Quick Question Regarding the CCNP Material

ProfessorGumby

Hiya, gang. Hiya, hiya, hiya. I got my CCNA back a few years ago, and now I've decided to go for my CCNP. However, there was a different department at work that handled all of the routing/switching, etc., etc. I was more of a Microsoft guy. So, my skills are rusty, no doubt. If I jump into the CCNP study material, will that go over the "CCNA basics", or am I best to buy a CCNA for Dummies book to get the cobwebs out?

Stotic

The BSCI will be the most familiar...but before you do anything, I would check to see if your CCNA is still valid otherwise you'll have to retake it in order to take a CCNP test.

Slowhand

I wouldn't go so far as to pick up a "for dummies" book, but doing a little bit of review might not be a bad idea, particularly on the basics of the IOS and subnetting. Take a look at the CCNP FAQ that Mike put together and you'll see a section called "Other Resources". There are some good fundamentals there. Also, check out a book called Network Warrior, it has a lot of good stuff to help refresh you on CCNA topics, as well as show you a few things that "weren't on the CCNA", as the book famously says. And, of course, there's a ton of good information on this forum regarding CCNP topics, both in the CCNP section itself, as well as the general Cisco forum.

Stotic wrote: »

The BSCI will be the most familiar...but before you do anything, I would check to see if your CCNA is still valid otherwise you'll have to retake it in order to take a CCNP test.

You can take any test you want, but the CCNP won't be valid if you don't have a current CCNA. My former boss let his CCNA lapse, took all the CCNP tests, then finally earned the actual CCNP title after retaking the CCNA exam.

Stotic

Then in that case you might as well go renew your CCNA first if it's expired.

ProfessorGumby

Thank you, Slowhand. Very helpful post. And yes, Stotic. It's good until Sept., 2010. Thanks for mentioning that.

mikej412

With the changes to the CCNA and the "upgrade" of the CCNP, reading the latest edition of Todd's CCNA Sybex book is probably a good idea. It should easily knock the cobwebs off your old CCNA knowledge and get you back in shape for your CCNP studies.

Forsaken_GA

It's been over 5 years since I passed the CCNA, so I took the previous versions of the exams (I'm not sure exactly when they upgraded it). A friend of mine is studying for the CCNA now, and some of the questions he's been asking me makes me wonder if I should go retake it, because it sounds like it got a serious bump in difficulty. If the current version of the CCNA is the one you've already passed, you'll likely be fine to move on to CCNP, though a little review is never a bad thing

AutoBahn81

I have the CCNA Security Concentration and the CCNA itself was definitely harder than the concentration.