i recently took my CCNP Switch (642-813) after foolishly trusting wholeheartedly in the Cisco Press Official Certification Guide. the book was a good read, IMO, but i noticed several topics missing come exam day.

i don't intend on giving away exam questions, but i'd like to point out to other test takers the topics they should include in their studies. if you know of similar situations, feel free to contribute ( i know i'm not the first to mistakenly trust Cisco Press to cover all topics)

642-813 topics missing from the Official Exam Guide

EIGRP (seriously)
IP SLA (configuration/practical use)
SNMP
Planning (campus network VLAN building process)
Syslog

My 2 cents... Always, always, always consult Cisco's website for the latest exam blueprint. The books are often created BEFORE the tests are actually finished. Also, I highly recommend coupling the Cisco Press Field Learning Guide with the Official Certification Guide.

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Ben Story
CCNA, CCNA Wireless, CCDA, CCSP

I don't recall EIGRP or IP SLA on the switch exam. Interesting.

The amount of EIGRP is laughable and CCNA level...shouldn't have been a concern.

Maybe that is why I don't remember it.

Check out the errata, supplements, and appendixes available on Cisco Press for the book. There's a pretty significant amount of material around those topics in them.

http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/pro ... 1587202433

Excellent find, i appreciate the link!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

Also, it's important to note the Offical Cert Guides are not intended to be extremely in-depth study resources. The OFG are intended to be quick refreshers for people who need to brush up before the exam. If you need a more comprehensive resource to study from then you should get the Foundation Learning Guides.

http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/pro ... 1587058847

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blog.brokennetwork.ca

that's interesting as I remember taking my route exam, thinking there was no IP SLA on it. So maybe that is where it is, in switch.

When studying for these Cisco certs, I found that the Official Certificaion Guides or any other taylored course guides in reality only cover about 80-90% of what is in the exam blueprint. It's a bit devilish if you ask me.

I found the most effective method is to print the exam blue print off and study each topic (ie; tick each one off). The taylored books will get through most of it but the stuff they don't cover , look it up on the Internet Most of the material is actually hidden in the Cisco website somewhere.

Here's a link I used on the old course (most of the stuff could still be relavent). Of course, do your own searching too.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst3550/software/release/12.1_12c_ea1/configuration/guide/3550scg.html

The more I study, the less I pick up books. The Cisco Doc has absolutely everything you need, you can even download the PDFs and print them. Coupled with a lab or GNS3, I see no reason to actually buy anything from Cisco Press ever again (although I clearly will).

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/psa/defa ... ?mode=prod

For Layer 3 - Based on IOS 12.4T:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6 ... _list.html

For Layer 2 - Based on 3560s:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switche ... 60scg.html

Props to Jason for turning me onto the DocCD

I had the same experience too with the CCSP SNPA exam back in 2008 I guess... I read the Cisco press book and had mastered all the topics and labs. But the exam was totally focused on some totally different topic that I doubt ever would be required in real life. So i failed . But the Cisco website saved me next time. You always need to master the subject matters with the help of Cisco website. It's always a life saver.....

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Isuru Senadheera
MCSE, CCNP, CCSP, MCITP
www.isururakshitha.org

I've actually seen test questions coming straight out of the docs, i.e. configuration example for a specific command

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"If you're good at anticipating the human mind. It leaves nothing to chance."
-Jigsaw