CCNA Semester 2 - Skills Based Final Exam - Student Training Instructor Guidelines - Exam Overview and Administration This exam is for use with regular CCNA classes taught by local academies to high school and college students. The skills-based exam consists of three parts; 1) Router Configuration, 2) Troubleshooting and 3) Network Concepts. All three should be completed (total possible of 0 points) and the total score combined with the Semester 2 online assessment exam to establish a course grade. Scores from chapter exams and completion of labs, as well as points for participation and attendance may also count toward the final grade. The guidelines presented here are recommendations and instructors have flexibility in assigning point values and administering the exam based on their classroom environment and schedule. Emphasis should be on the hands-on portions of the exam. Students should be made aware of what they will be tested on early in the course in order to study and prepare adequately for the exam. The exam may be administered by dividing the class into groups (teams) of five. Try to ensure that teams are evenly matched with a variety of skill levels. Teams should be formed about 2/3 of the way through the class to allow them time to work together and to minimize team dropout. Parts 1 and 2 will require exclusive access to the 5-router lab and should be performed sequentially. Five students can be tested simultaneously on parts 1 and 2 while another group is working on Part 3, the Network Concepts portion of the exam. Exam Part 1 Router Configuration (Practical hands-on, Max. time 40 min., 60 Points) Objective: Configure the standard 5-router lab and verify proper connectivity. Routers and attached workstations must share an IP addressing / subnet scheme and a common dynamic routing protocol. The NVRAM (startup config file) in all routers will be erased prior to starting the exam. Students will select a single class B or C network address. The team must establish and document a subnetted IP addressing scheme that will accommodate the number of networks, routers, and interfaces represented by the current setup in the classroom. Preparation / Tools: Standard 5-router / workstation lab setup. Workstations should have HyperTerminal and a TFTP server installed. Backups of the configuration files for all 5 routers on floppy or CD should be available for quick restore. Important Note: Hand out a copy of Part 1 of the exam (2 pages) to each student several weeks in advance when teams are formed. This is part of the actual exam and includes the router lab physical cable diagram, required test items and deliverables for Exam Part 1 Router Configuration. Students will work in teams and use this handout to determine the number of subnets and interfaces they will need. The required documentation from teams should be prepared prior to the final exam. When configuring the routers, teams may use the SETUP dialog utility, manual console configuration or may use HyperTerminal or a TFTP server to load the configuration file for each router. Refer to the semester 2 labs for loading configuration files from HyperTerminal or TFTP server. Each student will configure at least one router and an attached workstation. The configuration for each router will need to be documented by capturing and printing the configuration commands ahead of time. The physical arrangement of the routers and interfaces will be the same as it is for the standard 5-router lab and all cabling will be attached. Time allowed to complete Practical Exam Part 1 is approx. 40 minutes depending on the configuration method chosen.
CCNA Semester 2 - Skills Based Final Exam - Student Training Instructor Guidelines - Exam Overview and Administration Cont. Exam Part 2 Troubleshooting (Practical hands-on, Est. time 20 min., 20 Points) Objective: Troubleshoot problems after the lab routers have been configured. After the routers are successfully configured, the team will be asked to leave and problems will be introduced into each PC and/or its network connections demonstrate troubleshooting skills. Problems encountered during troubleshooting and the steps taken to correct them must be documented. Each student will have to troubleshoot the same workstation and router they configured during part 1 of the exam. Preparation / Tools: A list of potential problems and causes which can be found in the instructor s version of the Semester 2 curriculum in the Preface, Chapter 0 under Second Semester Finals. Exam Part 3 - Network Concepts (Oral or Written, Est. time 20 min., 20 Points) Objective: Answer 3 networking concepts questions from a pool of approved questions. Any student may have to answer any question and will know the questions ahead of time. Responses may be given verbally to the instructor / proctor or written depending on instructor and student preferences. Preparation / Tools: List of questions and rubric which can be found in the instructor s version of the Semester 2 curriculum in the Preface, Chapter 0 under Second Semester Finals. Rubric is provided to help assess the accuracy and completeness of student s answers. Team and Individual Grading Each team will provide a copy of the required exam documentation items (indicated in the next section) to the instructor / proctor prior to starting the Exam. The team will be graded as a whole on the completeness and neatness of the required documentation. The exam worksheet will be used as a checklist to verify and score correct router / workstation configuration. Each individual in the team will configure at least one router and workstation and must perform all of the hands-on commands. For each performance item, and each team member, the instructor will decide which workstation(s) or router(s) to use when executing the hands-on commands. For each successful performance item, the team member will get up to the number of points indicated. The final exam grade for each individual on the team should be the overall grade for the team as a whole plus the their scores from the individually graded items.
Semester 2 Skills Based Final Part 1 Router Configuration Student Training Exam Part 1 Overview: This is the first part of the Semester 2 practical final exam. It will focus on your ability to configure the lab routers to communicate properly. You will work in teams of five to configure all five Cisco routers and attached workstations so that they share an IP addressing / subnet scheme and a common dynamic routing protocol (e.g.: RIP, IGRP etc.). This will enable them to route packets from a network on router LAB-A to a network on router LAB-E. The NVRAM (startup config file) in all five routers will be erased prior to starting the exam. Your team will select a single class B or C network address. The team must establish and document a subnetted IP addressing scheme that will accommodate the number of networks, routers, and interfaces represented by the current configuration in the classroom. The configuration for each router will need to be documented as a text file by capturing and printing the configuration commands. The physical arrangement and cabling of the routers and interfaces will be the same as it is for the standard 5-router lab. When configuring the routers, teams may use the SETUP dialog utility, manual configuration or may use HyperTerminal or a TFTP server to load the configuration file for each router. Maximum time allowed to complete Exam Part 1 is 40 minutes depending on the configuration method that is chosen. Points will be deducted if your team goes over 40 minutes. The required documentation from your team should be prepared and presented prior to the final exam. Team and Individual Grading Each team will provide a copy of the documentation items listed in the worksheet prior to starting the Exam. Each individual in the team will configure at least one router and workstation and will perform all of the performance items listed in the worksheet. For each successful worksheet item, the team or individual will get the points indicated. Standard Router Lab Configuration (this is a guideline, your configuration may vary)
Semester 2 Skills Based Final Part 1 Router Configuration Team Documentation 30 points Team Name / Members: Date: The team will be graded as a whole on the following documentation. These items should be prepared and ready before taking the exam: Documentation Item / Grading Criteria Pts Cover sheet with IP addressing scheme (1 page): Include team name and members. Document IP addressing scheme and rationale including what types of devices will be assigned which addresses Graphical Network Design (1 page): Provide a computer-generated graphic network diagram showing all devices and interfaces. List all routers and workstations with interfaces and IP addresses. Use ConfigMaker or Network Designer to develop the network diagram. Router Configurations (1 page per router 5 pages total): Document the startup commands required to configure all five routers and print out the text file for each, one per page. Capture the output from the show running config command for all 5 routers on one floppy disk. Label the floppy Total Points 30 Poss. Pts Rcvd. Individual Performance 30 points (Write the initials of each individual under the router they configured) Performance Item / Grading Criteria Pts Poss. Lab A Lab B Lab C Lab D Lab E Configure router and PC within 40 min. Include MOTD banner to show who configured each router. Ping router interface from router. 5 Ping an interface IP address on any router from any other router Ping workstation IP from 5 workstation. Ping any workstation IP address from any other workstation Telnet to all routers by router host 5 name. Telnet from one router to each of the other routers using their host name and be able to show all telnet sessions to other routers simultaneously. Show routing table. Show the routing 5 table entries for each router to see other neighboring router interfaces are present. Total Points 30 NOTE: Be sure to erase the startup config and run reload for all five routers when finished (do not save your configuration). The person who configured each router should reload it.
Semester 2 Skills Based Final Part 2 Troubleshooting Individual Performance 20 points Name: Date: Objective: Troubleshoot induced problems after the lab routers have been configured. After the routers are successfully configured, you will be asked to leave and problems will be introduced into your PC and/or its network connections to demonstrate troubleshooting skills. Problems encountered during troubleshooting and the steps taken to correct them must be documented. You will troubleshoot the workstation and router you configured during part 1 of the exam. Instructor notes: A list of potential problems and causes can be found in the instructor s version of the Semester 2 curriculum in the Preface, Chapter 0 under Second Semester Finals. Troubleshooting Activity Record Points each (use back if necessary) Symptom / Cause Tests / Results Detailed Solutions Points Semester 2 Skills Based Final Part 3 Network Concepts Individual Performance 20 points Objective: Answer the 3 questions on networking concepts as assigned by the instructor. Write the questions assigned in the space provided below. You may be asked to answer orally or write your answers on the back of this sheet. Answers should be as detailed as possible for maximum credit. Instructor notes: Sample questions and rubrics to help assess answers are found in the instructor s version of the Semester 2 curriculum in the Preface, Chapter 0 under Second Semester Finals. Questions 1 ( pts): Question 2: ( pts) Question 3: ( pts) Points Scored: