CCNA Security Progress Thread

aderon

Decided to make a progress thread while working towards the CCNA Security. I've done a few of these for my other certs and they seem to help with keeping me focused! If this against the rules of this particular subforum, just let me know.

I officially started studying on the 21st. I'm reading through the official guide book (I'm taking the 210-260) and have been writing notes throughout. My initial impression on the book wasn't great, but it's not the worst thing I've ever read, so there's that lol...

As of right now, the majority of the material has just been a rehash of Security+ topics, so I'd say if you already have that, this should be a logical next step. By the end of this upcoming week, I want to be done with the book and move onto labbing and note review. My overall goal is test probably around.... late November or early December.

Anyways, if anyone wants to comment their experiences here as well or offer words of wisdom, I'm all ears!

NVLady

Good luck to you. I am currently working my way through the book and hope to test around the same time frame as you. I have to get it done before Christmas as my CCNA expires on the 26th.

E Double U

I had only been in security for about a year when I studied for this exam and had lots of fun learning the material. Good luck!

JoJoCal19

Good luck aderon. I'm keeping my eyes out for the FLG to be released as I may be doing the CCENT/CCNA S next year.

Ede890

same boat hope to be in the winner's circle with you guys

ITBot

I'll be starting this after I finish Linux plus. Let us know how the study material is and if you think WGU's material is sufficient!

Hondabuff

Build an ASA lab with GNS3 and practice with a Device in the DMZ and setting zone pair rules.

aderon

Thanks for all the positive support guys. So this week wasn't too bad. I'm on page 200 and still got a decent chunk to go (I think another 300 or so pages). I kind of slacked this week, so I'm going to try to be a little more consistent with my studying.


The book is still somewhat strange, but I'm getting used to it. There's a point in the book where an entire chapter is devoted to a subject and then the very next chapter teaches almost the exact same subject. I was getting deja vu it was pretty weird lol.


Feeling pretty good about this overall, but I want to be done with reading and onto some labs already! :P I think I'm for sure going to take this in December instead of late November based on my pace and the way it'll affect my on time progress at my university.

ITBot

I'll be interested to know if you think WGU has enough material for this exam. If all goes well, I should be done with Linux the 13th and starting Security right after.

aderon

Hey good luck on the exam! Have you already taken the first LPIC exam?

I'll be sure to weigh in on my experiences once I take the test, but most likely I'm going to branch out and find other materials on my own if I'm not feeling comfortable with taking the test just from WGU's resources.

ITBot

Yup, I passed part one. It was kind of rough but a pass is a pass. I wasn't nearly prepared enough for the fill in the blank questions.

aderon

Nice! Congrats. I remember the fill in the blanks being pretty rough.

Update: I'm on page 330. Seriously considering just skimming to the end of the book and then labbing. Reading thoroughly through this book is taking forever lol. I feel like I'm somehow cheating myself if I do this, but I'm already familiar with most of the material from the Security+ and the rest seems pretty self-explanatory.

From what I've read so far, it seems like the test is going to be really heavy on VPNs, AAA, and how keys and certificates work together. It looks like the last section of the book has a large focus on firewall/IPS. I go on a 2 week "study vacation" starting the day after tomorrow so I'm expecting my progress should go a little quicker.

aderon

Whelp, I put this on hold until about January 1st, because I didn't feel like the training material for the 210-260 was adequate. The Boson practice exams are finally out and it's pretty crazy, but I would say that the material covered in the official book is probably only about 30-40% of what is in the Boson exams. Another thing I like is that in the answer explanations they provide links to the Cisco source where you can do additional reading. The additional reading has been extremely beneficial I feel.

I'm not sure what my timeline is at the moment, but it feels good to be hitting the books again. Maybe around the end of January I'll test.

It's been so long since I first started this thread, has anyone who was planning on working on this actually taken the exam yet? I'm curious what your experience was like.

JoJoCal19

INE also has their new videos for the 210-260 finished. Available as a download for $79. They don't have the syllabus for the videos on the main page for the 210-260 but if you click on the All Access Pass details and look at the list of videos, click on the course there and it has all of the videos listed.

AMD4EVER

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

INE also has their new videos for the 210-260 finished. Available as a download for $79. They don't have the syllabus for the videos on the main page for the 210-260 but if you click on the All Access Pass details and look at the list of videos, click on the course there and it has all of the videos listed.

How does INE compare to CBTNuggets for general CCNA videos?

ITBot

I scheduled mine for the 21st. I had hoped to take it the first week of January, but the house we were living in sold so I spent most of December moving. I actually ended up buying Cisco's training when it was on sale so I'm going through that now. Not sure if I will be ready for the test but I'm okay with failing it just to see where I measure up and what I will need to focus on.

yellowpad

Guys, just to let you know. Really go over ASDM and do a lot of lab. After the the new CBTnuggets, Cisco guide, Boson exams, and youtube....I passed today. i did right after I finished my Comptia Security+, CCNA-S is hard.

aderon

noahp34 wrote: »

I scheduled mine for the 21st. I had hoped to take it the first week of January, but the house we were living in sold so I spent most of December moving. I actually ended up buying Cisco's training when it was on sale so I'm going through that now. Not sure if I will be ready for the test but I'm okay with failing it just to see where I measure up and what I will need to focus on.

Nice! Well good luck dude. Let us know how it goes.

ITBot

Good to know yellowpad! I've been doing lots of labs so hopefully I'll be ready.

Archon

Hondabuff wrote: »

Build an ASA lab with GNS3 and practice with a Device in the DMZ and setting zone pair rules.

Which IOS's did you use?

I normally use Packet Tracer but there are a lot commands for the CCNA Security Lab v2 which are not available. I have tried to use GNS3 for the first time and find that the IOS's are not compatible or the routers freeze when i connect via PuTTY.

AMD4EVER

Archon wrote: »

Which IOS's did you use?

I normally use Packet Tracer but there are a lot commands for the CCNA Security Lab v2 which are not available. I have tried to use GNS3 for the first time and find that the IOS's are not compatible or the routers freeze when i connect via PuTTY.

I couldn't even find any IOS's to use! Can anyone give me any tips on how to find some? Message me directly if this can't be shared in the forum

Archon

Officially you need a support contract with Cisco to get access to the IOS's. Just use Google, simple as that.

GNS3 v1.4 has been released so might give that a go.

ITBot

So I ended up moving the test up today and I passed! The test was easier than I thought it would be. I had two sims, one was straight forward but like others have reported, it seems like the other configuration one is busted. Im 99% I did it correctly but I couldn't get it to ping correctly. I spent 20 mins trying to get it to work.

Anyway, the Boson test is very similar to the real thing. If you understand all the answers and read all the explanations you will pass. Also, the Cisco training course is definitely sufficient and the sims in it are great it's just really pricey.

koz24

Congrats on the pass Noah.

Archon

Congrats

NetworkNewb

Gratz! Nice work!

AMD4EVER

Awesome Noah! Your account is the first one I've heard saying that the test was easier than expected which is good to hear

I was planning on getting the Boson practice test but hearing how accurate it is I'll now definitely plan on getting that before taking the real test!

What did you use along with the OCG and Boson to study? Did you happen to listen to the CBTNugget videos? Wondered if they are worth doing.

ITBot

@AMD4EVER I gave up pretty quickly reading the OCG. I watched about half the CBTNugget videos, mostly the ones covering topics that I didn't understand well, especially the lab configs, setting up vpns and access control lists. It's worth the money. CBT and Boson would be enough to learn the topic and pass.

The Cisco learning program, Implementing Cisco Network Security (IINS) v3.0, did the most for me. This was my last class other than the capstone, so I was willing to pay the money for it since I'm pretty burnt out from all the certs and WGU classes and my semester ends this month; I was ready to get it all done with! It has more than enough labs that aren't even on the test and it is very thorough. It has 1 year of access so I'll probably be jumping in there from time to time to freshen up my knowledge.

greeneon

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The question is for @noahp34 or anyone who has actually used these resources. Is the Cisco e-learning course Implementing Cisco Network Security (IINS) v3.0 and the books CCNA Security Course Booklet Version 2 and CCNA Security Lab Manual Version 2 enough study material needed for passing the 210-260 exam? Just looking to get what I need and nothing more.


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aderon

Awesome man! Congrats and thanks for the write up.

ITBot

@Greeneon I think if you're really thorough you would be okay. Everything you need for the test is in that course. For me, I really like having Boson to get into testing mode right before the exam.