CCNP SWITCH failed :(

samuel.lao85 · February 2014

Hi mates,

Just to share my sadness right now about the CCNP SWITCH TEST. I failed with 660/1000.

I thought I was prepared for this (I've been reading for 3 months) and practicing over a month ago, plus CBT videos too. I guess it was not enough for me

I'm currently not working with CISCO devices in my job, so I decided to buy 2 3550 and 1 2960 for my home lab.

There is one doubt I have about the test:
- Questions about design - Drag and drop options: this type of questions let me choose several answers for a VLAN deployment and that kind of stuff on a production environment but, I mean there were several options about gather documentation, review traffic, etc HOW IS POSSIBLE THAT YOU CAN HAVE X ANSWERS CORRECTLY ? ALL OF THEM SEEMED TO BE GOOD FOR ME. Do you know where can I find documentation about this ?

On the other hand, I did not take into account IP SLA, so it was a surprise for me to see it on the exam.

How can I be sure that I'm prepare to take it again ?

any advice would be appreciated...

ande0255 · February 2014

I hate best practice questions, cause they are so open for interpretation, I feel for ya man! Have you gotten passed Route yet?

When recertifying my CCNA, I failed the ICND2 twice, once with a similar score in the 600's, just gotta keep attacking that exam and you will eventually conquer it!

samuel.lao85 · February 2014

No, SWITCH is will be my frist step for CCNP.

I planned to get ROUTE and last, TSHOOT.

dpsmooth15 · February 2014

Keep your head up and stay positive, keep your eyes on the PRIZE.

johnwest43 · February 2014

Study up on the weak points that the exam print out noted. The equipment you bought will help a ton. IP SLA is part of the exam requirements so make sure you know how to do a basic config and the theory behind it. Also make sure you know Cisco's PPDIOO methodology. Good luck!!

aftereffector · February 2014

I feel your pain, mate. I failed a Cisco test last night as well. Previously I only failed Microsoft exams

but head up, back to the books and we'll both pass soon enough.

gorebrush · February 2014

I failed BCMSN the first time too (Way back in 2009). It happens, just gotta get back on the horse and go conquer it.

TBickle · February 2014

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you'll knock it out of the park next time around.

Are you using the Student Lab Manual to lab? Have you made your own flashcards? Tried Mind Maps?

fredrikjj · February 2014

I'm sorry to hear about the fail. I haven't failed any Cisco exams yet, but I'm personally really disappointed with exam topics lists they have. They are deliberately vague and the only legitimate way to learn what's actually tested on the exam is to take it and/or trust that the books actually cover the correct material. In my experience the official books only cover 90% of the exam, which is fine if you are a strong student because that 90% will be enough to pass an exam where you need to score like 80%. Everyone else will be driven to brain **** because the difficulty is artificially inflated by the poor quality of the material you are supposed to use to prepare.

fredrikjj · February 2014

johnwest43 wrote: »

Study up on the weak points that the exam print out noted. The equipment you bought will help a ton. IP SLA is part of the exam requirements so make sure you know how to do a basic config and the theory behind it. Also make sure you know Cisco's PPDIOO methodology. Good luck!!

Case in point. You are breaking the NDA by saying this. The exam topics list don't explicitly mention these topics. And isn't a little bit strange that the IP SLA feature is tested on the SWITCH exam when it's covered in the ROUTE textbooks?

maharaliel · February 2014

Be courageous, finally you will make it.

Danielh22185 · February 2014

I know the feeling of the fail hardships. Best advice I can give ya is focus on your weak areas and reference the blue prints online to focus your studies in the areas that will get you the pass. Also don't let too much time pass between you next attempt. Keep the information fresh. You should be building on your knowledge you already have.

johnwest43 · February 2014

fredrikjj wrote: »

Case in point. You are breaking the NDA by saying this. The exam topics list don't explicitly mention these topics. And isn't a little bit strange that the IP SLA feature is tested on the SWITCH exam when it's covered in the ROUTE textbooks?

So I guess the SWITCH FLG (published by cisco press

) is breaking the NDA as well seeming how these 2 topics are covered extensively?
My comments are based solely on what I learned while reading Cisco's FLG for this test. If it’s in the book, you need to know it, not only to pass but to be a decent network admin / engineer.

Good luck samuel.lao85 !!

CCNP SWITCH failed :(

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