Failed ROUTE Today.

I sat for the 642-902 ROUTE exam this afternoon at 1:30pm PST and failed. I think the test was quite fair and rather fun and I feel happy with the result. I feel very strong in the core areas of routing OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, IPv4/6 etc, learned a great deal preparing for this exam and now know what I need to tackle to get this one out of the way. I am scheduled for a re-sit one week from today 10/17.

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SteveO86

You've got a great attitude, and you don't give it up awesome, keep at it man!

Remember you can't pass them all, but it's how you deal with the failure that sets you apart.

nethacker

JaCkNiFe wrote: »

I sat for the 642-902 ROUTE exam this afternoon at 1:30pm PST and failed. I think the test was quite fair and rather fun and I feel happy with the result. I feel very strong in the core areas of routing OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, IPv4/6 etc, learned a great deal preparing for this exam and now know what I need to tackle to get this one out of the way. I am scheduled for a re-sit one week from today 10/17.

i sat for mine on saturday and i must tell you that the labs were the ones i concentrated on the most. I had all simulations and at the end of the day i scored 883/1000. if you can work on the labs and D&D too . I love your courage though.

JaCkNiFe

Thanks for your encouragement gentlemen, I appreciate it. I will be sure to provide an update after I sit for TSHOOT and ROUTE.

Cheers!

nethacker

JaCkNiFe wrote: »

Thanks for your encouragement gentlemen, I appreciate it. I will be sure to provide an update after I sit for TSHOOT and ROUTE.

Cheers!

yes you can

vinbuck

What study materials did you use? What do you think helped and what didn't? What would you have done differently after having sat the exam?

Good luck on your next attempt!

JaCkNiFe

MississippiGuardsman wrote: »

What study materials did you use? What do you think helped and what didn't? What would you have done differently after having sat the exam?

Good luck on your next attempt!

Thank you sir,

I read the ROUTE:OCG, and the ROUTE:FLG as well as used the TCP/IP Vol I and Vol II books as reference materials. Additionally I worked through the entire ROUTE Lab manual and I worked through CBT nuggets for ROUTE (fun video series!). It seems to me that I was very prepared for most of the questions and there were a few specifics that were not in my learning resources that, after collecting my thoughts on the exam, turned out to be on Cisco's website. In light of that fact I recommend reading the configuration articles on Cisco's website as a compliment to your study process.

I really enjoy the newer sims and their formatting regarding a greater pool of supported commands. However there are still a few "tired" sims that from my experience challenge only your test taking skills and will not carry over from the real world.

I will focus on memorizing acronyms in regards to the 'teleworker and branch services' objective and capitalize on configuration mistakes I made which in retrospect were quite silly considering hands on is where I feel the most comfortable.

Netwurk

You'll get it next time, I tend to fail my Cisco exams the first time around so don't feel alone.

Good luck with the next one!

S3CUR3N3TW0RK

JaCkNiFe wrote: »

Thank you sir,

I read the ROUTE:OCG, and the ROUTE:FLG as well as used the TCP/IP Vol I and Vol II books as reference materials.

Wow you really used a lot of material! I am currently studying for the Route exam and plan on only using the Route OCG for theory (I will do some GNS3 labs for lab practice to supplement that). Do you think the material in the OCG is not enough to cover the theory required for this exam? I have the FLG Implementing IP Routing book but it's way too long and doesn't seem as focused on the exam objectives as the OCG. I also never planned on using Cisco's web site for theory review since I figured the OCG should cover all exam objectives, am I wrong in this assumption?

Thanks,

N...

JaCkNiFe

N,

I would say the FLG is a great deal of filler if you work with Cisco equipment and studied well for your CCNA. I most definitely did not read the FLG from cover to cover, skipping what I felt were unnecessarily winded explanations (to each their own, of course). The OCG is definitely a great text for this exam. However, like I mentioned before, there was material I may have come into contact with that was not in any of my books--TCP/IP volumes included--that I was able to find on Cisco's website after the fact. Had I used it as a resource in the first place my score would most definitely have been better. Such is life and learning; I must say that I'm glad I was forced to step out of my normal study habits and scour the interwebs for information.

/2cents

Cheers!

vinbuck

JaCkNiFe wrote: »

I recommend reading the configuration articles on Cisco's website as a compliment to your study process.

Which IOS version config guides are you looking at?

Is this what you're referring to?

Cisco IOS Release 12.0 Network Protocols Configuration Guide, Part 1 [Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.0 Mainline] - Cisco Systems

JaCkNiFe

I realize now that my post was rather vague, sorry about that. By recommending that others read the configuration articles I simply mean search Cisco's website for the current technology/technologies you are working on which usually brings you to a page that includes a case study that can prove to be invaluable for lab practice and practical application. Purely a suggestion of course, mileage may vary.

It looks like you are getting close to taking the ROUTE exam yourself; best of luck!

-J

BTW, the contents of your signature, "OSPF - Because sometimes routers like to have a 2-Way with their neighbor" made for a long night of laughs and further exchanges of nerd humor between my colleagues and I! Thanks!

sieff

I'm sure you'll do well on the next go round. Throughout my short history of certifications the recovery from a failure is the most important thing I've learned. I've failed exams before and have gotten so discouraged that it took 9-10 months to get the motivation back. Just keep rocking, man ...

S3CUR3N3TW0RK

JaCkNiFe wrote: »

N,

I would say the FLG is a great deal of filler if you work with Cisco equipment and studied well for your CCNA. I most definitely did not read the FLG from cover to cover, skipping what I felt were unnecessarily winded explanations (to each their own, of course). The OCG is definitely a great text for this exam. However, like I mentioned before, there was material I may have come into contact with that was not in any of my books--TCP/IP volumes included--that I was able to find on Cisco's website after the fact. Had I used it as a resource in the first place my score would most definitely have been better. Such is life and learning; I must say that I'm glad I was forced to step out of my normal study habits and scour the interwebs for information.

/2cents

Cheers!

Thanks for the response, that is good to know. I will be sure to look through some of the case studies on Cisco's website prior to taking the test. As for the route exam, just hang in there - you'll get it. My advice would be to keep hitting it hard now while the information is still in your head this way you'll keep building on your knowledge and will knock it out the park next time you sit in for the exam. I made the mistake of studying for the exam a while back but letting it go near the end of my prep due to obligations at work and have pretty much forgot everything since then (it's been over a year) and have to start over from scratch again. Try not to end up in this type of situation cause it sucks.