在我的博客上寫下講稿。我不清楚這是否跟我非母語的英語口音難以被大家理解有關(guān)，或者只是因為不同考生的學(xué)習(xí)風(fēng)格和偏好不同，當(dāng)然，也有可能是因為這兩種情況都有。不論是甚么原因，我認(rèn)為把一些有意義的想法寫在博客上跟大家分享是值得的。

 

現(xiàn)在CCIE路由與交換V5.0（CCIE R&S）考試已經(jīng)正式推出了，我會跟大家分享一些常被討論到的要點，希望可以在你準(zhǔn)備CCIE R&S認(rèn)證考試的時候幫助你。

 

在哪里可以找到官方學(xué)習(xí)文檔？ 

 

如果你正在閱讀這篇博客，希望你不要太驚訝，因為CCIE R&S認(rèn)證考試正在經(jīng)歷著重大的項目改版。

2014年6月4日，如今4歲的CCIE R&S v4.0已經(jīng)全面退役，并由CCIE R&S v5.0取代。新版本中，不論在考試內(nèi)容和考試形式方面都有些重要的修訂，而這均是考生在準(zhǔn)備考試時想知道的。

 

下面是一些已發(fā)布到思科網(wǎng)絡(luò)學(xué)習(xí)空間網(wǎng)站上的官方CCIE R&S文件、專題視頻和會話記錄等的鏈接：

• CCIE R&S 認(rèn)證考試
• CCIE 筆試 5.0
• CCIE 實驗考試 5.0
• CCIE路由和交換考試v4.0更新至v5.0
• CCIE路由交換認(rèn)證更新至V5.0視頻（7分鐘）
• CCIE路由交換認(rèn)證講座—v5.0更新及備考準(zhǔn)備講座視頻（1小時）
• CCIE R&S v5實驗考試備考戰(zhàn)略，與考題編寫者面對面答疑！
• “Unleashing the CCIE R&S v5.0” webinar (2 hours, including demo content)
• CCIE R&S v5.0 breakout session at Cisco Live Melbourne (2 hours, requires login)
• Expert-Level Training for CCIE R&S

 

除了以上的總結(jié)外，我還會發(fā)表一些個人的意見：

為什么要更新考試？更相關(guān)！更高效！ 

 

眾所周知，生活中，改變是常數(shù)。尤其是在IT行業(yè)，技術(shù)的變化的速度逐日增加。由于CCIE認(rèn)證是驗證和幫助甄別專家級網(wǎng)絡(luò)工程師，CCIE認(rèn)證必須緊貼現(xiàn)今科技發(fā)展以確保認(rèn)證仍然與市場相關(guān)及保持在業(yè)界受尊敬的IT認(rèn)證地位。

 

讓我們更著重于討論CCIE R&S，它幫助驗證專家級的工程師。專家級工程師的工作涉及到網(wǎng)絡(luò)基礎(chǔ)建設(shè)，包括第2、3層和VPN技術(shù)。雖然網(wǎng)絡(luò)架構(gòu)技術(shù)相對于四年前的最后一次修訂，并沒有明顯轉(zhuǎn)變，但有大部分的技術(shù)或多或少變得有些相關(guān)或有些不相關(guān)，因此需要在課程上進(jìn)行少許修訂以確保認(rèn)證技術(shù)緊貼目前的工作崗位的需求。

 

最終，你、你現(xiàn)在或未來的雇主不是都希望這份認(rèn)證能夠證明的是你每天工作所用上的技能是有用的技能而不是些過時的技能嗎？

 

正如General Eric Shinseki曾經(jīng)提到：「如果你不喜歡變化，你會跟不上潮流甚至更差?！?

 

簡而言之，新版考試哪里發(fā)生了變化？虛擬化！診斷模塊！

 

為了提高認(rèn)證考試的相關(guān)性，我們對考試的內(nèi)容和實驗室考試形式都進(jìn)行了調(diào)整。你一定會仔細(xì)查看官方文檔并查看完整的考題變化列表，但你會發(fā)現(xiàn)大部分考點的變化都在筆試上。實驗考試增加了兩個大考點（DMVPN和IPsec），刪除了一些如Frame Relay、PFR和ZBF等的考點。幸好，一部分考生（MQC）在短時間內(nèi)已開始或至少有能力學(xué)習(xí)這兩個新的實驗考點。我認(rèn)為新的實驗考試形式的變化實際上比增加這兩個新考點更有重大意義。事實上，新的實驗考試已全面虛擬化、有新的計時及計分規(guī)則，最重要的是，新增加一個全新考試模塊 “診斷模塊”。

 

 

什么是新版診斷模塊？為什么要新增該模塊？ 

 

隨著CCIE R&S V4.0改版新增的Diagnostic (DIAG) 新模塊，將實驗考試模塊從兩個到增加三個。

DIAG模塊主要目的是要評估考生在解決一個網(wǎng)絡(luò)問題時的思考過程。該模塊將更深度地評估考生的解難技巧，以便甄別出專家級MQC或非MQC。

就像一個醫(yī)生、技術(shù)人員和專業(yè)人士需要在解決問題前先要找出出原因一樣。網(wǎng)絡(luò)工程師必須在施行可能的解決方案前先分析問題出錯的根源。

 在排錯（TS）模塊，只要在不違反任何要求或限制下能夠有效實施的解決方案都是可以得分的。在TS模式下，解決方案合理并能夠解決故障癥狀才是關(guān)鍵，無論考試如何識別故障根源。

 

另外，DIAG著眼于故障排除工作或工作流程的前幾個步驟。比如，哪個設(shè)備、接口或功能造成了報告中的癥狀？故障處理流程中是否有數(shù)據(jù)欠缺？何種操作流程造成了報告中的故障？為了在保持網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全的狀況下隔離故障問題，需要如何操作？

 

這里是一些在DIAG模塊中會出現(xiàn)的用來分析網(wǎng)絡(luò)問題根本的提問風(fēng)格。在某程度上說，會與非常早期的CCIE考試的風(fēng)格相似，當(dāng)時的實驗考試持續(xù)兩天、考官會口頭上問考生，讓其解釋出網(wǎng)絡(luò)問題的根本原理。然而，這些考生口頭的解釋部分并沒有正式授予考試分?jǐn)?shù)，而且該部分的評估大都會受考官的主觀思想所影響。

 

據(jù)網(wǎng)上資科所顯示及解釋的，新DIAG模式已設(shè)計成每道題目只有一個答案，從而消除所有主觀因素并確保得分。

 

另一個DIAG模式的重要方向我想提及的是，我認(rèn)為作為一個經(jīng)驗豐富的工程師能在無法直接接觸遠(yuǎn)程設(shè)備的控制臺依然能夠解決網(wǎng)絡(luò)問題是司空見慣的。這些問題的展現(xiàn)方式就像就像向一位客戶、一位一線的支持者或一位同事向你提供了一系列文文件然后要求我們的考生解決故障問題一樣。這是一位MQC將經(jīng)常會遇到的情況。

 

走向虛擬化讓考題更逼真！ 

 

各國政府、學(xué)術(shù)界和其他行業(yè)都廣泛使用仿真器進(jìn)行訓(xùn)練及測試，明顯優(yōu)勢體現(xiàn)在比使用真實裝置、真實環(huán)境或情況下，成本相對低和風(fēng)險相對小。試想航空公司考慮使用飛行仿真器、軍隊練習(xí)軍事戰(zhàn)爭游戲、F1賽車手在仿真賽道賽道上進(jìn)行訓(xùn)練和醫(yī)生在模擬環(huán)境下進(jìn)行臨床練習(xí)等。

 

在CCIE R&S V4.0，TS排錯模塊已使用虛擬路由器和交換機。但配置模式還是依靠在一套五個固定的路由器硬件和四臺交換機硬件。因此，實驗情況并不是很合理和現(xiàn)實的。有多少網(wǎng)絡(luò)只有五臺路由器？如有，利用這些有限的節(jié)點可以測試多少技術(shù)？使用虛擬路由器可以完全排除這些限制。如今，我們可以很容易模擬出帶有更多結(jié)合現(xiàn)實技術(shù)的真實企業(yè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)。這大力改善實驗室考試場景與現(xiàn)實工作中的相關(guān)程度，換言之，虛擬化使考題更逼真！

 

關(guān)于考試的其他問題？  

 

關(guān)于實驗考試的改變，除了上面簡要的說明了和官方文檔詳細(xì)提到了，如新的計分和計時規(guī)則（這些都需要你在考試前了解）。還有一些其他的重要轉(zhuǎn)變，我將會在未來的博客中分享，我還會提供一些關(guān)于如何面對考試的建議并提供一些有效的解題策略。現(xiàn)在，我會以「所有改變都是為了保護你的精力，時間，金錢和資源，而這些都能幫助你獲得職業(yè)認(rèn)證、使你的職業(yè)生涯更順利！」的想法來總結(jié)這篇文章。這些轉(zhuǎn)變幫助我及整個認(rèn)證團隊晚上會睡很甜，因為知道通過或不通過都是有效的、可靠的、公平的、簡單的，而且實至名歸的。

 

歡迎大家留下你的意見，我會盡快回復(fù)。

查看下一篇博客：專家思維—第一部分

 

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中英對照：

 

Demystifying the Changes to CCIE R&S V5 

Why a blog about CCIE Routing and Switching?

 

At almost every Cisco Live session where I’ve presented during the past four years, I get asked to write down the speech in a blog. I don’t know if it’s due to my non-native English accent, which might be difficult to understand at times, or if it’s simply the diversity of learning styles and preferences – or both. In any case, I too have felt that it could be valuable to put some thoughts down in a blog and share them with a broader audience.

 

So, now that CCIE Routing and Switching v5.0 (CCIE R&S) is out, I'll be sharing some recurrent discussion points, hoping that they might help some of you as you prepare for your CCIE R&S certification.

 

Where can I find the official documentation?

 

If you are reading this article, it is, hopefully, not a surprise that the CCIE R&S certification has just undergone a major program revision. As of June 4, 2014, the four-year-old CCIE R&S v4.0 has been retired worldwide and replaced by CCIE R&S v5.0. With this new version, there are a number of important changes to the program – both in terms of content and exam format – that candidates will want to be aware of when preparing for the exam.

 

There are a number of official CCIE R&S documents, supporting videos, and session recordings that have been published on the Cisco Learning Network and other sites. Here are some useful links:

• CCIE R&S 認(rèn)證考試
• CCIE 筆試 5.0
• CCIE 實驗考試 5.0
• CCIE路由和交換考試v4.0更新至v5.0
• CCIE路由交換認(rèn)證更新至V5.0視頻（7分鐘）
• CCIE路由交換認(rèn)證講座—v5.0更新及備考準(zhǔn)備講座視頻（1小時）
• CCIE R&S v5實驗考試備考戰(zhàn)略，與考題編寫者面對面答疑！
• “Unleashing the CCIE R&S v5.0” webinar (2 hours, including demo content)
• CCIE R&S v5.0 breakout session at Cisco Live Melbourne (2 hours, requires login)
• Expert-Level Training for CCIE R&S

 

Rather than review the content in the links above, I will instead give my personal opinion regarding the changes.

 

Wait, why change the exam? Relevancy! Validity!

 

As you know, the only constant in life is change. This is especially true in the IT industry, where the pace of change is rapidly increasing. And since CCIE certifications are validating and endorsing the Expert-level skills of network engineers, these certifications have to stay aligned with the current technologies that are widely used in the field. This alignment ensures that the certifications remain relevant in the market and maintain their established reputation as being some of the most respected IT certifications.

 

Let’s focus more specifically on CCIE R&S. It validates the Expert-level skills of engineers, whose job tasks are related to the network infrastructure, including Layer 2, Layer 3, and VPN technologies. Though the infrastructure technologies have not dramatically changed from four years ago when CCIE R&S was last revised, there are a number of technologies that have become either more or less relevant, and therefore some adjustments to the curriculum were required in order to keep the certification aligned with current job roles.

 

At the end of the day, don’t you or your current or future employer want this certification to validate the skills that you use every day, and not obsolete ones?

 

Like General Eric Shinseki once said, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

 

In a nutshell, what has changed? Virtual! Diagnostic!

 

In order to improve the exam’s relevancy, adjustments were made to both the content and the lab exam format. You will definitely want to carefully review the official documentation and get a comprehensive list of the changes. What you will discover is that most of the topic changes apply to the written exam. The lab exam has essentially added two substantial topics (DMVPN and IPsec) and removed some other large topics like Frame Relay, PfR, and ZBF. Hopefully, a minimally qualified candidate (MQC) is already working with, or at least able to learn, these two new lab topics in a relatively short period of time. I think that the new lab exam format is actually more significant than the addition of these two topics. Indeed, the new lab exam is now fully virtual, has new timing and scoring rules, and, last but not least, has a whole new exam module called “diagnostic.”

 

 

What is the new diagnostic module and why has it been added?

 

The addition of the new diagnostic (DIAG) module increases the modular approach of the lab exam, introduced with CCIE R&S v4.0, from two to three modules.

 

The main objective of DIAG is to evaluate the candidate’s thought process when troubleshooting a networking issue. This deepens the assessment of the candidate’s troubleshooting skill, which is the key differentiator between an MQC and a non-MQC at the Expert level.

 

Just like a medical doctor or a mechanic, professionals need to identify what the problem is before fixing it. Similarly, a network engineer must analyze what the root cause of an issue is before effectively applying a possible solution.

 

In the troubleshooting (TS) module, points are granted when any possible solution that does not violate any guidelines or constraints is effectively implemented. All that matters in TS is that the symptom is resolved and that the solution is appropriate, regardless of how the candidate came to identify the root cause.

 

On the other hand, DIAG focuses exactly on the first few steps of the troubleshooting activities or workflow. Which device, interface, or feature is or is not causing the reported symptoms? What information is missing in order to progress in the troubleshooting workflow? What is the order of operations that produced the reported symptoms? What changes should or should not be performed in order to isolate the issue without causing more harm to the network?

 

These are some examples of question styles that DIAG will use in order to assess the root cause analysis of a networking issue. In some ways, this kind of assessment was present in the very early days of the CCIE exam, when the lab exam spanned two days and the proctor verbally asked the candidate to explain the rationale that led to identifying the root causes. However, there were no formal points granted for these explanations, and in many cases, the reliability of the assessment could be biased by the proctor’s subjectivity.

 

As explained and demonstrated in the online resources, the format of the new DIAG module has been designed so that there is only one possible answer to the question being asked, thus removing all subjectivity and ensuring a deterministic scoring.

 

Another important aspect of DIAG that I’d like to mention is that, in my opinion, it should be familiar to experienced engineers, who are used to troubleshooting networking issues while not having direct access to the console of remote devices. The questions are presented like support tickets for which somebody – a customer, a first-line support person, or a colleague – is providing a set of documents and asking the candidate to help resolve an issue. This is hopefully a very common situation for an MQC.

 

Going virtual makes it more realistic!

 

Governments, academia, and other industries extensively use simulators for training and testing purposes because of obvious advantages, including minimizing cost and risk compared to using real gear, environments, or situations. Think about airline companies using flight simulators, the military using war games, Formula 1 drivers training on racing simulators, medical doctors practicing in simulated clinical environments, etc.

 

With CCIE R&S v4.0, the troubleshooting module was already using virtual routers and switches, but the configuration module was still based on a fixed set of five hardware routers and four switches. So, the lab scenarios were not very plausible or realistic. How many networks have only five routers? If any, how many technologies could be tested using this very limited number of nodes? Using virtual routers completely eliminates this huge limitation. Now we can easily build network topologies that mimic real-world enterprise networks, featuring a more realistic combination of technologies. This in turn, dramatically improves the relevancy of the lab scenarios. In other words, going virtual makes it more realistic!

 

What else?

 

There are other important changes to the lab exam, briefly mentioned above and detailed in the official documentation – like new scoring and timing rules – that you will want to understand before taking a shot at the exam. I’ll share my thoughts about these changes in upcoming blog posts. I’ll also give some recommendations about how to approach the exam and build an efficient strategy to tackle it. But for now, I’ll conclude this post with this thought: All of these changes to the program were done to protect YOUR investment of energy, time, money, and resources that are required when legitimately pursuing your career certification, and ultimately advancing your career! On a side note, these changes help me – and the whole certification team – sleep well at night, knowing that any pass/fail decision made on any exam attempt was valid, reliable, fair, and, quite simply, deserved.

 

Please share your feedback in the comments below, and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner