Exam Foundations of Novell Networking (NetWare 6), #050-677 Vendor Novell Status In Development ("alpha" version reviewed for this article) Reviewer's Rating “There are very few vagaries on this exam -- a breath of fresh air. Just a lot of good questions that are very good at proving you know the material." Exam Basics When launched (date unknown), will cost $125 U.S. Should be avalable at Prometric and Vue testing centers worldwide. What Classes Prepare You? Course 3001: Foundations of Novell Networking (in development) Test Objectives URL Not yet released. Click here for latest update.

There was no published list of objectives for this exam when I decided to take it, so I had to go in with my own preconceived notions of what Novell expects a CNA working with NetWare 6 to know. I based my guesswork on past testing experience and my own product knowledge. I was also influenced by an interview CertCities.com did a while back with Jim Greene, who at the time was Novell's director of certification. In this interview, he said of the upcoming NetWare 6 certification exams: "Our directory is cross-platform, so we will be teaching directory skills that are cross-platform as well...if you look at the [new] CNE, you'll see that 80 percent of the CNE will be generic skills [that will be important] whether you work with Novell platforms or not."

With all of this in mind, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I would see. My expectations fell into three main categories:

1. I expected to see a lot of "feature-based" carry-over test material from previous versions of NetWare.
2. I expected to see a lot of the "latest and greatest" features of NetWare 6.
3. I expected to see some vendor independent materials: "generic skills" as Greene called them.

Well, to quote the immensely profound Meatloaf, "Two out of three ain't bad." Here's what I found on this early version of the upcoming CNA NetWare 6 exam.

Overall Impression
This exam was really put together well. Everything from question type variety to material covered is fairly well balanced (more details on these below). The "tone" was not as demeaning as some tests I have taken. The questions are not "tricky" -- there are very few vagaries on this exam, which is a breath of fresh air. In short, when you take the final version of this exam (expected to debut later this year), you should find a lot of good questions that do exactly what they're supposed to do -- test your knowledge of the material.

Now let's get to the juicy stuff (well, as juicy as the nondisclosure agreement I signed will let me get): the details of what this exam covers.

Question Variety
Let's start with the types of questions you'll run across:

• Multiple choice: There are two different formats in this category, one of which caught me completely off-guard. The first is your standard multiple choice, where you select one or more correct answers.
• The other is completely novel: You only have to pick one from multiple correct answers. That's right! More than one of the answers is correct, and you only have to pick one of them! What a change from the "Select all that apply" questions! Sure it's different, but I must admit I like the new format, although it doesn't necessarily make the questions any easier.
• Point and Click: Here you are given a screen shot of NetWare Administrator or ConsoleOne, for example. You are then asked to point and click where you would go to perform a specific function. This is a great question format: Very close to simulation, but with much less of a break in the flow of the exam.
• Fill in the Blank: You're asked to fill in the blank by typing the command to perform a certain action or maybe to fill in the name of a product or a file name. Spelling counts here, so make sure you spell each answer perfectly (case doesn't matter, however).
• Drag and Drop: With this question type, you place the box next to the correct definition. The example used in the tutorial is placing the Layers of the OSI model beside their correct number.
• Exhibits: When you run across an exhibit question, you need to open up another window and read some information. Then, the question will revert to one of the other four question types for your answer -- most often, a multiple choice question.

Find this breadth of question types intimidating? No problem. Novell provides a tutorial at the beginning of each exam explaining how to handle each question type. This surprised me as I had never seen this tutorial before (or maybe I just never paid attention to it...). In any case, Novell gives you 15 minutes to walk through the tutorial, which is actually quite helpful. Even if you don't need the question types explained, don't skip it: Novell uses real questions about its technology for this section, so it can help you get in the right frame of mind before starting the actual exam.

NetWare 6: Latest and Greatest
Now we get into the three areas of content that I expected Novell to cover. Not suprisingly, I was right on with number 2: Novell really wants you to be familiar with the additions and enhancements it made to NetWare 6.

One example is Novell Portal Services. In brief, Novell Portal Services are NetWare 6's latest and greatest eBusiness solutions allowing users to interact in many different types of networks while seamlessly integrating the security and services each user requires. A couple of bullet points from Novell about NPS 1.5:

• Novell Portal Services 1.5 helps organizations realize the benefits of eBusiness faster, build and extend business relationships and simplify business processes.
• Solutions built on Novell Portal Services deliver the same personalized user experience from anywhere, working seamlessly across all types of networks as one Net.

However, you are not expected to just know what it is, you also have to know how to install and support it. For a good step-by-step guide that includes a lot of information about prerequisites and install options, check out this Novell article: "Installing Portal Services 1.5 on NetWare 6 with Tomcat and Apache," by Joe Harmon

Be sure you also get familiar with iPrint. Novell's iPrint uses the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), an industry standard, to eliminate the complexities of printing over the Internet and to make location-based printing a reality. It allows users to view a Web page that has printers displayed. Users then select their printer of choice. The iPrint client is then automatically installed and they can then print to that printer. Again, the installation subordinate services and support of iPrint are all test objectives. For a guide to installing iPrint in a NetWare 6 environment, click here.

Finally, you knew it had to be there: eDirectory.

Novell's eDirectory is a super powered version of NDS that runs over multiple platforms. It is built on the industry standard LDAP services running over Secure Socket Layers (SSL). Novell expects anyone taking this exam to be well versed in eDirectory. How do you access it, install and manage it? You should also know the platforms that are supported. For a good overview and guide to eDirectory, click here.

For all of these tools, reading about them is not enough. You must get your hands on these products, install and use them, even if only in a lab environment. Gone are the days of studying texts, manuals and braindumps to prepare for these objectives. You can expect to see questions of every format on these topics, as well as a lot of theoretical why's and why-not's. I believe this to be a fair exam, as long as you have taken the time to get to know the products and the interfaces necessary to support them.

Vendor-Independent Networking Skills
I was very impressed with the questions in this area. Novell focuses on technology found across all vendor platforms, expecting you to to have a good foundation-level understanding of these services. For example, firewalls. You must know what they are and how they perform their specialized function. You need to know when and how to use them and, most important, you need to know why to use them.

Hence, Novell expects you to be familiar with the variety of threats to your network. How do hackers get in? What are their most popular tools? What are the ingresses to your network for viruses? How can both of these issues negatively impact your network?

And there's more: Do you have basic knowledge of network devices? Are you familiar with industry standards such as Proxy services and NAT? Have your networking Ps and Qs in a row before you sit for this exam.

I can't really point to one or two good resources for this knowledge, mainly because there is so much good information out there. What I can say is that as a network administrator, you are expected to stay current with the industry. That means being a rag-reader, which you obviously are if you are reading this article. I'll say it again; You must work with or have worked within this field, at least on a peripheral basis, to have an above average shot at this exam. It would be extremely tough to just pick up and read a manual then take this exam.

Refresher Questions
Now for the area where my expectations went awry.

I expected to see a lot of carry over material from hot spots from previous versions of NetWare itself as well as earlier tests. With the glaring exception of two areas, this was not the case.

While you are expected to know what the major interfaces into the system are (these have not changed for the most part), the focus of this exam is not on the tools of days gone by. Yes, you will be expected to know what NetWare Administrator is and what ConsoleOne is, and how to use them. However, they are far from being the major focus of this exam.

I know, you want to hear about the two exceptions. O.K., O.K.

A CNA is still expected to be very familiar with GroupWise, through and through! GroupWise is, of course, Novell's premier productivity tool that began as an e-mail system. (For a good general overview of GroupWise 6, click here.) You are expected to know how it interacts with NDS and eDirectory. You are expected, of course, to know how to install it, configure it and support it. You are also expected to know what files are used and where they are stored. Know how to navigate to those files through NetWare Administrator and ConsoleOne. And know . . . well, just be a GroupWise guru and you'll do fine.

Also, Novell expects you to know NDS specific information. (For a good look at NDS eDirectory, click here.)You should know the entire structure of NDS, and all of the following: objects, leaf objects, containers, Organizational Units -- everything really. Know what's at the top and what's at the bottom. And all the rest of it.

One final area of knowledge: Novell definitely expects you to know the File and Print sharing components, past and present. That means File Rights and Object Rights, et al. Standard stuff, but you should know it's coming. Of course, Folder sharing and rights are also included. And know Print Services. In addition to iPrint, know standard printing as well and the difference between the two.

Final Thoughts...
Again, this really is a fair exam that will test your knowledge of NetWare 6, at the level that should be tested for a CNA. And I think it is a great thing that this exam also ensures you know the industry at large as well as specific product features.

While I believe this is a fair exam, please don't take that to mean I think it is easy. I have no doubt that the final version will be a challenge, especially for those lacking in hands-on experience with the product. The fact that I went into this alpha holding only my preconceived notions of what I expected to see doesn't mean that I wasn't prepared. I've been working with Novell products since the days of 2.2, I have spent many late night hours installing and troubleshooting NetWare-based installations, and I am very familiar with Novell's terminology, technology and philosophy of product, so my preparation base was pretty large to start with.

Many vendors, Novell included, are trying very hard to counteract the brain dumps that are becoming so prolific in today's certification market. I am fully behind these efforts. You should be required to have hands-on experience in order to pass a certification exam. Getting certified should be hard work, and achieving the title is something to be proud of when prepared for honestly. By creating challenging exams like this one, Novell's making a real effort at ensuring those ends.

Have you taken this exam? How hard was it? Post your thoughts below!