Two down, two to go
I passed the CCNP ONT (642-845) exam with flying colors today. I did much better than I expected to, so I guess I studied well. With that and the BSCI (advanced routing) exam under my belt there are only two more tests between me and certification. I intend to finish the multilayer switching and security exams by the end of April.
Class for the multilayer switching exam is proceeding as expected. In my regular job I deal with routing and layer three problems every day, but not at all with layer two. This class deals with the interaction between layer two and layer three and how that relationship affects network design and troubleshooting. Despite the fact that it deals with an aspect of networking that I have little exposure to, the lab material is extremely simple. Unfortunately, while the lab-focused course certainly gives me a working knowledge of the technology and how to deploy it, I’m really looking for a deeper understanding of the concepts behind the technology. The “whys” instead of the “hows”. It looks like the only place I’m going to get that is from self-study. Oh well, this class was never meant to be the be-all-end-all of my switching education.