My Study Resources

sina2011

Hi Guys,

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far.


As you some might be aware I will be starting my CCNP R&S soon and i have chosen to use the following resources for my study:

CBT CCNP RS
INE CCNP RS
Cisco Official Lab Manual
GNS3
4x 3550 Switches

I really dont want to read the book as I would prefer to watch the videos as things would make more sense to me by video demonstration and examples compared to the book, I have always found cisco books very dry and boring.

Would you guys think the material that i have mentioned above is enough to achieve the CCNP or would you really recommend me reading the books as well.


Cheers,

Staunchy

I'm sorry to say but you will definitely going to have to pickup a book and read.

Remember Cisco exams are not just practical labs there is a lot of theory covered too that is not mentioned in CBT Nuggets or INE videos.

johnwest43

+1 on picking up a book.... or 6! I really like the SWITCH Simplified book. I read it and the FLG. Way to much theory is skipped in the videos.

Also I will usually dive into Cisco's documentation if I don't fully understand what the books and video's were trying to convey.

As far as labs go, the Cisco lab books don't challenge you enough. The SWITCH Simplified Labs are nice because they give you objectives and a chance for you to figure it out before giving you the correct configs. On top of labs from books, try making your own labs, try out different things, try to break STP, VTP, HSRP etc.. Then find out why they broke. (STP is really fun to break and watch the lights flicker and watch the CPU utilization go through the roof!)

Case and point: (no googleing!)
1. Can a VTP client can change the VLAN database on a VTP server?
2. Why?
3. Where did you find the answer?

kohr-ah

You find the books boring but can watch the INE videos!?

The INE videos will give you the most info but you are going to have to at least go through the OCG to fill the gaps as the videos won't cover it all. Remember they are just a recorded boot camp session.

Then lab lab lab lab lab lab and oh yeah. Lab.

elderkai

Try chhecking out the Simplified book series then for CCNP. They're not dull and they're full of info. The organization goes really well with the way I process information. Check em out!

gorebrush

The INE videos are dry, very dry. But fact filled.

Jon_Cisco

Did you pass the CCNA without reading? I don't see how all of the knowledge could be learned from the videos alone. I would definitely pick up a book.

Good Luck

wintermute000

This is the wrong career for you if you can't handle reading technical documents. Unless you plan on staying at the junior engineering level forever (technically speaking). You won't learn the true ins and outs of the complex topics just from watching videos (maybe if you repeatedly watch them dozens of times but still you will not get the fine print).

You don't HAVE to use the OCGs, if you know where to look, you can probably pass most Cisco exams using just free articles on cisco.com and technical blogs.

Also, as you get faster and more familiar with these topics, you'll find that its usually quicker to spend 30 minutes reading and absorbing an article than dig out a video then watch it for an hour waiting for the relevant bit to come up (and then usually its not explained in depth either).

Do you have enough NICs on your GNS setup to run complex topologies? Or are you planning on using a breakout switch?

sina2011

Thanks for your replies guys.

I have always read the books as well I just wanted to try something different this time thats all.

Juliusg

gorebrush wrote: »

The INE videos are dry, very dry. But fact filled.

I second this and I stopped watching them because of they are so dry. I was watching them at work so it may be better to watch when I can give my full attention.

FloOz

I actually really enjoyed the INE CCNP videos. They were a lot better then CBTnuggets in my opinion. All in all though Chris Bryant beats out both of them.