cisco history 1

What was the CCIE exam like when you took it in 1995?
Back then, the lab was a two-day exam, as opposed to one day [today]. You had a day and a half to configure things. During the second day you were given an hour for lunch, and the proctors would go in and break things on your network. You would come back and fix the things they broke. That was unnerving. One of the things they broke for me was the old Ethernet-style AUI connector for Ethernet cables. They took a cable out of the router and replaced it with a cable with the pins bent down flat. They actually screwed the connector onto the router, but it was not secure because all the pins were flat out. I thought it was an ingenious way to break things. I ended up figuring it out. It took me three hours of troubleshooting and one hour to fix it. I personally think the exam is harder today. It's just as deep as it was then, but there's so much more stuff they can ask you today than back when I was a kid.
As an instructor, how do you keep up with technology?
I've sought out consulting engagements where I'm helping people implement [solutions]. Another way is to teach a variety of topics. You can learn the theory and the commands, but you won't learn the real life, so whenever I meet people who do this stuff every day I shut up and listen. I learn from my students as well. We talk through the problems, and that part can be a lot of fun.