BCMSN Exam

So, I have been lurking around the forum anonymously for some time and I figured, what better way to officially join the forum and announce myself to the world than an announcement of an exam pass?

Well, I failed with a 722. This was my first exam from the CCNP track and I must say it was a kick in the groin. Honestly, I thought the score was going to be worse.

I used the following study materials:

Self-study guide
Exam certification guide
CBT Nuggets
Train Signal
4 3560's that I was practicing everything on, but I guess I just didn't lab enough.

Advice for for those pursuing this is to lab, lab, lab. Also read and understand outputs for everything you lab.

Make sure to supplement the above with some wireless documentation on Cisco's website to really learn the ADU and the differences between autonomous access points and lightweight access points.

Well, I am tentatively planning on retaking this test next week so hopefully I can practice enough to get over the hump.

If nothing else, today I got a free look at the exam before I use the comeback promotion and a reality check to the level of difficulty of the CCNP.

Cheers,

Ryan

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Comments

networker050184

Sorry to hear about the fail but it sounds like you are on the right track for a pass the second time around.

I agree 100% on the docs for wireless. I don't think I would have passed this exam without the wireless docs I read through. This is a real flaw in the Cisco press books for this exam IMO.

Good luck!

Forsaken_GA

Yeah, the overlapping coverage kind of sucks balls.

The ONT book goes into a bit more detail on wireless than the BCMSN book, so it may be worth reading as well

mikej412

Ryan82 wrote: »

This was my first exam from the CCNP track and I must say.....

Yep, that's about right!

The CCNP exams can be a bit of a shock for people expecting their CCNA level of study effort to be enough.

Search the forum and see if you can find the dates for the COMEBACK2009 promotion. If that's still good you get to call this one a practice test and get to schedule your real exam for free.

Welcome to Forum.

strider21

this exam can be a shocker specially coming from a ccna level and now having to deal with qos and wireless to make things worst the bcmsn book does not go in depth when it comes to certain topics.

malcybood

mikej412 wrote: »

Yep, that's about right! The CCNP exams can be a bit of a shock for people expecting their CCNA level of study effort to be enough.

Search the forum and see if you can find the dates for the COMEBACK2009 promotion. If that's still good you get to call this one a practice test and get to schedule your real exam for free.

Welcome to Forum.

The COMEBACK2009 promotion is good as long as you take the exam before the 20th July.

Ryan82

Yep, just confirmed the comeback promotion is still good. Rescheduled for next saturday.

Time to hit the books and kill this thing.

Ryan82

Well, I am happy to report that I just retook the BCMSN exam and killed it.

I hit my weak areas this week while I was off from work and it payed off.

I guess it is on to the BSCI exam from here. I already have the usual study material: self-study guide, cert-guide, chris bryant, cbt nuggets, and the TCP/IP Routing vol. 1

Would anyone recommend picking up a product like Narbik's Gap from CCNP to CCIE to supplement?

dtlokee

Congrats!!

mikej412

Ryan82 wrote: »

I am happy

Congratulations!!

Ryan82 wrote: »

Would anyone recommend picking up a product like Narbik's Gap from CCNP to CCIE to supplement?

If you don't mind spending the money and putting in the time to use the product it's always better to over study than to under study

Another option would be Soup To Nuts or the Technology Labs workbooks from Internetwork Expert, IP Expert, or NLI (CCBootcamp).

Just remember because of their focus on Routing and Switching they won't cover 100% of all the CCNP exam topics.

creamy_stew

Ryan82 wrote: »

Would anyone recommend picking up a product like Narbik's Gap from CCNP to CCIE to supplement?

I don't know. I've been eyeballing this myself to use for my CCNP, but seriously $300 for a pdf? They dont even mention how many pages it is.

mikej412

creamy_stew wrote: »

$300 for a pdf?

Some of the other vendor Tech Lab Workbooks are around $200 -- but crushing your BSCI and BCMSN exam is priceless.

ITdude

Amen to that!:)

creamy_stew

mikej412 wrote: »

Some of the other vendor Tech Lab Workbooks are around $200 -- but crushing your BSCI and BCMSN exam is priceless.

Ooh, I do want to crush my BSCI and MCMSN

fake edit: The lab portfolios for BCMSN + BSCI + ONT + ISCW combined are half the the price of that thing though.

creamy_stew

Holy crap! I just checked narbik's site again and not only is there a new version of "The Gap", but the price has dropped to $100!

Also, the price for "Soup-to-Nuts" has dropped to $35! I just bought it, and if it turns out it's too much for me to handle, well, it's not that big a deal.

I wonder if Narbik lurks here?

mikej412

creamy_stew wrote: »

I just checked narbik's site

You can't beat those prices with a stick!!

Wookbook - Micronics Networking & Training Inc.

Ryan82

SOLD!!

That price is pretty darn good. I picked up the soup to nuts and gap from ccnp to ccie.

accely

networker050184 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about the fail but it sounds like you are on the right track for a pass the second time around.

I agree 100% on the docs for wireless. I don't think I would have passed this exam without the wireless docs I read through. This is a real flaw in the Cisco press books for this exam IMO.

Good luck!

do you remember where you found the wireless docs? I'm noticing too that there are some wireless questions that I need to read more on.

networker050184

accely wrote: »

do you remember where you found the wireless docs? I'm noticing too that there are some wireless questions that I need to read more on.

Been a while and I've lost the bookmarks (about time for central storage). If you search through the forums I'm sure you can find some links. I believe I have posted a few in the past.

jrs91

I've been using CCIE-level books for my CCNP study and I have to say that the CCNP material is absolute **** compared to the CCNA cert. guides by Odom. Not only does is lack clarity in a lot of places, but it is incomplete. Since it is a cert guide I can forgive it for not giving verbose explanations and forcing you to look elsewhere, but at a minimum, it should cover what is on the exam imo. Even in the Lab Portfolios, I find stuff that wasn't mentionned in the cert guide.

Anyway, i'm glad I read this thread. I'm working on BSCI right now but i'll be sure to read up on wireless on the cisco site, since it is not covered in my main reference material (Cisco LAN Swithcing) when I get to BCMSN next month.

mikej412

jrs91 wrote: »

the CCNP material is absolute **** compared to the CCNA cert. guides by Odom.

Exactly which CCNP material are you talking about? The Cisco Press BSCI Self-Study Guide? The Cisco Press BSCI Exam Certification Guide? Both?

jrs91

mikej412 wrote: »

Exactly which CCNP material are you talking about? The Cisco Press BSCI Self-Study Guide? The Cisco Press BSCI Exam Certification Guide? Both?

The BSCI Exam Cert. Guide. Based on what i've seen in them myself and the omissions I've read about on here, they just don't give me confidence. I'm using Doyle vol 1&2 for actually learning the stuff, but after Doyle I always go back and read the cert guide. Then I do the Lab Portfolios.

I mentioned the prefix and distribute-list in another thread, but there are other things I've noticed that are absent as well, but I haven't really been keeping track. I've also found some inaccuracies. For instance, they say that hello/dead-timers have to be the same for an is-is adjacency to form, which is incorrect. I believe that later in the chapter they state the opposite, but they shouldn't have stated that an adjacency wouldn't form earlier in the chapter. I've read a lot of technical books and I just don't think they're well-written or edited. At this point, I'm really just using the cert guide to focus my reading on the right topics in Doyle, for the questions at the end of chapters, and for the boson exams they come with.

sunderodium

After recently failing my BCMSN last Saturday. Im taking a different approach... The Cisco Press Book, i feel that they never give you enough info and have a little too much fluff.

Here is what I am doing.

1. I read the Cisco Press Book once, to get a basic idea.
2. Then for each topic I really drill down on the Cisco Docs and Lab up every topic no matter how simple it is. Make sure you understand every little detail, and how it behaves.

(I choose the Cisco 3560 Docs for the Latest Software Release 12.2(50), since that’s what’s in the CCIE 4.0 Labs)

Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Switch Software Configuration Guide, 12.2(50)SE
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750e_3560e/software/release/12.2_50_se/configuration/guide/scg.html
Im only reading the sections that are related to the BCMSN test right now. Its a little more detail and right to the point that the cisco press books.

Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Switch Command Reference, Release 12.2(50)SE
The "Usage Guideline" Sections has some really good and useful information.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3750e_3560e/software/release/12.2_50_se/command/reference/cr.html

Then if I have any questions after that I go and looking at http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/psa/troubleshoot.html under Technologies -> LAN Switching for what i am currently studying.

I hope this helps... Its defiantly helping me. Probably going to take the test again in 2-3 weeks.

sunderodium

Well my different approach at studying for the BCMSN paid off..

Within a weeks time i was able to raise my score from a 644 to pass with a 866

Also reading the CCNA wireless book help ALOT!!!! The BCMSN books are serverly lacking in wireless info.

Forsaken_GA

The CCDA book is actually pretty good for the level of Wireless and Voice coverage on the CCNP exams

Ryan82

Congrats sunderodium on passing your exam. I hope you enjoyed learning the material as much as I did. Looks like you have the two most difficult one's out of the way. Hopefully I will be there before tooo long

jrs91

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

The CCDA book is actually pretty good for the level of Wireless and Voice coverage on the CCNP exams

As I near the end of my BSCI studies I've been thinking on to the BCMSN... I have Cisco LAN switching for the majority of topics, but it doesn't cover wireless. I plan on doing a CCDP after my CCNP. Are you saying that the CCDA book has enough coverage of the wireless topics to use it as your main study material for the CCNP?

Forsaken_GA

jrs91 wrote: »

As I near the end of my BSCI studies I've been thinking on to the BCMSN... I have Cisco LAN switching for the majority of topics, but it doesn't cover wireless. I plan on doing a CCDP after my CCNP. Are you saying that the CCDA book has enough coverage of the wireless topics to use it as your main study material for the CCNP?

Well if you want the CCDP, you'll need the CCDA as well, so you might as well buy the book

Yeah, I feel that the CCDA book has enough coverage of Wireless to complement the Wireless topics on the BCMSN exam, but not the wireless topics on the ONT exam (ONT goes into a bit more depth about the cisco products themselves). The ONT exam prep guide, otoh, goes into enough detail. Ideally, study from all three and you should be able to glean enough that the CCNP coverage of the topics won't be a killer