I had a bit of a panic today when I spotted an email sent to me a few days ago by Cisco about an update to the CCNP programme. It is quite a significant change, going from four exams to three, and changing all the exam names and wotnot.
What they’re doing is they’re getting rid of BSCI (Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks), BCMSN (Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks), ISCW (Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks), and ONT (Optimising Converged Cisco Networks… not sure how that shortens to ONT), and replacing them with SWITCH, ROUTE, and TSHOOT (Switching, Routing, and Troubleshooting respectively).
At first glance it appeared that they were going to completely retire the old exams on the 31st July 2010, and I thought that I would have to get the two remaining exams done by then or lose the two that I’d already done. Now two exams in six months isn’t that big an ask, but I’m a busy guy you know, lots going on, not much time for study. I got a bit flustered, had a bit of a tourette’s afternoon, and broke out the self study books.
After I calmed down a bit and re-read what was happening, checked on the cisco website, it turns out that ROUTE and SWITCH are direct replacements for BSCI and BCMSN and have equivilence in the certification programme. TSHOOT is replacing both ISCW and ONT. So I can either do ONT and BCMSN or SWITCH now, or SWITCH and TSHOOT later, either way is two exams and I don’t lose anything if I get ONT done, and only the validity of my ISCW exam if I don’t get ONT.
So panic over, but it has maybe spurred me into action on the studying front, I really ought to do something in the next month or two.
