New to CCNP please help

vajinder.sidhu

Hello guys,

I have just completed my CCNA and i am starting to get myself prepared for CCNP. I will be doing the self study most of time.

Firstly i m preparing for BSCI exam and from there on i 'll move furthur.

I have one question

Do i need to have extensive lab exprience for BSCI exams

How do i prepare myself on practical side like hand on exp for working routers and switches?

where can i get the scenarios labs to be more familier with configuring. or shall i just buy router and switches and practice at home

Thanks in advance for your kind reply !!!!!!

networker050184

The best way to prepare would be to get some equipment of your own. Do you have any real experienc with networking? If not I would highly suggest you try to get some before going on to the CCNP.

Paul Boz

How did you do on the CCNA exam(s)? Do you feel confident with how routing protocols work?

If you may be a little shaky or unsure, you may want to do some quick remediation with your CCNA material. Take the BSCI curriculum from Cisco's website and study the material on it at the CCNA level. Once you have the basic understandings down you can confidently move into the more advanced course material.

I don't think you need extensive lab experience or work experience so long as you can configure Dynamips and get your hands dirty on virtual routers. I have access to a great lab comprised of higher end routers and switches but about 95% of the time I use Dynamips simply because it's easier to work with.

vajinder.sidhu

thanks for your reply paul and networker.

to be honest i don't have much hand on exp with networking. But i know how it works. as i don't work in proper networking field for CCNA i used to practice on the simulators with general lab scenarios and troubleshooting like boson ( which i found very helpful). i got 932/1000. So you reckon i should expriment myself on virtual routers and with complex scenarios or WIll it be sufficient if i work on boson lab ???

Appreciate ur advise

Paul Boz

I'd search these forums for how to use Dynamips. There are even videos on Youtube that do step by step walkthroughs. Boson's Netsim product may not be enough to complete the BSCI but Dynamips will be.

networker050184

I agree with Paul Boz bosson has too many bugs to be very helpful. You don't want to work for hours on a la then realize its just something wrong with bosson. Dynamips are definately the way to go if you don't have access to the routers. You may neot need the practical experience to pass the exams, but it will help you a lot. Also a CCNP with no experience isn't looked upon very highly and not likely to help you anymore than the CCNA with finding your first job in networking. Its a professional level cert and should be backed up with at least some professional level experience. Good luck!