How to study for the CCENT/CCNA. [Tutorial]

[nekt00]

hey guys.

Im looking to get my CCNA. Ive studied for the old CCNA 640-802 exam (todd lamlee CCNA 640-802 7th edition book). Since they have changed the exam now i dont know how i should go about it. Should i get a whole new CCNA 200-120 book and read through it all again? Or do you think if i just watch the new CCNA CBT nuggets videos and just revise some of the stuff coupled with doing some practice exams that it will be enough?

Thanks.

[bull313]

Great post! After I run the CompTIA gauntlet I just might try this one!

[HattrickNZ]

Hi, Firstly thanks for this great post it is very much appreciated!!

In the book that your recommend: CCNA 640-802 Official Cert Library, Updated (3rd Edition)
Link here CCNA 640-802 Official Cert Library, Updated (3rd Edition): Wendell Odom: 9781587204388: Amazon.com: Books
It says these will be the exams covered.
ICND1(640-822)
ICND2(640-816)
CCNA(640-802)

But on this site CCNA Routing and Switching - IT Certifications and Career Paths - Cisco Systems
It gives the below exams.
These are the exams

Required Exam(s)	Recommended Training
200-120 CCNA	Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices: Accelerated (CCNAX)
OR
100-101 ICND1	Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1)
200-101 ICND2	Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2)

Is this book still worth buying and using for studying? Can anyone please clarify? Thanks.

[HattrickNZ]

to answer my own question, this is the one that I want
Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching 200-120 Official Cert Guide Library: Wendell Odom: 9781587143878: Amazon.com: Books

[Kenneth196]

Great choice Hattrick. That book is the most up to date one. The 640 exams are outdated, as are the training material (books, rather).

[tsimo]

I am new to CISCO World of CCNA Exam. I start reading from OSI Model. who advise me the best CCNA ebook topic or Author

[Nikola-T]

Hi everyone, I am a new member at this forum.

I would like to switch over to a networking career but I have no knowledge and computer science degree so I wonder is it possible learning and passing CCNA exam by self-studying even if you don’t have any knowledge and computer science degree?

Actually I am a mechanical engineer and was working as an R&D cooling engineer in a home appliances company in Turkey. My girlfriend is from San Francisco and we currently live in this city and would like to keep living somewhere in California. Anyway…

I would appreciate if you guys share your experience and advice about the questions below:

1) Are cbtnuggets’ video enough to pass CCNA (ICND1+ICND2) ?
2) Do I need windows pc ? (I have apple macbook pro-Mac OS X version 10.6.
3) Do I need a lab to study ? Can’t I learn without building a lab?
4) Do you guys know any group kind of meet-up group in San Francisco where I can go and learn about networking ?

Sorry if there is any funny questions, as I told I have no knowledge about networking

[Chev Chellios]

Great thread and posts by the way. I'm on track to do my MCSA 2008 exams in the not too distant future, not so bothered about taking the Cisco exams but I think the material will be useful to learn through self studying alongside the Microsoft stuff, thanks for the tips and recommendations

[Roguetadhg]

Welcome Nikola-T and others:

1. You May. Video lessons should be seen as the quick and dirty way, there's a lot of information that can't be taught. While all the topics may be hit on with CBT, it's best to go through a book as well. Use both in combination

2. Nope. Depends on how you plan on getting you lab work done. If you go with a 'simulator' then you'll most likely be tied to a Windows OS for the duration. If you invest in your own lab you can use any OS as long as you have a terminal emulator.

3. Nope. Preferred though... for a couple reasons:
1) Saying you HAVE hardware is a lot better than saying "I used a simulator".
2) Confidence Boosting. It's one thing to simulate flying a plane on a computer, it's a totally different thing to get in the pit. While you know that if you fudge up, you aren't miles above the earth.
3) Hardware can be the problem. You can't really troubleshoot a 'almost plugged in' RJ45. Likewise a DCE cable may have gone bad or part of the switch did go funky.
4) Simulators can be the problem. When I studied for the CCNA, I used a simulator at one point. I found that I wasn't able to input commands or the full range of functions the real IOS supports.

4. No idea.

[Koval88]

This was a great read, I just started in the Networking. Currently taking cisco courses. I really enjoy the courses. Thanks for these tips. I will keep them in mind and try some of the resources

[SeekBytes]

Hello dear members of TechExams.net.

I would love to get an advice regarding some tools to verify my understanding for the modules 100-101 & 200-101.

I thought to go with Boson which offers a full kit with labs and an exams simulator to verify your preparation before to attempt a real exam.

Since I am really terrorized from the idea of failing the exam, I wanted to ask an advice regarding flash cards and other materials I could use to review the whole syllabus.

Kind Regards.

[delshad]

I have taken the college cisco courses (the first 3, didn't take the 4th) and I think I made the right choice by taking chris bryant's CCNA course on udemy just to re-paint the knowledge i have and i also got the two books from Odom to get into detail with on everything else (including the 4th course i skipped out on).

[NightEye00]

Hi there,
I started to learn to the CCNA exam on my own from the CCNA Exploration book. It's really helpful but I suppose it won't be enough to pass the exam as it's only a book and contains no packet tracer labs or any other resources to learn. It's only usable to repeat the main topics before I start to attend a real course.
So my question as which is the better possibility to prepare the following:
1. I'd choose a curriculum with online video material where I can ask per online chat and my question will be answered online still in the videostream. The lab practices (via packet tracer) can be completed through a virtual environment of Cisco. There're no physical devices available on this course but in this case I'd buy some equipment on eBay. My other problem is that I don't receive any book format curriculum in order to review the things later if necessary, e.g. for the renewal of he certification in 3 years..
This is the cheaper opportunity where I need to learn at home on my own which is absolutely not problem for me by the way.
2. I'd take a "traditional" course which lasts 5 days (45 hours in all), where we have an instructor. It begins with theroretical knowledge then some demos and at the end the practical network building, of course instead of physical assets on virtual environment, packet tracer... you know.
It much more expensive but I get the book format curriculum too.

So what do you think, which would be the better from which points of view, more practice-orientated, cheaper etc.

Thank you in advance and have a nice day!

[therebeeye]

NightEye00, just my opinion and what worked best for me: My local community college offered Cisco CCNA courses that were very helpful as they offered face to face instruction, the opportunity to work as a team on projects using real equipment and collaborate to solve problems. Also, as it was a Cisco licensed course, accounts were created with the Cisco Networking Academy site (www.netacad.com) for each student. This in turn gave you access to PacketTracer and various other study tools. On top of that, we were given discount vouchers for the CCENT/CCNA exams. There were 4 classes, each a semester long, so it would take you about a year to do all 4.
But if this is too long for you or your local college doesn't offer Cisco classes, I would still suggest some kind of traditional course. I'm not a fan of "boot-camp" style courses, unless you already have a pretty good grasp of the material, as it's truly not realistic to absorb all the information required to pass the CCNA in 1 week.
Again, just my opinion but I hope this helps and good luck if you haven't taken the exam already!

[mxdarvin]

Hello evryone. I am on my way of studying for CCENT and then CCNA, it's a great post, but I have decided I will not attend any classes, there is lots of material available on the web also I have dedicated books for ICND1 and ICND2 with CBT Nuggets videos which are great. I would say that motivation is the most significant factor to pass this exam but not only to pass but learn something from it and remember, lots of people after exams they do not know much from it anyway so I would say the main thing is to not rush with that certification and learn it step by step, try to understand each topic very well. To be honest I think CCENT and CCNA they are the foundation which should stay in our heads forever trough our certification path as well as for our carrer... Once you will started, do not give up!!! Push yourself, try to motivate yourself as much as you can, sometimes it is hard but once you will feel that "kick" you will get it

[Gororow]

I've bought a 2950G switch mainly to give me the motivation to study (physically toying with the hardware is the work that I enjoy doing) however it says that the IOS version is 12.1. I've seen sites which sell bundles for the latest CCNA course offering switches using IOS 12.2, so my question is how big a deal is it that I've got something older than v12.4? Should I be keeping it, or should I be selling it on and having another look?

[DPN1]

You could just upgrade the IOS? You'll need to create an account on the cisco website and find the right file , have a tftp tool there's loads of free ones out there, then you put the file onto the tftp software and connect you laptop/pc to the switch , give your device a static IP and run the copy tftp flash command in the privileged exec mode (#). It'll ask about destination and source file ( is the name of the file you have uploaded/uploading) and the destination ip which would be the static IP of the device running tftp.

I think that right but describing things isn't my strong point so I have this backup in case that didn't make sense

7 Steps to Upgrade IOS Image on Cisco Catalyst Switch or Router

[jesusriles]

Thanks for the post, really useful for start studying for CCNA.

Thanks & Greetings!

[steelodon]

I noticed that 3 routers and 3 switches were suggested for study.

[PCExpert]

I noticed that 3 routers and 3 switches were suggested for study.

Yes, I noticed that one too. I am currently researching to try and work out what would be good stuff to get for a starter kit for CCENT --> CCNA and getting totally swamped, as in information overload! I'm also looking at this page https :// www . certificationkits . com / lab-suggestions /cisco-lab-suggestions/ in combination with looking at various ebay kits, and finding it a nightmare.

[Spiegel]

Is it better to get a CCENT/CCNA lab kit or work with PacketTracer or both? Is it more or less advantageous in order to pass the exam? I'll spend as much as I need too in order to pass my exams and get a good real-world lesson out of it but if I'm able to save money that'd be great as well.

[Micronewb]

Is it better to get a CCENT/CCNA lab kit or work with PacketTracer or both? Is it more or less advantageous in order to pass the exam? I'll spend as much as I need too in order to pass my exams and get a good real-world lesson out of it but if I'm able to save money that'd be great as well.

After speaking with my professor he suggested a lab because he doesn't want me to become a "paper CCNA". A paper CCNA is someone who on paper knows what to do but when brought into a server room is lost and has no idea what to do.

Thus, I suggest a lab (I am in the process of looking to buy one and am asking this forum for help. ) maybe you can piggy back the one I buy.

[Geoson]

Hey guys, I am also new to the CCENT/CCNA Cisco certifications. I want to ideally do the 100-101 ICDN1 exam before August 20th this year before they update the exams to the new ones that was announced in May this year. I have only read chapter 1 so far when I started studying for the exam a few days ago. I graduated last year in university and still actively looking for a full-time job. Do you think getting the CCENT then the CCNA will open more doors in terms of getting a job? I live in Canada so the job market is really tough especially I don't have any internships/past experiences in business or computer networks. I graduated in Business Technology Management at Ryerson University and my GPA isn't stellar. I just hope I can land a gig somewhere even part-time in the field would be great. Do you think studying for two months straight starting now is sufficient for the CCENT exam? Thanks for your help.

[Trucido]

Is the new CCENT / CCNA change going to be harder or more difficult? Instead of 7 modules its going to be 5.

[ccnapremium]

Any recommendation for free CCNA questions with answers and explanations?