Bob, Thanks for sharing, as this was almost exactly the same scenario as my first attempt even down to the Hotel. It's good for those that haven't attempted the lab yet to read about this and understand that the Proctors are cool guys and are there to make your testing experience pleasant. David was in his first week or two when I first took my exam and he is a great guy. Hope your Configuration Score comes back positive, if not, I'm sure you were close... Good luck, and have a big smile..
Joe Sanchez On 7/29/12 10:16 PM, "Bob McCouch" <[email protected]> wrote: >Hi All, > >I sat my first attempt for the R&S lab in RTP on Friday and wanted to >relay >some of the details about the experience itself since I know there are >always (and I have had) a number of questions and apprehension about the >environment, proctors, etc. Of course I will not disclose anything about >exam content. > >Travel: >I drove down to RTP, as it's about 450 miles from where I live. I may >strongly consider flying next time even though I don't like flying very >much, as it was a longer drive than I anticipated. > >Hotel: >I stayed at Hotel Indigo, which is listed with a Cisco corporate discount >on Cisco's lab info page for the RTP site. The hotel was very nice, and it >was only about 3 miles from the Cisco office with no highway travel >required to get there. I took a quick drive over to the Cisco office the >day before the exam about 7:30 AM and there was very little traffic. It >was >less than 10 minutes to get there from the hotel. > >I ordered room service for dinner the night I arrived and it was tasty and >reasonably priced. There is a restaurant/bar in the hotel which is open >from 5-10 PM. Also, with the Cisco corporate discount I got a voucher for >some free breakfast items for each morning of my stay. I will likely stay >here again. > >Office: >Finding the Cisco office is quite easy. As mentioned above I took a dry >run >over there just so I wasn't trying to find it the first time on the big >day. I recommend doing the same if you're driving to the site just so it >all looks familiar. I arrived for the lab about 6:50 AM (7:05 is when >you're supposed to be there). Parking was ample at that hour, very close >to >the door of building 3. Upon arriving, the door was locked but several >candidates were already inside and one of them got the door for me. One of >the candidates taking the exam that day was a Cisco employee at RTP so I >assume he's who got everyone inside. There were a couple couches and >chairs >in the waiting area. There was a little nervous chatter between candidates >but mostly awkward silence as we waited. > >The proctor, David Blair, came out about 7:10 or so. He checked everyone's >photo ID and gave us a name badge to wear. He gave us a few basic >instructions and led us back. The lab is on the ground floor, very close >to >that front lobby. David pointed out the restrooms, a break room, and the >small conference room where we'd have lunch. > >There is an "outer" room where some equipment was housed along with >lockers. Off of this room is David's office area and also the actual test >room. He explained that anything we had that was electronic in nature >including car key fobs, phones, or anything else much be turned off if >possible and then all of our stuff must be put in a locker which was >assigned based on our pod number. We were told that we could not touch >anything in our lockers from that point on without clearing it with David >first, else we would be done and asked to leave. > >Test Room: >There were three rows of work spaces, probably 6 per row. Candidates were >spaced out so no one was on either side of where you were (at least for >R&S >candidates; I think the voice guys were all crammed on the first row). The >cubicle walls are medium height so there was not really anything >distracting to see out of your peripheral vision. The room was a pleasant >temperature, as there wasn't really any equipment running in there. David >let us know that we were welcome to the drinks in the small fridge under >the table (this is the only location you can still get your free $1500 >Coke). There was a dispenser with foam ear plugs, which is nice to know; >I'd taken my own but good to know they have spares. Everyone used them. >Each workspace had ample working room, with a 22"-or-so LCD on an >articulating arm, and a reasonable keyboard and mouse. We had a pile of >colored pencils and 2 sheets of note paper with our ID on them, in >addition >to the login info sheet. I used the login info page for notes too. The >chair was comfortable. David permitted us to keep a drink or some snacks >at >our workspace. > >Testing Experience: >David gave us a quick briefing on the flow of the day and the way lunch >would work, etc. He said we would start at 7:25 and go until 3:45 PM, with >lunch from 11:00-11:20 AM. So the R&S exam has the 2-hour TS portion >(which >is firmly timed through the TS lab UI) and the 6 hour config section, but >you only have from 7:25-3:45 to do that. We were permitted to use the >restroom at any time, but there was a "hall pass" and only one person >could >be out of the room at a time. > >Lunch: >Lunch began and ended promptly. Apparently Friday is always Seafood Day at >RTP. The catered lunch was good, but it was pretty much all fried food. >Fried fish, and some local specialties which I don't recall the names of. >There was salad too. Conversation was rather light. David explained the >grading process and we talked a bit about the various CCIE tracks. At >11:20 >we were back at our workstations. > >End of the Day: >About 10-12 minutes before the end of the day, David gave us an update on >the time. At 3:45 on the mark he asked us to quickly save any final >configs >and log out. There was not a "hard" stop enforced by the UI or anything, >but I think everyone in the room complied with David's instruction within >a >minute or two. We were asked to turn in our note pages and David bid us >good luck. > >Final Notes: >David actually gave myself and another candidate our script-driven TS >scores on our way out. The other candidate requested it, and after David >looked his up, I asked him if he could look mine up as well. This was not >a >final score, only what the script indicated. But it was a nice early >result >to get. > >Over lunch, David explained that the scoring works like this: You start >with zero points. On both the TS and Config sections (for R&S, this is), >the scripts run and you accumulate points based on what the script finds. >Anything that the script has marked right has no further human review. >Once >the script is finished, if the candidate has not yet passed, a human >proctor (typically in the next timezone) reviews any items that were >marked >wrong by the scripts. David said that for R&S, though, the scripts are >quite good and if you have failed a section by more than just a few points >chances are good you will not pass from just the added human review. > >Also, here's an important note on a Friday exam at RTP: Because of the >grading process, there is a good chance those taking the exam on a Friday >in RTP will not get scores before Sunday night or even Monday morning, as >no other test center is fully open after RTP closes on a Friday. Indeed, >it's now 11 PM Sunday night here and I still don't have my scores. That >said, I know I passed TS (as my scripted score indicated such) but I'm >also >quite sure I failed Config as I know I had enough tasks incomplete at the >end of the test that I could not have passed. If the wait is going to kill >you, you might want to schedule a different test day! > >Overall, it was a very good experience. Nothing in the environment, >facilities, or equipment detracted from my test-taking ability in any way. >It was just me and my lab. The lab won the day, but I am not deterred. >Next >time. > >If anyone has any additional questions about the testing experience at RTP >I'd be happy to try to answer them. > >Good studying, all. > >Bob >_______________________________________________ >For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please >visit www.ipexpert.com > >Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out >www.PlatinumPlacement.com > >http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs _______________________________________________ For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please visit www.ipexpert.com Are you a CCNP or CCIE and looking for a job? Check out www.PlatinumPlacement.com http://onlinestudylist.com/mailman/listinfo/ccie_rs
