Today I finished the BCMSN course in NYC given by Mentor Technologies. What an upgrade from CLSC! We built a real world network using the latest design methods. The course as written by Cisco uses 1900 switches for the access layer. Mentor used 2912XLs. The Distribution layer used dual 5505s with SupIII cards with built-in NFFC and RSFC NetFlow Feature Card and Route Switch Feature card. The core layer was 2924XLs. I opted for an Instructor led course because of the amount of equipment in the lab. I'd love to do the entire lab again and again. Maybe Mentor or some other company has a rack to practice on. Two or three newer switches like the 2900XL series or 3500 series and a CAT5K (or 2901 or 2926) with a router that can do ISL would enable you to do much of this work. Still quite a budget! I showed our instructor a copy of the Cisco Press BCMSN book. He said that he had worked with the author and had a high regard for her knowledge and ability to teach. He also looked through the book and said that it closely followed the course material. I'll have to look myself as I never took the time to study the book. BTW I thoroughly enjoyed the course. I picked Mentor because of the high level of their personnel. It was a good choice. We were given a copy of the Cisco Press CCIE Development Series "Cisco LAN Switching" book. It so happened that its author Kennedy Clark was passing through the office so we (he and the class) were able to visit for a few minutes. FWIW I don't work for Mentor. I travelled 1000 miles to attend this course. I could have attended classes by other Training Partners closer to home. Will do it again (if I can afford it!) ___________________________________ UPDATED Posting Guidelines: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/guide.html FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
