Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Routing and Switching Lab or CCIE Routing and Switching Lab is the certification program which would certify that the candidate has the skills which are required of expert-level network engineers so as to do the planning, operating and troubleshooting complex, converged network infrastructure.
CCIE R&S Lab Prerequisites:
There are no formal prerequisites for CCIE R&S Lab certification. It means that there is no requirement of other professional certifications or training courses. Instead, candidates are required to first pass a written qualification exam and then the corresponding hands-on lab exam. They are expected to have an in-depth understanding of the topics given in the exam blueprints and strongly encouraged to have about three to five years of job experience before the made an attempt for the certification.
CCIE Routing and Switching Written Exam are considered to be a two-hour, written qualification exam, which would be covering networking concepts and some equipment commands that you are required to have your hands on before you make yourself are eligible to schedule the lab exam.
CCIE Routing and Switching Lab Exam is an eight-hour lab exam which would test your ability to configure actual equipment and troubleshoot the network in a timed based testing situation. Before you appear for the CCIE R&S Lab exam, you are required to clear the CCIE R&S Written Exam, it is the only Prerequisite of the CCIE R&S Lab Exam. Also, you should have a good training partner like the SPOTO, which would provide you better training to improve your chances at the real exam.
You should make an initial attempt at the CCIE R&S lab exam within 18-months of clearing the CCIE R&S written exam. Candidates who do not clear must have to reattempt the lab exam within 12 months of their last scored attempt which will make their written exam to remain valid. If you fail to pass the lab exam within three years of passing the written exam, you must retake the written exam before being allowed to attempt the lab exam again.
Lab Environment
The Cisco documentation is available in the lab room, but the exam is going to assume the knowledge of the more common protocols and technologies. The documentation could be navigated using the index. No outside reference materials are allowed in the lab room. You should report any suspected equipment issues to the proctor as and when you give the exam; adjustments wouldn’t be allowed to make once the exam is over.
Lab Exam Grading
The labs are graded by proctors who would be ensuring that all the criteria have been met. They would be using the automatic tools to gather data from the routers in order to perform preliminary evaluations. Candidates are required to reach a minimum threshold in all three sections and also achieve an overall passing score.
Lab Format
The Troubleshooting module is believed to be of 2 hours unless if desired by the candidate, he or she can extend the Troubleshooting module's time by scrounging up to 30 min from the Configuration module. Note, the total Configuration module time would be reduced by the extra time which they spend in the Troubleshooting module that too only up to 30 min. If candidates finish the Troubleshooting module early, the unused time of Troubleshooting module would be added to the Configuration module’s time, ensuring the total lab exam time doesn’t exceed 8 hours. The Diagnostic module is remained fixed which is about 30 minutes in duration.
So, if you wish to have the CCIE R&S Lab Certification in one go, you are required to have proper training, which you could grab if you join one of the courses provided by some good training provider like the SPOTO.