Passed ICND1: A long time in the making.
dontstop
Member Posts: 579 ■■■■□□□□□□
in CCNA & CCENT
Materials:
Subnetting:
I spent around 30 minutes a day for many days (10 or more) practicing subnetting questions over and over until the numbers stuck in my head. I learnt both the decimal and binary process but in order to be quick at the process you should exclusively use decimal. Learn the 8x and 16x well or just remember that 128 is a network ID for all subnet masks.
Study:
I completed a chapter a day and recorded everything into a spreadsheet. I made sure everything was dated and that if I had to miss a day due to an event I would just shift everything +1 day and move on. I would not stress about getting behind or being delayed which helped immensely.
I got into a routine of waking up at 5 am in the morning and study for a few hours before my day started. I found that a very important part of studying is having a very consistent routine. Also for me waking up at 5 am avoided a lot of distraction and noise that middle of the day and the afternoon generated.
I did make the mistake of leaving a lot of labbing toward the end. I felt a little rushed in the last few weeks of my study so this will change for next time around. It took 2 months 1 day to study for the exam with all the materials above. I completed all of the labbing in the last 2-3 weeks which kept it fresh but it was painful grinding through lab after lab to get them done. I'll need to reconsider my strategy for this for ICND2.
I left taking the exams until the last 7 days before my exams as it becomes just way too easy to learn the answers and questions from the banks. Also learn that a fail on these practice exams around the 700-800 is a good indication that you just need a few more facts or made a few silly mistakes (keep pushing on!)
Labbing:
I almost exclusively used Packet Tracer for study, using some physical gear at the very end (last 2 days) to just get my brain into the mindset of taking requirements and turning them into a physical network. It's actually challenging when you spent so much time logically planning stuff out to go and actually wire it up for real.
Thanks for listening! If you have any questions shoot!
Community:
How could I forget! Community was also a major part of my study too. Reading the posts of others and trying to help out on this forum, over on /r/ccna and over at Cisco Learning network helped immensely. Seeing other people's responses and being able to help others solve their problems really forced me to think outside my comfort zone.
- Packet Tracer (nearly exclusively)
- CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-105 Official Cert Guide (Wendell Odom's book)
- ITPro.tv CCENT video series
- ITPro.tv Free Labs
- Transcender practice exams (Free with ITPro.tv)
- Kevin Wallace's CCENT ICND1 100-105 Premium Edition Complete Video Course
- Boson's Ex-Sim Max
- Boson's Netsim 11
- CCENT ICND1 100-105 Network Simulator
- Pearson IT Certification Practice Test
- At the end of my study I also took a exam over at Online Cisco Training Materials | CCNA Practice Tests | LearnCisco.net
- Subnetting: SubnettingPractice.com
- More Subnetting: subnettingquestions.com - Free Subnetting Questions and Answers Randomly Generated Online
- Even more Subnetting: IP Subnet Practice
Subnetting:
I spent around 30 minutes a day for many days (10 or more) practicing subnetting questions over and over until the numbers stuck in my head. I learnt both the decimal and binary process but in order to be quick at the process you should exclusively use decimal. Learn the 8x and 16x well or just remember that 128 is a network ID for all subnet masks.
Study:
I completed a chapter a day and recorded everything into a spreadsheet. I made sure everything was dated and that if I had to miss a day due to an event I would just shift everything +1 day and move on. I would not stress about getting behind or being delayed which helped immensely.
I got into a routine of waking up at 5 am in the morning and study for a few hours before my day started. I found that a very important part of studying is having a very consistent routine. Also for me waking up at 5 am avoided a lot of distraction and noise that middle of the day and the afternoon generated.
I did make the mistake of leaving a lot of labbing toward the end. I felt a little rushed in the last few weeks of my study so this will change for next time around. It took 2 months 1 day to study for the exam with all the materials above. I completed all of the labbing in the last 2-3 weeks which kept it fresh but it was painful grinding through lab after lab to get them done. I'll need to reconsider my strategy for this for ICND2.
I left taking the exams until the last 7 days before my exams as it becomes just way too easy to learn the answers and questions from the banks. Also learn that a fail on these practice exams around the 700-800 is a good indication that you just need a few more facts or made a few silly mistakes (keep pushing on!)
Labbing:
I almost exclusively used Packet Tracer for study, using some physical gear at the very end (last 2 days) to just get my brain into the mindset of taking requirements and turning them into a physical network. It's actually challenging when you spent so much time logically planning stuff out to go and actually wire it up for real.
Thanks for listening! If you have any questions shoot!
Community:
How could I forget! Community was also a major part of my study too. Reading the posts of others and trying to help out on this forum, over on /r/ccna and over at Cisco Learning network helped immensely. Seeing other people's responses and being able to help others solve their problems really forced me to think outside my comfort zone.
Comments
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NetworkNewb
Member Posts: 3,298 ■■■■■■■■■□
Congrats on the pass! Not the worst score I've seen before...
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p@r0tuXus
Member Posts: 532 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats! Great write-up and resources.
Completed: ITIL-F, A+, S+, CCENT, CCNA R|S
In Progress: Linux+/LPIC-1, Python, Bash
Upcoming: eJPT, C|EH, CSA+, CCNA-Sec, PA-ACE -
PCTechLinc
Member Posts: 646 ■■■■■■□□□□
Awesome that you finally found the determination to finish what you started! Whatever you do, dontstop!
Master of Business Administration in Information Technology Management - Western Governors University
Master of Science in Information Security and Assurance - Western Governors University
Bachelor of Science in Network Administration - Western Governors University
Associate of Applied Science x4 - Heald College -
Dakinggamer87
Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
Nice congrats and great attack plan you had for passing the exam!!
*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 -
JoJoCal19
Mod Posts: 2,835 Mod
Congrats on the pass!!Have: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, eJPT, GCIA, GSEC, CCSP, CCSK, AWS CSAA, AWS CCP, OCI Foundations Associate, ITIL-F, MS Cyber Security - USF, BSBA - UF, MSISA - WGU
Currently Working On: Python, OSCP Prep
Next Up: OSCP
Studying: Code Academy (Python), Bash Scripting, Virtual Hacking Lab Coursework -
nisti2
Member Posts: 503 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thanks a really good score!!! Congrats!!2020 Year goals:
Already passed: Oracle Cloud, AZ-900
Taking AZ-104 in December.
"Certs... is all about IT certs!" -
dontstop
Member Posts: 579 ■■■■□□□□□□
Thanks for the congratulations everyone! I hope my story can give someone else the courage to commit to studying and passing the exam too. For the longest time it's been the biggest monkey on my back.
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MAC_Addy
Member Posts: 1,740 ■■■■□□□□□□
Nice one, mate! I just replied to your Reddit thread about this! :P2017 Certification Goals:
CCNP R/S
