Which Test First..

johnwest43

I have started a new job with an awesome company that encourages continual learning.
I am planning on starting my studying within the next month. I was wondering what order did you take the tests in and why.
Also besides the cisco press books was there any alternate reading that you found helpful? By helpful i don't mean just helpful to pass the test but helpful in your current job.

Thanks

Forsaken_GA

johnwest43 wrote: »

I have started a new job with an awesome company that encourages continual learning.
I am planning on starting my studying within the next month. I was wondering what order did you take the tests in and why.
Also besides the cisco press books was there any alternate reading that you found helpful? By helpful i don't mean just helpful to pass the test but helpful in your current job.

Thanks

If you've just recently come off the CCNA, I'd recommend going for the ROUTE exam first. It'll be the most closely related to what you have studied for already. Otherwise, just pick the subject you feel stronger in, Routing or Switching. TSHOOT is almost always going to be last, unless you've got boatloads of experience already. You need to learn the previous material to be able to troubleshoot it.

As far as supplemental reading, Routing TCP/IP 1 and 2 should be in every network guys library. For the switching side of things, there really isn't a good layer 2 tome right now. Cisco Lan Switching Fundamentals is pretty good, but it's heavily slanted towards CatOS, which is becoming increasingly rare in production. The old Kennedy Clark Cisco Press book is also pretty good, but it's *very* dated and doesn't cover MLS terribly well. It's possible that the SWITCH authorized self study guide may be the best material around for it, outside of CCIE coverage.

With that being said, the Odom CCIE cert prep book is also a pretty good supplement, though I find it a little lean in some areas.

And finally, there's also the Cisco DocCD. It's pretty much the ultimate supplement, and if you have any CCIE aspirations, I'd recommend getting very familiar with it.

PsychoFin

I second everything Forsaken said and I'd like to add that the foundation learning guides for switch and route are great.

tomaifauchai

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

Routing TCP/IP 1 and 2 should be in every network guys library

Yeah, they sleep in mine since 3 months Shame to me, there's some dust over them

But well done, i couldn't have said better!

WillTech105

I ditto on PsychoFin, the Foundations Guide is great. Its short, sweet, and to the point.

Thanks PsychoFin for letting me know about them -- I only read the Cisco Press Exam books for the most part until he let me know about them. Great read!

ConstantlyLearning

For switching, I tend to hit this book when I need a refresh in a certain area: Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks BCMSN Authorized Self-study Guide: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Froom, Balaji Sivasubramanian, Erum Frahim: Books