Aug 25 2009 7:08PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
passed,
BCMSN,
Cisco,
ccnp,
ISCW,
Boson,
boot camp,
The Bryant Advantage,
Chris Bryant
Hi folks! As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I passed the BCMSN! Yay! It was a hard exam but not as hard as the BSCI in my opinion. Before I had written either exam, I had heard that the BSCI was 10 times harder than the BCMSN. I don’t think that’s quite correct. It was probably more like 2 times as hard as it.
In any case, they both are difficult exams! The BCMSN had lots of different questions on redundancy, voip, wireless, STP, inter-vlan routing etc. Basically all the stuff they list on the exam guide in the Cisco exam curriculum on their website.
What did I use to study? Well I used what I learned from Bryan Baize at the Boson CCNP bootcamps and I also used the Bryant Advantage study guides again along with the normal Cisco self study guides. Combining all of that together got me the information I needed to pass!
Two more exams left in the CCNP for me. Next exam up will be the ISCW (Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks) 642-825. Wish me luck!
-RP
Aug 25 2009 12:18PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
BCMSN,
Cisco,
ccnp,
ccie,
training material,
study,
certification
Hi folks, so I’m almost done preparing for the BCMSN exam which is part of the CCNP certification. The exam is called Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks. I’ve already written the routing one and this is the next one on my list.
These Cisco exams are pretty tough and sure take a lot out of you but with enough practice and preparation you should be able to do them. I find that using simulators and real equipment (real world experience) helps a ton to pass these exams. A combination of both is just great.
After the BCMSN is done I will only have two more exams left to get my CCNP and then it will be on to my CCIE training. Right now I’m just focusing on passing the CCNP but if anyone has any good suggestions for CCIE training feel free to post and let me know. I know everything is changing this year with the CCIE in October I believe, so there probably won’t be as much study material out there for it as there is for the current CCIE.
-RP
Aug 4 2009 7:50PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
BSCI,
642-901,
Cisco,
ccnp,
passed exam,
Boson,
net sims
Hi folks, I wrote the BSCI 642-901 exam (one of the exams for the CCNP) and I passed it today!!!! YAY! I can’t tell you how happy I am that I was able to nail this exam! This exam focused on routing and boy was it hard. This now stands as the hardest Cisco exam I’ve ever written!
Ok I obviously can’t divulge any information about the exam but I can tell you that my study focused areas really paid off as I had mentioned before. I actually found the SIMS easier than the actual questions. It seems the multiple choice questions were really geared to trick you. There always seemed like there was two really close answers but only one was right.
Make sure you know all your routing protocols really well and make sure you practice doing lots of lab sims. I used the Boson netsims to simulate it combined with rack time and that worked really well for me. Also I know I said this before but the Bryant Advantage was a huge help.
-Cheers, RP
Aug 3 2009 8:38PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
BSCI,
ccnp,
Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks,
642-901,
EIGRP,
OSPF,
IS-IS,
BGP,
multicast,
IPV6,
Cisco,
exam,
certification,
training,
study
Hi folks, so my first exam is coming up soon, exam # 642-901 otherwise known as BSCI - Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks. Rumour has it that this exam is at least 10 times harder than the other 3 exams in the CCNP series so it’s going to be interesting.
Some of the things I’ve been really focusing on in the exam are BGP, IPV6 and multicast as those are my weak points. The exam guide on the Cisco web site states that they can quiz you on anything from EIGRP and OSPF, to IS-IS. I feel fairly comfortable with EIGRP, OSPF and IS-IS which is why i’m focusing on BGP, multicast and IPV6. Those are 3 areas I haven’t had as much experience in as the other stuff.
I built a lab at home out of some of my equipment to help me test stuff out. I also rented rack time through the Bryant Advantage. The question is will this be enough for me to pass? I sure hope so! We’ll see if my focus yields the results I want. Stay tuned!
-RP
Jul 31 2009 4:31PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
Chris Bryant,
ccie,
Cisco,
ccnp,
CCNA,
training,
study guide,
labs,
Rack Time,
preparation,
exam,
exams,
The Bryant Advantage
So now that I’ve been at the bootcamp and it’s time to buckle down and get ready for the exams, I was looking for some extra training material. I wanted to find some good study guides and labs that would help me prepare. I was also looking for some rack time (renting Cisco hardware and logging on to it remotely to do labs on) since I don’t own enough equipment myself.
Well I was doing some digging and I came across this thing called The Bryant Advantage. Chris Bryant is a certified CCIE and he created his own study material which is 100% legit and is great for studying for the exam. He also provides rack time if you need it.
So I figured I’d take the plunge and I bought the Bryant Advantage materials with the rack time. I have to say the material is just great! I’ve been reading his ebook and he really does a great job of explaining everything. Also Chris is extremely helpful for any questions you might have. I can highly recommend buying his material to prepare for the CCNP.
-RP
Jul 31 2009 2:40PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
ccnp,
Boson,
training,
Cisco,
labs,
exam
Hi folks, I’m back from the Boson CCNP Boot Camp! It was 2 weeks of very intense training and great Florida weather! It kinda sucks to be back in our crappy Winnipeg summer up here in Canada.
Anyways, the training was absolutely amazing. It was 2 weeks filled with very informative material regarding exam preparation, true learning, and real world situations. Bryan was very good and showing us All the Boson employees were great and made us Canadians feel very welcome down there.
We had a small class of just 5 people and each of us had our own racks of equipment to play with. The instructor created some awesome labs for us to go through which really reinforced our learning. Bryan was very good at answering all of our questions.
Now to start the long hard road of writing the exams. Wish me luck!
-RP
Jul 21 2009 1:10PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
Bryan Baize,
CCIE 16139,
Boson Boot Camp,
ccnp,
study,
train,
prepare,
study guide,
instructor,
class,
classroom,
Cisco Certified Network Professional,
Cisco,
exams,
BSCI,
ISCW,
ONT,
BCMSN,
642-812,
642-825,
642-845,
642-901
Hi folks, so for the last week I’ve been in Florida at a CCNP boot camp studying and training day in and day out. I have one more week to go and I have to say it has been quite intense. The CCNP ain’t anything to take lightly. This certification will chew you up and spit you out!
Luckily the great folks at Boson have a boot camp available and i’ve been lucky enough to get a great instructor, Bryan Baize. Bryan Baize (CCIE 16139) is a CCIE (the PHD of network certifications in my opinion) and a fabulous instructor. His ability to recall the most obscure facts and answer all of your questions and his ability to convey concepts to the students is just great.
As a former IT instructor myself, I can wholeheartedly recommend using the Boson boot camps as part of your training regiment for the CCNP. I will keep you guys up to date on my progress in my quest for this certification. One more week to go!
-RP
Jan 26 2009 4:18PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
ccie,
Cisco,
Cisco Certification,
CCNA,
ccnp,
verbal,
changes to CCIE Lab and Written exam,
question format,
scoring,
scaled scores
Hi folks, something new in the world of CCIEs. Cisco has decided to add a new component to the CCIE program. Apparently a verbal one!
For those of you that don’t know, the CCIE is considered one of the most respected IT certifications in the industry and is known for it’s extreme difficulty in achieving.
They have been trialing this for sometime now in a pilot that has been running since last August. They want to use this as a method to see if a candidate has the ability to verbally explain themselves when describing technical situations.
I recently received an e-mail from Cisco stating that effective February 1, 2009 that the verbal component will be added. They also mentioned they are changing the format of the exams effective February 17th, 2009 so that you can’t go back when you answer questions, you can only move forward onto the next question. This would be in line with the other Cisco certification exams that already do this. They also mention that the score report will now report your score as a scaled score on a scale from 300 to 1000 just like the other exams.
-RP
Jan 1 2009 12:32AM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
ccnp,
Cisco,
exams,
certifications
Hi folks, as some of you may know, I’ve been studying a lot of Cisco lately and been working with it more and more in my daily work. I recently got my CCNA and now have set my sights higher.
For this new year I am going to start preparing for the CCNP certification from Cisco. This certification consists of 4 separate exams and is extremely hard from what I’ve heard. Also based on the difficulty level of the CCNA I can assume they are correct.
Over the next year I will be preparing for this and then writing the exams as time allows. I will keep you guys posted as to my progress. Why do I have a feeling that I am going to be a heavy contributor to Red Bull’s profits over the coming year? 
If anyone has any suggestions as to great study material for these exams please let me know. I hear that the Boson material is really good and I am thinking of attending their boot camp for the CCNP.
-RP
