Passed SWITCH Exam 879/1000
DexterPark
Member Posts: 121
in CCNP
Hello all, I just took the Switch exam today and scored 879/1000. Got beat up pretty bad by one of the SIMs but I found the regular questions to be pretty simple to answer. I am going to chill for a few days but then its on to the next test!
My advice to anyone looking to advance their career would be to learn DevOps tools and methodologies. Learn how to write code in languages like Python and JavaScript. Not to be a programmer, but a network automation specialist who can do the job of 10 engineers in 1/3 of the time. Create a GitHub account, download PyCharm, play with Ansible, Chef, or Puppet. Automation isn't the future, it's here today and the landscape is changing dramatically.
Comments
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prtech
Member Posts: 163
Congratulations!
I just started studying for SWITCH. Which materials would you recommend? I have OCG already and Chris Bryant's ebook.If at first you do succeed, try something harder. -
lordy
Member Posts: 632 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congratulations on the pass!Working on CCNP: [X] SWITCH --- [ ] ROUTE --- [ ] TSHOOT
Goal for 2014: RHCA
Goal for 2015: CCDP -
DexterPark
Member Posts: 121
Normally I would give all my study credit to Jeremy C, but this time David Hucaby takes the cake. I read the Cisco Press book cover-to-cover several times, watched the CBT Nuggets, and also watched/followed along the Video Mentor that goes with the Cisco Press book. I spent maybe 20 hours of lab time total, and made a switch block out of six L3 switches.My advice to anyone looking to advance their career would be to learn DevOps tools and methodologies. Learn how to write code in languages like Python and JavaScript. Not to be a programmer, but a network automation specialist who can do the job of 10 engineers in 1/3 of the time. Create a GitHub account, download PyCharm, play with Ansible, Chef, or Puppet. Automation isn't the future, it's here today and the landscape is changing dramatically.
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Dakinggamer87
Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
Congrats on pass!!
*Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
*Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63 -
mattau
Member Posts: 218
awesome stuff! thanks for the insight_____________________________________
CCNP ROUTE - passed 20/3/12
CCNP SWITCH - passed 25/10/12
CCNP TSHOOT - passed 11/12/12 -
networker050184
Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
Congrats!An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made. -
ciscoman2012
Member Posts: 313
Congrats man.
I'm thinking about starting on SWITCH soon in about 2-3 months.
Was wondering how much more detail it goes over beyond the CCNA. Would you say the topics are more difficult than the switching on the CCNA? Or is it just more material building on top of it.
I guess my confusing question can be boiled down to this. Is the CCNP Switch harder than the switching topics in the CCNA? In my head I feel it may be easier as you're just focusing on switching vs. troubleshooting and routing. Also, I've looked at some CCNP videos from Jeremy C. and it looks like half of them were the exact same as the ones I watched in CCNA. Weird. -
waragi
Member Posts: 72 ■■□□□□□□□□
Switch initially seems like ccna over again ,when doing sample questions on stp vtp then one sees the detail that is required is high compared to ccna (the darned timers to be learnt) ,then when mls and high availability are covered the fun starts. The lab time is high for switch and as you can't use a emulator for 70 percent of the time the search for a mini home lab or online lab is a must (packet life).
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wave
Member Posts: 342
Congrats!
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 -
ciscoman2012
Member Posts: 313
ciscoman2012 wrote: »Congrats man.
I'm thinking about starting on SWITCH soon in about 2-3 months.
Was wondering how much more detail it goes over beyond the CCNA. Would you say the topics are more difficult than the switching on the CCNA? Or is it just more material building on top of it.
I guess my confusing question can be boiled down to this. Is the CCNP Switch harder than the switching topics in the CCNA? In my head I feel it may be easier as you're just focusing on switching vs. troubleshooting and routing. Also, I've looked at some CCNP videos from Jeremy C. and it looks like half of them were the exact same as the ones I watched in CCNA. Weird.
Awesome, thanks so much for the information.
I've got my lab setup all I need now is a few 3550s. -
DexterPark
Member Posts: 121
ciscoman2012 wrote: »Congrats man.
I'm thinking about starting on SWITCH soon in about 2-3 months.
Was wondering how much more detail it goes over beyond the CCNA. Would you say the topics are more difficult than the switching on the CCNA? Or is it just more material building on top of it.
I guess my confusing question can be boiled down to this. Is the CCNP Switch harder than the switching topics in the CCNA? In my head I feel it may be easier as you're just focusing on switching vs. troubleshooting and routing. Also, I've looked at some CCNP videos from Jeremy C. and it looks like half of them were the exact same as the ones I watched in CCNA. Weird.
No they were not harder than the CCNA Switch topics. In fact, I found the study experience to be a lot smoother. Word to the wise: Don't skimp on L3 High Availability, LAN Security, or Spanning Tree. (Per the exam objectives on Cisco's site).My advice to anyone looking to advance their career would be to learn DevOps tools and methodologies. Learn how to write code in languages like Python and JavaScript. Not to be a programmer, but a network automation specialist who can do the job of 10 engineers in 1/3 of the time. Create a GitHub account, download PyCharm, play with Ansible, Chef, or Puppet. Automation isn't the future, it's here today and the landscape is changing dramatically.
