TSHOOT Study Methodology?

7of9

I apologize in advance if this question has been asked a bazillion times already. Unfortunately, I'm on a short study timeline.

So, I'm looking over the TSHOOT topics and I'm wondering...is there a study methodology for this exam beyond just memorizing the ITIL and troubleshooting methodology stuff and then knowing how to implement the things you've learned from the Routing and Switching exams to a semi-real environment? I have several years (ok, since 200 of experience on corporate networks, so I'm kind of scratching my head at what else I could or should do to prepare for this one?

Any thoughts or ideas? I want to go in as prepared as I can be with only a couple of days to study, but the exam topics look like stuff you either just know...or don't and like they might be designed to weed out people who either don't have practical experience or who don't have extensive lab experience to make up for it.

Thanks guys. I'm over my pity party from my earlier brush with greatness and looking forward to putting TSHOOT behind me for the CCNP.

lordy

Well, I think you already summed up what many people said about the exam. You either know your stuff, or you don't. I've read quite a few times that people considered this the easiest exam.

But back to your point: You should take a look at the network setup that TSHOOT will cover. It is listed somewhere on the Cisco Website and shows you which routing protocol, AS numbers, etc are used so you have an idea of what is ahead of you.

mochaaddict

My suggestion would be to not just study the topology, but to also set it up as best you can in GNS3 or with real equipment if you have it. If you know how to setup the lab you will have a very good grasp on what could go wrong.

bermovick

I have the OCG, but I only made it through a couple chapters of it. Downloaded the topology and GNS3'd it up as best as I could (there's a thing or two that GNS3 can't handle - L2 etherchannel comes to mind), and poked around with it a bit. Watched the CBT Nuggets which weren't all that useful, unless you feel you're a bit weak at troubleshooting in general.

But yeah - if you know how to troubleshoot and have a decent grasp of the material it's really not hard at all.

7of9

I've got the CBT Nuggets and I'm going through them as best I can in the time available. There's a few nifty tips and tricks I've picked up that I didn't know before, but it's mostly stuff that would just speed up things I already do. Most of it does seem like it's more geared to someone who is new to troubleshooting.

I also picked up the Boson practice exam and plan on giving that a spin this evening. I feel about as confident as I can be with just over 2 days to prepare for an NP exam. LOL! My exam is tomorrow evening and I'm hoping to pull out a pass.

From now on...no more procrastinating!!! I passed my ONT and ISCW within months of each other, then my BCMSN a year after...then I just sort of got caught up in a work environment where certification was looked down on, almost actively discouraged. I was there for 3+ years and fell into the trap of thinking that all that hard work would be for nothing, but I should have kept in mind that even if it wasn't a priority for my employer or peers there and wasn't rewarded there, it was important for my longer-term career.

Lesson learned!

vinbuck

Boson EX-SIM Max will get you through it. It is the most realistic exam sim I' ve ever used. It's pretty much all I used to pass TSHOOT yesterday. I did a quick build of the topology in GNS3 also, but spent most of my time in the boson sim.

Good luck...quick tip on TSHOOT, if you're stumped on where the problem is, clicking though possible answers on the question can help point you in a direction if you can narrow it down to several likely categories. I got into exam tunnel vision on a couple tickets and this helped me regroup and get a different perspective so I could figure out the trouble and fix it.

bermovick

To be honest; I could have probably passed the TSHOOT exam immediately after taking SWITCH, if I'd've had the money. I really did no actual studying that was JUST for that exam. If you feel the Nuggets aren't really showing you very much, then you're probably good (and I found the nuggets' problems to be much harder than the actual exam problems)

Also

I got into exam tunnel vision on a couple tickets and this helped me regroup and get a different perspective so I could figure out the trouble and fix it.

This.. SO MUCH this. You can also move on to a later ticket and come back to it. I had to do that with my 9th ticket. I totally ended up bombing on the 10th ticket (I hate it when you think something through wrong, and your wrong solution is one of the available answers), but it gave me a bit of a kick so when I went back to #9 I figured it out rather than spinning my wheels more on it.

Nate--IRL--

Just to confirm - you can reopen a ticket once you've closed it? I though you could only go back and forth within a single ticket. Also, say you apply the wrong fix in Ticket 5, does that incorrect solution carry though for the rest of the tickets, potentially FUBARing the rest of the exam?

Nate

7of9

I'm feeling pretty confident and my test is this evening. I made it through most of the CBT nuggets without really encountering much that was "new." Only a couple of the issues did I stop and say, "Whoa...I hope that's not on the exam," and it turned out that those both were more to do with issues he found in the lab setup itself, not to do with the actual problem. In general, most of it seemed simple compared to some of the kinds of problems that crop up on a big network regularly.

I'm going to go through some of the "just memorize this stuff and forget it later" things, like the different troubleshooting methodology types and such, but I'm hopeful I'll have the juice to eek out a pass tonight. I'll report back after and I plan on shutting my brain down for the weekend!

bermovick

Nate--IRL-- wrote: »

Just to confirm - you can reopen a ticket once you've closed it?

No, but you can jump between tickets without closing them. Once you finish it though, it's done.

Nate--IRL-- wrote: »

Also, say you apply the wrong fix in Ticket 5, does that incorrect solution carry though for the rest of the tickets, potentially FUBARing the rest of the exam?

Nope, each ticket is a totally separate issue, completely unrelated to any of the others.

Nate--IRL--

Much appreciated thanks.

Nate

waragi

On tshoot one does not make any configuration changes but just answer multiple choice question with suggested changes?.
So show commands are all that's done?.

Nate--IRL--

Here is a quick demo of TSHOOT

TSHOOT Demo Item

Nate