Just passed BCMSN 642-811!!!

rainman · February 2004

Hello all, I'm kinda new to this forum. Just wanted to say that I was studying for the past few months for the 642-811 test and I went in yesterday and took it and passed! The test was more difficult than I expected. Lots of questions on multicast and QoS. Such a load off my shoulders.

-Rainman

Webmaster · February 2004

Congratulations!

I'm currently preparing for this exam myself, and the book has much less pages than the BSCI exam but I'm not going to underestimate it

rainman · February 2004

I'm actually gonna be preparing for BSCI soon. I decided to do 642-811 first since I was at a class for it recently. What do you think is harder to prepare for ... BSCI, BCRAN, or CIT? My CCNA expires in NOV and I want to nail this CCNP out however I'm not sure which exam to nail out next.

Any suggestions?

Tx - Rainman

Webmaster · February 2004

I think you don't have much choice, you should take the BSCI exam next. The switching (BCMSN) and routing (BSCI) exam are the fundamentals of CCNP, which you should have covered before starting with remote access (BCRAN) and definitely before troubleshooting (CIT).

I think the CIT exam will be the hardest to prepare for, although the BCRAN is hard to practice unless you're using a simulator or are lucky to be able to get hands-on in an extensive lab or real-life experience.

And I got some good news for you: your CCNA won't expire in November. It got renew when you passed the BCMSN exam (any exam with the 642 prefix)

Cisco Recertification Policy wrote:

CCNA and CCDA recertification takes place when a candidate passes the current certification exam or any new exam, bearing the prefix 642.

Just check your stats at the online tracking tool:
www.certmanager.net/Cisco
and you can see the date behind CCNA.

I renewed my CCNA and CCDA by taking the new BSCI 2.0 exam last summer.

rainman · February 2004

I was like 85% ready for the routing exam about a year ago, then Cisco changed the format of the exam (threw in IS-IS routing). Right after that happened, my employer sent me for a BCMSN v2 class so I just decided to do the CCNP tests in the order of 2 -> 1 -> 3 -> 4. I'm definately planning on doing the routing test next.

As for BCRAN, I work for an ISP so I troubleshoot WAN's and LAN's all day (various WAN links such as frame-relay, ATM, DSL, p2p). Also had the CSVPN class and I know that VPN's are covered in BCRAN (I got IPSEC down good and did every type of VPN scenario in the CSVPN class). I honestly think BCRAN might be the one of the easier ones for me but we shall see.

Thanks for the tidbit regarding my CCNA being automatically renewed due to taking any of the 642-XXX exams. This is good news.

-Rainman

rainman · February 2004

What did you think of the CCDA if you don't mind me asking, and also what has preparing for the CCDA tought you compared to preparing for the CCNA or CCNP classes?

I have always considered getting the CCDA but I never thought that the CCNA / DA auto-renewed at the same time when getting any of the CCNP exams completed. I'm kinda considering the DA depending on the study times. Let me know if you believe it was worth getting.

Thanks,

Rainman

Webmaster · February 2004

It's been more than 3 years since I took the CCDA exam, so my experience is based on the old CCDA exam (i.e. no SAFE, VoIP). At that time I thought it would be useful for my job. I designed and managed the implementation of small to medium Cisco networks. (Mainly providing WAN access to remote offices thru frame relay and updating and upgrading router software and hardware (250x->26xx).) I wanted to do it the 'Cisco way'. And that is exactly what the CCDA material is about; designing networks the Cisco way. It also tought me a lot about LAN and WAN technologies basics (it goes deeper and wider than the network basics in CCNA). It's also useful to learn how to create the appropriate documents and better organize them and the info in it.

Although some things are directly related to commands (i.e. for inventory of existing network you need to know basic show command) but it doesn't add much router and switch config skills to a CCNA.

Now that I started with CCNP I'm suprised how much of the CCDA material overlaps with the BSCI and also the BCMSN exams.

Without wanting to sound to negative about it, CCDA is more useful for those that talk and write about networks (ie. sales rep, consultant), when to use which technology and/or device, how to organize a basic small to medium sized network layout, and is less useful for those that actually work with routers and switches, especially if you are going to go for CCNP anyway. But if the money and time is not a problem I definitely recommend it because of the added value.

Another advantage is that when you are CCNA, CCNP and CCDA, it only takes 1 more exam to become CCDP. Besides looking great on a resume, you can take it years after your last CCNP exam and you will recertify your CCNA and CCDA again.

Just passed BCMSN 642-811!!!

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