Steven's Technical Blog

… at least for R&S (Routing & Switching) and Voice.

According to my friends at INE by May 10th you don’t have to answer any OEQ anymore! Great!

Reasons?

• 4 Questions will not assess what you really know
• Cisco 360° candidates had not to pass OEQ – this was unfair
• It was just not usable

The 30 minutes will be reallocated to the configuration section.

It might, that previous attempts that failed OEQ section solely will be re-graded.

What comes next? No OEQ for SP and security? Troubleshooting for SP?

Let’s be surprised.

I’m still waiting for the offical annoucement on cisco.com … 😉

[Update:]

Now official on the cisco learning network:

With more than six months of exam results now available, 
Cisco is able to report that the troubleshooting components 
of the CCIE R&S v4.0 and CCIE Voice v3.0 lab exams are 
performing well in validating expert level networking skills.  
Considering these results, Cisco has decided to eliminate 
the Core Knowledge questions from the current CCIE R&S v4.0 
and CCIE Voice v3.0 Lab Exams.  
Beginning on May 10, 2010, CCIE R&S and CCIE Voice Lab Exams, 
in all global locations, will no longer include the four 
open-ended Core Knowledge questions.  The total lab time will 
remain eight hours.  For the CCIE R&S Lab Exam, this means 
candidates will begin with the two-hour Troubleshooting section, 
followed by a six-hour Configuration section.  
For CCIE Voice, candidates will have the full eight hours to 
complete the integrated exam.  At this time, only the R&S and 
Voice tracks will be eliminating the Core Knowledge questions.

Update on my previous post. GNS3 will now work under Mac OS X – but there are some steps to do:

1. Download the version with Python included
2. Once installed, use the old dynamips from 0.5 (or at least the last working one for you)
   Click on your old (working) GNS3 -> show package contents -> Contents/Resources and copy the dynamips-0.2.8-RC2-OSX-Leopard.intel.bin to the corresponding folder in your new GNS3 package.

Now start GNS3 and see if everything is working. It is, at least for me.

Just noticed, that GNS3 0.7.1 has been released – even with a Mac OS X version. Good Job!

According to their news several stuff has been fixed – like:

    * Qemuwrapper (option to listen on a IP/host and port).
    * Basic support for external hypervisors.
    * Some improvement for projects under GNS3 (still work to do).
    * Many small bugs fixes (graphical, cloud connection etc.)

The Dynamips exceutable in the 0.7 version for Mac was unfortunately broken (solution: Take dynamips executable from the previous 0.5 version). I wasn’t able (yet) to verify if it’s workin in this release.

But the bad information is: 0.7.1 is not running on Mac OS X right now… 🙁

GNS3 0.7.1 Crash

It seems that the VPN client for Windows 7 / XP has now reached final version.

Highlights from the release notes:

VPN Client 5.0.07 supports the following Microsoft OSs:
- Windows 7 on x64 (64-bit)
- Windows 7 on x86 (32-bit) only
- Windows Vista on both x86 (32-bit) and  x64
- Windows XP on x86

To avoid problems with the TCP/IP Registry Compatibility service and the VPN Virtual Adaptor, it’s recommended that Windows Vista users install Vista SP2 or later.

Before you install the VPN client, please check wether some of the problems are fixed for you, or if the known problems will affect you.

GNS3 0.7 has been released today. Some Improvement & Features:

• Support & debugging on Windows 7.
• Qemuwrapper improvements & Windows compatibility.
• Integration of Cisco IDS/IPS, including a new symbol.
• Qemu 0.11.0 patched and Putty have been added in the Windows all-in-one package.
• An option to show the z coordinate of any object on the scene (View -> Show layers).
• Interface labels follow their moving parent nodes.
• Modified interface labels are saved in .net files.
• Option to slow start nodes (wait x seconds between each start).
• Links connected to Qemu based nodes are now removable (nodes have to be shutdown to do so).
• Possibility to set an hypervisor for Ethernet switches, ATM switches, ATM bridges and Frame Relay switches.
• New symbols for voice labs (Call manager, SIP server, IP phone, voice router, voice access server and PBX).
• New dialog window to browse and change a router startup-config.
• Undo/redo of actions is now supported.
• Qemu & qemu-img paths are saved in .net files if needed.
• Slight improvements for the snapshot system, including a new dialog window to manage it.
• Wics description in tooptips.
• Wics restoration from .net files.
• Support of relative paths in .net files (if the base path is the same as the .net file).
• Test button to validate you can launch Qemuwrapper, Qemu and qemu-img.
• New translation in Czech (thanks to Ondrej Filip).
• Lot of various small bug fixes and improvements.
• “versions” command to display Qt, PyQt and SIP versions

This version has been tested on the following OS:

• Windows 7 Professional x86 (Qt 4.5.3, PyQt 4.6.2, SIP 4.9.3)
• Windows XP SP3 x86 (Qt 4.5.3, PyQt 4.6.2, SIP 4.9.3)
• Ubuntu 9.10 (Qt 4.5.2, PyQt 4.6.1, SIP 4.9.1)
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard (Qt 4.5.3, PyQt 4.6.2, SIP 4.9.3)

So, now I have to test it – I somehow miss the Mac OS X version to download…

It looks like there’s now a 64bit version of the cisco VPN client:

vpnclient-winx64-msi-5.0.07.0240-k9.exe - Vista, Windows 7 - 64bit only.

I think important to know:

The new client beta requires a kernel patch, KB952876, from Microsoft before
installing first installing the actual client.  It is also suggested that 
Service Pack 2 for Vista be installed.

REF: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/952876/en-us

VPN Client takes longer to connect on Vista compared to XP. This is due to
new features in Vista.

The Cisco VPN Client for Windows Vista and Windows 7 does NOT support 
the following:
* System upgraded from Windows XP to Vista or Windows 7 
  (clean OS installation required).
* Start Before Logon
* Integrated Firewall - See workaround below.
* InstallShield
* 64bit support
* AutoUpdate
* Translated Online Help - Provided only in English

If you are experiencing a BlueScreen on XP related to the VPN client built-in
Firewall client, please follow the workaround below.(check out release notes).

Check out the release notes for any details.

From the newest Cisco@Learning Newsletter:
Core Knowledge Questions are now coming for:

• Service Provider
• Storage
• Wireless

I see, life is getting hard also there…

Effective January 4, 2010, the Cisco CCIE® Service Provider, Storage, and Wireless lab
exams will add a new type of question format in a section called Core Knowledge. In
this new section, candidates will be asked a series of four open-ended questions
that require a short written response to be entered into the computer, typically
several words. The questions will be randomly drawn from a pool of questions
on topics eligible for testing. Candidates can review the topics by visiting the
CCIE track information on Cisco.com or the Cisco Learning Network. No new
topics are being added as a result of this change.

Candidates will have up to 30 minutes to complete the Core Knowledge section
and may not return to it once they have moved on. A passing score on the Core
Knowledge section is required to achieve certification. Core Knowledge questions
were implemented on Routing and Switching labs in February 2009 and Security labs
in June 2009, and allow Cisco to maintain strong exam security and ensure that
only qualified candidates are awarded CCIE certification. Candidates with exam dates
on January 4, 2010 or later should expect to see the new question format on their lab
exam.
[More Information]

So, some of you already might have noticed, that I’m able to visit the Cisco Networkers Event in Barcelona.

Taking the opportunity I’m going to visit several tracks. Maybe I see some of you there ,-)

Well, short update.
I’ve decided today to start with the CCIE SP training ,-)
My written test will be 28th of January at the Cisco 2010 Networkers Event in Barcelona.

I’ve received an email from the Learning@Cisco website that they’re offering now free CCIE self-assesment test (written test) for:

• Routing and Switching
• Voice
• Security
• Wireless

Take a Learning@Cisco Self-Assessment and you'll learn what you already know 
as well as receive recommended training and guidance for you to take the next 
steps on your learning path. Learning@Cisco Self-Assessments are available for 
Routing and Switching, Voice, Security and Wireless.

I’ve tried the assessment test and I think the questions are partially easier than I’ve had on my written exam and some are … well… ,-)

If you finished the test you will get directed to the ‘Guidance‘ page where you get further material for your studies.

But anyway, here’s the link for the assessment test – try it yourself.