CCENT/CCNA [H] study group

I also have 5.3.2 but I have seen info on 5.3.3 and 5.3.4 but I am not sure if these are actually live or not.
 
A little bit of packet tracer today, just to see RIP v2 in action when dropping links etc.

packettracer1.jpg
 
I'd like to get started studying for the CCNA.

Should I wait for the updated third edition or is the current one on amazon fine?
I'd like to get started with the book as opposed to weight 2+ weeks for the updated version if it doesn't matter much.
 
So this is my 1st post since late 2010, but I'm working on CCNA again, and I'd posting to check and see if anyone is still active in the cert community here (sharing cert information).
 
PanzerKrieg13 said:
So this is my 1st post since late 2010, but I'm working on CCNA again, and I'd posting to check and see if anyone is still active in the cert community here (sharing cert information).
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Scheduled CCNP Route for March 5th. Having a lot of trouble getting motivated to study though.

Its tough to work a 9 hour day, cook dinner, put the kid to bed and then start a 2-3 hour study session at 9pm.
 
silasbear said:
Scheduled CCNP Route for March 5th. Having a lot of trouble getting motivated to study though.

Its tough to work a 9 hour day, cook dinner, put the kid to bed and then start a 2-3 hour study session at 9pm.
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I'm in the same boat. I've been having trouble finding time, too. Luckily there are a few breaks at work where I can study a little bit and fire up GNS3...
 
silasbear said:
Scheduled CCNP Route for March 5th. Having a lot of trouble getting motivated to study though.

Its tough to work a 9 hour day, cook dinner, put the kid to bed and then start a 2-3 hour study session at 9pm.
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I started working on my CCNA back in 2009... it never happened because I couldn't motivate myself well enough (and I slept through a CCENT test by accident).

Now I'm working in a NOC as an enterprise WAN data tech... and now I'm aiming for the CCNP. Hopefully since my work is now embedded in networking, I'll actually get it done.
 
I'm looking at the 2600xm class and 2800 class routers. I could use some suggestions for CCNA.
 
EngrChris said:
I'm looking at the 2600xm class and 2800 class routers. I could use some suggestions for CCNA.
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What sort of suggestions exactly? I'm working with a bunch of fubar 2600's in school. Unfortunately we don't have physical access to anything past that. In fact, I think my CCENT/CCNA will have to be done in a mix of simulators and old fashion studying.

Now if I could simply find the time and motivation, and get my brain to actually process and retain information. Ugh... Same old story when I was working on Cisco and CompTIA years ago.
 
i have been working with cisco stuff for many years i think its time i get my ccna as well.
 
I booked my CCENT exam for April 23rd. As of right I feel I know the stuff for the most part, I just need to practice it and get all the processes hammered out smoothly.
 
I picked up my CCNA a few weeks ago. It was all pretty easy stuff, you really just need to be literate with the most basic of networking and router/routing concepts and after that it's all about knowing their gotcha questions.
 
Volcanon said:
I picked up my CCNA a few weeks ago. It was all pretty easy stuff, you really just need to be literate with the most basic of networking and router/routing concepts and after that it's all about knowing their gotcha questions.
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Easy stuff huh? I didn't find it that easy, but i guess that would make me illiterate.



On a different note i started studing for CCAN Wireless exam that i have scheduled for Feb 22nd
 
To be honest the CCNA isn't that wasy, thats the point of it really.
 
Jay_oasis said:
To be honest the CCNA isn't that wasy, thats the point of it really.
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If you don't have the years of experience with what the CCNA is teaching, its not going to be super easy. My ccent was a tough test compared to other test I've taken. Cisco loves the "Gotcha" questions. I did pass it the first shot though.

Unless you are being dishonest and doing brain dumps, I don't see people passing the CCNA in a months worth of studying without extensive prior knowledge and experience of the subject.
 
Question for those of you with your CCENT or CCNA, or working towards 1 of both of those certs...

Are you using physical switches and routers in a home lab setup? Or are you using simulators? Or both?

I've got a few simulators, but I'm wondering if I should drop some cash again for physical equipment. I used to have several switches and routers but I sold or traded them all years ago when I stopped pursuing certs.
 
no, you dont need physical equip for ccna if you want to save $$. physical is nice because its the real thing, haha, and it wont be as buggy. also if you only use packet tracer (which i think is all you need for ccna) you wont have access to a lot of commands.
 
For CCNA/CCENT, you can use a network simulator like:

Cisco Packet Tracer 5.3.3
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/course_catalog/PacketTracer.html

Boson Network Simulator
http://www.boson.com/network-simulator/ccna-640-802-cisco-network-simulator

GNS3
http://www.gns3.net/

Sybex CCNA Virtual Lab, Titanium Edition (this is a few years old)
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470392592,miniSiteCd-SYBEX.html

Then there's the mysterious IOU.

GNS3 is free, but requires you have the IOS files and doesn't support switching.

Packet Tracer requires you be a Network Academy student to download it.

IOU might be a little much for CCNA, it's more geared for CCIE and requires UNIX experience and a hypervisor.

Don't bother with the Sybex, as it's several years old and hasn't been updated.

The Boson is okay.

I'd definitely recommend Packet Tracer for CCNA study. If you have the money, definitely invest in a lab, especially if you're going to move to CCNP/CCIE/CCNA Security/CCIP. The other issue is it will give you experience to real-life equipment. I remember teaching CCNA and there was a student who had no idea how to make CAT6 network cable or how to connect routers.

:)
 
I have GNS3 and Packet Tracer, plus 2 others... A CCNA simulator that came with my books from school and an older Cisco "e-Sim".

Simulators aside, I'm really wanting to pick up a few pieces of physical equipment, but I'm not sure of what to buy these days or where to buy it from.

The first challenge is what to buy. I know a few 2500's or 2600's can be enough but I'd like to set up something that's enough for CCENT and CCNA at home. Basically I just don't know what's good and what to avoid. It's been years since I owned anything Cisco and the two series I mentioned above are what we have in class and I find they usually don't work, but I'm not sure if that's a flaw in the equipment itself or because of the fact they're old and have been misused and abused.

Second battle is aside from forums and Craigslist, the only other soruce I know of is from Cisco Kits. Anyone else have a place they buy from? Again, it's been years for me...

Thanks!
 
drstk said:
did you try ebay? thats where i got my ccna/ccnp gear.
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Yeah, I can look. I just avoid eBay and have for many years. I had some merchandise and several hundred dollars and about 1 year of my time stolen from me by an eBay buyer and PayPal/buyer's credit card company.

Are there no other companies like Cisco Kits selling Cisco equipment, especially for certification? Also, even if I did buy from eBay, I'm not sure what model(s) to buy.

There only person within an 1-2+ hour drive me on Craiglist is a local guy selling the below for $375 (also quoted $340), but it sounds like overkill and I don't know if I can afford it in time before he sells to someone else...

2 Cisco 3640 Routers
1 Cisco 2611xm Router
1 Cisco 3548-XL-en Switch
2 Cisco 2950 Switches
Serial cables
WICs
Ethernet, Crossover & Console cables
Power cables
Book
 
"kits" are always a waste of money... there are plenty of legitimate sellers on ebay
 
Has anyone tried the Cisco IOS Cookbook?

Looks decent but not sure its still relevent.
 
So if Cisco recommends no more than 500 hosts per subnet, a subnet larger than /23 shouldn't be used for end devices, correct? I'm just curious because our network here at work is a /22 with around 450 devices. I'm just curious if anyone else would give out a subnet that large when the recommended max is 500.
 
/usr/home said:
So if Cisco recommends no more than 500 hosts per subnet, a subnet larger than /23 shouldn't be used for end devices, correct? I'm just curious because our network here at work is a /22 with around 450 devices. I'm just curious if anyone else would give out a subnet that large when the recommended max is 500.
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Recommended is different than real life. Sometimes, there is no way around the 500 max. Sure, you should segment more than that and have less, but sometimes that isn't an option. Maybe on a production line where there are more than 500 devices, but they have very little bandwidth needs and transfer very little data.
 
Jay_oasis said:
over 500 per subnet and it starts to get very busy with arp
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I would think once the MAC table was created and nothing changed, it wouldn't be too bad. I would think broadcasts would be the big killer there.
 
Hello again,

I've gone through the first class of Cisco's Network Academy but really felt like it wasn't as engaging as I expected. A problem was I wanted to read the material off line and it was mostly done in Flash presentations.

I am really looking for a good lab manual that has lots of "step by steps". I found these in the labs of Network Academy but wanted to know if I could find these outside of their program? (I rather pay $100 vs $500 to register for access).

One book I found that looks just like what I want is the Cisco Routers and Routing Basics - CCNA 2 Labs and Study Guide by Allan Johnson. ISBN number - 1-58713-167-6. The book is older and not sure if all of the information applies to the current CCNA but I really like the format, especially since it's paper book and the price is under $50 new.
 
PanzerKrieg13 said:
Question for those of you with your CCENT or CCNA, or working towards 1 of both of those certs...

Are you using physical switches and routers in a home lab setup? Or are you using simulators? Or both?

I've got a few simulators, but I'm wondering if I should drop some cash again for physical equipment. I used to have several switches and routers but I sold or traded them all years ago when I stopped pursuing certs.
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I only used packet tracer and that was perfect for the CCENT. From the looks of it, Packet Tracer should be all I need for my CCNA.
 
Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum and I love this thread. I have just registered for the CCENT cert for March 12. I have the packet tracker up, the Odem CCENT cert book, and I'm enrolled in Cisco Network Academy so I have the labs there. I'm still up for more tips to better my chances.
 
dakidfresh said:
Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum and I love this thread. I have just registered for the CCENT cert for March 12. I have the packet tracker up, the Odem CCENT cert book, and I'm enrolled in Cisco Network Academy so I have the labs there. I'm still up for more tips to better my chances.
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welcome. heres a tip, practice and master subnetting!:)
 
drstk said:
welcome. heres a tip, practice and master subnetting!:)
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This is true. Many, if not most, of the questions involve subnetting in one way or another. It may not be a direct subnetting question (how many hosts, networks, mask, etc.), but a problem with a network where a network is overlapped on two routers or something. That, and even once you pass the CCENT, the CCNA and above still requires a solid knowledge of subnetting. There are a lot of different ways to "get it", and what worked for me might not work for you. The thing is, you have to practice and try different methods. If you don't get it at first, keep trying. After a while, it'll just POP, and you'll figure out your method that works.

Other than that, practice. Hands on is #1. Be it GNS3, Packet Tracer or a home lab, you need to get some hands on. It makes the knowledge "stick" better. It'll help you tons on the simulations on the exams.

CCENT is an entry level Cisco certification, but it isn't easy. There is a lot to know. Very doable, but don't underestimate it. CCNA is a bit tougher, but it covers a lot of CCENT topics, too. So, make sure you KNOW the material, not just memorize what it was. You should know WHY it is. Makes it easier when applying the theory.

Good luck! My CCNA (ICND2) exam is next Friday afternoon. I'm studying ~4 hours a day now to cram things into my brain. I've been doing other studies for a while now, and had to postpone a couple times. But, I'm ready. I've taken several Microsoft exams, CompTIA exams, and I have to say Cisco exams are harder by quite a bit. The theory is there, but then there is the application of the theory. That's the hard part.
 
I will be taking ICND2 within 2 weeks, almost finished with the ICND2 study guide and doing a lot of hands on labs. As the poster above me said, spend a LOT of time with the CLI, its what your gonna look at everyday when you get the job that your getting this cert for.
 
I went through all the netacd classes here through the CCNP at my local community college. While I learned quite a bit, the classes always catered to the lowest common denominator. But it was enough to get me into my current job and I have learned a ton here. Now saying that, part of my hiring was paying for my certs and they backed out of that so I ended up transferring. So now I am studying on my own again.

My lab consists of 7 2600's with plenty of cards, 3 2500's as route injectors, and 2 2950 XL switches. I also have 2 nortel switches as well. Tie this into my GNS3 lab and you can get pretty elaborate. I am still looking for a 3550 for layer 3 switching but for now the equipment I have will get me through.
 
^impressive!

This is all of my physical gear ATM. I got 3 Comptia certs (Net+, A+, Sec+) paid for by my work but I am going out of pocket on Cisco although it will be well worth it in the end.

422675_10150564297393155_541148154_8975070_696881236_n.jpg


I am also using that stack to connect to the WAN.
 
l3thal6 said:
^impressive!

This is all of my physical gear ATM. I got 3 Comptia certs (Net+, A+, Sec+) paid for by my work but I am going out of pocket on Cisco although it will be well worth it in the end.

422675_10150564297393155_541148154_8975070_696881236_n.jpg


I am also using that stack to connect to the WAN.
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Outstanding. I see 2 switches and 2 routers. What models? Also, where did you get that rack?
 
PanzerKrieg13 said:
Outstanding. I see 2 switches and 2 routers. What models? Also, where did you get that rack?
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Here is the rack, its a steal @ $50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816129036

Also, like mattjw916 said they are 2x Cisco 1841 and 2x Cisco 3550-24PS EMI.

Also, just finished reading through the Official ICND2 Study Guide by Wendell Odom. Going to do a lot of labs next week and some recursive study, then I will be taking 640-816 on either March 3rd or March 10th.
 
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