Help going for CCNA

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carajean206

Gawd
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Oct 16, 2007
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Ok school is taking too long and my job is cutting hours. I was a tech for about 2 years before I got my current job. Im going to school right now for Networking but they wont let me skip the how to use a keyboard class this semester. Im thinking of just grabbing some books and doing it on my own. Im sure I could accomplish taking the test by at least Jan. 2010.

What I need help in is what kind of materials/books would be the best for my situation?

What kind of simulators are there when working with routers I dont have?

Are there any other test I should study up and take also?
 
Todd Lammle's books and CBT Nugget videos are great.

If you must use sims, Boson Netsim is a popular one I hear, or you could also use Dynamips/Dynagen to simulate a lab.

However, I still recommend getting the real thing. 2621's and 2950's were what I used.

Take ICND1, then ICND2. Do not take the CCNA all as one test unless you preach Cisco.
 
Use the Cisco Press books and CBTNuggets if you can get them. For practice you can use PacketTracer or GNS3/Dynamips.
 
Another vote for Dynamips. Check the sticky at the top of this forum for details. Some amazing shit in there, man.

Personally, I'm a hardware whore, so I have the real things (picked up a 3660 for $5 at the Goodwill, NM's an all). Do I need them? Not really for the CCNA, but I plan on going for the CCNP and more in the future, so I'm getting them. For the CCNA, Dynamips will do fine.

I have the Sybex book (Lammele) and used Train Signal video (Chris Bryant, CCIE 9936 or something, he says it 1000x in the videos!). I'm taking the exam as soon as I finish my MCSA (2 weeks, baby!).

I also recommend the 2 exam route. :) Good luck, man! Let us know how it goes!
 
I'm broke and am not able to get any Cisco equipment, so I was browsing around for router simulators until I found the ultimate learning tool (for me anyway) ... Cisco Packet Tracer 5.1. Besides being a awesome IOS simulator (Better than Boson IMO), it lets you design networks with various routers, switches, connections, devices, and actually follow packets through the network.

I'm using CBTNuggets to learn (I love the CCNA and CCNP series from them BTW, the instructor is good), and I found the Cisco Packet Tracer to be a BIG asset for me. I design the same network he uses and follow along. If something isn't working right in my simulation, I can watch all the packets going around and figure out what's going wrong. For example, I can send a ping from a client computer in the simulation and watch it get switched through the network. At any point, I can inspect the packet, and it provides a description for what the device will do with the packet based on the layers of the OSI model.

So my big recommendations: CBTNuggets and Cisco Packet Tracer until you can afford actual equipment.
 
INE has a CCENT program. Obviously not the entire nut just yet but its a start. The price is on par with 12933 but INE has solid teachers and a good foundation. Do you 'need' this? Not really, and you could study from the book and watch the CBT Nuggets and CCIE 12933, yes I used him to get my CCNA. I just found them rather dull and 12933 really teaches you a stupid way to do subnet calculations that I found later in other books a much easier way to do it.

Anyway, my 2 pennies.

http://www.internetworkexpert.com/ccent.htm

compared to -

http://www.trainsignal.com/Cisco-CCENT-Training-P1.aspx



I say 12933 all the time because like Ur_Mom stated, he says it all the frickin' time and it gets annoying.
 
The best book for any CCNA is Network Warrior from O'Relly Media. This books isn't just a what is kind of book. It's a book that gives advice on the most common issues that you will see in a Cisco network environment.
 
QHalo said:
I just found them rather dull and 12933 really teaches you a stupid way to do subnet calculations that I found later in other books a much easier way to do it.

Anyway, my 2 pennies.

http://www.internetworkexpert.com/ccent.htm

compared to -

http://www.trainsignal.com/Cisco-CCENT-Training-P1.aspx



I say 12933 all the time because like Ur_Mom stated, he says it all the frickin' time and it gets annoying.
Click to expand...

LOL, yeah, that guy was annoying. The subnet calculations were pretty interesting. . different than what I learned using blocks.

I had Jeremy Cioara's CBT Nuggets videos. That guy sounded like he was constantly on cocaine.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. Im just getting back from the job I hate now. Now I have not taken any formal exams and I thought the CCNA would be good point to start. Should I study and take some other cert like the microsoft ones also??

Also which books by todd should I get?
 
i dont see the logic in taking the 2 test route to CCNA, i went the 1 test route, failed the first time by 6 points (damn NAT/PAT setup via CLI :mad: ) went back 7 days later and blew it out of the water.

could i have gotten CCNA easier by going the two test route, probably, but i'm a perfectionist, and if youre getting your CCNA this is more than likely going to be your career so you'd BETTER be able to preach cisco and rattle off protocols, metrics, etc like its the ABCs.....because it is. CCNA skips a rock across the vast ocean of networking, you're going to hit the high spots, learn all the really fun stuff and get enough knowledge to make you dangerous.

personally I used the sybex book written by Lammle, a few different routing/switching sims and whatever i needed/wanted to google and study anything online.

a few pointers in my experience, this is by no means a brain dump....

know subnetting like your multiplication tables...its not that hard, dont get caught in the stigma of "this shit is gonna be crazy hard" mentality. learn the patterns, know the block sizes....period.

CLI knowledge is a must IMO....otherwise you're just another gui point and click monkey and theres enough of that dumbed down shit elsewhere already. learn it, love it.

know your routing protocols, differences, similarities, metrics....this will bite you in the ass on the test. something as simple as knowing which ones are and arent classful, support VLSM, etc

theres more i'm sure. most CCNA books are thicker than the bible for a reason, theres a shit ton of information and things to learn that cisco is going to require you to know and rattle off for the test before they bestow upon you their cert. not trying to scare you off or get you down, just trying to prepare you for the road ahead. Jan '10 is not too far off, get to studying! :p
 
The CCNA is a friggin cakewalk, the composite is harder than the two test version so if this is your first Cisco certification test idd recommend going the multi-test version route.

There is no difference between someone that takes the composite test than another that takes the multi-test version. They will both be CCNA's.

The CCNA is difficult for one reason, its a very broad NON technical centric. You will be required to know VERY little hands on and will be required to know theory on a broad range of topics(from frame-relay to routing and to light security topics).

Read the CCNA certification guide books from Cisco press and it will give you most of what you need to know. Look at the blue print and see if there are any gaps that you need to fill. Grab some boson simulation test questions to get the feel of where you may be lacking.

Dynamips might be a bit rough for you if you dont understand how a router works and how IOS works. Packet tracer will be your next best option, though after you're done with your CCNA I would highly suggest that you read my thread(the sticked one).

B1zz,
Im going to disagree with you about being able to preach network technology with a CCNA, the CCNA will pretty much give you a bit more than the network+ but focus a TINY bit on some Cisco centric technologies. What you described is what would probably be required for a CCNP. I think of the CCNA as the "highschool" or "management" certification.
 
CCNA having only a bit more than the Network+? I think you need to give the CCNA more credit, it definitely has more material than the Network+. . . I never saw anything about WANs, routing protocols, VLANs or trunking, ACLs, subnetting, VSLMs, and more when I took my Net+ about 4 years ago.
 
prochobo said:
CCNA having only a bit more than the Network+? I think you need to give the CCNA more credit, it definitely has more material than the Network+. . . I never saw anything about WANs, routing protocols, VLANs or trunking, ACLs, subnetting, VSLMs, and more when I took my Net+ about 4 years ago.
Click to expand...
I have to give it more credit? How so? Yes, its harder than the network + but they're both intro level certs. Period.

Im sure you didn't see anything on the network plus about WANs, routing protocols, or ACL's but the others are clear exam topics(subnetting and VLSM(same topic here), VLANs and trunking as well. Also, the CCNA glazes over all said topics. To be fully proficient at the above topics you need to understand them above a CCNP level.
 
I think N+ compares better with CCENT. The CCNA is, IMO, a good bit above the N+. If for no other reason than having to learn a decent amount of configuration as opposed to mostly theory.
 
I am wondering what books to get by Todd Lammel. Should I got for the very expensive kits or just the plain books?? I could use a answer on this quickly as im gonna go buy them today if I can locate them locally

I have a cisco press book called Cisco Networking Academy Program CCNA 1 and 2 companion guide Third Edition. I bummed this off my sister. http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Network...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255606243&sr=1-1

I was also wondering which books to pick up for Net+ cert also.
 
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Network+ is nothing compared to the CCNA, or, even the CCENT for that matter.

I got a Network+ study book and read it front-to-back before I even considered going for the CCNA.

The Network+ is, IMO, basically a test of the OSI layer, the most commonly used network acronyms, and command prompt troubleshooting.

I was dissapointed with the scope of the test, knowing there was much more involved. I began studying for the CCNA several months ago. To study, I bought 2 Cisco Press books (got them half off), and found that through my work I have access to a rather extensive array of Cisco video training courses. I'm taking the ICND1 (CCENT) in a few weeks, with the ICND2 (CCNA) not long after that.

Packet tracer isn't a bad program to practice with (I had a bit of fun with it for a day or so before I started crashing it) particularly if you've never actually laid hands on Cisco equipment before. I liked how it showed you the IOS output for various settings you changed; good practice to learning commands on a managed switch or router.

I did tinker with Dynagen and GNS3 (tbh, GNS3 is a bit easier to start out with because it's a bit more graphic, almost like a step between Packet Tracer and Dynagen), and started building some of my own virtual labs.

Then I joined the PeerIX Project, spent a couple hundred bucks on a Cisco 3725 (in reality, I could have gotten a lower-end router that would have been fine for practicing on for $60 or so), and began to get involved in the project. A project member mailed me a 24-port managed switch, and the project has been a great source of motivation for me.

It took several months of study to figure everything out, but currently I'm a peer in the project with an IPSec tunnel and BGP set up, a VLAN trunk to my switch (router-on-a-stick practice as well as separation of my advertised network from my private network), SNMP traps reporting to an SNMP server sending me emails (dynamic IPs really muck with tunnels that are always open), ACLs and CBACs set up for security, PAT (the router is my edge) and IGP (currently playing with different variants), crypto keys and maps (IPSec), DHCP assignment across the VLANs, domain name, username and passwords configured, SSH session and security/authentication logging, all configured by yours truely (okay, maybe with a bit of coaching by some of the project members) ;)

Not bad IMO for someone who, a few months ago, knew practically nothing about enterprise networking, much less configuring managed routers and switches.

Find something that will help you focus and keep you motivated. PeerIX helped me define a goal that I wanted to achieve and has helped me determine other goals that I want to achieve (setting up a call manager for IP communications and then setting up a few virtual servers). Once I've got the CCNA done, I'll be heading towards the CCNP and branching off from there. My only worry is maintaining my momentum... but as long as I keep finding new goals to set for my study, I don't think it will be a problem.
 
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The CCNA is a tough cert to really place in a long and odd line of certs.

Depending on ones previous experience with Cisco equipment and knowledge on networking topic's in general, it can be a cakewalk. On the other hand, if you've never touched a piece of Cisco equipment and you're networking knowledge is minimal, you'll find the CCNA to be a very though exam.

I was the former. I worked in the field and with Cisco equipment and networking for ~3yrs before I took my CCNA. I passed the composite with something like a 960-970 my first try and minimal studying.

EDIT:
I agree with Vito. Cisco Press books and CBTNuggets for studying, and GNS3/Dynamips for hands on.
 
prochobo said:
I had Jeremy Cioara's CBT Nuggets videos. That guy sounded like he was constantly on cocaine.
Click to expand...

He's like that in real life too. He's just excited about everything. Its annoying at first, but somehow he's able to make the most boring subjects quite entertaining.
 
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