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Studying for CCNA need help

1K views 32 replies 11 participants last post by  Shiftstealth 
#1 ·
I haven't delved too far into it yet. I'm starting chapter 4 in my book. It is the book with both exams in one. I struggled a bit with chapter 3 mostly remembering which protocols belong to which layer. I got a bit of subnetting and i understand that way better than i remember which layers the protocols go to. Will i be well off if i am good at subnetting, but struggle a bit with the protocols or is there something i should read up about them?

+Rep for help!
 
#3 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by downlinx View Post

have you taken any classes for ccna? I know ivy tech or most tech colleges will allow you to take the ccna courses without enrolling into college.
I have not taken a class no. I'm in a job right now where i get about 3 hours a night. I guess i'd have to look at a weekend class if they do those things?
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by downlinx View Post

That's what i had to do, i worked and took classes at night to get my degree.
I'm just looking to get my certification
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiftstealth View Post

I'm just looking to get my certification
oh i know you are and the best way is to take a course in the cert, studing on your own will get you so far. actually getting your hands on the hardware and actually programming the routers and switches will gain you the knowledge you need.
 
#7 ·
Just some input. Courses can be expensive. Now a couple of years ago, you could rent time online (routers/swtiches) for the these courses specifically. You could also put together your own used package of routers/switches. I still have 4 routers sitting here from when I was studying. They are cheap on ebay etc. Cheaper than a course that's for sure. Most of this is straight memorization. I am not trying to dissuade you from anything, just offering some input.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slightly skewed View Post

Just some input. Courses can be expensive. Now a couple of years ago, you could rent time online (routers/swtiches) for the these courses specifically. You could also put together your own used package of routers/switches. I still have 4 routers sitting here from when I was studying. They are cheap on ebay etc. Cheaper than a course that's for sure. Most of this is straight memorization. I am not trying to dissuade you from anything, just offering some input.
if you could get your hands on some equipment, definitely go for it. yes courses are expensive, I think my CCNA courses cost me$350 for the full 4 book course.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by downlinx View Post

if you could get your hands on some equipment, definitely go for it. yes courses are expensive, I think my CCNA courses cost me$350 for the full 4 book course.
Well i'm looking for courses now. One community college has a "Networking" Course but doesn't specify anything about cisco. Just Lans and Wans.

The other has 5 cisco classes. All different levels. I feel like thats a bit too much.

I was thinking of trying to get the equipment myself. Also at my job i work for a smaller company and my Network admin is trying to get one of us to be a Junior admin for him so he will let us work on spare equipment we have so its mostly just me learning from a book, then i'm worried about the exam.
 
#10 ·
I'm taking the exam this month and I took courses. Didn't get a single online final (from cisco) under 90% in any of the 4 parts. Cert exams like this i'm sure you know, expect much more than the 60% passing grade in a typical course, though I (and most people besides cisco) don't know the exact method of grading, it's more like 80%+.

If I took the exam today I believe I would fail largely because of the bridging material - the exam was just changed recently with new material added such as more IPv6, multi-area OSPF and a few other topics. I would recommend researching and learning those too in addition if your book is not up to date. I wouldn't feel confident taking the exam without knowing those first and knowing my luck they may not even ask a single question about the new material, but i'm not going to take that chance.

I agree with the hands-on practice recommendations - either a physical setup or packet tracer simulations. Packet tracer is less of a hassle, extremely close to the real thing, and doesn't cost money (at least if you're in a course, not sure if cisco offer it for people not enrolled...) so I would recommend that. There are simulation questions in the cert exam, if you just know the theory behind configuring routers and switches but have never done it you may struggle. You'll want to practice until you can do setups with each routing protocol, switches, VLANs, WANs and such from memory AND within a reasonable time frame - people usually fail because they don't know the material or they take too long and run out of time.

I think I could subnet like a champ if you threw cold water on me at 4a.m. while i'm sleeping (though please don't
:p
), while I saw numbers dwindle in my course when it was introduced, sadly it's not enough to just know how to subnet but it is good to get fast at it.
I would personally aim for 8/10 questions correct on each topic in practice exams before going for the cert (maybe 7/10 in a few of my weaker areas and hope I don't get too many of them).
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sainesk View Post

I'm taking the exam this month and I took courses. Didn't get a single online final (from cisco) under 90% in any of the 4 parts. Cert exams like this i'm sure you know, expect much more than the 60% passing grade in a typical course, though I (and most people besides cisco) don't know the exact method of grading, it's more like 80%+.

If I took the exam today I believe I would fail largely because of the bridging material - the exam was just changed recently with new material added such as more IPv6, multi-area OSPF and a few other topics. I would recommend researching and learning those too in addition if your book is not up to date. I wouldn't feel confident taking the exam without knowing those first and knowing my luck they may not even ask a single question about the new material, but i'm not going to take that chance.

I agree with the hands-on practice recommendations - either a physical setup or packet tracer simulations. Packet tracer is less of a hassle, extremely close to the real thing, and doesn't cost money (at least if you're in a course, not sure if cisco offer it for people not enrolled...) so I would recommend that. There are simulation questions in the cert exam, if you just know the theory behind configuring routers and switches but have never done it you may struggle. You'll want to practice until you can do setups with each routing protocol, switches, VLANs, WANs and such from memory AND within a reasonable time frame - people usually fail because they don't know the material or they take too long and run out of time.

I think I could subnet like a champ if you threw cold water on me at 4a.m. while i'm sleeping (though please don't
tongue.gif
), while I saw numbers dwindle in my course when it was introduced, sadly it's not enough to just know how to subnet but it is good to get fast at it.

I would personally aim for 8/10 questions correct on each topic in practice exams before going for the cert (maybe 7/10 in a few of my weaker areas and hope I don't get too many of them).
I understand subnetting and i'm just delving into it now. I was judging myself on a 80% accuracy on some parts already. I was struggling with the protocols meaning less than 80%. Do you have any subnetting tables i can print out and use to memorize?
Thanks!
 
#12 ·
Pretty much just be proficient on all of the exam points that they lay out on the website. Having a hardware lab really solidified the basics for me. Once you have a pretty good understanding, then something like GNS3 becomes a lot more convenient for routing-specific labs.
Quote:
Do you have any subnetting tables i can print out and use to memorize?
It's more effective to memorize components of subnetting, such as binary values for a particular amount of bits or similar.

Also, hosts/networks are inversely correlated and double/half for each bit you borrow (ie, subnetting a /24 into a /25 will give you 1->2 networks and 256->128 addresses per network (-2 for hosts), a /26 would extend that into 4 networks and 64 addresses per network, etc).
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by beers View Post

Pretty much just be proficient on all of the exam points that they lay out on the website. Having a hardware lab really solidified the basics for me. Once you have a pretty good understanding, then something like GNS3 becomes a lot more convenient for routing-specific labs.
It's more effective to memorize components of subnetting, such as binary values for a particular amount of bits or similar.

Also, hosts/networks are inversely correlated and double/half for each bit you borrow (ie, subnetting a /24 into a /25 will give you 1->2 networks and 256->128 addresses per network (-2 for hosts), a /26 would extend that into 4 networks and 64 addresses per network, etc).
So the correlation is:

/24 /25 /26
1 subnet 256 hosts 2 subnets 128 hosts 4 subnets 64 hosts

?

Also do you have a link to where i can find the covered materials on the current CCNA? I've went as far as buying a book and reading some chapters in it so far....
 
#14 ·
if you could get your hands on some simulation software like Netsim or Cisco Packet Tracer, you will almost be able to eliminate some hands on with equipment through simulation labs.
I know amazon sells CCENT NETWORK SIMULATOR(rather pricey)
CCENT 640-822 network simulator software
CCENT 640-822 review

There is GNS3 which is free, but it really only deals with routing
NETSIMK[ is probably one of best free sim software out for testing for the CCNA

http://freeciscolab.com/ is great website for labs
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiftstealth View Post

So the correlation is:

/24 /25 /26
1 subnet 256 hosts 2 subnets 128 hosts 4 subnets 64 hosts

?
That's assuming you are working from a /24 IP block. If your provider gives you a /28 you will effectively have one network that spans (4 host bits = 16 values) 16 addresses, with 14 assignable to hosts. If you wanted to segregate these into smaller networks it would be two /29s with 8(-2) addresses each, etc.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by beers View Post

That's assuming you are working from a /24 IP block. If your provider gives you a /28 you will effectively have one network that spans (4 host bits = 16 values) 16 addresses, with 14 assignable to hosts. If you wanted to segregate these into smaller networks it would be two /29s with 8(-2) addresses each, etc.
I get it. I was just trying to understand the correlation that you were talking about. That was actually the most helpful thing i've heard so far.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiftstealth View Post

I haven't delved too far into it yet. I'm starting chapter 4 in my book. It is the book with both exams in one. I struggled a bit with chapter 3 mostly remembering which protocols belong to which layer. I got a bit of subnetting and i understand that way better than i remember which layers the protocols go to. Will i be well off if i am good at subnetting, but struggle a bit with the protocols or is there something i should read up about them?

+Rep for help!
Could find yourself some CBT Nuggets.
I'll also try and chime in as I have to do my CCNA soon too
tongue.gif


Just been a while with the content.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by downlinx View Post

if you could get your hands on some simulation software like Netsim or Cisco Packet Tracer, you will almost be able to eliminate some hands on with equipment through simulation labs.
I know amazon sells CCENT NETWORK SIMULATOR(rather pricey)
CCENT 640-822 network simulator software
CCENT 640-822 review

There is GNS3 which is free, but it really only deals with routing
NETSIMK[ is probably one of best free sim software out for testing for the CCNA

http://freeciscolab.com/ is great website for labs
I'd say Cisco Packet Tracer is the easiest to get the hang of Boson gets quite expensive.

GNS is also getting switching soon. They have a Crowdhoster for the new edition.
https://gns3.crowdhoster.com/become-an-early-release-member
 
#20 ·
i had a very hard time studying for the tests without having some real hardware to get my hands on and actually see some of the concepts in action. One trick to remember is when you go to take the test they will give you a piece of paper or a dry erase board, to write notes or do subnetting on, and with that you can write ANYTHING you want on it, to be used during the test. I remember writing down the OSI model and then putting anything and everything i could remember about each layer, as soon as i walked in the door... some guys had their subnet tables on there, all kinds of stuff.

Other than that, i can only stress that you get your hands on the equipment so you can see it in action... reading about the cisco command line and actually navigating it are two very different things, and you'd be surprised how much of that you will retain after having stumbled through it, directly.
 
#21 ·
If you dont have hands on experience do the two test method, is easier and you learn more.

Plus if you flunk it you loose half the money.

I got my ccent recently flunk it once due to not practicing simulations .

Theres testdumps outthere that are very similar to the real thing at times but i dont recommend this since you wont be able to apply your skilds.

I can give you hints in subnetting thio
 
#22 ·
Having taken several Cisco Exam's I will say that taking CCNA all in one is probably the worst just because (learning the info for the first time) its very wide in scope. I do remember from the exam that subnetting was a big deal, you really need to be fast about it. I also remember that there were a few "surprise" questions on wireless that I don't remember seeing in any of the books. I used CBT Nuggets as a study tool, read the chapter then watch the video that goes with it and it will help you learn it, I would recommend getting some cheap equip off of e-bay if you can. Also if you are super worried about it you can take the bosen online course, they have some very realistic practice exams.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for all of the recommendations guys, however stumbling back on this as i finish the book today(Yes i've spent months reading a 780 Page book) I find myself looking for more questions to test myself on. I have an exam Cram book for exam 640-802 which i believe is the correct exam. It just doesn't feel like enough to me.

I've had this 780 page todd lamme book and 2 routers and a switch to practice on and i average about 80% on the questions i answer. No i am not lying about the percentage. I do feel like i need more work with test labs. I have the equipment just no guidance on what network i should build etc. I am limited to 2 Routers (1841,2801) and 1 2950 Switch.

Any additional thoughts?

Thanks!

PS: I've been subnetting in my head on a daily basis, ie /20 is 255.255.240.0 i break it down into the first 2 don't matter and the 3rd octet is 4 and 4, and 4 is 16, then 3 and 5 is 32, and 2 and 6 is 64 so on and so fourth. I've done it all in my head. I mean realistically how fast do i need to subnet?

As always, rep will be awarded in this thread

Also i would love to know how the exam is itself. For the lab questions is there a simulator for a router, or is it just plain text, and do i have to know the plain text of the command or is it multiple choice? I would love if it were a router sim so i could do the config ? then its config t or finishes the commands for me etc.
 
#25 ·
It usually helps to go through at least one lab scenario of each of the exam topics presented on the Cisco site.

The exam has a few different types of questions. The simulation portions are a bit different than an actual IOS (although similar-ish) and have their own quirks. Sometimes the command you think you need might not be an option or even available.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by beers View Post

It usually helps to go through at least one lab scenario of each of the exam topics presented on the Cisco site.

The exam has a few different types of questions. The simulation portions are a bit different than an actual IOS (although similar-ish) and have their own quirks. Sometimes the command you think you need might not be an option or even available.
Thanks, so it is kind of like a simulator, but you have to type the command verbatim?

PS Repped.
 
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