CISCO Certification CCNA

[gipsyking201]

Hi all ,

I just recvd. my book for the CCNA certification from Sybex...bought it from book pool for soemthing like $32.

So I guess all I now need to do is to sit down and get cracking.

Would anyone out there who has finsihed this kinda let me know abotu stuff like

What else other than the book will I need to know...

Do u guys recommend getting a Router and playig aroudn with it before I actually go and give the exam?

Any info appreciated


Thanks

[Lex]

I am several months into this and about to take the exam, few things I can help with:

1. A good grasp of netwoking is assumed by the test and by the guides, take a network course first if you are new to it. An utter newbie to networking will be lost. Sorry if you are way beyond this! Sybex book is widely considered the best. There is a new exam out now and a new book, exam is 640-507. Some questions on the exam may not be covered in the book according to some people - truth of this assertion is unknown to me but the combo of the book and the Bosun tests are considerd quite adequate prep.

2. Router labs are good but you really need three Cisco 2500's! Expensive to say the least. Cisco has a free lab at many locations, call your local Cisco you may have one in your town. Todd Lammle, author of the Sybex book has a couple of router sim programs out. The less expensive of the two, 'CCNA Virtual Lab Etrainer' is widely available. I'd love to sell you mine BTW now that I am done with it. Word is that these sims and labs are great for helping you to comprehend what you are really doing with the Cisco IOS and for helping you to remember the IOS commands but as for preparing for the exam per say nothing compares to deep study of the book and numerous practice tests.
3. Everybody says read the book about three times! Skip nothing. Make flash cards of your own. Take all the review questions, yada, yada and it's true.

4. The test is tough. MCSE people are rather shocked. Cisco makes every effort to insure you know the stuff inside/out. The test is almost all multiple choice but is still very tricky.

5. Bosun.com makes great practice tests, much like the real exam, and the tests are relatively inexpensive. HIGHLY RECCOMEND the Bosun tests. Get the most recent ver. as it is made for the new Cisco exam. I was passing Lammle's practce test easy and started in on the Bosuns and was failing them!

6. Brainbuzz.com has a good forum on the topic. Make sure you go to the CCNA 2 forum not the CCNA which is pretty dead but for some reason still up and running.

7. My email is alexgoolsby@hotmail.com. (Sorry, wrong address given earlier) Happy to share what info I have and glad to sell you the e trainer for about $50 (I paid $99 at Barnes and Noble)
I got some other docs. and pdf you might enjoy.


[This message has been edited by Lex (edited 08-30-2000).]

[kwebb]

Todd Lammle, one of the guys behind the Sybex books, wrote a piece of software called RouterSim. About 300 bucks, but nice. Multiple router with different interfaces, labs and a bunch of goodies. Slimmed down version runs about 100. Should help you out. Lex gave you some good leads. I will add this. I passed the 407 exam without RouterSim and zero router experience so it can be done without alot of time in front of a router. It is more dificult than the MCSE tracks but not a mountain. A very tall hill maybe. Don't depend on the dumps. I failed the first time I took it. I was unprepared but had to pass for my company to become a Cisco Partner. No pressure huh? Relied on dumps too much going in because I did not have much time. The first test did let me know what to study and the second time was not a problem. I did the whole thing, from cracking the first book to the second test, in a couple of months so it is dooable. Know your OSI. I assume the 507 still hits this hard. Memorizing your subnet tables will come in handy and know the generic commands. Access lists. Know em. Good luck.

[This message has been edited by kwebb (edited 08-31-2000).]

[desmocat]

I took the new exam last week, got a 795 on the first try. Not bad for one semester in a net academy at my comm. college. the things I noticed were: KNOW OSI FORWARD AND BACKWARD. This is a must. know generic router commands, and be able to write the class b and c subnetting tables down. The one I took also had a little on switching with the catalyst family, but not alot. As stated above, know access lists,how they filter,and syntax to apply them.

Also, the test I took was only 65 questions, and they gave me 75 minutes to finish. You may think that isn't alot of time, but several questions were quickly answered.

I finished with 30 minutes left so take your time,because you CANNOT go back and answer later. Cisco expects you to know your stuff, so I guess that is why it is like that.

Really watch how the answers are presented, because they will leave out small details that are easily overlooked if you are in a hurry, such as leaving a . out in an IP address string when applying an access list.

As stated above, this test isn't easy, but study hard and get some hands on time on a router or a sim(I got lucky, a friend works for Cisco and gave me a 2501 to play with http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif )
and you should do ok on the exam. Mp

[Tekkitan]

I am a couple weeks into a networking class, where we learn to become CCNA certified, Novell certified, and A+ certified. Let me tell you, it is very important you do hands on work, it makes it way easier to learn, and shows you how to do things. For example, would you get a chef's degree, by just reading a book on cooking? No, you would accually cook and make things. It's basically the same thing. desmocat is right, OSI is a BIG issue. I just learned the OSI model and it is a ***** to learn, but it is well worth it, because CCNA concentrates on it A LOT. I suggest getting a subscription (if you have to pay, i dont know my school supplies it), a CISCO course online, like a book online. It has text (of course), pictures, and even links and lab activities to help you out. I suggest you take a class on this, even you know it may cost over $2000, it will be well worth it, because you will be able to get a paying job of $80,000/year. Another helpfull hint is to get your A+ and Novell cert, because a lot of companies that hire needs someone that can troubleshoot hardware as well as setup a good network using Novell. Well, this is just some advice, and I hope you the best of luck on your certification conquest!