Preparing for CCNP

[MPR1]

Hello All,
Passed CCNA and would like to begin preparing for CCNP. Need advice on which exam to take first and which study material to purchase?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[senk1s]

CCNP exams are not sequential ... they can be taken in any order

however most people i know took in this order (old syllabi)
Adv routing
Multi-layer Switching
Remote Access
Troubleshooting

 

[lerdalt]

That is the order I took them, and would have to recommend it. Of course using the new courses. To me, following that order the material got easier to understand.

I also think (depending on experience) I'd suggest the composite exam for the routing and switching.

 

[MPR1]

Are the sybex books for CCNP as well? Any other suggestions on study material?

Thank you.

 

[norteldude78]

I haven't seen any Sybex books for the new exam. The cisco press books for BCMSN and ONT are out. The cisco press books for ISCW and BSCI are due out this month. I used the BCMSN book from Cisco Press and study guide from bryantadvantage passed that test. I am taking the BSCI in a couple weeks. Then I'll take either the ONT and ISCW, don't know the order yet.

 

[MPR1]

Any CCNP's (or anyone in general) that can shed a light on the cert process, i.e. which exams track to take? Any other sybex like books that you can recommend? I'm going to start studying the BCRAN with the ciscopress study guide. I've heard that the BSCI is the toughest so I thought I'd try BCRAN first.

Thank you!

 

[MPR1]

Sorry...studying for BCMSN

 

[lerdalt]

whew..was afraid to tell ya not to focus too hard on the BCRAN book since it's been retired.

The best study aid I can suggest is the exam topics web sites. These make for a great guide on what areas to focus on for each test.

Going from the old courseware, I had better luck with the material from the official courses vs. the exam certification guides. Not that the exam guides were bad, but it was better to read the Self-study guides first, then follow up with the exam certification guides.

Take a look at the CCNP prep center on cisco's website. There were a lot of good tutorials out there that helped me. I even kept an eye on the CCNA prep center at times just for new information to pop up.

Practice, get your hands on some equipment. I was fortunate enough to have some old or spare routers and switches floating around work to build some pretty quick labs. Make up your own labs, and run some debugs. It makes a great way to see the processes in action. Like spanning-tree and ospf, you can see the different steps that occur.

Don't forget this website. Lot's of great resources out here to get tap when you get stuck on a topic. I know I would not have finished my CCNP without the guys out here.

For the order to take the tests in, if I were doing it again, I'd do it in this order:
BSCI
BCMSN
ONT
ISCW

Looking at the objectives, I'd follow BCMSN with ONT because BCMSN has some coverage of wireless and QoS that I think are a good introduction into ONT. But that's just me.

I do think that BSCI was the hardest of the exams, but all the topics seemed to get easier the closer I got to completing the CCNP.

Good luck
TL

 

[leedsit]

Hi,

When doing my CCNP ( older version ) I studyed the CIT ( trouble shooting ) first as it was the thinist book and I needed to pass one exam to recert my CCNA. Big Mistake, the CIT covered lots in the CIT Material but also lots more that would have been picked up on the other 3 Courses. Id recommend the Troubleshooting exam last.

Lee.

LEEroy
MCNE6,CCNP,CWNA,CCSA,Project+

 

[CiscoRC]

After CCNA, go straight to CCDA, that way, you only need to study the DESIGN, to obtain your CCDA.

Then move to CCNP:

BSCI, BCMSN, ISCW, AND ONT, that's to get your CCNP. Remember you don't have to take this in order, just complete those then get your CCNP certification.

After that, then shoot for the CCDP, you only need to take:
ARCH, that's it, pass that will get you to CCDP. Because all the stuff your passing on the CCNP are almost nearly equivalent, with the exceptions to the ARCH.



***************
R. Corrigan Jr.
Network+, (working on CCENT+CCNA)

 

[burtsbees]

Why get CCDA and CCDP?

Burt

 

[CiscoRC]

Design associate and professional...I don't know...more certs under your belt, the better. I was just summarizing that's all. I know I won't be getting that anyway. I just sticking with CCENT, CCNA, then perhaps CCNP....that's my plan. Then working on Nortels, amd HP Switching for work.

Peace

***************
R. Corrigan Jr.
Network+, (working on CCENT+CCNA)

 

[MPR1]

Well, I'll go with BSCI since it may be the most difficult CCNP test.

Thanks!

 

[burtsbees]

Good choice---that's what I did, failed the first time, passed the second time with flying colors, and passed the other three on the first try. The second one I took was BCRAN, then BCMSN, then CIT.

Burt