Stan Sieler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


>Here are my comments.  If I thought all 20 questions were good,
>I'd give the Sylvan (?) people a score of 20.  But...that's not
>the case.  I marked the ones they missed with a "-" in the
>left column.  (Some that I didn't mark that way I still have
>complaints about.)
>

<snip>

I agree with pretty much everything Stan wrote and have a few additional
comments.

>MPE/iX Fundamentals
>
>   1. ok.
>
>   2. ok...but should allow for open book, like real life

No question. *Nobody* knows everything off the top of their head. And when
you are only 90% certain of the answer you use :HELP or a manual. Someone
once said "It's a lot easier to answer a question than clean up after a
guess."

>
>-  3. BAD: TWO answers are correct!  (C and D)


I can't stand buzzwords. "Implicit dereferencing" I want to know if you can
read and write a command file that does something a bit more useful than ST
for SHOWTIME and SJ for SHOWJOB. I don't care whether you call it
"implicit/explicit dereferencing," "variable substitution," or just plain
"insert value here."

>
>   4. ok
>
>-  5. WRONG!  The correct answer is, well, there isn't one out of the four
choices.
>      The ostensible correct answer presupposes too many things.
>      Additionally, it's a completely inappropriate question for an MPE
test!
>      A better question would be about hierarchical databases.

I admit, I got caught up looking for the best definition of an Image
Database and overlooked the "object database model" I bet you won't find a
question about hierarchical databases on a non-MPE cert. test!

>
>   6. ok
>
>   7. ok  (a little odd on the terminology with "... is attached to the
root")
>
>   8. ok
>
>   9. ok
>
>  10. ok  (except the "DATE <=" isn't valid syntax as shown!)
>
>
>MPE/iX System Management
>
>  1. ok


<snip>

>  7. obscure
>       Heck, I didn't even *know* about the RESETACCT command.  And, they
>       biased the question by omitting part of the description.  "HELP
RESETACCT"
>       say "Zeros the running counts of CPU time or connect time
accumulated by
>       an account and by all groups within that account."  They omitted the
>       "by an account", which led me to analyze it with "hmm, seems to only
>      affects group in my account, therefore AM ought to suffice".

>
>      (Yeah, I missed that one :)
>      I'd read "Any user with AM capability", and thought to myself
>      "well, they're being sloppy...they probably meant any user *in the
same
>      account* ... which, of course, wasn't the case.


I was thinking the same thing. I can't remember the last time I used
RESETACCT. Plus, usually an AM user can do most anything within his/her own
account. There are plenty of other commands that have more value like SHOWQ
and SHOWPROC that would make for a better question.

>
>- 8. WRONG!  ("Where is device class information for disks stored?")
>
>      There are ostensibly two correct answers: VCT and DCT.  The first of
>      those is the Volume Class Table ... which has *NO* device class
>      information.  It has *VOLUME* class information, not *DEVICE* class!


Does the name of the MPE internal tables really matter for this type of
test? Isn't it more important to understand how they are used and
manipulated?

>
>- 9. BAD!  Both C and D can be correct.  There are arguments in favor of
>     each one.  (For D, you'd typically use ";KEEP")
>     (Argument in favor of D over C: C could potentially restore
>     week old passwords, possibly opening a security hole;  additionally,
>     there's a hope that the restore utility's "KEEP" option might be
>     quicker at skipping files, thus saving restore time instead of
>     doubly restoring some files)
>


Buzzwords again. I want to know that I can ask an admin. to develop a backup
strategy to back up the entire system on Sunday and on each weekday
everthing that has changed since Sunday. I don't care whether or not you
call it incremental, partial, or cumulative, (the definition of which has
been blurred over the years by misuse) I just want to know if you can
develop the backup strategy, and understand how to recover from it.

>  10. ok
>
>
>
>Score: 15 out of 20.  (Less if you're a stricter grader)
>


14 of 20. Good thing this was only the practice test.  ;-)

Doug.

Doug Werth                                     Beechglen Development Inc.
[log in to unmask]                                       Cincinnati, Ohio

The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views or opinions
of Beechglen Development. They might, but not necessarily. They represent
solely the opinions of the author.