It's official

miller811

.. failed BSCI again
Not even close, in fact worse than the first attempt.
Pretty disgusted at this point.

Everyone says that this is the hardest exam, at this point I would agree.
Admitting defeat.
Putting it on hold and heading on to switching at this point.

Paul Boz

Don't admit defeat or you'll be back at square one later on. In my observation, when people fail the BSCI and shelf it they usually don't complete the CCNP. Same deal with people that save the BSCI for last. Of course there are exceptions but it happens often.

What are you doing poorly on? Post your breakdown.

scheistermeister

I agree with Paul, don't put it off. I put it off and I am regretting it now that I am studying for it again.

Paul Boz

I did pretty well on the composite so I figured I had most of the material safely tucked away in my vault of knowledge. When I began preparation for the CCIE written exam I realized how much I had to re mediate for the BSCI material. If you don't deal with interconnected IGP's on a routine basis it's just not easy to maintain the knowledge required to pass the BSCI unless you're studying it.

aragoen_celtdra

Hey don't give up on it yet. I myself am studying for it and found myself confused a lot of times. So far, I've had to go back to my CCNA materials a lot just to confirm what I've read. There definitely is a lot of depth to it and like Paul said, if you don't use it that much you tend to rely on book knowledge more - which is not bad, except we tend to forget things we read faster than if we do it from experience. But that doesn't mean it's a beast you can't conquer.

If you don't mind, would you care sharing with us your study methods? I'm sure someone can suggest something that you can tweak or change around to get you better prepared. After all, learning is a science in itself. I found that if you can find an effective study method, you can pretty much learn anything. And I've been working on learning how to learn since college.

gojericho0

keep with it man, i failed mine as well and i never failed a cert before so it was a good humbling experience. Do you have lab equipment to practice with? If so I suggest getting a cisco press lab portfolio guide as well as follow some of the configuration guides for the technologies on Ciscos website

nicklauscombs

I've also been using a slew of different material to prepare for this exam, no doubt about it the material is tough and it's been a hard road for me to keep focus. Don't give up because of a couple fails, you can do it.


What i'm using:

Home lab with cisco press lab guide
TCP/IP Routing Volumes I and II
BSCI exam guide and self study guide
CBT Nuggets

miller811

aragoen_celtdra wrote:

Hey don't give up on it yet. I myself am studying for it and found myself confused a lot of times. So far, I've had to go back to my CCNA materials a lot just to confirm what I've read. There definitely is a lot of depth to it and like Paul said, if you don't use it that much you tend to rely on book knowledge more - which is not bad, except we tend to forget things we read faster than if we do it from experience. But that doesn't mean it's a beast you can't conquer.

If you don't mind, would you care sharing with us your study methods? I'm sure someone can suggest something that you can tweak or change around to get you better prepared. After all, learning is a science in itself. I found that if you can find an effective study method, you can pretty much learn anything. And I've been working on learning how to learn since college.

I have been studying for this for 6 months. I have spent at min 2-3 hours per day on the material. My original attempt at the exam was 2 months ago after spending 4 months, on the official exam guide and Train Signal videos, at which time I duplicated all of the labs on real gear in the home lab.

I had a 650 on first attempt, and was completely blown out of the water by the complexity of the questions and time management. I determined it had to be the material I used to study with, and puchased the Cisco self study guide and the lab book. I got dynamips functioning properly and I have spent the last two months, again several hours a day working through the book, duplicating every lab etc.

I read the material, I take notes on the computer, I review the notes, etc...

Felt good for preparation, felt good on during the exam, time management etc...
Scored a 630 this time.
So it is official, I must be a dumb a$$.....

Implementing Eigrp 55%
Implementing multiasrea OSPF 20%
Describe Integrated ISIS 57%
Implement Cisco Ios routing features 60%
Implement BGP for enterptise ISP connectivity 54%
Implement multicast forwarding 37%
Implement IPv6 50%

scheistermeister

miller811 wrote:

So it is official, I must be a dumb a$$.....

You don't qualify for that till you are the first on the forum to fail the ONT like me :P

dynamik

Why don't you try supplementing your resources with CBT Nuggets or Trainsignal, Transcender, or The Bryant Advantage? Different resources may offer different perspectives and fill in any gaps you may have. Don't quit when you're so close.

miller811

dynamik wrote:

Why don't you try supplementing your resources with CBT Nuggets or Trainsignal, Transcender, or The Bryant Advantage? Different resources may offer different perspectives and fill in any gaps you may have. Don't quit when you're so close.

I used train signal material in the first go around with the official exam guide.
Purchased official study guide and lab book ($90.00) and failed even worse, after spending 2 more months in preparation. Not sure I want to continue forking out more cash for new material, when I just wasted my free retake on the exam. My thinking (which I admit, is not rational at this point ) is I may be better off, during the next three months with the free retake offer available , attempting to pass a different exam.

telco1

Don't give up! let me tell you it took me four tries the first time I got my CCNA. (old 640-607) four tries! seriously!

Cisco exams are really hard. if they weren't then everyone would be doing it. perserverence pays off! your not alone. the exams are extremely hard. hey it took me 3 tries to pass my BCMSN, and I missed it by 7 points on the second try! but I got up and tried again and nailed that exam the next time. everyone fails.

just dont ever give up! keep trying you can do it!

dont give up!

Paul Boz

It looks like your major problem area is multi-area OSPF. Admittedly, it's one of the most complex areas in the BSCI given the LSA types, rules that apply to what types of LSA's can enter an area, and what the properties are of an area.

When you fail a test (or pass) they give you a breakdown of your weak areas. I'm willing to bet that if you compare all of your attempts you're weak in all of the same areas. I felt the burn getting through OSPF and it took the most time for me to fully understand. That's just how it is. You have to keep studying it until you get it. OSPF is the most widely deployed large-scale IGP so it is very important that you know it. I'm sure you've noticed that ISIS is much less of a driving point in your studies. The test does a great job of highlighting technologies you absolutely must know.

miller811

Paul Boz wrote:

It looks like your major problem area is multi-area OSPF. Admittedly, it's one of the most complex areas in the BSCI given the LSA types, rules that apply to what types of LSA's can enter an area, and what the properties are of an area.

When you fail a test (or pass) they give you a breakdown of your weak areas. I'm willing to bet that if you compare all of your attempts you're weak in all of the same areas. I felt the burn getting through OSPF and it took the most time for me to fully understand. That's just how it is. You have to keep studying it until you get it. OSPF is the most widely deployed large-scale IGP so it is very important that you know it. I'm sure you've noticed that ISIS is much less of a driving point in your studies. The test does a great job of highlighting technologies you absolutely must know.

What is hard to understand is the fact that I had 80% on the OSPF multi-area the first go around. I know where the mistake must have occured, but I don't understand how. By far it seemed pretty straightforward to me during the exam.

singh8281

The material is complex, no doubt about it but if you give up now all your hard efforts, time and money will be wasted. If you defer it and you don’t work on those equipment for living then you won’t be able to retain the material and you’ll find yourself shelling more money later than now.

You have all the necessary lab equipment as well as text books, all you need is a rigorous practice and $150 that’ll buy you two more exams.

Mine’s scheduled for 23 let’s see how that comes out.

miller811

singh8281 wrote:

The material is complex, no doubt about it but if you give up now all your hard efforts, time and money will be wasted. If you defer it and you don’t work on those equipment for living then you won’t be able to retain the material and you’ll find yourself shelling more money later than now.

You have all the necessary lab equipment as well as text books, all you need is a rigorous practice and $150 that’ll buy you two more exams.

Mine’s scheduled for 23 let’s see how that comes out.

I sucked it up and bought Chris Bryants material (Complete CCNP series) last night.
My goal will be to study his material, and hopefully test in two weeks on the BSCI for a third time.

Is it your opinion that the $150 will buy me two more attempts or is it only good for the first attempt?

I sound like a loser asking it, but what the heck at this point.

scheistermeister

miller811 wrote:

Is it your opinion that the $150 will buy me two more attempts or is it only good for the first attempt?

He means you can buy the exam again and if you do not pass again you can use the comeback\secondchance promo code to test for free again.

kpjungle

I dont think you should give up either. I am studying for BSCI as well, and the sheer amount of material along with how hard it is to comprehend, surprised me as well. (Right now im studying OSPF, and its a *itch).

It also depends how well you do exams in general, if you are very nervous or take it in stride. As others have said, the BSCI seems to be the hardest exam on the CCNP track, so I dont think you should feel down for a long period of time, and certainly not like a dum*ss. I think everyone here understands just how hard these exams are. Also, the wording of the questions/scenarious might have caught you off guard, or you might have misunderstood them somehow, which would account for the 1st try being better than the second.

Anyways, I hope and believe you do better this time around! let us know what you think of the Bryant material!

singh8281

Is it your opinion that the $150 will buy me two more attempts or is it only good for the first attempt?

I sound like a loser asking it, but what the heck at this point.

I am not really sure about that, a quick call to Vue would get that question answered.

miller811

kpjungle wrote:

I dont think you should give up either. I am studying for BSCI as well, and the sheer amount of material along with how hard it is to comprehend, surprised me as well. (Right now im studying OSPF, and its a *itch).

It also depends how well you do exams in general, if you are very nervous or take it in stride. As others have said, the BSCI seems to be the hardest exam on the CCNP track, so I dont think you should feel down for a long period of time, and certainly not like a dum*ss. I think everyone here understands just how hard these exams are. Also, the wording of the questions/scenarious might have caught you off guard, or you might have misunderstood them somehow, which would account for the 1st try being better than the second.

Anyways, I hope and believe you do better this time around! let us know what you think of the Bryant material!

I had not failed an exam before the BSCI.
Passed the CCNA on the first attempt, also the N+ and both A+ tests.
Normally nervous during the test, but not enough to cause me to fail.

I used the Bryant material on the CCNA, and it taught me what I needed to know to pass the test. Hoping the CCNP will turn out the same.

Thanks for the encouragement.

mikej412

miller811 wrote:

I duplicated all of the labs on real gear in the home lab.

Did you do anything more than just duplicate labs? You have to understand and know how the stuff fits together and how to use it.

When you did the labs, did you know what lesson you were supposed to be learning? Did you understand and figure out how to try or duplicate the lesson in a different topology? Did you know what the commands were going to do before you typed them in? And did you know what commands to use to verify your configurations? Did you watch some debugs?

Plazma

Don't give up... thats the one thing you can't do.

Take a few days off from studying, go swimming and have a beer or 2 , then come back full force.

From what i gathered by your recent posts, it seems that your only goal is to pass the BSCI.. and I can relate because i was the same way when taking my CCNA. What you need to do is step back, and enjoy it.. in fact, this stuff should be like hot, melted chocolate to you (the good, imported kind) instead of being a chore. The only downside to this is, if you treat it like chocolatey goodness, that it may take you a bit longer to re-take the exam.. well in the long run you will be MUCH better off.

In my BSCI studies, i have a much more relaxed approach.. and i use a variety of materials to help me fully understand what is really going on. One thing you may look into is when you do your labs is to use the debug command (i made a post about this in the CCNA forums).. if you haven't really used it much, start using it.. by far IMHO one of the most useful commands ever made for Cisco devices.

Also , the exam blue-print.. often mentioned and very under-rated. If anything it gives you a high-level "roadmap" of what the test is going to be like </end cisco related IGP pun>

In short, Paul on here says it best (granted i forgot his exact wording:

Failing implies quitting. You only fail if you don't pass and give up.

netwayne

I had not failed an exam before the BSCI.
Passed the CCNA on the first attempt, also the N+ and both A+ tests.

Hey, the fact remains that most of us on here that prepare honestly for these tests will experience some test fails along the way. There are very few people that pass everything. Nothing against your A+ and N+ certs but they aren't in the same class as the Cisco certs, IMO. The fact that you passed your CCNA on the first attempt is a great accomplishment but wasn't neccesarily a predictor of your CCNP successes. If you need a bright side to think about this....at least it's not THE test that is keeping you from a new certification. Obviously, you need to pass 4 tests for your NP so the ultimate frustration would be passing 3 and failing on the 4th.

You've gotten some good advice on this thread and I would also add that unless you have some immediate job incentive for passing the BSCI, don't rush the next attempt. I know that is hard advice to follow after failing because you just want to get that exam behind you.

Good luck, Miller!

redwarrior

Heh...I guess I get to join the dumb a$$ club as well...I failed the ONT on my first try. I know it's hard, but try not to let it get you down. Anyone who takes cert exams will eventually face failure. Everyone I know has and most of them are incredibly intelligent people and great in their fields. If these exams were easy to pass, they wouldn't be so coveted! You can do this as long as you don't give up. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be studying again for the ONT...according to most the least of the CCNP exams! We can do this and when we do, it will be that much sweeter for all the extra struggling we had to do to get it.

telco1

redwarrior wrote:

Heh...I guess I get to join the dumb a$$ club as well...I failed the ONT on my first try. I know it's hard, but try not to let it get you down. Anyone who takes cert exams will eventually face failure. Everyone I know has and most of them are incredibly intelligent people and great in their fields. If these exams were easy to pass, they wouldn't be so coveted! You can do this as long as you don't give up. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be studying again for the ONT...according to most the least of the CCNP exams! We can do this and when we do, it will be that much sweeter for all the extra struggling we had to do to get it.

Redwarrior is absolutly right about the struggle to get to our goals. anything worth achieving is going to be hard. I remember after I failed the BCMSN for the second time I was very down and thought about moving on to a different exam and coming back to it. but that would be like admitting defeat. this was after I failed by only 7 points! the third try I killed that exam. Im glad I didnt give up. dont give up! persevere! keep on keeping on!

cdad2000

You can do it!!!!!!!