New: CCNP SWITCH 300-115 Hands-on Labs

Nothing beats hands-on experience when it comes to mastering a technology. Are you studying for the the Cisco CCNP R/S SWITCH exam? Then you don't want to miss out on this new CBT Nuggets course, "Cisco CCNP SWITCH 300-115 Hands-on Labs Exam Prep." During this 2-hour course, trainer Keith Barker provides a hands-on approach to learning the concepts and topics you need to know to pass the exam. He covers topics such as SDM templates, VLAN ACLs, and more.

Here are some of Keith's thoughts on the course and how you can get the most out of it:

Q: Why should companies train their IT professionals in this technology? What value does it bring?

Switching is at the core of most networks today. A technician or engineer who practices the labs taught in this course will have better skills in the implementation and troubleshooting of switching, which adds to the value of an engineer with those skills.

Q: From a student-perspective, what did you keep in mind when creating this course?

I wanted to make sure that the viewer could follow along step by step in this lab based course. To facilitate that, we included the commands used from each Nugget as part of the course files (called the NuggetLab files), so that a student could have the commands readily available for use or reference both during and after the Nugget.

Q: Any outside-of-the-box tips for students to get the most out of your course?

Yes, do all the labs, and then play around with the finished configurations using additional show commands, to increase your comfort level and confidence with the technology. If you are working with a lab partner, ask them to change or "break" the configuration, and then work on solving the problem. This will assist in improving your troubleshooting skills with the technology.

Q: What's one real-world application someone can expect to use, thanks to this course?

Switches are used as a distribution system for most networks on the planet today. By increasing a person's skills in implementing, monitoring, and troubleshooting switches, a learner can take those skills and directly apply them to a production network, which increases the value of the person to themselves, and to the companies they work with.

Q: What was your favorite Nugget to create?

Most of them were a hoot, and one that stands out is the Lab/Nugget titled "MLS, STP, and VLANs" as it required the integration of several technologies all working in concert with each other.

Q: What roadblocks did you come across when creating this training and how did you overcome them?

One of my concerns, was that I wanted each learner to be able to practice what they saw done in the videos, and I knew that many emulators and simulators don't do a great job (and some don't do it at all) regarding the features found in real a multilayer switch. That can be solved by a learner purchasing a used 3550 EMI image Cisco switch, which including shipping can be obtained for around $60. US. A student who acquires 3 of these would have plenty of resources to do the labs for CCNP Switch, as well as other CCNP and CCIE related courses of study.

Q: What's the ONE thing you hope learners take away from this training?

Practice, practice, practice is one of the keys to mastering this technology, and I want the learners to take time to improve their skills by doing the hands on practice.

Ready to get hands on with Cisco switching technology? Start watching this course now!

Or watch completed videos in Jeremy Cioara's in-progress "Cisco CCNP Routing/Switching 300-115 SWITCH" training course to get up to speed.