642-511 Next week

There hasn't been a post here in two weeks so I thought I'd add one. I take the VPN exam next Tuesday morning and then a break from the CCSP to concentrate on the CISSP in June...

I'll post a follow-up around 11am CST on Tuesday.

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mikej412

Good Luck!

If I sign up for the big one, it will be 1:30ish -- so I leave 12ish. But I won't know until Monday if I'm doing it.....

But if I am doing it -- I must focus -- so I wouldn't check until after I smack down my exam (which is remaining nameless).

But then again ... there is no way I wouldn't check -- so I'm holding you to that -- post your passing result -- since I'll take that as a superstitious sign of how I will do.....

Maybe I should wait until Friday.... Argh!!!! No.... I'm aiming for Tuesday!!

Anyways -- good luck!

And if I miss your post in June that you smacked that CISSP bad-boy down -- you'll have to mention it when you post back here that your back working on the CCSP!

determinedgerman

I am going to take the 642-532 IPS exam in the last week of March...I have a feeling that this will not be an easy exam....I heard a lot of tough stuff is on it. Unfortunatley I do not have an actual sensor I can work with just the simulations through the Partner E-learning connection from Cisco and those only work half the time....

I wish you guys good luck with your exams...

Later,

Mike

P.S: Looks like there are a lot of people from Chicago in here and all of them focus on Security..

mikej412

germangiant wrote:

I am going to take the 642-532 IPS exam in the last week of March...I have a feeling that this will not be an easy exam....I heard a lot of tough stuff is on it.

I failed the IDS exam by 5 points and missed a four digit score on IPS by 12 points.

Maybe it was the Cisco Press CCSP Flashcards/practice exams that I bought and used for the IPS exam that helped. Maybe it was the reference sheet pdf file on the CD. Maybe it was buying a 4210 sensor. But mostly it was that the IPS exam was closer to what I had expected and prepared for on the IDS exam (and didn't get).

Looking at the IPS blueprint -- it can be a killer exam -- but I got the feeling that the IPS exam didn't bring its A-game to the test center that day. My IPS blueprint printout is a page longer than the old IDS blueprint, and yet the IPS exam seemed to only use 1/3-1/2 of it. The old IDS exam seemed to nail me on everthing - espcially the topics I considered of lesser importance. The IPS exam only asked me things that I had considered important topics.

Hey, if they hadn't of renamed the exam, I could have warned you to "beware the IDS of March."

Good Luck! Hopefully you'll get the powder-puff version of the IPS exam that I did.

mikej412

mikej412 wrote:

But I won't know until Monday if I'm doing it.....

Good Luck tomorrow! You'll be testing solo.

I'm only 200 questions into the 700+ CCIE Security Exam Cert Guide practice test.... I'm at 90% but if I keep this up much longer my average will start to go down.... I'm doing them untimed in one huge lump on my laptop.

I've been in and out of the blueprints for both the written and lab all afternoon. I've decided that the Sec written probably isn't a re-hash of the CCSP exams based on the practice questions so far. And with the Security Lab blueprint looking like 1/2 R&S stuff... I'm beginning to think that a CCNP is a definite advantage for the CCIE Sec (but yeah, helpful, but not required for the CCSP).

decisions... decisions....

My original thought was that if I pass the CCIE Sec written, that would cover the security section of the R&S written blueprint requirements. Now I'm thinking that studying for the R&S written might cover 1/3-1/2 of the CCIE Security written exam (not just the blueprint).

I'm going with Plan B -- CCIE Security Written Friday. And I'm registering for the exam to draw that line in the sand (which I will feel free to redraw if I don't feel ready on Thursday). That will also give me time to dust off my CCNP notes and review those.

HHHTheGame

OK, passed! Got an 84x. I thought I killed myself! The first sim, I blanked out and forgot it was the old style. I jotted down the config diagram but NOT the usernames, passwords, group names, etc!!!!! OH MAN DID I PANIC!! Luckily I THINK I remembered everything. Didn't make the same mistake twice on the second sim!!!

58 questions, 45 minutes, two down, three to go.

mikej412

HHHTheGame wrote:

I blanked out and forgot it was the old style. I jotted down the config diagram but NOT the usernames, passwords, group names, etc!!!!!

Congratulations!

WhooHoo!

Take a break

-- and then to work on that CISSP!

Oh, yeah -- old style sim. Got to remember to write everything down.... can't go back to info screen? Can't remember if you lose your work if you don't save it... Annoying as heck.

I guess I should mention the NEW TYPE SIM -- maybe it was an ungraded one -- maybe its an upgrade.... Can't remember if it was IPS or CSI.

Three or Four big buttons on the left -- then info or console/browser or topology in the window taking up the screen to the right. Could switch between views without losing work. Had a numbered list of things to accomplish in the info screen... and I buttoned back and forth until I got them all. I can't remember if the topology window gave me the means to generate traffic to test my config... or if there was another button for that.

Anyways -- food for thought when you get back to the CCSP.

HHHTheGame

You know YOU warned me about the old style sim.... did I remember that.... NO! I was so in the moment, that I was just cruisin'!

determinedgerman

Congratz on the pass........

mikej412

mikej412 wrote:

I'm going with Plan B -- CCIE Security Written Friday. And I'm registering for the exam to draw that line in the sand (which I will feel free to redraw if I don't feel ready on Thursday).

Re-drawing the line....

Not feeling the love yet from this bad boy.... Plan C -- Monday. And I'm not sick of studying yet either.... so I might do the test reschedule tap dance all next week.

HHHTheGame

LOL! You're gonna start forgetting things!!!!!

hehehehehhe

mikej412

HHHTheGame wrote:

LOL! You're gonna start forgetting things!!!!!

What things?

At least I didn't bounce the exam every day this week -- before I could turn my cell phone off I got over-committed for the rest of the week.

The cell phone is now off -- no working this weekend. I have now reached the point where I just want to take that Da*n test. Whatever study I get in this weekend will probably be it.

But I am feeling lucky -- a couple of 3550s and a herd of 36xxs are on their way.