Has Anyone attempted the CMSS exam yet?

[Jim2]

Wondering what your experience of it was?  Any labs or all questions? Harder or easier than you thought? 

[KarstenI]

Yes,  I just passed the exam 10 Minutes ago. I'll write some lines about that (of course without any rule-breaking) when I recover from my mental disorder caused by the exam.

[Jim2]

looks forward to hearing about it... that sounds quite tragic!!

[Roger_Beurskens]

Well, it's a ccnp specialization level... so it could be a real cisco exam 😛 

Also really interested in it.

[KarstenI]

I wrote a little blog-post about this and my preparation. Perhaps someone can benefit from it:

https://cyber-fi.net/index.php/2020/10/08/the-cisco-meraki-solutions-specialist/

[Roger_Beurskens]

Could you shed a bit of light on the content?

How does it compare to previous ccna/ccnp level certifications?

[KarstenI]

I do not remember any of the CCNA/CCNP exams. But I think it is slightly comparable to the CCNA. Both are very broad in the range of knowledge that has to be known. Definitely nothing to take lightly. I assume that every answer is found in the Meraki documentation. 
@rhbirkelund what was your impression?

[rhbirkelund]

Whether it's a CCNA or CCNP, I can't tell. I was half way through my CCNP Wireless when they shook the bag.

I didn't expect that level of detail wht the questions, bu then again I wasn't surprised. It was all something I remember we touched during ECMS2. 

But I did feel that there was a special focus on Meraki Insights and Systems Manager.

I remember some of the questions that I think was the reason I failed the exam. Some understandable, and some weren't.

In general, I hate questions on what port some specific segment of a technology communicates on, and if it's TCP or UDP..

[Max_]

Hi,
How did you practice for it? 
Work in Meraki environment or got some-how recommended lab environment?

[mrThopmson]

Hi, I am interested in such details too.

[rhbirkelund]

I did it yesterday, but unfortunately I was 47 points away. 😞

[billyzoellers]

I passed it last Wednesday! I felt like the majority of the questions were fairly written - only a couple that needed to be reworded. I've been working with Meraki for about 5 years and was able to pass it without any specific study, but there were still a few questions that I would've needed to lookup the answer to.

I think they included a good mix of "CCNA-level" questions, but also some questions that required you to know the technology in a bit more detail. You definitely need to know the full Meraki stack.

[KRobert]

Does anyone know if the CMSS exam recertifies your older certs? I have a CCNA R+S cert expiring this year and I want to make sure I don't let it expire. I'd like to use the CMSS to recertify my CCNA.

[billyzoellers]

It did not for me. Seems like even though it is "Specialist" it doesn't count as a true Specialist exam.

[JohnDS]

Just passed it yesterday! 848/740 It was hard, with many MI and SM questions, and the questions sometimes get pretty detailed. I truly understand the need and the importance of grade my paper service for all my answers (Click here! to find out more) before my exam. I have a unique learning strategy through writing; it helps me comprehend complex subjects. Currently, I‘m working as a Meraki Consultant with 30 organizations, 4500 devices.  

[B33b5]

I took the Engineering Cisco Meraki Solutions exam today after completing this week the new ECMS 4 day combined course and unfortunately still didn't pass and I've been using Meraki since 2019.

I would be interested if anyone can confirm how you get the actual score as when I completed the exam all I saw was whether you passed or failed, so I've had to gestimated from the weighting of the examination report that shows your performance in each section of the exam.