Resources for JNTCP Participants

Reading this book is a fantastic place to begin preparing for your next JNTCP exam. You should supplement the study of this volume’s content with related information from various sources. The following resources are available for free and are recommended to anyone seeking to attain or maintain Juniper Networks certified status.

JNTCP Website

The JNTCP website (http://www.juniper.net/certification) is the place to go for the most up-to-date information about the program. As the program evolves, this website is periodically updated with the latest news and major announcements. Possible changes include new exams and certifications, modifications to the existing certification and recertification requirements, and information about new resources and exam objectives.

The site consists of separate sections for each of the certification tracks. The information you’ll find there includes the exam number, passing scores, exam time limits, and exam topics. A special section dedicated to resources is also provided to supply you with detailed exam topic outlines, sample written exams, and study guides. The additional resources listed next are also linked from the JNTCP website.

CertManager

The CertManager system (http://www.certmanager.net/juniper) provides you with a place to track your certification progress. The site requires a username and password for access, and you typically use the information contained on your hard-copy score report from Prometric the first time you log in. Alternatively, a valid login can be obtained by sending an e-mail message to [e-mail] with the word certmanager in the subject field.

Once you log in, you can view a report of all your attempted exams. This report includes the exam dates, your scores, and a progress report indicating the additional steps required to attain a given certification or recertification. This website is where you accept the online JNTCP agreement, which is a required step to become certified at any level in the program. You can also use the website to request the JNTCP official certification logos to use on your business cards, resumes, and websites.

Perhaps most important, the CertManager website is where all your contact information is kept up-to-date. Juniper Networks uses this information to send you certification benefits, such as your certificate of completion, and to inform you of important developments regarding your certification status. A valid company name is used to verify a partner’s compliance with certification requirements. To avoid missing out on important benefits and information, you should ensure your contact information is kept current.

Juniper Networks Training Courses

Juniper Networks training courses (http://www.juniper.net/training) are the best source of knowledge for seeking a certification and to increase your hands-on proficiency with Juniper Networks equipment and technologies. While attendance of official Juniper Networks training courses doesn’t guarantee a passing score on the certification exam, it does increase the likelihood of your successfully passing it. This is especially true when you seek to attain JNCIP or JNCIE status, where hands-on experience is a vital aspect of your study plan.

Juniper Networks Technical Documentation

You should be intimately familiar with the Juniper Networks technical documentation set (http://www.juniper.net/techpubs). During the JNTCP lab exams (JNCIP and JNCIE), these documents are provided in PDF on your PC. Knowing the content, organizational structure, and search capabilities of these manuals is a key component for a successful exam attempt. At the time of this writing, hard-copy versions of the manuals are provided only for the hands- on lab exams. All written exams delivered at Prometric testing centers are closed-book exams.

Juniper Networks Solutions and Technology

To broaden and deepen your knowledge of Juniper Networks products and their applications, you can visit http:///www.juniper.net/techcenter. This website contains white papers, application notes, frequently asked questions (FAQ), and other informative documents, such as customer profiles and independent test results.

Group Study

The Groupstudy mailing list and website (http://www.groupstudy.com/list/juniper.html) is dedicated to the discussion of Juniper Networks products and technologies for the purpose of preparing for certification testing. You can post and receive answers to your own technical questions or simply read the questions and answers of other list members.

Tips for Taking Your Exam

Time, or the lack thereof, is normally one of the biggest factors influencing the outcome of JNCIP-M certification attempts. Having to single-handedly configure numerous protocols and parameters on seven routers while in a somewhat stressful environment often serves as a rude wake-up call early in the JNCIP-M candidate’s first attempt.

Although the product documentation is provided during the exam, you will likely run short on time if you have to refer to it more than once or twice during your exam. The successful candidate will have significant practice time with the JUNOS software CLI, and will be experienced with virtually all aspects of protocol configuration, so that commands can be entered quickly and accurately without the need for user manuals.

Although troubleshooting is not a specific component of the exam, many candidates may spend a good portion of their time fault-isolating issues that result from their own configuration mistakes or that result from unanticipated interactions between the various protocols involved. Being able to quickly assess the state of the network, and to rapidly isolate and correct mistakes and omissions, are critical skills that a successful JNCIP candidate must possess.

The JNCIP-M exam is scored in a non-linear fashion—this means that a candidate can lose points for a single mistake that happens to affect multiple aspects of their network. The goal of this grading approach can be summed up as “We grade on results, as opposed to individual configuration statements, and your grade will be determined by the overall operational state of your network at the end of the exam.” This is a significant point, and one that needs some elaboration, because many candidates are surprised to see how many points can be lost due to a single mistake on a critical facet of the exam.

Non-linear grading The JNCIP-M exam is made up of several sections, and each section is worth a number of points. Missing too many of the criteria within one section can result in zero points being awarded for the entire section, even if the candidate configured some aspects of the task correctly! Getting zero points on a section almost always results in an insufficient number of total points for a passing grade. The goal of this grading approach is to ensure that the JNCIP candidate is able to at least get the majority of each task right. Put another way, “How can you be deemed a Professional if you cannot get a significant portion of your OSPF or IS-IS configuration correct?”

Results-based grading Because of the numerous ways that JUNOS software can be configured to effect a common result and because a Professional should be able to configure a network that is largely operational, the JNCIP-M exam is graded based on overall results. So a serious error in a critical section of the exam can spell doom for the candidate, even if other sections of the candidate’s configuration may be largely correct. For example, consider the case of a candidate who makes a serious mistake in their IGP configuration. With a dysfunctional IGP, there is a high probability that the candidate’s IBGP, EBGP, and policy-related tasks will exhibit operational problems, which will result in point loss in this section, even though the IBGP, EBGP, and policy-related configuration might be configured properly. The moral of this story is make sure that you periodically spot-check the operation of your network, and that you quickly identify and correct operational issues before moving on to subsequent tasks.

Here are some general tips for exam success:

• Arrive early at the exam center, so you can relax and review your study materials.

• Read the task requirements carefully. Don’t just jump to conclusions. Make sure that you’re clear about what each task requires. When in doubt, consult the proctor for clarification. Don’t be shy, because the proctor is there mainly to ensure you understand what tasks you are being asked to perform.

• Because the exam is graded based on your network’s overall operation, moving on to later tasks when you are “stuck” on a previous task is not always a good idea. In general, you should not move on if your network has operational problems related to a previous task. If you get stuck, you might consider “violating” the rules by deploying a static route (or something similar) in an attempt to complete the entire exam with an operational network. You should then plan to revisit your problem areas using any remaining time after you have completed all remaining requirements. The point here is that you will likely experience significant point loss if your network has operational problems, so violating some restrictions in an effort to achieve an operational network can be a sound strategy for reducing overall point loss when you are stuck on a particular task.

• Pay attention to detail! With so much work to do and so many routers to configure, many candidates make “simple” mistakes that relate to basic instructions such as log file naming, login class names, etc.

• Use cut and paste judiciously. Cut and paste can be a real time-saver, but in many cases it can cost a candidate precious time when the configurations of the routers differ significantly or when mistakes are made because the candidate did not correctly adjust parameters before loading the configuration into the next router.

• Read each section (and perhaps the whole exam) fully before starting to type on the consoles. In many cases, the ordering of the requirements for a given section may result in the candidate having to revisit each router many times. By carefully reading all the requirements first, the candidate may be able to save time by grouping requirements so that each router needs to be configured only once.

• Know and prepare for the current test version. At the time of this writing, the production JNCIP-M exam and this book were synchronized to the same JUNOS software version. Before showing up for the exam, the candidate should determine the software version currently deployed in the JNCIP-M testing centers. If newer versions of JUNOS software are rolled out, the well-prepared candidate should study the release notes for the new software and compare any new features or functionality to the current JNCIP-M study guide and preparation road maps to ensure that exam updates will not catch them unprepared.

  It is important to note that the JNCIP-M certification requirements may not change just because a newer software version has been deployed in the lab, because there are many reasons to periodically upgrade the code used in the exam. Please also note that while the exam requirements may not change, the syntax used to establish a given level of functionality may evolve with new software releases.

JNCIP-M exam grading occurs at the end of the day. Results are provided by e-mail within ten business days.