BCMSN Scheduled[04/23/2010]

Well I hope this last 6 months of studies and on the job experience will bring good result.
April 23, 2010, BCMSN, ISCW is next....in case I don't catch it, TSHOOT material is already on deck

plus the experience in taking the beta.

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Comments

jeanathan

good luck qplayed, I am going to take the bcmsn a couple of days after you. What books have you been reading to study for the exam?

qplayed

Books:
CP BCMSN Study Guide
CP BCMSN Cert Guide
CP LAN Switching (CCIE PD)
CP Lab Portfolio
CP CCNP Quick Ref
CP BCMSN command guide

Other:
INE CCNP Bootcamp
INE LAB
TS BCMSN

Exam Prep:
Transcender
Test Out

I'm currently doing a focused review on each topic. I just finished VLANS, VTP, EtherChannel. Then I move on to STP, for some reason I have a problem with this so I'm taking my time on it.

The wireless and voice stuff is still fresh with me from ONT. I'm still going ot review it though, that was an issue in the past when I took the other exams. GL!

trackit

scheduled for friday so you can go straight into celebration mode?

I used to sit for exams on friday also, but now i kinda prefer mondays... that way i have time to add those finishing touches on weekend

Anyway, good luck!!!

ConstantlyLearning

qplayed wrote: »

Books:

CP LAN Switching (CCIE PD)

Is that book from 1999?

DevilWAH

My head hurts

I'm in the last stages of preparing for my SWITCH Exam,

From what I can tell the BCMSN and SWITCH share about 90% of the topics. I am hoping I am ready.

just got to get security and VoIP down. Also things like implementing switch supervise redundancy.. I get the theory but I really hope that's all they ask for as not having any switches that support it it a bit hard to Lab..

Any way good luck on the BCMSN, I think i going to walk dogs now, watch another video on wireless and VoIP and then go to bed.. (its only 12:40 am now)

qplayed

ConstantlyLearning wrote: »

Is that book from 1999?

Yep, a lot of old stuff

I skipped a lot of the token ring sections

jovan88

Good luck man, I'm hitting this on the weekend. I've still got an issue with private vlans but I'm hoping I'll get through with a pass.

billscott92787

Good luck on your exam man! Just review any areas that you think you are weak on. I would most definitely know STP, how to change priorities to make a certain switch default for all VLANs and how to make a specific switch default for "specific" VLANs. In addition to that, I would know pretty much everything you have studied. If there are any weak areas that you can think of just hit them one more time or two before the exam. BCMSN is definitely difficult, but it's no where near as hard as the BSCI exam. You should be good to go with your amount of studying. I studied for 2 1/2 months and passed the BCMSN on my first attempt.

qplayed

3 days left on the review.... I'm feeling very confident on this. However I would like to reach out to those that have taken BCMSN for "tips". Anything that doesn't break NDA is appreciated. Some pointers on extra reading for the wireless section would be great.

TIA!

jeanathan

qplayed wrote: »

3 days left on the review.... I'm feeling very confident on this. However I would like to reach out to those that have taken BCMSN for "tips". Anything that doesn't break NDA is appreciated. Some pointers on extra reading for the wireless section would be great.

TIA!

What is the HSRP hello timer?
What is the HSRP interface tracking default decrement value?
What is the HSRP default priority?
What is the HSRP default holddown timer?
Can you interpret the output of #show standby

I have a feeling HSRP will get more coverage than open VRRP and IRDP.
I also feel like GLBP not being on the 3550 will be less important. I having been fretting over HSRP studying and labbing like a hawk.

I might make my 1st attempt at BCMSN this Thursday or wait till next week. Best of luck on your attempt this Friday, if you have been thorough in your studies then you're going to nail it.

Cyanic

Yes, it is a good idea to know HSRP like the back of your hand.

qplayed

jeanathan wrote: »

What is the HSRP hello timer?
What is the HSRP interface tracking default decrement value?
What is the HSRP default priority?
What is the HSRP default holddown timer?
Can you interpret the output of #show standby

I have a feeling HSRP will get more coverage than open VRRP and IRDP.
I also feel like GLBP not being on the 3550 will be less important. I having been fretting over HSRP studying and labbing like a hawk.

I might make my 1st attempt at BCMSN this Thursday or wait till next week. Best of luck on your attempt this Friday, if you have been thorough in your studies then you're going to nail it.

I will need to work on HSRP output of sh standby, that is for sure. The others I can recite in my sleep. Thanks! Depending on how I feel tomorrow I have no problems re-scheduling for Monday, latest would be Tuesday. I appreciate the tips! thanks

jeanathan

qplayed wrote: »

I will need to work on HSRP output of sh standby, that is for sure. The others I can recite in my sleep. Thanks! Depending on how I feel tomorrow I have no problems re-scheduling for Monday, latest would be Tuesday. I appreciate the tips! thanks

No problem, I just rescheduled for Mon. myself. Remember show ip cef detail is how to view the FIB table.

I have been doing some CEF today and realized how little I know about some of the CEF stuff. I don't know about you, but every time I feel like I have absolutely masted one domain of knowledge say STP then I start worrying about what I might be missing in some another area say aironet desktop utility.

qplayed

thanks for the reminder! I understand how CEF works, I forgot how to interpret the output.

hrmm...I'm starting to see a few holes, I'll most likely have to reschedule for monday or tuesday, I'd rather play it safe.

Nuul

Know which RFC number matches up to what technology would be what I would add. I wish I could give you specifics on it, but all I can really say is that my test they tried to be tricky bastards with a question or two about RFCs.

colink24

My exam is still a bit of a blur due to an horrendous sim that knocked me for six early on but managed to get through it ok.

I would say redundancy, wireless and STP are the area's that caused me most issue, not that I wasnt prepared, I just felt it really tested those area's.

Good luck though, you sound like you have put in the time and effort so all the best

Cyanic

The difficult and long SIMs in the beginning can really throw you off your game. Just know that the questions should get easier, or at least shorter. I think Cisco does this on purpose

qplayed

yea i've had sims upfront when I took BSCI a while back...same with ONT. Thanks for the tips guys!

I moved the exam to Tuesday. It suddenly got busy at both jobs so I'll have to push through this weekend for the last stretch of review.

qplayed

I've rescheduled the exam again for Monday. I took my Academy final and got a 75%. Intructor said I can do the review and should be able to take it this friday. I wanted to go on the side of caution and I'm taking my time on the review. So Monday will be my hard deadline. I still have ISCW to study for and the clock is ticking...

qplayed

at 6:45pm I'll be tackling this beast. Thanks for all the support. I'll report once I get out of the exam room.

Nuul

qplayed wrote: »

at 6:45pm I'll be tackling this beast. Thanks for all the support. I'll report once I get out of the exam room.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great. Still now word on the TSHOOT beta? I thought they only had until April 30th to get the results.

qplayed

failed at 720
a sim froze twice, really threw me off my game. Time mangement sucked, didn't finish with probably 15 more questions. Proctor reported the incident and said to wait 48 hours to see what pearson/cisco decides to do. 70-75% across the board so I know I'm not that bad.

Cyanic

Hopefully they will let you take it again at no cost. I think I averaged lower then that but still managed to pass, has to be the weight of the sims. You will get it next time.

peanutnoggin

Cyanic wrote: »

Hopefully they will let you take it again at no cost. I think I averaged lower then that but still managed to pass, has to be the weight of the sims. You will get it next time.

+1

Hopefully you'll get to retake... I had a test that crashed on me once before. I was allowed to retake at no additional cost... one thing they did though was make me wait a week (as if I failed). But no extra cost out of my pocket except gas that it took to get there. Good luck dude!

-Peanut

DevilWAH

Well VUE said it was nothing to do with them when my sim crashed and still waiting to hear back from CISCO 2 weeks on! I hoping if they do let me have a retake they will not make me take it straight away, baby due in a week so not prepared for test.

Any way with a score of 75% and 15 questions left to go you should have no problem on the retake. hope they sort it out for you quickly. You must be ace'ing it all.

I can't wait to get the SWITCH exam out the way, been reading up the ROUTE topics and boy they look fun...

qplayed

sigh...another fail!....I'm much more hpapywith this one. I have a "real" view of topics I am weak on. I also noticed that I rushed the exam as I had 5 minutes left on the clock. I also spent way toomuch time on 1 sim, for some reason ior another I figured I didn't need to do any verifications

jeanathan

qplayed wrote: »

sigh...another fail!....I'm much more hpapywith this one. I have a "real" view of topics I am weak on. I also noticed that I rushed the exam as I had 5 minutes left on the clock. I also spent way toomuch time on 1 sim, for some reason ior another I figured I didn't need to do any verifications

Those sims are tough as can be. I swear legit commands are missing in the simulators, which frustrated me. I had time management issues on my retake I was sweating bullets and actually had to wipe my forehead after hitting next on my 1st Sim. I mean stomach in throat, red face, and lots of cursing under my breath. I made up for it by really knowing the material 100% on some sections. Some of those Sims are wordy and vague and I hope that cisco has done a better job on the SWITCH, ROUTE, and TSHOOT simulators.

Keep at it and really study those areas where you did poorly; I failed 4 of 8 attempts on my CCNP so don't feel bad no matter how many tries it takes.

qplayed

I only feel bad for a few hours, once i realive waht i screwed up on. It fuels the fire becuase I know I could have done better. Some people I know sweat the $$ for hte exams and resort to ****. The way I see it this prepares me for the R&S Labs which is way more expensive. As much as I hate to fail and pay again I'm better off failing than cheating.

ConstantlyLearning

What areas did you feel you did poorly on and what areas are you going to hit hard for the enxt attempt?

jeanathan

As much as I hate to fail and pay again I'm better off failing than cheating.

True. And once you pass you still spend loads of time working on areas you could have been stronger in. It really is a cumulative process. I only just passed on the ISCW and ONT so I have started looking towards doing the QOS and CCNA:Security just to learn some more even though I am already certified on paper. I think it will take me 5 years to get to the CCIE Lab I just don't have the experience yet.