How Important is Day to Day Experience to pass ICND1 & 2??

Hi,

First post so be gentle. I have just started studying for my CCNA which I hope to complete this year.

My question is this, If one is NOT working in routing and switching on a day-to-day basis is the a major Disadvantage or not?

My background is MCSE 2008 I never bothered upgrading and wish for a change in direction to Cisco. Mainly specialising in Exchange server and other messaging platforms such as Lync, MS Communicator and recently Jabber (which got me interested in Cisco).

I know my way around switches and routers , know most of the show commands and can do basic stuff like saving/updating configs , Vlans etc.

Also would you think Cisco Packet Tracer or GNS3 is good enough for Labs or should I buy physical kit??

How long should I study before sitting my ICND1 , roughly?

Awaiting your feedback, thanks for reading..

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Comments

Edificer

Here is my experience: Being asked 'what is a VPN' to which I replied 'I don't know' in 2012, it took me 3 years to get my CCNA. You learn through trail and errors. I made a lot of mistakes, fat fingered enable passwords, fat fingered PSKs (that was a pain in the butt) mismatched crypto SAs, incorrect tunnel-groups, incorrect STP implementation resulting in a loop in my network, bad cabling termination, and a hundred more mistakes. I found all of these mistakes by myself, and corrected them.

You can study for CCNA R&S within 4-6 months, easily. You may not be as lucky as I was and you probably need to get certs first that allows you to get the experience. If you study with obsession, and passion, you will pass with flying colors. Learn the dominant routing protocols (which only graces the basics for CCNA), subnetting, L2 protocols and a few things more. None which are truly challenging, imo.

Jon_Cisco

CCNA took me a year having little experience.
I don't recommend people buy labs to pass the test.
Labs are great for learning and I have one because I prefer the hands on but packet tracer will get you through CCNA.

theodoxa

There is some overlap [in concepts] between MCSE and CCNA/CCNP. MCSE covers Subnetting, IPv6, and VPNs (though PPTP and SSL rather than IPsec) along with RADIUS (NPS), which will help somewhat with CCNA, CCNA: Security, and CCNP. You should be fine learning the material even without working with all of it on the job.

Surfrider

It's doable, but I think it depends on your study style. I loved having my own gear to work on. You can pick up some fairly cheap gear on eBay and for me, nothing beats having my hands on actual equipment. Simple tasks like backing up IOS to a tftp server, loading different IOS builds, etc on a real switch and configuring from scratch just makes me feel more confident. Not necessary by any means, but I prefer it.

I also came from zero networking experience!

xeruan

I've took some networking courses (LAN/PC Communications, Wireless Networking) type courses through our Technology department, but aside from that, I have no real world experience with Cisco.

I used CBT Nuggets and the Wendell Odom books and passed the ICND1 exam handily after ~3.5 weeks of studying. I'm 2 weeks into studying for the ICND2 exam and plan on taking the exam before the end of the month using the same materials again. Day-to-day experience would help, but it's definitely not a requirement.

I've used a few Network Simulator software types that came with the books, and that has been all. I would like to build a physical lab, but I honestly don't plan on doing that until I begin working toward the CCNP. However you choose to practice though, I would definitely recommend spending some time with the CLI.

TechGuru80

1. Do you really know most show commands? This will be something you will determine pretty darn quickly when studying. Not to mention knowing the syntax is far different than being able to interpret the output (which is very important for real world and exams).

2. Plenty of people have passed using Packet Tracer or GNS3 but some people find it more helpful to have the physical equipment. I personally run my home network off my lab so I can have live troubleshooting if I need it and then can use GNS3 for quick troubleshooting drills.

3. Some people take longer than others and it depends on your experience/knowledge. Anywhere from 1-6 months is realistic (tons of experience to zero knowledge). Of course if you don't run commands a lot you might find yourself on the higher end of the time frame.

Some people find either ICND 1 or 2 easier than the other but it just depends. 2 should be harder since it is more focused on troubleshooting rather than configurations though.

ccnpninja

It helps, but is not mandatory. Don't tell me you don't have networking experience. I've known Arts graduates get their CCIEs..

NetworkNewb

CCNA is an entry level networking certification. Definitely not needed.