Renewing CCNP

Heero

So I have to renew my CCNP within the next ~60 days. At the time being I am not interested in investing time in learning new content for a different professional level test...I just want to stick with taking and passing on of the CCNP RS exams. I need suggestions on which exam is the easiest to pass, and what study materials would be best for someone that has already learned most of the content at one point and is mostly just looking for materials that are good refreshers.

iamme4eva

It's down to you really. Personally I found Route better than Switch, but that's because I find it more interesting. Depends which you prefer, which you are more comfortable with, and which is most applicable to your job.

I personally would do TSHOOT. But then I'm a systems support engineer and I troubleshoot networks most days.

It's entirely down to whatever you are most comfortable with. They are all tough exams.

NetworkVeteran

I need suggestions on which exam is the easiest to pass,

The easiest exam is whatever you've been working with lately. Personally, I found TSHOOT the easiest, SWITCH the middle, and ROUTE the hardest. However, the reasoning behind that is simple: (1) Prior to taking TSHOOT, I studied ROUTE and SWITCH, and TSHOOT is like a review of both. (2) Prior to taking ROUTE and SWITCH, my job duties had been more focused on switching.

If you took the typical progression--earned your CCNA, worked for a year, earned your CCNP, was promoted to a more advanced / lucrative role--you should be using at least some of these skills on a daily basis and that should be your guide.

Personally, I'd probably review all the material and then take the TSHOOT. Not because that route is the easiest course, but rather because a certification you don't have the knowledge to back-up won't help you much in job hunts.

Heero

Guess I'll do the ROUTE. Always preferred those topics even though I am probably more familiar with the SWITCH topics from work. Makes me sad to see they took IS-IS off the exam though... Should also have some badass notes from when I took the BSCI

vinbuck

Personally, I'd do TSHOOT as ROUTE was an extremely hard exam, but if you're very comfortable with NP level routing and just need to brush up on some theory and detail then ROUTE might be doable.

Heero

Well I did it. Took the ROUTE and passed. Figured I would let you guys know. I just bought the exam book and went through the chapters, wasn't at all as bad as I thought it would be. Only a couple new topics, but they weren't to complex or deep.

I guess my suggestion to anyone renewing a cert in the future would be to take whichever exam you felt strongest in the first time around. That was the BSCI for me when I got my CCNP and the OSPF/EIGRP/BGP/redistribution parts of the ROUTE were a cakewalk.

f0rgiv3n

Congrats man, good job and glad to hear you didn't have to turn your life upsidedown to renew it! That makes me feel better for when it comes to be my time to renew my NP