BSCI question on study materials???

itdaddy

Okay I am going to get the CCNP BSCI command book ; I really liked my ccna one.
and I want to get the cisco press lab portfolio that looks good but there are many BSCI
cisco boooks which ones are the best?

cisco press

BSCI study-guide???which one is good
lab portfolio i am getting...opinions on anyone?
ccnp bsci command book i am getting.


what do you all think. my biggest concern is the BSCI book I dont want to buy all 3 out there just one good BSCI book? is the sybext book better than cisco presss?
thank you!

vinnyjones

I would say the CCNP BCSI (642-901) Lab Portfolio is a must. I've been going through this using GNS3 (dynamips) and it is brilliant. You can put the theory you have learnt into a practical context making it much easier to remember...

aragoen_celtdra

Hey Rob.. been a long time. So are you finally going to try to catch up

Definitely get the study guide. I would say that should be your minimum requirement. I think if you just want to pass the exam, the exam guide would suffice. But knowing you, you probably won't be satisfied with just the exam guide.

And if you're serious about seeing this whole thing through the top (ie. CCIE) it'll serve you well to pick up the Doyle books. You probably don't need to get too deep into it if you're immediate goal is to pass the BSCI. But familiarize yourself with it so that when you have your second go around with Doyle (say in your CCIE studies) it'll just be to solidify what you've already learned from it.

As far as lab books, I used both the ones in the BSCI study guide (at the end of each chapters) as well as the lab portfolio. In my honest opinion, the lab at the end of the BSCI books are pretty good. In fact probably even better than the lab portfolio. But don't get me wrong. The lab portfolio has its value. I did find some things covered in the lab portfolio that I don't remember ever reading in the BSCI study guide. Which prompted me to do a little more research. OF course, anything that allows you to expand your knowledge is always good.

Don't forget the wealth of resources from the Cisco doc pages and standard track RFCs.

To summarize, I think between the Study guide, a little bit of Doyle, and the lab portfolio, and a little research, you should be good.

kpjungle

The lab portfolio for BSCI is really really good imho. I used all three books in my BSCI studies, and compared to the other lab portfolio's in the series, this is the best by far (BCMSN is on 2nd place).

I can give a thumbs up on all books, but I havent used the sybex books, so I wouldnt know about that one.

itdaddy

Thank you vinnyjone, G, and kpjungle,

great! I feel good. I like the cisco press books. Okay guys I thought I saw more than one BSCI study guide. Do I get the study guide that says Self-study BSCI (642-901)?

Great and this Doyle book where is this at?

The lab book I will get, and the Self-study guide but not sure which one on cisco press
it shows I think more than one. I dont want to buy too many wont go thru them.
I will be watching Bryant videos along with the lab books and BSCI book
for varied clarification. I need both videos and text and lab.

Video, Text, and lab it up! Then I can get it.


Yeah G, I am almost at the end of my Physics course and well I am itching to study Cisco.
but gearing up for it right now..but will start heavier in a few weeks or so. I just ordered a wic-1T serial card for my Cisc 1760 to complete my live full lab. I am using Bryants CCNP lab.
I have tried GNS3 and man I need a real lab. I hate waiting and hate memory issues. Igot my gns3 going but I love my cisco 2511 and I finally got all 16 reverse telnet lines going.
so i can have 16 devices if i want to access from one telnet screen it is so easy to flip back and for to each session with my access router2511, i dont have to worry abouut any bugs and every thing runs fast (okay except my copy run start/or write mem on my 2500 series) they are slow. but configs fast and command line fast and accurate. no buggies and funny issues with command and outputs real stuff rocks. yeah i have spend some money on my rack maybe $2000.00 (taken 1.5 years to make)that is with my ASA 5505 which is totally cool which has ADSM(spell?)

i am going to get into that an use that as my firewall and I hope eventually tunnel to IPV6
with that electric company who is helping other tunnel to ipv6 that sounds fun.
and I think my ASA 5505 can do it.
but yeah burning both ends finish up this physics class. cool stuff but never going to worryy about bernoulli's equations again! haahhah All I have left after this class is programming
which comes natural to meyeaH!
thanks for all your guy's tips you dude rock
talk later men
cya G on the flip flop!
I hope to get my ccnp.itdaddy.net blog running in a month and get on schedule so I can get back in the game
later dudes

ps. oh yeah i am looking for a 3550 cat switch with SMI image. I can get a 3550 EMI image easy and well SMI 3550 are cheaper big time and if I can get a EMI image that will be able to fit on the 3550 sweeeeeeeeeeeetnesss L3 switch here I come :yeah!

itdaddy

okay okay here are my choices I think:

1. BSCI Self-study guide for 640-901 2nd edition

or

2. BSCI Exam Cert Guide 4th edition

which one is the best one or is one the older one (edition 2)?
and the 4th is the newest one??

this is off of the ciscopress.com site.
thank you guys!


okay now I am totally lost. look on ciscopress.com site and this is what I see i see 640-901 for self-study guide but no 642-901 self-study guide I do see the lab port. 642-901 but i see a ccnp bsci 640-wt???
i need the link to the 642-801 study guid right self-study book is good?
thanks

mikej412

If you already have lots of knowledge and experience with routing and Cisco equipment, then get the Exam Certification Guide to do your final preparation for the exam.

If you're learning the material for the first time, then start with the Self-Study Guide. And then use the Exam Certification Guide for your review and final preparation for the exam.

You can check out the suggested CCNP books on the Cisco Press website
http://www.ciscopress.com/markets/detail.asp?st=44734

If you page down you will find an explanation of the books, and a Which book is right for me? section

And if you forget that web link, you can find it in the CCNP FAQ
http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccnp/29122-ccnp-faq-please-read-before-posting.html

itdaddy

well said mike,
yeah alittle looking at your facts would help huh on my part; sometimes I just like to dialogue that is all with you buds but your faq are right on target. will do thanks
for your superior guidance;)