CCNP Switch

Ryuksapple84

So I keep hearing that the Switch exam is very hard...
Since I plan on taking that exam first, can you guys give me some advice?

cuuloco10

Study the concepts and execute the labs - and Lab, and Lab. I did encounter a couples of minor issues with some sims but overall it was a fun test. Good luck and keep us in the loop of the result.

I used:
CBT Nuggets and SWITCH Guide - [email protected] - 3560,3550, 2950,and an old school 3524 PoE

Ryuksapple84

Trying to get hands on 3550s but don't have the funds for it right now because I am the only one working and supporting my wife and 2 year old... any suggestions?

TesseracT

Ryuksapple84 wrote: »

Trying to get hands on 3550s but don't have the funds for it right now because I am the only one working and supporting my wife and 2 year old... any suggestions?

Do as much as you can on Dynamips/GNS3... Honestly it's great for the route exam but there's a lot of limitations using it for switch. It's still a great free option though, and it's what I used for passing the BCMSN (along with with real life experience though).

cuuloco10

i think there is a work-around to use GNS3 for SWITCH, so do some research and find out the possibility to use a router with a Switch module or a Multi FastEther module...

Guys , any other suggestions ?

MrBaker

Ryuksapple84 wrote: »

Trying to get hands on 3550s but don't have the funds for it right now because I am the only one working and supporting my wife and 2 year old... any suggestions?

PacketLife has a free labs can use, I haven't used them yet but have one scheduled for this weekend.

seekrit

Yes, Jeremy's lab over at packetlife.com is your best bet. You can also try our Cisco's new IOS over Unix labs. They're a bit costly if your on a budget, but I've been reading some good reviews.. The CCNP Switch 25 hour labs package is $75.

https://learningnetworkstore.cisco.com/market/prod/listSubCatLearnLab.se.work?TRGT=85&/nxt/rcrs/=2559&utm_source=cln-seo&utm_medium=link&utm_content=labs-cln-seo&utm_campaign=Promo-CLL