Passed ROUTE!!!! - feels like Cisco has rattled my soul

wavewave Member Posts: 342
in CCNP
Passed ROUTE bang on the passing score. I feel like Cisco has rattled my soul. Got to the last sim and froze when I realized how many questions I had left and how much time I had left but I made it.

I used the ROUTE FLG and although it was a beast of a book I'm glad I read every page. I'm now looking forward to the SWITCH FLG which is about half the size.

The Cisco Academy lab manual was gold but I recommend taking things a little further and hammering out labs from GNS3vault.

The Boson ExSim Max exams were also very helpful but I feel that the live exam was a tad harder. The key with Cisco exams is trying to determine what exactly they want you to do. You can be crash hot at everything but when you read some of those questions you're thinking...HUH!? That's why I think it's critical to gain test experience by using the ExSim Max pack.
ROUTE Passed 1 May 2012
SWITCH Passed 25 September 2012
TSHOOT Passed 23 October 2012
Taking CCNA Security in April 2013 then studying for the CISSP
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Comments

  • SomnipotentSomnipotent Member Posts: 384
    wave wrote: »
    Passed ROUTE bang on the passing score. I feel like Cisco has rattled my soul. Got to the last sim and froze when I realized how many questions I had left and how much time I had left but I made it.

    I used the ROUTE FLG and although it was a beast of a book I'm glad I read every page. I'm now looking forward to the SWITCH FLG which is about half the size.

    The Cisco Academy lab manual was gold but I recommend taking things a little further and hammering out labs from GNS3vault.

    The Boson ExSim Max exams were also very helpful but I feel that the live exam was a tad harder. The key with Cisco exams is trying to determine what exactly they want you to do. You can be crash hot at everything but when you read some of those questions you're thinking...HUH!? That's why I think it's critical to gain test experience by using the ExSim Max pack.

    don't let the size of the SWITCH FLG or OCG fool you... that test is even more beast than the ROUTE. congrats and best of luck on your next exam!
    Reading: Internetworking with TCP/IP: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture (D. Comer)
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  • Nate--IRL--Nate--IRL-- Member Posts: 103 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Congrats :)

    Nate
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  • RoguetadhgRoguetadhg Member Posts: 2,489 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Congrats sir
    In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.
    TE Threads: How to study for the CCENT/CCNA, Introduction to Cisco Exams

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  • jamesp1983jamesp1983 Member Posts: 2,475 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats! Big accomplishment.
    "Check both the destination and return path when a route fails." "Switches create a network. Routers connect networks."
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  • Panzer919Panzer919 Member Posts: 462
    Congratz!
    Cisco Brat Blog

    I think “very senior” gets stuck in there because the last six yahoos that applied for the position couldn’t tell a packet from a Snickers bar.

    Luck is where opportunity and proper planning meet

    I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
    Thomas A. Edison
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  • kaytauruskaytaurus Member Posts: 28 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrat mate..
    got mine in a couple of weeks.... Hope to make it a one time pass tooo
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  • jovyjigsjovyjigs Member Posts: 10 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Many Many Congratulations.. We can now get very good guidance from you.. I am reading the FLG too. It has a lot of detailing but is very helpful as rightly told by you..
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  • SharkDiverSharkDiver Member Posts: 844
    Congratulations!
    Good luck on the SWITCH. Fun exam! (sarcasm is implied)
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  • MickQMickQ Member Posts: 628 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Well done on getting your Route!
    I guess like so many others, I found Switch to be harder than Route. The book is smaller, but man, the exam really sucks the life from you during it.
    Whatever prep you put into Route, put more into Switch and you won't be disappointed. Know the little details.
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  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    Congrats!
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
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  • alanaroundalanaround Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Congratulations icon_cool.gif All the best with SWITCH!
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  • wavewave Member Posts: 342
    MickQ wrote: »
    Well done on getting your Route!
    I guess like so many others, I found Switch to be harder than Route. The book is smaller, but man, the exam really sucks the life from you during it.
    Whatever prep you put into Route, put more into Switch and you won't be disappointed. Know the little details.

    Thanks to everyone! It's a relief to have passed. I'll step it up a notch more for switch then!
    ROUTE Passed 1 May 2012
    SWITCH Passed 25 September 2012
    TSHOOT Passed 23 October 2012
    Taking CCNA Security in April 2013 then studying for the CISSP
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  • MickQMickQ Member Posts: 628 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Best make it two notches. Route is hard, Switch is harder.
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  • mattaumattau Member Posts: 218
    MickQ wrote: »
    Best make it two notches. Route is hard, Switch is harder.

    gulp icon_sad.gif
    _____________________________________
    CCNP ROUTE - passed 20/3/12
    CCNP SWITCH - passed 25/10/12
    CCNP TSHOOT - passed 11/12/12




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  • jovyjigsjovyjigs Member Posts: 10 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Hey.. Can you let me know where can i get the practice exams?
    I am reading FLG currently and simultaneously going through CBT nuggets..
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  • DevilWAHDevilWAH Member Posts: 2,997 ■■■■■■■■□□
    MickQ wrote: »
    Best make it two notches. Route is hard, Switch is harder.

    Is this really true?

    here was my take on the two exams, and the study needed.

    Switch Vs Route | DEVILWAH's BLOG

    to sum up,

    Route = few topics but in depth

    Switch = many topics but less depth in each.

    If you are a theory driven person you will find route easier, if you are good at remembering and like learning in bite size chunks things you might find switch OK. I think also most people seem to have more experience with L3 than L2, many smaller companies you little other than VLAN's at layer 2, So there are a lot of "new" topics in switch to cover. Personal I found this much more interesting as it was new things to learn rather than reading about routing and filling in the odd blank.

    But well done on passing and good luck for switch :)
    • If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. Albert Einstein
    • An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties. It means that its going to launch you into something great. So just focus and keep aiming.
    Linkin Profile - Blog: http://Devilwah.com
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  • MickQMickQ Member Posts: 628 ■■■■□□□□□□
    I work with switches a hell of a lot more than routers. I'd also done about 90% of the Switch material in production environments.
    When it came to the exam, I felt it should have bought me dinner beforehand.
    Maybe it was just me on the day, but then in my conversations with others, they had the same opinion. Maybe you're just special Dev ;)
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  • DevilWAHDevilWAH Member Posts: 2,997 ■■■■■■■■□□
    MickQ wrote: »
    Maybe it was just me on the day, but then in my conversations with others, they had the same opinion. Maybe you're just special Dev ;)

    Note I said interesting not easier ;)

    The first time I took the switch my exam crashed and Cisco gave me a refund, this exam was hideous and the questions had mistakes and where misleading. I then took some time away (young baby) and came back about 6 months later, this time the exam made more sense and if you understood the topics was straight forward enough. My one bit of advice for the SWITCH is not to take the topics seperatly. when you are labbing during study put them together. for example, don't do a common spanning tree lab, then a per vlan then a multi vlan spanning tree lab. Put as many different topics in to the lab together as you can.

    So learn them how you would use them, and this is different to routing where each protocol sits alone except when you redistribute between them.
    • If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. Albert Einstein
    • An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties. It means that its going to launch you into something great. So just focus and keep aiming.
    Linkin Profile - Blog: http://Devilwah.com
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  • clikcspeedclikcspeed Member Posts: 29 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Somnipotent wrote: »
    don't let the size of the SWITCH FLG or OCG fool you... that test is even more beast than the ROUTE. congrats and best of luck on your next exam!

    This is very true. Congrats, you are halfway there! All the best with SWITCH
    -clikc-
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  • 7of97of9 Member Posts: 76 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congratulations on the pass and good luck in your Switch studies. The exams have changed a lot, but a few years ago, BCMSN was one of my favorites, but then, I was working on a very large switched network environment.
    Working on Security+ study, then going back to re-do my Cisco Certs, in between dodging moose and riding my Harley
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  • LanswitcherLanswitcher Member Posts: 12 ■□□□□□□□□□
    congrats! I failed it the first time by a few points, but ROUTE was my favorite.
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  • Danielh22185Danielh22185 Member Posts: 1,195 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Glad to hear that book was a good resource for you, this is what I am currently reading.. I just passed my CCNA 2 months ago and am slowly dipping into CCNP (trying to get Sec+ before I go all out).
    Currently Studying: IE Stuff...kinda...for now...
    My ultimate career goal: To climb to the top of the computer network industry food chain.
    "Winning means you're willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else." - Vince Lombardi
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  • vinbuckvinbuck Member Posts: 785 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats to the OP on passing ROUTE...that sucker leaves you drained.

    I'm gonna cast my lot with DevilWAH, I felt that ROUTE was harder than SWITCH. Probably because ROUTE was the first NP level exam i had taken. Once I had an idea of what they look for on an NP exam, I was able to adjust fire accordingly. SWITCH is not as complicated as ROUTE, it just requires a good working knowledge of what Layer 2 technologies and options will work together and which ones don't.

    If you can lab everything in the SWITCH NetAcad SLM, then you'll be fine on the labs in the exam. The rest of SWITCH is mostly memorization and regurgitation of the content, whereas ROUTE required more analysis of the memorized content.
    Cisco was my first networking love, but my "other" router is a Mikrotik...
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