Novell / Suse CLP 10 practicum exam?
 

It looks like I'll be taking this test soon. I've read some comments on the 9 version (very few on 10), but any additional information (that doesn't violate the confidentiality agreement) would be appreciated. I have access to the official Novell courseware, which seems to be excellent, although somewhat deficient in example questions.

Thanks

Can you let us know how your test goes and what you saw on the test? I am interested in this because Novell sells a Novell courseware book that also covers the Linux+ certification which is supposed to help with the Novel certification.

Like everybody else, I can't disclose the exact contents of the test. I can report that the test seemed difficult (to me), but I passed. I think it is misleading to call CLP an "entry level" certification. One probably unavoidable shortcoming of the test is that due to the relatively involved nature of the questions (and time required to answer each one) it probably isn't possible to cover a precisely-weighted broad range of topics. It's not like a 100+ question multiple choice test where there can be a somewhat resprentative weighting of almost all the possible topics. So you have to accept that limitation in exchange for the test being "hands on."

I had access to the CLP10 courseware from Novell, and while it is extremely expensive, it is very well written, and I believe there were no topics on my test that were not covered in the courseware (which I'm sure is what Novell intended.) I recommend the courseware - the Novell manuals are equally helpful for learning on your own and for teaching in a classroom environment. While nothing is perfect, the Novell manuals are much more error-free than most of the courseware I have had experience with.

The test environment is challenging in that you can't expect the response you get from a local system, and Novell makes a point of this in their disclaimers. Novell believes they have compensated for the delays etc. by providing enough time, and maybe that's true, but I think the challenge for test takers is not to get frustrated and distracted by not experiencing the response they're accustomed to.

My main suggestions are:

1. get the novell courseware if possible.

2. make up your own exercises (just make up derivations of the questions in the novell courseware if you have it, since they seem to do a good job of covering the topics) and actually perform the answers repeatedly. The courseware gives you very specific answers to the exercise questions, but if you just type them in and then say "I understand that" - well, you probably do understand it, but at least if you're me you won't remember exactly what to do on the test.

3. Don't just quit if you have some difficulty with a question. On the other hand, keep an eye on the time and don't spend the entire time on one question.

4. Don't get frustrated by the slow response in the test environment.

5. Read the questions carefully and plan out your solutions a bit before you start typing (maybe more than you would in an environment with "normally" quick response.)

Paul

Thanks for the informative feedback and congrats! This info will come in handy for me in the next year or two.

Just curious, but is there a big demand for Novell certified technicians? Does this certification carry the same weight as the Red Hat Certification Technician?