sybex ccnp bsci 2002 edition

dj_lotfi

hello

i want to start studing my ccnp with the sybex book bsci edition 2002,
did the exam change since 2002 or is it the same??? , as i don't want to study out of date stuff and if the exam changes , what's the major changes...

thanks for your help

Lotfi

Drakonblayde

Well, the copy I have is marked with a copyright of 2004, though I don't know if anything has actually changed. As long as it says it's for the 642-801 exam and not the earlier number, it should be alright.

Be careful though, I've only read through the first three chapters of my book, and I've already caught a couple mistakes.

dj_lotfi

in this sybex they said 642-801 but i have a chapter on igrp , this is bizar because we should only have eigrp ???

anyway hope you'r right as i don't have money to by the book

thanks and good luck

Drakonblayde

Well, my book has a chapter combining IGRP and EIGRP. I don't think it's strange to know IGRP for this exam since EIGRP is basically the upgrade for it, so understand one and it makes it a little easier to understand the other... that and I regard the fact that IGRP routes with an identical AS to EIGRP will automatically redistribute into EIGRP to be a significant reason for revisiting IGRP hehe

wildfire

I wouldnt rely on Sybex alone for BSCI anyway is a harrd exam, and the sybex doesnt cover everything, a good way to judge if its up to date is does it have a chapter on IS-IS as this was one of the newest topics to be introduced.

pizzafart

I think it's wise to get full-coverage books from at least 2 sources, then maybe top them with something abridged like an Exam Cram. Also, look for as many practice tests as you can; maybe buy one. I can't think of one book I've read that would have allowed me to pass a cert on its own. The books that came the closest in my experience were the Cisco Press books for CCNA. But even then I used a router sim & an exam cram, along with some Boson practice tests. Study materials are expensive but compare them to training or college courses! It's worth the cost in my opinion. Good luck, my next test will also be the bsci. I already bought some Cisco Press books (and some hardware finally). Maybe I'll check out the Sybex stuff too.

Anyway, that's just my 2 cents. People sometimes learn differently anyway.

Drakonblayde

Yeah, the one I've got has a chapter in IS-IS. One of my co-workers is taking BSCI mid-january and he'll hand his Academy material over to me once he's passed, so I'm working with the Sybex in the meantime. I'm a little annoyed, they don't really explain things all that much, just simply 'this is the way it is.' The useful part, much like any book for an exam of this type, is the hands on labs.

wildfire

I'm a little annoyed, they don't really explain things all that much, just simply 'this is the way it is.'

Im affraid thats the way it is with sybex materials, I find them designed to help you do the bare minimum to pass an exam, I find the cisco press tells you more than needed for the exam, but gives you a better understadning, and after all whats the point in passing the exam if you dont understand, that just makes people paper cetified and nothing else