CCNP in time for Christmas...february 23rd

Mr.Robot255

I'm prepping for CCNP switch (had started with route but due to other reasons switched to Switch 6 weeks later)

Anyways i am feeling pretty ok with Switch i am scoring decent on Boson ExSim and labbing most days and most weekends, and hopefully will take the exam beginning of Aug and if have to resit ill resit it by end of Aug (depending on how i do). 

Still a few areas i have to really hit on properly including HSRP VRRP and GLBP also AAA and some DHCP snooping/Security which i will cover over the coming weeks.

I obviously can't say i will pass it but if/when i do it will leave me 6 months to do ROUTE and hopefully if i do well in that time to move straight into TS as im guessing it would be logical to take T/s as soon as possible after ROUTE if im still ok with Switch.

If i get Switch and Route completed the migration Tool says i will receive

• Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core

If i don't take either exam and only take the T/s exam i will receive 

• Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Advanced Infrastructure Implementation

If i pass all 3 in time i will receive 

You will receive the new CCNP Enterprise certification and these Specialist certifications:

• Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core
• Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Advanced Infrastructure Implementation

If i get the route and switch as above it says i will need to take one of the following

• 300-410 ENARSI
• 300-415 ENSDWI
• 300-420 ENSLD
• 300-425 ENWLSD
• 300-430 ENWLSI
• 300-435 ENAUTO

If anyone could help me understand the last bit clearer, as i am a little confused as to which one of them would most likely be inline with the current CCNP curriculum, (If that's possible).


Also from above...what is the difference between the two certs awarded 

• Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Advanced Infrastructure Implementation

and

• Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core

yoba222

Not going down the CCNP route personally because on a different career path. If I did though, I like the idea of 6 months per exam.

As for all these new specialist badges or whatever, I have low faith they're going to catch on. I think it will be many many years, if ever, that an HR department recognizes any CISCO cert beyond CCNA/CCNP/CCIE. I think the CompTIA badges will suffer the same hyped fate.

TWX

Yeah.  I'm not sitting for 300-115 SWITCH next Wednesday for the purposes of getting specialist badges, I'm sitting for it because my CCNA expires the following week and I'm trying like hell to keep it current for the switchover.  If I pass SWITCH I'll try for ROUTE (I've sat through the weeklong official Cisco courses and I have been studying, though not as hard as I probably should have) and if that works, I'll go for TSHOOT sometime in February.

Since there's no prerequisite requiring a CCNA in order to try for CCNP after next February, if I fail and my CCNA lapses, we're buying so much gear that I can probably get Cisco credits for training for the new CCNP curriculum.

Only real reason I'm working like gangbusters now is I have a good feel for what I've already studied.  When they went from CCNA 200-120 to 200-125 they added stuff, I squeaked-in getting my 200-120 test passed, it was not as certain I'd immediately be ready to test and pass 200-125.  I can probably pass 300-115 now.  Given what I already know I can probably pass 300-101 ROUTE in two to three months if I can find the time to study during downtime at the office, or better yet, use the experience of implementing features like named EIGRP and setting up an MPLS overlay for a "customer" to get those particular skills down pat.

We'll just have to see.

Fulcrum45

As big is this change is to Cisco certs it makes me wonder if we'll start seeing study guides for the new exams earlier than February. 

Mr.Robot255

TWX said:

Yeah.  I'm not sitting for 300-115 SWITCH next Wednesday for the purposes of getting specialist badges, I'm sitting for it because my CCNA expires the following week and I'm trying like hell to keep it current for the switchover.  If I pass SWITCH I'll try for ROUTE (I've sat through the weeklong official Cisco courses and I have been studying, though not as hard as I probably should have) and if that works, I'll go for TSHOOT sometime in February.

Since there's no prerequisite requiring a CCNA in order to try for CCNP after next February, if I fail and my CCNA lapses, we're buying so much gear that I can probably get Cisco credits for training for the new CCNP curriculum.

Only real reason I'm working like gangbusters now is I have a good feel for what I've already studied.  When they went from CCNA 200-120 to 200-125 they added stuff, I squeaked-in getting my 200-120 test passed, it was not as certain I'd immediately be ready to test and pass 200-125.  I can probably pass 300-115 now.  Given what I already know I can probably pass 300-101 ROUTE in two to three months if I can find the time to study during downtime at the office, or better yet, use the experience of implementing features like named EIGRP and setting up an MPLS overlay for a "customer" to get those particular skills down pat.

We'll just have to see.

How did you go TWX ?

TWX

Mr.Robot255 said:

TWX said:

Yeah.  I'm not sitting for 300-115 SWITCH next Wednesday for the purposes of getting specialist badges, I'm sitting for it because my CCNA expires the following week and I'm trying like hell to keep it current for the switchover.  If I pass SWITCH I'll try for ROUTE (I've sat through the weeklong official Cisco courses and I have been studying, though not as hard as I probably should have) and if that works, I'll go for TSHOOT sometime in February.

How did you go TWX ?

I passed.  I'm now resuming my final CCNP ROUTE studies for 300-101.  Going through the CBT Nuggets and the Cisco Learning Partner curriculum after that.  My EIGRP skills are decent enough as I maintain a metro area network with around a hundred sites all using EIGRP so I'm well versed in it including overcoming limitations when using numbered EIGRP and having 10Gb vs 1Gb links, going to advocate for migrating to named EIGRP as we're looking to upgrade the entire network to 10Gb links before long.  I've labbed building a L3 MPLS network with VRF and played with redistributing routes to customer BGP, customer EIGRP, and customer OSPF.  I need to definitely study more on DMVPN, on base OSPF (we don't use it so I don't have a lot of firsthand knowledge), and ironically enough, static routes and RIP.  I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've created static routes, and I've never used RIP outside of a classroom.

I'm mulling a DMVPN setup using my folks' and friends' broadband connections as branch offices, I'm sure I can convince my folks, whether or not friends will be up for it might be another matter.  Gotta keep my wife as a telecommuter happy too, so nothing that breaks her ability to work.  She can go into the office but is more productive at home without distractions.

TWX

Fulcrum45 said:

As big is this change is to Cisco certs it makes me wonder if we'll start seeing study guides for the new exams earlier than February. 

That's actually part of what is irking me about this change.  They announced the sunset of the existing materials with far less than a year until the date, and did not immediately present new materials at the same time.

I encountered something of this for my CCNA, I had studied for 200-120.  Failed it the first time, got lackadaisical, found out that 200-125 was announced, but they introduced the ability to test for either 200-120 or 200-125 for a few months with overlap for those that had been studying for the older version.  They don't, so far, appear to be doing that with this curriculum change.  I wish they would, if only because these are not easy tests and being able to pass the remaining two by February is a bit of a tall order.  It would've been nice if they'd announced that starting February 23 one could start taking the new material, but that one could test for the old material until say, December 2020.

Mr.Robot255

***UPDATE***

Cancelled Switch exam.............no longer persuing CCNP R&S


week before i was due to take the exam i was watching some youtube videos by a couple of CCIE trainers.
Anyways long story short during their videos they was talking about when they took the CCNP R&S and both failed ROUTE twice before passing. (one worked in a cisco environment)

I was feeling quiet confident for Switch exam, id say my weak area has always been acl's which i am gonna dedicate a lot of time to over the coming months.

I felt i could pass switch exam if not first go def 2nd attempt leaving me 6months to do the ROUTE and possibly the TS,(switch and Route was enough to get a cert)

Anyways after a day of solid being honest with myself i said i dont think i would have studied the material correctly, i may have a good go at passing it but i know i would have been putting myself under severe pressure to have it completed by february and tbh i don't think i woulda took my time and studied everything the way i like to usually study, ( i work also)
All i could think of was if say january comes and i fail the exam im putting so much pressure to have it passed by february or everything would be a waste of time and expenses (exam costs)

So i am now taking a diff path for 6 months

Gonna knock out comptia Sec+ so i have net+ A+ and sec+ stackable. I'll also be study network based stuff MPLS and several other service porivder based protocols.

When February comes or when new material for CCNP becomes available i will continue to pursue  that avenue.

Jon_Cisco

It is important to be honest. I don't think I could pass CCNP in that time frame.

I decided to wait for the new CCNA test to come out to renew mine and then continue into CCNP.