BSCI pass with 940, BCMSN 938
johnaspen from examnotes.net here - finally gave up on them after the site owner and mods gave no indication of caring about the content on their site. Nice to see that this group is active and the site isn't littered with horrible ads. You've got a good thing going here!
This is a re-hash of what I recently posted on the other site all lumped into one mega-post:
Materials used were Sybex, Cisco Press (the cheaper ones that you can buy in a set), and Boson's Netsim Beta 6. I found this test much easier to study for than the CCNA since the material is obviously more focused. Difficulty was average. I was suprised to see absolutely nothing on NAT, which others have also experienced. Lots of IPv6, redistribution, OSPF stub, EIGRP stub (not covered well in books) and I also got pounded on the passive-interface command. A hint of IGRP knowledge was needed which is supposed to be a non-testable topic for this test.
Sybex was good as always, and the Cisco Press book was lengthy but good. I ended up with 6 pages of 10pt notes, which was a bit less than what I had for the CCNA. Boson's Netsim beta 6 was a major downer compared to the version 5 that I used for CCNA. The built in labs were far from functional, but of course I can't complain about any product that's still in beta form. Love the product overall.
Sims didn't allow the use of the tab key, but did allow the ? key which I found to be very backwards. Time was no concern as it is for many on the CCNA. 25 minutes left when I submitted.
BCMSN is supposed to be the tough one of the four. Couldn't believe I was ready since BSCI was only 2 weeks ago. Didn't find this test all that challenging so I think the general consensus on this one being the most difficult might need re-thinking. Of course I've only taken 2 of 4 so I'm not yet qualified to pass any judgement here.
The current Sybex book for BCMSN is painfully outdated with info that's no longer tested on (tons of SET commands and old-school MLS info). On the flip side of that, I took quite a few notes from the Cisco Press book on AAA, VOIP, and QOS and don't remember getting a single question on any of it. VTP, VLAN's, and STP (along with it's various flavors) dominated the test.
I noticed www.getcertify4less.com is a sponsor on this site which is good to see. I've always bought my vouchers through them. Crazy thing with the Cisco Vue vouchers is they list them at $125 which is the normal non-voucher price, but when you add it to your cart, it's $115 with no tax. Must be one of those manufactures minimum advertised price agreement deals. For all you Prometric'ers, they only offer Vue for Cisco so you're stuck paying full price at the test center.
BCRAN is next on the hit list. Fire any legal questions at me if you have 'em, and happy studying everyone!
P.S. Interesting observations:
- The current 642-8x1 tests are about 3 years old
- The 3rd edition of the BCMSN just came out recently and doesn't reference the current test # on the cover:
2nd edition
http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore...isbn=1587200775
3rd edition
http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore...isbn=1587201429
- The Sybex CCNP books are going for pennies from Amazon marketplace sellers that sell overstock books. CIT for example was $2.44 yesterday brand new, just having an overstock mark.
Anyone else feel a change coming on?
This is a re-hash of what I recently posted on the other site all lumped into one mega-post:
Materials used were Sybex, Cisco Press (the cheaper ones that you can buy in a set), and Boson's Netsim Beta 6. I found this test much easier to study for than the CCNA since the material is obviously more focused. Difficulty was average. I was suprised to see absolutely nothing on NAT, which others have also experienced. Lots of IPv6, redistribution, OSPF stub, EIGRP stub (not covered well in books) and I also got pounded on the passive-interface command. A hint of IGRP knowledge was needed which is supposed to be a non-testable topic for this test.
Sybex was good as always, and the Cisco Press book was lengthy but good. I ended up with 6 pages of 10pt notes, which was a bit less than what I had for the CCNA. Boson's Netsim beta 6 was a major downer compared to the version 5 that I used for CCNA. The built in labs were far from functional, but of course I can't complain about any product that's still in beta form. Love the product overall.
Sims didn't allow the use of the tab key, but did allow the ? key which I found to be very backwards. Time was no concern as it is for many on the CCNA. 25 minutes left when I submitted.
BCMSN is supposed to be the tough one of the four. Couldn't believe I was ready since BSCI was only 2 weeks ago. Didn't find this test all that challenging so I think the general consensus on this one being the most difficult might need re-thinking. Of course I've only taken 2 of 4 so I'm not yet qualified to pass any judgement here.
The current Sybex book for BCMSN is painfully outdated with info that's no longer tested on (tons of SET commands and old-school MLS info). On the flip side of that, I took quite a few notes from the Cisco Press book on AAA, VOIP, and QOS and don't remember getting a single question on any of it. VTP, VLAN's, and STP (along with it's various flavors) dominated the test.
I noticed www.getcertify4less.com is a sponsor on this site which is good to see. I've always bought my vouchers through them. Crazy thing with the Cisco Vue vouchers is they list them at $125 which is the normal non-voucher price, but when you add it to your cart, it's $115 with no tax. Must be one of those manufactures minimum advertised price agreement deals. For all you Prometric'ers, they only offer Vue for Cisco so you're stuck paying full price at the test center.
BCRAN is next on the hit list. Fire any legal questions at me if you have 'em, and happy studying everyone!
P.S. Interesting observations:
- The current 642-8x1 tests are about 3 years old
- The 3rd edition of the BCMSN just came out recently and doesn't reference the current test # on the cover:
2nd edition
http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore...isbn=1587200775
3rd edition
http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore...isbn=1587201429
- The Sybex CCNP books are going for pennies from Amazon marketplace sellers that sell overstock books. CIT for example was $2.44 yesterday brand new, just having an overstock mark.
Anyone else feel a change coming on?
Comments
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lordy
Member Posts: 632 ■■■■□□□□□□
Very nice post. Thanks for the info and welcome aboard
You might be right about the change coming up: I read that
Cisco will change the CCIE Lab so they might as well change
things for CCNPs. I better hurry up
Working on CCNP: [X] SWITCH --- [ ] ROUTE --- [ ] TSHOOT
Goal for 2014: RHCA
Goal for 2015: CCDP -
keenon
Member Posts: 1,922 ■■■■□□□□□□
congrats,Become the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons -
Webmaster
Admin Posts: 10,292 Admin
Welcome on board and congratulations!
It's 2 years actually, I took a beta in 2003. If there will be an update next year, it will be late next year after a beta period for all exams, which usually don't entirely overlap. Apart from that, you can probably mix and match CCNP exams.The current 642-8x1 tests are about 3 years old -
TonyATL
Member Posts: 20 ■□□□□□□□□□
Congratulations,
I also just got back from the testing center for the BCMSN. I made an 814, which is a step down from the 920 I made from the BSCI. I mainly used the Sybex CCNP Complete study guide. The BCMSN section out of the Sybex was mostly useless and out of date. I had to pull most of my information from Cisco’s website. I just hope that the remote access section out of the Sybex is more complete and accurate. Well, I guess I have no time to take a break now. I got 2-3 weeks to prepare for the BCRAN. Hopefully, it should be down hill from here. -
GUI-Man
Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
Well we've got a passing party in here now, nice job Tony! Outside of the outdated BCMSN section, how are you liking that all-in-one Sybex? I've just gotten started on BCRAN and it does look like they're covering the right objectives.
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keenon
Member Posts: 1,922 ■■■■□□□□□□
i'm going to take a run at the switching test. i'll cram up a bit more than i have been doing in those areas to fill in those points with a finer edge Become the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons
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blork_98
Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
hello..
I'm about ready to start preparing for the BSCI, is Cisco gonna change the CCNP exam soon? -
GUI-Man
Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hey blork,
Here's the place to keep an eye on in terms of changing tests:
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le11/learning_retired_certification_exams_list.html
I commented on a few possible signs to drum up some conversation, but it's not happening in the immediate future.
