How hard is MCITP:EA in comparison to CCNA?

JZegers

I just finished my CCNA today (woot) after studying for about one month with zero hands on exp. (simmed everything). Just wondering if there was a general feeling on how these MCITP:EA tests are in comparison, as thats what i am going to be working on next (starting with 640). I have pretty much zero exp using server 2008 but do have a copy of server 2008 enterprise (yay college msdn) so thats already up and running.

Any help/tips would be appreciated!

Thanks.

earweed

You're kind of comparing apples and oranges here. Getting that CCNA will help you as you already have a lot of the required network knowledge.
The MCITP:Ea will take longer as there is more material to go through than you covered in the CCNA.

erpadmin

You are going to want to get your hands on 2008 R2 (not regular 2008...trust me, as someone who has used both, [professionally], there are differences) as the exams have already started to reference R2.

Also, even though you have zero AD experience, you may want to consider going to 70-642, as your subnetting knowledge you obtained from the CCNA will help you with that exam. You can always study AD along the way, but since the CCNA is still fresh, that might benefit you for the 70-642. Once you knock that out, then go to 70-640.

RobertKaucher

erpadmin wrote: »

You are going to want to get your hands on 2008 R2 (not regular 2008...trust me, as someone who has used both, [professionally], there are differences) as the exams have already started to reference R2.

Also, even though you have zero AD experience, you may want to consider going to 70-642, as your subnetting knowledge you obtained from the CCNA will help you with that exam. You can always study AD along the way, but since the CCNA is still fresh, that might benefit you for the 70-642. Once you knock that out, then go to 70-640.

I second this. It is a good strategy to follow.

Michael.J.Palmer

As someone else stated, the MCITP is going to be much more matieral but the 642 may seem like a piece of cake to you when you sit down to take it due to your CCNA knowledge. You'll want to study server 2008 specifics when it comes to DNS, DHCP, etc. and on how to set them up, but the subnetting questions will probably seem like a piece of cake.

Me personally I did the 640 first and plan on taking the 642 this Saturday. The 642 material seems much much easier than the 640 material was so just keep that in mind. There's much more to wrap your head around when it comes to AD than with networking. Networking can be like a math problem that once figured out it just flows, AD is going to be different based on it's environment. Something you may do in one place may be completely different than in another, so it's like an artform that's always evolving.

If you stick to your studies though you should do just fine.

genXrcist

As someone who took the CCNA first and then pursued MCSE and just completed MCITP:EA, I would still say the CCNA was harder. Not based on amount of study or amount of material to learn but on the fact that the CCNA is difficult on all levels unless you're used to the CLI.

With the CCNA I learned lots of new, difficult concepts and I learned it through a foreign interface. I too studied for and passed the CCNA in a month but I was unemployed and that's all I did. Estimated amount of study within those 30 days: approx 180-200 hours.

I started the MCSE in January of 2009, right after earning the CCNA and finished in Sept. of that year. Of course, I was employed during that time frame but it still took me about 200 hours for sure. And now having just upgraded that to MCITP:EA I can tell you that that took me a total of 130 hours.

Sheer amount of information and time required ... MCSE/MCITP:EA win hands down.
Sheer difficulty, I would say the CCNA tops out. It's why I have the CCNA listed first for my Certifications udner my avatar.

NinjaBoy

Let me ask you this: What is easier? Riding a motorcycle or driving a car?

I have to say that the answer to both questions is all relative. The CCNA would appear to be harder to alot of people as they do not work on and configure Cisco kit for 8 hours a day, every day.

I've spent quite a few years now in IT, working on NT4 up to the current Win7/Win2k8r2 and I found the MCITP: EA hard going, not as hard as the MCSE, but I have more experience, than I did a couple a years ago. I'd find the CCNA hard, as I go out of my way not to work with the CLI. Added to that I don't work with Cisco kit.

I've met up with network engineers who do nothing but work on switches/routers day in & day out and found that they struggled a bit with what I would say was easy. Yet could run rings round me when it comes to configuring switches.

-Ken

Jander1023

Hmmmm. I have been wondering the opposite question. I would like to get my CCNA at some point, maybe next summer after I complete all my Microsoft Certs. How do you lab for the CCNA? Do they sell good simulators or do you require hardware?

Btw, I am a complete noob about Cisco stuff.

joe48184

After finishing my CCNA studies, I found 70-642 to be the logical first choice in tests. As an added bonus, you get to add a few more letters on your resume after passing the exam.

ElwoodBlues

genXrcist wrote: »

As someone who took the CCNA first and then pursued MCSE and just completed MCITP:EA, I would still say the CCNA was harder. Not based on amount of study or amount of material to learn but on the fact that the CCNA is difficult on all levels unless you're used to the CLI.

With the CCNA I learned lots of new, difficult concepts and I learned it through a foreign interface. I too studied for and passed the CCNA in a month but I was unemployed and that's all I did. Estimated amount of study within those 30 days: approx 180-200 hours.

I started the MCSE in January of 2009, right after earning the CCNA and finished in Sept. of that year. Of course, I was employed during that time frame but it still took me about 200 hours for sure. And now having just upgraded that to MCITP:EA I can tell you that that took me a total of 130 hours.

Sheer amount of information and time required ... MCSE/MCITP:EA win hands down.
Sheer difficulty, I would say the CCNA tops out. It's why I have the CCNA listed first for my Certifications udner my avatar.

Sorry to hijack but it has merit to the topic.

I'm looking at the CCNA now that I just got the MCITP:EA; did you go the 2 test route or single test? Also, what materials did you use?

genXrcist

ElwoodBlues wrote: »

Sorry to hijack but it has merit to the topic.

I'm looking at the CCNA now that I just got the MCITP:EA; did you go the 2 test route or single test? Also, what materials did you use?

I took the composite and used the Sybex CCNA book by Todd Lammle as well as CBTNuggets. In addition, I have the CCNA portable command guide book (awesome for labbing) and finally I have the Titanium edition (Wiley::CCNA Virtual Lab, Titanium Edition) CCNA lab that I used which was a Must. I also have a 3548-XL switch and a 2600 series Router but I didn't do much with them as everything I needed for the CCNA was available to me in the lab.

Key things to passing the CCNA - Be able to subnet in your head in 20 seconds or less. If you can't do this, I would suggest not taking the exam yet. Second, time management. If you're on a SIM and you're not getting it within 15 minutes, move on to the next question. You'll lose points of course but you may lose a lot more if you're rushing the last 10 questions of the exam in 3 minutes.

What are you using for study materials?

ElwoodBlues

genXrcist wrote: »

I took the composite and used the Sybex CCNA book by Todd Lammle as well as CBTNuggets. In addition, I have the CCNA portable command guide book (awesome for labbing) and finally I have the Titanium edition (Wiley::CCNA Virtual Lab, Titanium Edition) CCNA lab that I used which was a Must. I also have a 3548-XL switch and a 2600 series Router but I didn't do much with them as everything I needed for the CCNA was available to me in the lab.

Key things to passing the CCNA - Be able to subnet in your head in 20 seconds or less. If you can't do this, I would suggest not taking the exam yet. Second, time management. If you're on a SIM and you're not getting it within 15 minutes, move on to the next question. You'll lose points of course but you may lose a lot more if you're rushing the last 10 questions of the exam in 3 minutes.

What are you using for study materials?

I haven't really begun. I've had people offer me some study guides and other materials, but I really haven't started anything.