I don't know you, so please don't take this personally, but it seems strange to me that someone who is not a CCIE is writing labs that they expect people studying for the CCIE to buy. From pasts posts on this forum, I think that you have never even taken the test. My recommendation is for you to sit the exam a time (or two or three!). Then you'll be able to answer your own questions about the format of practice labs.
No offense, just my 2 cents. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Howard C. Berkowitz Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 11:22 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Scenario Design: Comments Invited I'd like to start a discussion on the design of two kinds of scenarios: 1. lab preparation. (problem recognition, speed building, interaction among many protocols, time pressure, etc.) 2. In-depth understanding of protocols (seeing the effects of alternative configurations, learning how to solve specific problems with specific technologies). Pure tutorials on technologies complement these hands-on experiences. The two requirements, of course, are not mutually exclusive. #3 are scenarios that either statically or dynamically switch between the modes. It is my hope that this will stimulate community discussion involving both people who use scenarios and people who write them. Now, a disclaimer: I work for Gettlabs and Gett Communications, the former of which runs a virtual rack service. Gettlabs itself uses an open-source model for its own scenarios, as does Fatkid and some others. Gettlabs has partnerships with IPexpert and CertificationZone, which sell scenarios and supplemental materials. My comments here are intended to be neutral, and I will listen, learn and share with competitors. I have discussed my intentions with Paul Borghese, and one of our agreements is that this is eligible to stay off the commercial list as long as I make free scenarios available. 1. Lab Preparation ------------------- Above all, these have to prepare you for pressure and ambiguity. A fairly basic question: should all lab preparation scenarios be of 8-plus hour length, or two four-hour segments (forcing the disruption of a lunch break)? Alternatively, is it acceptable to have sets of sub-scenarios that build on one another, so you can practice for an amount of time you have available, then pick up later on? I think it's a given that all you should be given is the addressing, etc., in the one day lab, plus instructions on what you should do, restrictions (e.g., no statics), and some criteria for judging success. Estimated completion times/points also are important. An interesting question, however, is whether the scenario should include some of the sorts of things where it is fair (based on non-NDA statements of Cisco policy and the variations in proctors) to ask a proctor a question. Should such points include things where variously the proctor will and will not answer, or even, in marginal cases, flip a software coin to see if the proctor will answer)? I believe it's realistic to be able to see a solved configuration, but, when you see it, you either should have demonstrated successful operation or accepted that you will accept losing points to be able to go on. I do not think that hints are appropriate in a lab preparation scenario, with the caveat that this sort of thing is quite appropriate to technology learning, and, as I suggested in #3 above, scenarios could be developed (possibly with a specific execution engine) that let you switch between preparation and learning modes, and even back. 2. Technology Learning ----------------------- My general approach to designing such things is again to start with instructions, initialization, etc., but to break the exercise into relatively small steps. Each step will have hints available, and will be fairly small so you can look at the successive changes to the configuration that move you closer to your goal. One difference comes with the physical presentation of the scenario. If it is a printed document, should the hints be in-line with the text, or in a separate section so you will use them only if needed? If the latter, should they be on separate pages or at least have significant "spoiler space" between them so you don't inadvertently get an unfair clue to what is coming next? If the scenario is running interactively, should hints and hint answers only be available with a specific user action (clicking a link, opening a file, etc.)? What backup materials should be available for technology learning scenarios? Is a bibliography necessary, and is it adequate? Should there be actual tutorials available? Should learning scenarios routinely contain show command outputs as well as solved configurations, or should they simply suggest which show commands to use and what to look for in their output? There will always be, of course, specific cases where the full display is appropriate. --------- semi-commercial but free content follows ---- First examples: There are several beta-version downloadable scenarios, which contain some interactive links, at the www.gettlabs.com site. I am not completely happy with the display formats, and these will change. The only conditions for their use are: 1. They are copyrighted, but carry an automatic license for personal use by the person downloading. 2. They may not be used commercially without Gettlabs written permission. This includes both classroom and distance learning/virtual rack. 3. We ask that you do not send copies to others, but that each person download their own copy. The simple reason for this is that the scenarios are in frequent update and we want to be sure people get the most recent version. You are not required to run these on our racks, but, of course, we'd like you to. Some scenarios may depend on traffic generators and such which are not part of the scenario, but of the overall execution environment. Second examples: I am actively putting together an FTP server that will have more scenarios, but initially will not be in pretty format but in lots of separate files. While we experiment with display formats, this allows me to keep hints, solved configurations, etc., separate. This server should start being available early next week. This server will also have downloadable copies of lots of presentations of mine from NANOG, the IETF and IRTF, ARIN, etc., as well as other recommended reading. There will be some subdirectories labeled "working" that contain documents actively being worked on by teams/committees, and these may not make sense to anyone other than the coauthors. Some of these presentations may be a little old, and I'll be updating them. Warning, with half a smiley: my ISIS tutorial may carry a curse. I tried to present it at NANOG twice. The first time, I came down with a flu bug that had me down for a good six weeks. The second time, I had to have a cardiac pacemaker installed the day it was to have been presented. You Have Been Warned. There May Be Things That Man Is Not Meant To Read. (or, as a bumper sticker some will recognize says, "Vote for Cthulhu. Why settle for the lesser of two evils?") -- "What Problem are you trying to solve?" ***send Cisco questions to the list, so all can benefit -- not directly to me*** **************************************************************************** **** Howard C. Berkowitz [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chief Technology Officer, GettLab/Gett Communications http://www.gettlabs.com Technical Director, CertificationZone.com http://www.certificationzone.com "retired" Certified Cisco Systems Instructor (CID) #93005 _________________________________________________________________ Commercial lab list: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/commercial.html Please discuss commercial lab solutions on this list. Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=41992&t=41992 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
