[SWITCH] - Why I failed

d4nz1g

Well, today morning I sat for the SWITCH exam and unfortunatelly I failed.

Spent some time thinking about it, and realized where I failed.

-Don't underestimate Advanced Services topic (specially voice vlan and some qos concepts, it's worth it to spend a little extra time on it);
-Focus on RSTP (didn't fail on this one, but here's a reminder :] );
-Know switching security stuff, including VACLS, Private Vlans, DHCP snooping, SNMP, etc etc etc. Believe it, maybe its the most important topic;
-Know about design stuff, like planning and implementing;
-And at last, pay attention on your LAB configurations and goals. Sometimes you'll think its harder, when it is actually quite simple.

Well, at least i earned some experience this time, sitting again in about 2 weeks. Enough time to cover all the holes and get a flawless victory.

Fitzi

If it makes you feel any better I failed this exam twice myself, with very similar scores in both attempts.

Reading your post I would agree with everything you said. After my last attempt I compared the score sheet with the one from my previous attempt and I could see that the sections were nearly the same. I need to focus on the advanced services topics and layer 2 security (basically exacptly what you have said).

I originally glossed over the voice, qos and snmp stuff thinking there would not much of a focus on these (in comparison to stp and other switching technologies) and I thought I had a good handle on the L2 stuff and that would be about it, but I was wrong.

In an effort not to waste my time and money on too many re attempts I have broken both of these sections down on paper (according to the blueprint) and started attacking each technology individually, I have just finished layer 2 security and I am about to start the advanced services portion. Like you I am hoping to resit this in the next week or two.

Good luck on your next attempt!

iproute

I failed my first attempt at SWITCH. I responded by making my own labs (which included configuring/using/understanding as many configurable components as I could pull out of my notes). It took me a while to make them but once they were done, I went through them enough so that the configs were basically automatic. On second attempt, killed it with time to spare. In order to make the labs you have to understand the concepts, and in order to complete them you have to know the configs. Might not work for you, but it definitely moved me from "almost" to "done deal."

RouteMyPacket

Now you know what to expect and know your weak spots. You will crush it the next go around..good luck

d4nz1g

Thank you all for your support
Well, I did great on all the labs, the practical part was a piece of cake.
The problem was that I didn't expect to see so many voice/security related questions, so I focused all my study on STP, FHRP and Etherchannel...
Now I know how to fill all those needs and gonna grind it in the next attempt

Danielh22185

The best take away from failing is the ability to identify your weak spots and attach them head on for the re-try.

Good luck on your next attempt. Trust me I know the feeling.