I want to pick up CCNA.......any suggestions or guidance??

[pillage2001]

I know my way around computer and know how to set up simple networking around the house but not the big scale in corporate offices and all. I want to get a CCNA cert to improve my resume as I'm currently jobless. Any guides to which book or tools I should use?? Any online help would be appreciated.

 

[mixmastertarzan]

I was in your shoes not long ago. I was able to find a CCNA Study guide book on half.com for 6 bucks. it was the most recent Sybex Print 2003. While that may get you ready for the test you might want to suppliment it with a good in depth discussion on networking. I hear mixed reviews about the dummie books. If you jump on Amazon.com you can read some customer reviews to see what they thought. If you plan on taking the CCNA test get the latest print you can find. You want to be up to date. If you still unsure stop by a Barnes and Noble or Other bookstore for a quick glance.

 

[TypeM]

I have studied the ICND and Study guide for the CCNA exam by Cisco Press, and the latest Sybex books. IMO, Todd Lammle is one of the best at explaining networking to novices and professionals alike. I recommend the Sybex books first, then hammer down the details with the Cisco Press books. You will find the CP books VERY dry and boring, but full of in depth information. I am taking the exam this Thursday...so I will let you know how it turns out.

-Mack

 

[pillage2001]

Is it hard to pick up CCNA in a few months time?? Let's say 3- 4 months? How long did you guys study per day???

 

[TypeM]

I would say 3 - 4 months would suffice. The better question would be... how well do I pick this up? I know for me, networking seems to come a lot easier than say SQL. I will study for a month before any networking exam, but 3 months for damnned SQL (hope no one here is a DBA ). I would say get a feel for what you like, you may not like networking at all. If you are going to study, go with the Todd Lammle Sybex books first to get the understanding, give that a couple of weeks to sink in, then head to the Cisco Press books and it will clean it all up. All in all, 4 months tops.

-Mack

 

[pillage2001]

I'm pretty alright with SQL. Actually, I'm pretty alright with all programming languages and softwares or hardware. I just need a good book to guide me.

Is CCNP ahead of CCNA??? My friend just got out of college and he's taking CCNP and I doubt that the exam is gonna be legit seeing that it's in Msia.

 

[Buddha Bart]

CCNA < CCNP < CCIE

I'm not 100% sure on the details, but one of my professors (CSE, CCDA, CCNA, CCDP, CCNP, CCAI) said that some day in late september was your last chance to register for "the old test" and that they were changing some things for "the new one". (they've done this before, so depending on when you started looking at the CCNA you may already call the now-old one the 'new' one).

My point is, the books out there now probably do not accuratly cover exactly whats going to be on the test. You're gonna have to do some legwork finding ones that do (or when they're to be published).

 

[Garion]

Two recommendations:

1: Get a router simulator to study and get some hands-on. Very valuable and not that expensive.

2: Transcenders and other test simulators are VERY accurate and give you a good feel for what you need to know. It's one thing to study the material, it's another thing to understand HOW the questions will be asked and how you need to respond.

For #1, here's a sweet deal on a book / router simulator combo.

- G

 

[Utterman]

The new CCNA test is 640-801 which I suggest getting the new Sybex book that comes out on the 24th of this month to study for.

Cisco also broke down the CCNA into two test if you want to go that route. One is intro to Cisco networking devices and the other is intro to Cisco networking technlogies. You still can take the 640-801 which is one test and will get you the CCNA or you can take the two test and get a CCNA that way. I think they broke the test down so that students in the Cisco Academy can get a certification every year they are in the course (It is a 2-year course)

Here is the Cisco site on the CCNA cert

 

[yoda291]

The best advice I ever received in studying for the ccna is to think of it as learning a new OS. Essentially, that's what you're doing...you're learning Cisco's IOS. You learn the commands, the syntax, and wtf passing parameter x to command y does.

 

[faZZter]

I would suggest trying to get time in on a real hands on router setup. The simulators I tried weren't very realistic in a lot of ways. I learned the most from actually working with the routers in our lab environment. (took community college courses for CCNA)

The books that were mentioned above are pretty good but like another person said the exam has changed so beware, it may be a bit different now. You will find some of the answers to questions are not that east to determine just because Cisco is looking for "their" answer which may not always make much sense. Lots of shades of gray you have to cut through. (at least that was my impression)

 

[TypeM]

Just an FYI... That 640-801 exam is tough. I did not pass it, I made a 760 (needed 849). I would suggest knowing everything about WAN technologies and OSPF. I thought using the 607 exam books would prepare me... I was WAY wrong. They got me!

-Mack

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: TypeM
Just an FYI... That 640-801 exam is tough. I did not pass it, I made a 760 (needed 849). I would suggest knowing everything about WAN technologies and OSPF. I thought using the 607 exam books would prepare me... I was WAY wrong. They got me!

-Mack

Since I have not taken any of the Cisco exams/courses I can not say for sure. But with the other certification tests and courses I have taken (Novell, Nortel, MS, SCO) they pretty much all assume at least a year of working with whatever the course/test happens to be. Most of them include about %60 of test material in the actual course and course text book(s). The rest they expect you to know from outside reading/research and real world experience. So its basically been my experience that using just the course or a course text book will not prepare you for any of these. I have heard from people that the Cisco stuff if pretty much the same. While this may not apply to the CCNA friends do say its the case for the higher level Cisco stuff.

 

[Chadder007]

My only suggestion.....study like a mofo.
Know your subnets especially.

 

[jaydee]

For the people who say 3-4 months: How many hours a day are you putting in on this stuff? Full-time? I'm in school right now, last year I took a class on networking, supposedly it was 1/4 of the CCNA exam, (I took a test on-line at Cisco Academy administered by my prof at the end of the year, I scored a 93%). I've since transferred to a school with no such program, so I'll have to pick it up on my own.

Any more tips/suggestions?

 

[GigaCluster]

As someone who assists teaching a high school Cisco Academy class and passed the CCNA this year, here's my advice: if you at all can, take the current version of the test. The next version (curriculum 3.0) requires in-depth knowledge of OSPF, EIGRP, CIDR, VLSM, and fills all other topics with more information.

In the existing version, the stuff I mentioned is barely skimmed over -- no in-depth knowledge is required; it was saved for the CCNP curriculum. Cisco is clamping down.

Know very well subnetting and WAN technologies and protocols.

 

[TypeM]

I have to agree.. you must know subnetting and how to work with it very quickly. I also was tested on various commands, and they are ANAL when it comes to what command does what. They may describe two commands that are almost identical, except one will show one extra piece of info...and that is where they got me. I have (6) 3640 routers at my disposal, but I am used to just using the ? to get the correct syntax. The exam will make sure you know the syntax of the commands backwards and forwards and know exactly what is displayed. I will be trying again in December, so I will let everyone know my thoughts on it at that time.

-Mack