Failed ICND-2 - moving forward!

scotlawrence

Hey everyone,
I took the ICND-2 exam today, and failed with a score of 749.
I passed ICND-1 on the first try, so I was feeling confidant, and I thought I had everything well-studied for ICND-2, but apparently not! here are my test stats:

LAN Switching Technologies - 82%
IP Routing Technologies - 71%
IP Services - 0%
Troubleshooting - 53%
WAN Technologies - 75%

The "IP Services - 0%" obviously shocked me! until I got home and looked up the exam topics on the Cisco website, and I saw that the "IP Services" category only accounts for 6% of the exam..So I guess there might have only been one or two total questions on the exam in that category, and I must have missed them all, (however many there were).. In that category, I know the differences between HSRP, VRRP and GLBP, and how they all work and are configured..I dont consider those a "weak area" really..And I dont even remember having any Syslog or SNMP questions at all..(although there might have been..)

When taking the test, I do remember thinking "well, I didnt do well on that question"..but im not good at recalling the exact question specifics after the test..during test-taking, im very much in the mode of "answer one question, then move on"..I dont dedicate any mental energy to trying to remember questions I missed, for recall later! all my focus is only on the next question im looking at...which I imagine is pretty typical while actually in the process of taking the exam..but unfortunately that also means I have virtually no recall of specifics on questions I missed..

So when I first saw "IP Services - 0%" on my print-out I naturally thought "well, thats my problem!" but now that I have looked up what is in that category, now I think its less important than other areas (in terms of what I need to focus on next, for the next taking of the exam)..I will still review everything of course as I pick up studying again, but now I believe it's the "Troubleshooting - 53%" category that deserves most of my focus..any thoughts on that?

I studied mostly with the Odom 200-101 book, and I have a home lab..3 routers, 3 switches, and I made up many of my own labs..

I think one area where I "went wrong" was focusing too much on the "big picture" concepts and not enough on the "fine detail"..I know the big-picture concepts of, for example, how STP, OSPF, EIGRP and Frame Relay work..I can configure them in my lab and get them running without referring to my notes..But I think I skipped over too much of the "little things" that you dont actually need to configure, that are "optional" in the configuration, like changing cost metrics..and what exactly the costs are..I think I didnt give the fine-details enough study time..

I used the Lammle book for ICND-1..and Odom for ICND-2..I dont really have a preference of one over the other, but since I have already read and studied from Odom for ICND-2, im thinking of going back to Lammle for ICND-2..I never really read the ICND-2 topics from my Lammle book, only the ICND-1 topics..

anyone have any thoughts or advice based on my scores?
Im thinking of giving it another month of solid study, then re-taking the exam..and continue studying immediately..
but I want to write a blueprint for exactly what im going to focus on hard..the stuff I missed this time..then also keep reviewing the rest so I dont forget anything..but right now, I haven't exactly worked out what all the "focus on hard" topics are yet exactly..I would appreciate any thoughts on that!
thanks,
Scot

Mooseboost

The important part is that you are not allowing yourself to get discouraged!

I would recommend picking up a couple more resources (Maybe Udemy - Chris Bryant) just to get a different perspective on the material. Ask yourself, how comfortable did you feel with your answers?

A month of study time should be plenty to get you to a passing score!

scotlawrence

Mooseboost wrote: »

The important part is that you are not allowing yourself to get discouraged!

I would recommend picking up a couple more resources (Maybe Udemy - Chris Bryant) just to get a different perspective on the material. Ask yourself, how comfortable did you feel with your answers?

Thanks Moose..

"Ask yourself, how comfortable did you feel with your answers?"

I was pretty confidant going in! I thought I had everything pretty well learned. I know of the exam outline on the Cisco site, and I have referred to it to check the topics..but still, I missed some things!

as to "how comfortable did you feel with your answers?"..pretty comfortable..for most questions I either knew for sure I had it right, or I was sure I didn't know it! either way, I was confidant!

A month of study time should be plenty to get you to a passing score!

Im wondering if a month might be too long?
Im not in any real hurry..but I also have no reason to stretch it out longer than necessary.
I'll work up a new study blueprint/schedule tomorrow (I'll post it here) then see if that changes how long I feel I should study..

thanks,
Scot

Nans

The biggest part that might have pulled you down should be troubleshooting. Without breaking NDA, it does carry some serious weight and also some tricky part too, if you know what I mean. You might have not observed it, or just thought what you did was right which proved to be costly at the end. Also in my opinion ICND2 takes lot of practical understanding and experience to ace the exam, So I suggest you to lab a lot. As mooseboost was telling Chris byrant videos are good and Lammle's book got a full chapter of troubleshooting which will help you a lot

All the best for the next..!

scotlawrence

Thanks Nan,
Chris Bryant? hmmm..I might give that a go! I have heard of his courses, but haven't done anything with them before..
I see he has the class:

https://www.udemy.com/ccna-on-demand-video-boot-camp/?couponCode=10bucks

and a kindle book:

http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Bryants-Study-Guide-Volume-ebook/dp/B00H9ICMV6

I might go for both..the price is right.

thanks,
Scot

Nans

Books, I can't comment how good they are, but the video course itself is cheap (for 10$ during sale).

Mooseboost

It always (at least for me) makes it far more difficult when you don't feel like you were weak in anything particular. Struggling on questions at least gives you an indication of where you need to put time in. I've been there before, where failing something comes as a shock because nothing felt worrisome.

Troubleshooting is definitely a topic to review. Outside of that, I think a general review of all the topics will help as well. You don't need an in-depth review of each topic of the blueprint - just a refresh. Sometimes it is the little things that we misread at first that will get us.

stunnedsoup

Hey buddy--

It's very encouraging to see that you have the right attitude.

My advice - definitely listen to the other comments. Some good info in them! I will also suggest Boson ExSim Max for 200-101. I purchased this for both the ICND1 and 2...helped tremendously! I bought the ICND2 version a week before my exam and it definitely pushed me over the top.

In addition, Bryant's Bootcamp was constantly playing on bluetooth in my car for the month leading up to my exam. His material got ingrained in my brain. His video segments I literally memorized like lyrics to a song -- "VRRP uses multicast 224.0.0.18 to send IP packets..." and others. I also shelled out ~$100 for Kevin Wallace vids. He does an excellent job as well!

I read Odom's guide 1 time while taking notes and that's all I needed. My focus was primarily on watching videos over and over, labbing, and drowning myself in Boson (the final 1.5 weeks).

One final thing: I wouldn't sweat getting a 0% in IP Services. To keep it short...I had similar thinking as you and was left scratching my head. Just keep plugging along like you are doing.

Best of luck! You got this!

scotlawrence

stunnedsoup wrote: »

Hey buddy--

It's very encouraging to see that you have the right attitude.

My advice - definitely listen to the other comments. Some good info in them! I will also suggest Boson ExSim Max for 200-101. I purchased this for both the ICND1 and 2...helped tremendously! I bought the ICND2 version a week before my exam and it definitely pushed me over the top.

In addition, Bryant's Bootcamp was constantly playing on bluetooth in my car for the month leading up to my exam. His material got ingrained in my brain. His video segments I literally memorized like lyrics to a song -- "VRRP uses multicast 224.0.0.18 to send IP packets..." and others. I also shelled out ~$100 for Kevin Wallace vids. He does an excellent job as well!

I read Odom's guide 1 time while taking notes and that's all I needed. My focus was primarily on watching videos over and over, labbing, and drowning myself in Boson (the final 1.5 weeks).

One final thing: I wouldn't sweat getting a 0% in IP Services. To keep it short...I had similar thinking as you and was left scratching my head. Just keep plugging along like you are doing.

Best of luck! You got this!

Thanks Soup!
What did you use to get the audio from the videos playing in your car? that's a great idea!
I have an 2009 Ford with "sync", but I have never connected my cell phone to it, I can also play an ipod through the cars audio system..
Did you convert the video audio to mp3's? or something else?
thanks,
Scot

stunnedsoup

scotlawrence wrote: »

Thanks Soup!
What did you use to get the audio from the videos playing in your car? that's a great idea!
I have an 2009 Ford with "sync", but I have never connected my cell phone to it, I can also play an ipod through the cars audio system..
Did you convert the video audio to mp3's? or something else?
thanks,
Scot

I have a 2015 Honda with built-in bluetooth. I simply downloaded the Udemy app for my iPad, synced my iPad to the Honda Bluetooth, and let his videos play. What's nice with the Udemy app is that you can download videos to your device for Offline use. This is a great feature. So what I did was download the videos while my iPad was connected to a wireless network and then replayed them in the car.

Now, I also have a Ford w/out bluetooth but with an AUX port in my headunit. I simply played his videos through that from my iPad.

scotlawrence

stunnedsoup wrote: »

I have a 2015 Honda with built-in bluetooth. I simply downloaded the Udemy app for my iPad, synced my iPad to the Honda Bluetooth, and let his videos play. What's nice with the Udemy app is that you can download videos to your device for Offline use. This is a great feature. So what I did was download the videos while my iPad was connected to a wireless network and then replayed them in the car.

Now, I also have a Ford w/out bluetooth but with an AUX port in my headunit. I simply played his videos through that from my iPad.

Interesting! thanks,I will give that a try..I have an android tablet, I can probably get it working!
great idea, thanks!
scot

[Deleted User]

Paul Browning CCNA in 60 days ebook for $10 on amazon. I highly recommend it. I used that book and just the todd lammle books and some practice tests and got 933 on ICND2. Follow the study plan and I bet you will pass it next time.

scotlawrence

Ok, here is my first rough draft for a new study schedule:
(I signed up for the "CCNA 2016 200-120 Video Boot Camp With Chris Bryant" on Udemy.)



I like to have things mapped out..otherwise its too easy to get off track.
That schedule only shows the Bryant videos, but I plan to do more than just the videos..

This is essentially review! not "learning time"..So I think four days on a topic should be enough time..
Im going to review the entire ICND-2 over the course of a month..

I wanted to try to schedule *more* time for troubleshooting specifically, and less time to things I think I already know well..
but..
When looking through the ICND-2 exam topics on the Cisco site, you can see that the troubleshooting section accounts for 32% of the exam! which is huge..and that is most likely the area where I went wrong with my failed exam yesterday..
but the troubleshooting is spread out throughout all the other "main" topics:
Troubleshooting STP
Troubleshooting OSPF
Troubleshooting EIGRP
etc..

so there isnt really a separate and distinct "troubleshooting section" to focus on, (which is my perception anyway)
So instead of saying "im going to focus mostly on troubleshooting" I think it actually makes more sense to think: "I need to review what I already know about STP, OSPF, EIGRP, WANs, etc..but pay more attention to the troubleshooting aspects of those topics while I am going over them again.."..Does that make sense?

My plan is:
Watch all the Bryant videos, in the 4-day chunks as shown in the schedule above. (probably watch them more than once)
Also read relevant sections in the Lammle book while im on a particular topic. (I used Odom before)
Continue to lab..maybe make new labs.

I can watch videos every day, that isnt a big deal..
Generally I take Wednesday and Friday nights off from labbing..and do a lab Mon, Tue, Thur, Sat and Sun.
5 days out of 7. (gotta take some down-time!)

I will work on getting the videos so they can also play in my car..
I have a 35-minute one-way drive to work each day..thats an extra 5-hours a week I can do some studying!
normally I just listen to pointless local talk shows on my drive to and from work..giving those up for a month wont be a hardship!

any thoughts on this plan?
ideas, suggestions, constructive criticism, are all welcome..
thanks,
Scot

no!all!

Don't get discouraged. I did great on ICND1 but it took me three times to pass ICND2!

stunnedsoup

Sounds like you have a solid plan. I had to write out a tentative plan on a whiteboard or else I'd get off track. I kept thinking that my plan was too broad and never attacked any specifics. Well, the more I kept dwelling on what I should learn the more time I lost. So I just dove right in, played videos, read my notes, labbed whatever topic I was in the mood for, and answered practice questions. Personally, learning how to troubleshoot came as a direct result of having a good grip on the topic areas.

steele84

scotlawrence I like the plan, let me know how the drive time study works? I have the similar drive to work and exam objectives as you. Keep up the great work!

scotlawrence

thanks guys! I'll keep this post updated..

steele84 wrote: »

scotlawrence I like the plan, let me know how the drive time study works? I have the similar drive to work and exam objectives as you. Keep up the great work!

will do! im getting videos loaded on the phone today, and im going to try it out tomorrow..

thanks,
Scot

mikeybinec

Odom is a fraud..Dont waste your money on his books--Case in point: He does not cover FHRP thoroughly. Stick with Browning and Lammle.

I buy lots of books for the reason of an author having a different perspective on theory. When I failed ICND2, I bought Odom's book and was stunned at the lack of depth compared to other author's.. He does not cover the objectives like the others. Why? Cisco Press is his publisher

scotlawrence

mikeybinec wrote: »

Odom is a fraud..Dont waste your money on his books--Case in point: He does not cover FHRP thoroughly. Stick with Browning and Lammle.

I buy lots of books for the reason of an author having a different perspective on theory. When I failed ICND2, I bought Odom's book and was stunned at the lack of depth compared to other author's.. He does not cover the objectives like the others. Why? Cisco Press is his publisher

I wouldn't go that far..I think Odom is fine..
Odom has two separate books to cover the whole CCNA, one book for ICND-1, and a separate book for ICND-2.
While Lammle covers the same material in only one book.

I have all three, and have read all three..
I cant honestly say I prefer one author over the other..
They have different writing "styles", and some might prefer one style over the other..which is fine.

When it comes to material covered, the two Odom books are twice as long as the one Lammle book!
covering the same material..
It is often said in these forums that Odom goes into "more detail"..and I agree.

yes, Odom's ICND-2 book was missing some areas when it first came out, but those have since been covered with supplements.
I think both authors are fine..

I agree about using more than one however!
For example, right now im using the Chris Bryant course for the first time..its fine! I like it..
but I just finished the chapter/videos on STP..it contains no RSTP at all!
so yeah, the more authors you try out, the better...Relying on one alone might not do it.

Scot

stunnedsoup

I kept tabs on this forum during my ICND2 journey. I noticed a handful of members mention that Odom does not go over RSTP and a couple other topics in as much detail as they wanted; I took note of this. What I did, after reading Odom's ICND2 book cover-to-cover, was go over the blueprint off of Cisco's website. Any topics I found that Odom did not cover as well as I had liked I took it to the internet - Googled RSTP, went to Cisco's documentation page on RSTP, watched Youtube on RSTP, etc. Pretty much went the extra mile to make sure I knew the topic even though it wasn't discussed in detail in the book or Bryant's or Wallace's vids.