Cisco’s Building Cisco Multilayered Switched Networks (BCMSN) exam, which was revised in 2004, focuses on the knowledge and skills required
for designing and building complex switched networks. This exam focuses on layer 2 switching and measures your ability to create and deploy
a global intranet that can be implemented in a standalone as well as an enterprise-wide network environment. As a foundation, you must be
familiar with general networking concepts and have relevant experience using Cisco routers and switches. These topics include knowing how
to configure routers, switches, VLANs, Spanning Tree Protocol, Inter-Switch Link, and standard access lists. I highly recommend that you
obtain Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification, have at least 2 to 3 years’ experience in a Cisco environment, and/or take
the official BCMSN course before you take this exam.
The BCMSN exam can be categorized as a mid-level exam for IT professionals who have the “knowledge and skills necessary to build scalable
multilayer switched networks.” This exam measures the skills necessary to create and deploy a global intranet and implement basic troubleshooting
techniques in environments that use Cisco multilayer switches for client hosts and services.
The BCMSN is a required exam for two Cisco professional-level certifications: Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) and Cisco Certified
Design Professional (CCDP). The experience necessary to pass this exam can also help prepare you for the CCIE (Routing and Switching) certification
as well. For details about all Cisco certifications, visit the Cisco Learning & Events Web pages.
BCMSN 642-811 Exam Details
Cisco hosts the official BCMSN exam objectives online, which you
can read for yourself. You must understand and master each exam objective listed on this Web page to pass the exam. In this section, I cover some topics that are part
of the exam objectives that help you focus your studies.
The BCMSN exam is the second key focus area under the CCNP and CCDP umbrellas. This exam keeps its focus on layer 2 of the OSI model; primarily, layer
2 switching. This exam delves exclusively into the following core topic areas:
Technology
Implementation and operation
Planning and design
Troubleshooting
You must know how to implement Cisco products and services that enable connectivity and traffic transport on a specified network design that includes
multilayer switching over a variety of Ethernet technologies. You must also know how to employ necessary services at each network layer to allow users
to obtain services in a working multilayer switched network. Be sure you know how to control network traffic by applying network policies.
Topics such as spanning tree are the core competency on this exam, and BCMSN tailors several features that can be used to enhance STP. These
features include PortFast, UplinkFast, and BackboneFast. RSTP and MST are also covered in some detail on this exam.
You should know how to restore proper network operations using Cisco devices and external management tools when presented with an incorrectly
working multilayer switched network. In addition, you should be familiar with service providers’ level of LAN services and Ethernet over MPLS
technology for enterprise site connectivity.
Traffic monitoring allows you to identify bottlenecks and underutilized resources,...
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CCNA & CCNP Lab Suggestions
Many people ask me what would make a good CCNA lab? Well, that can be a tricky question based upon your budget and future Cisco aspirations. So let’s start off with a few basic concepts I hope we can
all agree on. Real Routers. Read more…
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