Starting CCNP Track... Need Advise

I want to start on my CCNP, can anyone advise which is the best exam to go for first?
which is the easiest between route and switch?
If one was to devote 3-4 hours study everyday approx. how long would it take to achieve route or switch?
Also is there any Cisco Networking Academy courses for the CCNP track?
thanks

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late_collision

If you currently work in a networking role, take whichever exam would be most valuable to your day to day duties. Otherwise, the order does not matter, other than most folks take TSHOOT last.

Unless you have a background in either area, both exams are going to destroy you for a while. New technical material is tough and the only way through it is to chew on it for a while.

I made a thread about my SWITCH exam experience recently. It took me 8-10 weeks to complete SWITCH. I am currently working through ROUTE and fully expect it to take at least a few weeks longer to chew through. Based on what I have read here, the average seems to be around 3 months per exam with a dedicated study schedule, +/- a couple of weeks.

bharvey92

Hi Noc-dream,

I would say go for the exam which you believe you are weakest at. In my opinion I would say Routing is my weakest area so I am starting with the CCNP Route first. But that's completely down to you.

And in regards to 3-4 hours study, that's a reasonable amount of time. I am doing roughly that at the moment and I have finished the official cert guide and the route simplified book in about 2 months. So you should get ti done in no time!

Good luck!

fredrikjj

noc-dream wrote: »

I want to start on my CCNP, can anyone advise which is the best exam to go for first?

Route because it helps with Switch.

which is the easiest between route and switch?

They're roughly actual.

If one was to devote 3-4 hours study everyday approx. how long would it take to achieve route or switch?

2-3 months

Also is there any Cisco Networking Academy courses for the CCNP track?
thanks

Yes, I think so.

Danielh22185

All depends on your current level of knowledge.

It took me 3-4 months of hard study to get Route when I was focused on studying. (The only one I can speak on right now). I had an odd schedule when studying Route and was able to dedicate 4-5hrs 2-3 times on a few week days, the rest was at least an hr-2 every other day I could not allocate as much time.

I've heard from many sources Route is the hardest due to the level of new content you must absorb to master the test. I've heard Switch touches on a lot of old CCNA topics and does not contain as many new topics when compared to Route.

Obviously you want to take TSHOOT last as it would be applicable to what you learned in the Route/Switch exams. I've heard is the easiest but that can be a relevant term if you have already passed the previous two.

My suggestion is have at least 2 sources of reading material, have physical and / or logical means to lab, take lots of notes, stay dedicated to your studies, and don't underestimate anything.

noc-dream

Danielh22185 wrote: »

All depends on your current level of knowledge.

It took me 3-4 months of hard study to get Route when I was focused on studying. (The only one I can speak on right now). I had an odd schedule when studying Route and was able to dedicate 4-5hrs 2-3 times on a few week days, the rest was at least an hr-2 every other day I could not allocate as much time.

I've heard from many sources Route is the hardest due to the level of new content you must absorb to master the test. I've heard Switch touches on a lot of old CCNA topics and does not contain as many new topics when compared to Route.

Obviously you want to take TSHOOT last as it would be applicable to what you learned in the Route/Switch exams. I've heard is the easiest but that can be a relevant term if you have already passed the previous two.

My suggestion is have at least 2 sources of reading material, have physical and / or logical means to lab, take lots of notes, stay dedicated to your studies, and don't underestimate anything.

Thanks muchly Danny, great explanation, I still have routers / switches from my CCNA labs and 2 X ASA 5505 from CCNA security labs.

Can all labs and practice for the CCNP Route be done with GNS3? or is it better to get real hardware? if so whats the best routers I can get for the ccnp route...
thanks

silalaval

I would go for the Route one first. Switch has a lot of L3 stuff.