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Passed my ICDN1 exam few days ago!! Here are my weapons of choice.

PheonyxPheonyx Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
Hi all,

Happy to say I passed my CCENT and am now studying for the ICDN2 to get my CCNA. I self studied for about 6 weeks with the following weapons of choice and passed with no issues. HOWEVER, I did also have several classes in the past that covered all of CCNA/CCENT, but since a lot of the info I had learned in those classes was "foggy", I decided to boot camp myself for 6 weeks and that was enough to pass. My score was 817 (passing is 804) so I did cut it really close, but that was mainly because I ran out of time towards the end, which brings me to a good tip.

You have a 15 minute window with the tutorial screens when you first sit down at the computer to test. Use that time to write down your "powers of 2", charts, graphs, whatever you think will help you, on the laminated paper that is handed to you.





Weapons of choice:

1) Wendell Odom's 100-101 ccent/ccna book.

FANTASTIC BOOK! 10/10! I could read this man's book like it was a novel! He keep's things interesting and everything is categorized within key concepts, key terms, etc.

2) Used the practice tests that came with Odom's book.

These tests were actually TEN FOLD more difficult than the actual test, so if you pass these or even get a borderline score, you will do GREAT on the actual test.

3) Used the network simulator from pearson.

I had mixed feelings about the net sim that I paid 100 bucks for. It breaks everything down so much that it honestly becomes a grind just to get a lab finished. But to students that are super fresh to everything CCENT related, then that might be a good thing. It was great for memorizing all the commands and where to apply them, without having to use packet tracer and create your own lab. So in that sense, it was a pretty big time saver.

4) CBT Nuggets 100-101

I honestly don't know if I would have done as well as I did without this. This is an absolute MUST-HAVE! Conceptually, you will understand EVERYTHING much better with CBT Nuggets course with Jeremy O.


Hope this helps out anyone that is going into this battle to win their CCENT!

Train like an MMA fighter would for a fight, and I guarantee you will come out victorious! KNOCK IT OUT COLD!! icon_biggrin.gif

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    koz24koz24 Member Posts: 766 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats Pheonyx!
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    greg9891greg9891 Member Posts: 1,189 ■■■■■■■□□□
    Congrats Pheonyx icon_thumright.gif
    :
    Upcoming Certs: VCA-DCV 7.0, VCP-DCV 7.0, Oracle Database 1Z0-071, PMP, Server +, CCNP

    Proverbs 6:6-11Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
    When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep, So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler And your need like an armed man.
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    White WizardWhite Wizard Member Posts: 179
    Pheonyx wrote: »
    Hi all,

    Happy to say I passed my CCENT and am now studying for the ICDN2 to get my CCNA. I self studied for about 6 weeks with the following weapons of choice and passed with no issues. HOWEVER, I did also have several classes in the past that covered all of CCNA/CCENT, but since a lot of the info I had learned in those classes was "foggy", I decided to boot camp myself for 6 weeks and that was enough to pass. My score was 817 (passing is 804) so I did cut it really close, but that was mainly because I ran out of time towards the end, which brings me to a good tip.

    You have a 15 minute window with the tutorial screens when you first sit down at the computer to test. Use that time to write down your "powers of 2", charts, graphs, whatever you think will help you, on the laminated paper that is handed to you.





    Weapons of choice:

    1) Wendell Odom's 100-101 ccent/ccna book.

    FANTASTIC BOOK! 10/10! I could read this man's book like it was a novel! He keep's things interesting and everything is categorized within key concepts, key terms, etc.

    2) Used the practice tests that came with Odom's book.

    These tests were actually TEN FOLD more difficult than the actual test, so if you pass these or even get a borderline score, you will do GREAT on the actual test.

    3) Used the network simulator from pearson.

    I had mixed feelings about the net sim that I paid 100 bucks for. It breaks everything down so much that it honestly becomes a grind just to get a lab finished. But to students that are super fresh to everything CCENT related, then that might be a good thing. It was great for memorizing all the commands and where to apply them, without having to use packet tracer and create your own lab. So in that sense, it was a pretty big time saver.

    4) CBT Nuggets 100-101

    I honestly don't know if I would have done as well as I did without this. This is an absolute MUST-HAVE! Conceptually, you will understand EVERYTHING much better with CBT Nuggets course with Jeremy O.


    Hope this helps out anyone that is going into this battle to win their CCENT!

    Train like an MMA fighter would for a fight, and I guarantee you will come out victorious! KNOCK IT OUT COLD!! icon_biggrin.gif

    Absolutely agree on the difficulty of the tests that come with the book. They are much harder than the exam.

    Congrats!
    "The secret to happiness is doing what you love. The secret to success is loving what you do."
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    OcarusOcarus Member Posts: 9 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Thanks for the heads up. I read Lammle's book and am now reading Odom's. Congrats on the pass.
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    Dakinggamer87Dakinggamer87 Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Congrats on pass!! icon_thumright.gif
    *Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
    *Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
    Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

    Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63
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    satishtechsatishtech Member Posts: 243
    Fantastic Fabulous achievement !!!

    Was the Odom Book the premium edition ?
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    JasionoJasiono Member Posts: 896 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Thanks you and congrats.
    This is what I am using and the fact that you verified is great. I was beginning to think I will fail on all accounts because of that practice exam. The questions really make you think about everything as a whole. I kind of gave up the first time I took the practice exam.

    We are talking about the Boson exam right?
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    7255carl7255carl Member Posts: 1,544 ■■■□□□□□□□
    congrats
    W.I.P CCNA Cyber Ops
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    Fulcrum45Fulcrum45 Member Posts: 621 ■■■■■□□□□□
    Woot! Congrats!
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    ccnpninjaccnpninja Member Posts: 1,010 ■■■□□□□□□□
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    PheonyxPheonyx Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
    satishtech wrote: »
    Fantastic Fabulous achievement !!!

    Was the Odom Book the premium edition ?

    yeah, i believe so.
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    PheonyxPheonyx Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Jasiono wrote: »
    Thanks you and congrats.
    This is what I am using and the fact that you verified is great. I was beginning to think I will fail on all accounts because of that practice exam. The questions really make you think about everything as a whole. I kind of gave up the first time I took the practice exam.

    We are talking about the Boson exam right?

    I was actually using the pearson vue practice exams that came with the book. But I heard the boson ones are just as hard. It's a good thing that they are because if you even get CLOSE to passing on those, you will find the actual cert exam VERY EASY in comparison. That + CBT Nuggets, and you just can't lose if you put in the time.
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    PheonyxPheonyx Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
    thanks guys :) best of luck to everyone. don't stress out, the actual test is so easy....be confident and you'll get it!
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    Justin-Justin- Member Posts: 300
    Firstly, congrats on the pass! It's great to hear you used the Pearson Vue network sim as I also purchased that :P

    I plan on using Lammle's book + Pearson Simulator + CBT Nuggets for ICND1. I may actually purchase a lab for ICND2 to get hands on experience but for CCENT, just the material I mentioned.

    What would you recommend writing down on the laminate paper? Just the graphs for the powers of 2 / block sizes, etc?

    Also, 6 weeks study time is pretty good! Once again, congrats bro :)

    Cheers.
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    JamesKurtovichJamesKurtovich Member Posts: 195
    I'm on the same route. Odom+CBT Nuggets

    I love Odom's writing style. He's good at breaking things down and repeating them later on just to make sure you're still following his logic. If anything slips through the cracks, Jeremy is there to fill you in with his really casual style of teaching.
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    steele84steele84 Member Posts: 62 ■■□□□□□□□□
    +1 to CBTnuggets. This was a great class to take before hitting the hard more in-depth chapters of the cert books (I'm using Todd's) before I took the ICND1 course with Jeremy I was finding it hard to grasp the key concepts in the book. Now with the foundation knowledge when I hit a key concept in the book I'm like "Oh that's how this works". I highly recommend this strategy. But until I pass my exam take my advice with a grain of salt! :P
    “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

    Ralph Waldo Emerson
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    kenrinkenrin Member Posts: 51 ■■□□□□□□□□
    five day late Congratulations!

    This gets me pumped up because I'm using the exact same study materials (minus the overpriced simulator, I have REAL switches and routers at work)

    Note: I was hesitant about shelling out $$ for CBTnuggets but if you are an auditory learner like me I can't recommend it enough. Plus Jeremy is funny even when he is wasting countless minutes using analogy's.
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    PCHoldmannPCHoldmann Member Posts: 450
    Congrats!
    There's no place like ^$
    Visit me at Route, Switch, Blog
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    PheonyxPheonyx Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Justin- wrote: »
    Firstly, congrats on the pass! It's great to hear you used the Pearson Vue network sim as I also purchased that :P

    I plan on using Lammle's book + Pearson Simulator + CBT Nuggets for ICND1. I may actually purchase a lab for ICND2 to get hands on experience but for CCENT, just the material I mentioned.

    What would you recommend writing down on the laminate paper? Just the graphs for the powers of 2 / block sizes, etc?

    Also, 6 weeks study time is pretty good! Once again, congrats bro :)

    Cheers.

    I pretty much wrote down my powers of 2, my 8 bit binary table, and i think thats it pretty much!
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    aatconceptaatconcept Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Planning to write mine soon, subnetting is hot...but getting cold anyways..congratulations
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