Can You Cram Cisco ENARSI 300-410 in One Week? An Honest Answer
Can You Cram Cisco ENARSI 300-410 in One Week? An Honest Answer
The short answer: Yes, but only if you already have significant hands-on experience with Cisco enterprise routing and switching. The ENARSI (Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services) exam is not a beginner certification. It tests your ability to troubleshoot complex networks, not just recall facts. If you are coming from CCNA with a solid lab background, a week of focused cramming can get you over the line. If you are new to OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, and DMVPN, a week is not enough – be honest with yourself.
This guide assumes you have at least 12 months of real-world routing experience or have recently passed the CCNA with strong lab practice. It also assumes you can dedicate 6–8 focused hours per day. This is an intense, high-risk strategy – but it can work.
Before you commit to that intense schedule, use a free ENARSI study plan to align each day's work with your actual availability.
The Reality Check: What ENARSI Actually Tests
Before we dive into the schedule, understand the exam blueprint. ENARSI (300-410) covers:
- Layer 3 technologies – OSPF, EIGRP, BGP (including path manipulation and filtering)
- VPN technologies – DMVPN (phase 1-3), IPsec, GRE, and MPLS basics
- Infrastructure security – AAA, ACLs, CoPP, and control-plane policing
- Infrastructure services – DHCP, QoS, NetFlow, and SNMP
- Troubleshooting – The exam is scenario-based; you will see live CLI simulations and multi-part questions.
The biggest mistake crammers make is memorising theory instead of practising troubleshooting. You must be comfortable with show commands and debug outputs. In the real exam, you won’t get multiple-choice questions for OSPF neighbour states – you’ll get a topology and a broken router, and you have to find the fault.
A free ENARSI readiness check gives you a quick set of practice questions and highlights the topics where your troubleshooting is weakest.
The 7-Day Cram Plan: A Day-by-Day Schedule
This plan is aggressive. Each day has a clear focus, and you will alternate between reading, labbing, and mock exams. Do not skip the mock days – they are your safety net.
Day 1: OSPF and EIGRP – The Bread and Butter
Priority: 70% of the exam will touch on these two protocols. If you only have time to master one thing, make it OSPF and EIGRP troubleshooting.
- Morning (2 hours): Review OSPF neighbour states, LSA types, and area types. Focus on why a neighbour might be stuck in Exstart or Loading – this is a classic exam trap.
- Midday (3 hours): Lab OSPF – configure a multi-area network, then break it. Change the network type, add a passive interface, mess with the reference bandwidth. Practice
show ip ospf neighborandshow ip ospf database. - Afternoon (2 hours): EIGRP – focus on feasible successors, variance, and stub routing. Lab a scenario where a route is not being installed due to a split-horizon issue.
- Evening (1 hour): Quick revision of
showcommands for both protocols. Write down the top 5 commands you used today.
Skip: MPLS and QoS today. They are lower weight and can wait.
Day 2: BGP – Path Selection and Filtering
Priority: BGP is a major topic, but it is more rule-based than OSPF. You need to know path attributes and how to influence them.
- Morning (2 hours): Memorise the BGP best-path selection order (weight, local preference, AS path, MED, etc.). Write it out three times – you will need it cold.
- Midday (3 hours): Lab BGP – set up iBGP and eBGP. Practice
neighbor route-map, prefix-lists, andas-path access-list. Break a route and trace why it is not being advertised. - Afternoon (2 hours): Focus on common exam scenarios: route reflectors, confederations, and filtering with
neighbor filter-list. Practiceshow ip bgpandshow ip bgp neighbors. - Evening (1 hour): Do 20 BGP multiple-choice questions from any source. Get used to the wording.
Skip: DMVPN today. You will need a full day for it later.
Day 3: DMVPN and Tunnels – The High-Risk Topic
Priority: DMVPN is a favourite for simulation questions. If you skip this, you lose a whole section. But it is also the most complex to cram.
- Morning (2 hours): Understand the three phases – phase 1 (hub-to-spoke), phase 2 (spoke-to-spoke), phase 3 (with routing protocol integration). Watch a 15-minute video if you need a visual refresher.
- Midday (3 hours): Lab DMVPN from scratch. Use GNS3 or EVE-NG. Configure the hub, then two spokes. Verify with
show dmvpnandshow crypto session. Break the crypto map and see what happens. - Afternoon (2 hours): Troubleshoot common issues: NHRP registration failures, spoke-to-spoke not forming, and routing protocol over the tunnel. Practice
debug nhrp(but be careful – it can be noisy). - Evening (1 hour): Revise GRE and IPsec basics. Know the difference between transport and tunnel mode.
Skip: QoS and NetFlow today. They are theory-heavy and easier to cram later.
Day 4: Infrastructure Security and Services – The Easy Wins
Priority: This is where you can pick up guaranteed marks. AAA, ACLs, and DHCP are straightforward if you know the commands.
- Morning (2 hours): Review AAA (TACACS+ vs RADIUS), and control-plane policing (CoPP). Lab a simple CoPP policy – this is a common simulation.
- Midday (2 hours): DHCP snooping, IP Source Guard, and port security. These are quick wins – just know the configuration order.
- Afternoon (2 hours): QoS – focus on classification, marking, and policing. Don’t deep-dive into shaping. Know the difference between
policeandshape. - Evening (2 hours): NetFlow and SNMP – just read the basics. You need to know what they do, not how to build a full monitoring system.
Skip: MPLS for now. You will do a quick pass on Day 7.
Day 5: Mock Exam Day – Full Simulation
Priority: This is your reality check. Do not skip this day.
- Morning (3 hours): Take a full-length ENARSI mock test. Use PractiseExam or any reputable source. Simulate real exam conditions – no notes, no pauses, strict 90-minute timer.
- Midday (1 hour): Review your score. Identify your weakest sections. If you scored below 60% on BGP, you need to fix that today.
- Afternoon (3 hours): Target your weak spots. Re-lab the specific topic you failed. If you failed DMVPN, rebuild the topology from scratch.
- Evening (1 hour): Write a one-page cheat sheet of the commands you got wrong. This will be your morning revision on Day 7.
Do not start a new topic on Day 5. You are in consolidation mode.
Day 6: Mock Exam Day – Speed and Accuracy
Priority: The second mock is about timing and decision-making. You must learn to skip a question and come back.
- Morning (3 hours): Take a second full mock. This time, aim to finish 10 minutes early. If you don’t, you are spending too long on simulations.
- Midday (2 hours): Review every wrong answer. For each one, write down the exact
showcommand that would have given you the answer. This is the most valuable revision you will do. - Afternoon (2 hours): Practice quick-fire CLI drills. Use flashcards or a random command generator. Type out
show ip ospf neighbor,show ip bgp summary,show dmvpn– you should be able to type these without thinking. - Evening (1 hour): Rest. Do not study after 8 PM. Sleep is critical for memory consolidation.
Day 7: Final Revision and Morning Protocol
Priority: This is not a learning day. It is a recall day.
- Morning (2 hours): Review your cheat sheet from Day 5. Read through your Day 6 wrong-answer notes. Do not open a lab – you will only panic if something breaks.
- Midday (1 hour): Re-read the exam blueprint. Check off each topic. If you are unsure of any, quickly skim the relevant section in your study guide.
- Afternoon (1 hour): Do 10 random multiple-choice questions to get your brain in gear. Do not do a full mock – you will burn out.
- Evening (1 hour): Prepare your exam day kit: ID, water, and a snack. Set out your clothes. Do not study after 6 PM.
Morning protocol on exam day:
- Wake up 2 hours before the exam. Have a light breakfast – no heavy carbs.
- Do 5 minutes of deep breathing. Do not touch your notes.
- Arrive 30 minutes early. Use the restroom before you sit down.
- In the exam, start with the questions you know. Flag tough simulations and come back.
- For simulations, type
showcommands first, thendebugif needed. Never guess a neighbour state – verify it.
What to Skip (If You Must)
If you are running out of time, skip these in order of least importance:
1. MPLS – It appears, but usually as a single question. Know the basics (LDP, label switching) but don’t lab it.
2. NetFlow – One or two questions. Just know the difference between NetFlow v5 and v9.
3. SNMP – Same as NetFlow. Know v2c vs v3.
4. Advanced QoS – Know classification and policing. Skip shaping and WFQ.
Do not skip DMVPN or BGP. Those are guaranteed simulation topics.
Final Honest Advice
Cramming ENARSI in one week is like running a marathon with no training – you can finish, but you will hurt. If you have the option to push the exam back two weeks, do it. A 7-day cram gives you a 50-50 chance at best, and that is with a strong existing skill set.
If you must take the exam, follow this plan strictly. Do not deviate. Every hour counts. And remember: the exam is not about knowing the answer – it is about knowing which command to type to find the answer.
Cement what you have learned by sitting Cisco Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services (ENARSI) mock test in one uninterrupted session.