1st Post towards CCNP :)

nel

Hi guys,

first post in the NP forum...big step eh

Just hoping you guys could answer a few questions for me after checking the faq:

1. am i right in thinking i should be OKish with a lab consisting of 1x2610xm, 2x2612,1x3725,2 x 2950 and 1 x 2970? Obviously for the L3 stuff i dont think im going to be able to afford a 3550 so hopefully i can use a spare at work or if not then buy some rack time? Or could i use a 2948G for L3 stuff? or is it obselete?

2. From reading the FAQ im going for either bcmsn or bcsi first (then the other second) but after searching amazon for books im unsure what to get as neither the exam guide of the self study guide get good reviews, is there much difference between the two?. I was originally thinking of buying the exam cert guide for the whole of the NP for £75 from amazon and using the lab portfolio's, routing tcp/ip book and the cisco doc cd to compliment it as the self study is nearly £40 for the bsci exam alone?

What do you guys think?

Thanks (wish me luck )

scheistermeister

nel wrote:

1. am i right in thinking i should be OKish with a lab consisting of 1x2610xm, 2x2612,1x3725,2 x 2950 and 1 x 2970?

That should be fine for the most part depending on IOS versions and features. Some of the biggest things on the BCMSN are HSRP, VRRP and GLBP which you co do with a router.

nel wrote:

Obviously for the L3 stuff i dont think im going to be able to afford a 3550 so hopefully i can use a spare at work or if not then buy some rack time? Or could i use a 2948G for L3 stuff? or is it obselete?

You can, but it will not be what is covered. It would be for concept only since the 2948G-L3 uses CatOS and not the IOS.

nel wrote:

2. From reading the FAQ im going for either bcmsn or bcsi first (then the other second) but after searching amazon for books im unsure what to get as neither the exam guide of the self study guide get good reviews, is there much difference between the two?. I was originally thinking of buying the exam cert guide for the whole of the NP for £75 from amazon and using the lab portfolio's, routing tcp/ip book and the cisco doc cd to compliment it as the self study is nearly £40 for the bsci exam alone?

What do you guys think?

Thanks (wish me luck )

I would go for the BSCI first. Mainly because it is all down hill from there. Also I liked the Self Study guide and used it myself. It is different from the exam guide, but I do not know how as I have never used the Exam Guides.

Good Luck BTW!

Plazma

Defiantly go for the BSCI first.. it helps everything else fall into place..

bertieb

Can't really contribute to your questions, but I'll certainly wish you good luck Nel. I see you're chomping at the bit after getting the CCNA

ilcram19-2

i did bsmsn first becasue i was rebulding the switching network here at my work but any test shoudl be taking in any order it all comes together at the end they all treat different subjects in diferent orders but use gns3 works great for me i only have ont left and didnt have to spent a dime on routers

nel

bertieb wrote:

Can't really contribute to your questions, but I'll certainly wish you good luck Nel. I see you're chomping at the bit after getting the CCNA

Damn right i am! Thanks for the support guys

Does anyone know the difference between the exam certification guide books and the study? is the study more in depth? im thinking that im obviously new to this level and the study guide being the better option for the learning progression? but if there's not much difference then i dont wanna waste and extra £15 when that could go towards a lab book!

miller811

nel wrote:

bertieb wrote:

Can't really contribute to your questions, but I'll certainly wish you good luck Nel. I see you're chomping at the bit after getting the CCNA

Damn right i am! Thanks for the support guys

Does anyone know the difference between the exam certification guide books and the study? is the study more in depth? im thinking that im obviously new to this level and the study guide being the better option for the learning progression? but if there's not much difference then i dont wanna waste and extra £15 when that could go towards a lab book!

Go with the study guide, it is more in depth. The exam certification guide should be used as a refresher for the material before taking the test. You should also look at using multiple sources of informaton for all exams

networker050184

miller811 wrote:

Go with the study guide, it is more in depth. The exam certification guide should be used as a refresher for the material before taking the test. You should also look at using multiple sources of informaton for all exams

I agree that you should start out with the study guide to learn and then use the cert guide for prep. I also use a lot of the Docs for study as they are free and full of all the information you need.

nel

Thanks,

well i always intended to go for multiple learning sources but i didnt know if there was a big difference between the 2 books. i'll get the study guide. and i'll see you's in this forums alot more

Forsaken_GA

My prep has always been a little bit different than most folks. I can't stand reading multiple books, when the information starts to overlap, my attention starts to wander. So I usually just go straight for the exam prep guides, and make sure I get some hands on experience with the concept. Having to make it all work in a lab tends to reinforce things for me alot better than reading it out of a Cisco Press book that's probably already putting me to sleep. If I run across a question and I can't find the answer in the exam prep guide, I just hit up Google. Most of the time, it'll send you straight to the relevant doc at Cisco's site.

Also, consider a Safari subscription, even the cheap 22 dollar one will give you a good chance to preview a book and decide if it's going to be a tool you can learn from. I'm also one of those strange people that can't stand to read a book on a computer, I prefer having paper in my hand. So the ability to pick out a few chapters and see if it's something I can learn from is quite valuable to me.

redwarrior

Welcome to the fray!

gojericho0

good luck! Be sure to ask many questions along the way. Most people love getting in discussions and trying to help each other out

nel

gojericho0 wrote:

good luck! Be sure to ask many questions along the way. Most people love getting in discussions and trying to help each other out

Thanks for the encouragement guys! ive ordered the study guide for the BSCI and plan on getting the lab portfolio. Then im going to have to buy the others once i get paid. Although im slightly tempted to dive into the bcmsn first because we are about to replace all of our switches to preprare for voip and we have no one to do that for our division (just a few guys for the whole company) so it may be an opportunity to get my hands dirty - touch wood! So im 50 / 50 in choosing to do the BSCI first or to do the bcmsn first. Even though there is no assurance i will be involved i will be doing both at some point anyway.

P.s. Dont worry, im sure i'll be asking tons of questions along my way! besides i know i'll get a good response no matter how difficult the subject is.

gojericho0

If you are going to be working on a big switch and VOIP project, i definitely recommend taking the bcmsn first. You will be able to reinforce the things you study by applying them in your production environment.

nel

gojericho0 wrote:

If you are going to be working on a big switch and VOIP project, i definitely recommend taking the bcmsn first. You will be able to reinforce the things you study by applying them in your production environment.

Thats what i was thinking. Like i said there's no guarantee and the last i knew we would be having minimal config contact as the main guy for the company would be doing it but if i can show i am working towards this then they may let me have a little more input/involvement! but again that is mainly down to having no one in the department who is qualified for that role.