When does BCMSN start getting difficult?

I'm 165/551 pages through the Exam Certification Guide, and it seems like it's mostly CCNA review with a little more depth. Now that I've whined, I'm sure it'll start kicking my ass in the near future

What topics did you find most difficult to study for?

I see a lot of people aren't big fans of wireless.

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Cyanic

We have a bunch of BCMSN exams coming up. Good luck guys!

yuriz43

My biggest annoyance with the BCMSN is some of the wireless stuff. Not because I don't like wirelesses ( I find it very interesting ), but because it is hard for me to practice hands on. I work at a datacenter, where we have plenty of enterprise level cisco equipment, but no wireless stuff, no wireless lan controllers or anything like that.

So I basically have to study a PDF and look at screen shots of the configuration menu for things like the WLC and ADU setup.

networker050184

yuriz43 wrote: »

My biggest annoyance with the BCMSN is some of the wireless stuff. Not because I don't like wirelesses ( I find it very interesting ), but because it is hard for me to practice hands on. I work at a datacenter, where we have plenty of enterprise level cisco equipment, but no wireless stuff, no wireless lan controllers or anything like that.

So I basically have to study a PDF and look at screen shots of the configuration menu for things like the WLC and ADU setup.

That is one of the things I hated about the BCMSN and the ONT. A lot of memorizing out of the book because I didn't have the wireless equipment to play with. Probably the main reason I didn't retain as much of the wireless material as I would have liked.

SysAdmin4066

I will say again, do not underestimate the BCMSN. Especially if you've not taken a professional level exam. I would say to give yourself ample time to PERFECT the labs, as these pro level exams seem to require much more configuration on the labs than the associate level stuff did. I found myself very winded on the first pro level and nearly out of time due to a large volume of sims and simlets. I guess I should say that my first pro level exam was the BSCI but to me it was mostly difficult because of the complexity of the sims. They took much longer than I anticipated and thus I spent more time on my labs in the BCMSN. Was able to fly through it with time to spare. I would really really really work the labs and have those configs down cold.

msteinhilber

dynamik wrote: »

Recently divorced and landed an awesome job as a security engineer. It's a nice way to start over. The financial situation is a bit stressful, but I'll be in much better shape in six months or so.

Entering a similar situation, I find that studying hard not only has the obvious benefits of advancing one's career potential. But it's mentally rewarding to oneself spending your time productively, and it helps keep your mind off the stress around you.

You're a cert machine though, I'm sure you'll cruise along the path to CCNP with little issue

trackit

miller811 wrote: »

Every day for me....

normally up and studying by 5:00 AM get a couple of hours in, in the morning, think about what I studied earlier, throughout the day, and then get a couple of hours in at night.... more on the weekend, but for me the first thing in the morning helps me the most, since I can think about it all day.

wow, you wake up at 5 AM to study a couple of hours?? you must be enlisted in "cisco army" or something like that

I usually study at work for some hours (depending on my workload) and in the evenings (though not all evenings).

dynamik

I get up at 5:00am too. I'm pretty burnt-out once I get back from work, so I like to get a solid couple of hours in beforehand. I couldn't make the progress I do without that strategy. It's nice to split your studies up a bit. It's much easier to do two two-hour sessions than one four-hour session.

I'm going to wrap up the book today or tomorrow, so I'm going to have a solid month of review/lab. The advanced spanning-tree, redundancy, and QoS material is going to need a little work, but the security stuff and wireless isn't too bad.

I've already done the CWNA, so all the wireless theory is just review at this point. I just need to learn any relevant commands and the GUI interface. I actually put in a Cisco AP at one of my old client's, so maybe I can remote in and look around a bit. I'm not going to have any access to a wireless controller though. Does anyone offer rack-rental for wireless equipment? It might be worth getting a session shortly before the exam, just to familiarize myself a bit.

billscott92787

dynamik wrote: »

I get up at 5:00am too. I'm pretty burnt-out once I get back from work, so I like to get a solid couple of hours in beforehand. I couldn't make the progress I do without that strategy. It's nice to split your studies up a bit. It's much easier to do two two-hour sessions than one four-hour session.

I'm going to wrap up the book today or tomorrow, so I'm going to have a solid month of review/lab. The advanced spanning-tree, redundancy, and QoS material is going to need a little work, but the security stuff and wireless isn't too bad.

I've already done the CWNA, so all the wireless theory is just review at this point. I just need to learn any relevant commands and the GUI interface. I actually put in a Cisco AP at one of my old client's, so maybe I can remote in and look around a bit. I'm not going to have any access to a wireless controller though. Does anyone offer rack-rental for wireless equipment? It might be worth getting a session shortly before the exam, just to familiarize myself a bit.

Yeah, I get up a 5:00 - 5:15 am every morning to get my studying in. Usually on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday and Sunday I work from 6 am - 4 pm and can pretty much study all day after I get done my tasks, which isn't very much to do. Monday there really isn't much time for studying, we are so busy on Mondays that I am burnt to a crisp by the time I walk in the door. But my day Tuesday I work from 12 pm - 10 pm. Normally around 5-6 it dies off and I can study the rest of my shift. Sometimes I'll get some studying in the evenings as well. I seem to retain stuff better in the morning though.

trackit

so i was right

the whole battalion of cisco network warriors

I have to wake up around 7:30 usually and its hard enough

i cant imagine if i would have to wake up at 5 am. May i ask when do you go to sleep usually? taking into account 8 hours of sleep that people need on average... so around 9 pm?

dynamik

Yea, I try to get to sleep by 9pm. I don't think I ever have though. It's usually after 10, and I've been slipping past 11 lately. Since I've consistently gotten up at the same time for so long, I've adapted. I feel more rested with six hours of sleep now than I did with eight hours when my schedule was all over the place. I always wake up a few minutes before my alarm goes off too; I've totally trained myself. I keep the same schedule on the weekends too. Rise and shine at 5AM, no matter what.

miller811

trackit wrote: »

so i was right the whole battalion of cisco network warriors

I have to wake up around 7:30 usually and its hard enough i cant imagine if i would have to wake up at 5 am. May i ask when do you go to sleep usually? taking into account 8 hours of sleep that people need on average... so around 9 pm?

For me it is sometime between 9 and 10 most nights. I do not have the oppurtunity to study while at work, but I do a decent bit of travel, so I attempt to listen to cisco related audio products to keep it fresh.

Eveyone needs to find out what works best for them

trackit

I'm 165/551 pages through the Exam Certification Guide, and it seems like it's mostly CCNA review with a little more depth. Now that I've whined, I'm sure it'll start kicking my ass in the near future

What topics did you find most difficult to study for?

I see a lot of people aren't big fans of wireless.

i guess BCMSN gets difficult once you sit in the exam room

billscott92787

trackit wrote: »

i guess BCMSN gets difficult once you sit in the exam room

I definitely agree with that statement. We really don't know what to expect until we hit that start button and then it's fair game from there :0

tenrou

The BCMSN is the only exam that I have failed so far. I watched the CBT Nuggets, Trainsignal and read the Cisco Press book. I wasn't really prepared for what the exam was going to throw at me. There were quite a few questions that got maybe a paragraph or a slide in the training but there are in depth questions about it on the exam.

I almost feel that I had to go and fail that exam just to understand what was required for the CCNP study (not that I enjoy being £125 down). I feel I did well on the switching stuff because I love all the layer 3 switching, high availability and such but there is a suprising amount of tangental material. I am seriously not looking forward to ISCW because security is by far my weakest part.