HP ASE/MASE to CCNP

I completed by CCNA about two years ago, and my HP AIS and ASE (last week), since then I have been teaching and working HP MASE with HP Networking. I have a pile of Cisco routers and switches, along with HP L2 and L3 switches with support OSPF/BGP/MPLS/QinQ etc. I was wondering how much time might be required to complete by CCNP in about a years time. I spend all day either doing course development, teaching or taking new courses, from the entry level to the HP MASE.

Cisco Gear
3x3550 (ADV IP)
2x2950
2x3750's (ADV IP)
3x2651xm's routers
4x3620
1x3640

HP Gear
3x5500
4x3500yl
1x5304xl
3xMSR30-40
4x5800

I feel blessed to be working a job I love, and I am looking to keep my certifications current.

I have a majority of the theory down, and it would be just the Cisco way of implementation over HP's.

any thoughts or information would be greatly appreciated.

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Eildor

tazdevil wrote: »

I completed by CCNA about two years ago, and my HP AIS and ASE (last week), since then I have been teaching and working HP MASE with HP Networking. I have a pile of Cisco routers and switches, along with HP L2 and L3 switches with support OSPF/BGP/MPLS/QinQ etc. I was wondering how much time might be required to complete by CCNP in about a years time. I spend all day either doing course development, teaching or taking new courses, from the entry level to the HP MASE.

Cisco Gear
3x3550 (ADV IP)
2x2950
2x3750's (ADV IP)
3x2651xm's routers
4x3620
1x3640

HP Gear
3x5500
4x3500yl
1x5304xl
3xMSR30-40
4x5800

I feel blessed to be working a job I love, and I am looking to keep my certifications current.

I have a majority of the theory down, and it would be just the Cisco way of implementation over HP's.

any thoughts or information would be greatly appreciated.

Are you asking how many hours you will have to put in a day in order to achieve CCNP within a year? Just do what you can, CCNP in 1 year is more than achievable even on 3 hours a day.

Roguetadhg

I've heard 4 months for each test. If you have experience with it and won't need to learn as much, im sure you could do it faster.

Todd Burrell

I always try to add about 10-20% more time for interruptions, etc..., to your studying. I'm currently working on the ROUTE CCNP exam and reading the FLG book. I can say that the material is a bit dry and it takes awhile to get through it, so you can probably give yourself a week per chapter for this book. Turning around the full CCNP in a year is certainly doable - but if you are like me there are numerous interruptions each week (work and life really get in the way).

From what I have heard, though, the TSHOOT test should not take as long to prepare for as the other 2 since it builds on the material from ROUTE and SWITCH. That just seems to be the consensus from what I have seen on this forum.

Good luck.

tazdevil

All, thanks for the feedback, HP Theory is down on the majority of the material, just need to adjust for Cisco. Is there any hardware I should look to pickup? I prefer real gear over GNS3.

vinbuck

CCNP Timetable:

1 month with ****
3 months if you have no life and work for Cisco TAC
6 months if you're a single guy and study hard without ****
12 months if you're a married guy

Add 3 months to each category for each child you have

In all seriousness, I'm married with a two year old and work full time as a Network Engineer for a Telco. ROUTE took me 11 months and I'm nearing my date to take SWITCH so if all goes well, I should have my CCNP by March/April which puts me just shy of a year and a half. I have had numerous interruptions both personal and extended work projects out-of-town, so that will all take its toll on your timetable. The whole process is a marathon and not a sprint. I have really tried to integrate my studies into my daily job by identifying useful solutions and applying them when appropriate - it has paid off very well. Since I have shown such a strong interest in studying routing and switching, most of routing and switching design projects come across my desk now and that is as rewarding as a CCNP certificate.

Eildor

The quicker you get it done the better, I found that being consistent in studying helps a lot... I made the mistake of being lazy when I was doing my CCNA, and I ended up having to revisit topics and relearn things numerous times.

vinbuck

Eildor wrote: »

The quicker you get it done the better, I found that being consistent in studying helps a lot... I made the mistake of being lazy when I was doing my CCNA, and I ended up having to revisit topics and relearn things numerous times.

You're definitely right about study consistency - I found myself having to re-learn numerous topics for ROUTE, but i'm trying to look at it as a learning process on the way to my CCIE studies. I know that's gonna take me a while if the CCNP is any indication and I'm in this for the long haul so I'm trying to learn how to prepare. During my SWITCH studies, I have been taking more notes and making flash cards so that I don't have to start from scratch when I need to revisit a topic. From what I gather about the CCIE process, the process of taking notes is critical to your long term success since the base of material is so vast.

Eildor

vinbuck wrote: »

You're definitely right about study consistency - I found myself having to re-learn numerous topics for ROUTE, but i'm trying to look at it as a learning process on the way to my CCIE studies. I know that's gonna take me a while if the CCNP is any indication and I'm in this for the long haul so I'm trying to learn how to prepare. During my SWITCH studies, I have been taking more notes and making flash cards so that I don't have to start from scratch when I need to revisit a topic. From what I gather about the CCIE process, the process of taking notes is critical to your long term success since the base of material is so vast.

Personally I'm not even considering CCIE xD I want to get my CCNP done this year, finish my degree, then I need to find some work! I have 0 real world experience, but I figured since I have time I might as well go for the CCNP.