Continuing on....

Lunchbocks

I just got back after being gone for almost 3 weeks. I am starting to look at the material again and it's amazing that my mind is more clear than before. Subnetting is much clearer and I didn't do any studying while gone.

I am hoping to test in about 3 weeks for ICND1 and will immediately move into studying for ICND2. I have a few things I am reviewing, and then I'm moving on to the areas I didn't get to before leaving. I'm also going to attempt labbing every day before testing.

Fingers crossed.

bigdogz

maybe your mind just needed to be cleared or rebooted from the existing memory that was stuck in your brain!
Maybe you can write to memory to keep it !!!
Congratulations and good luck!

DFTK13

I took a 2 month break from CCNA studies earlier this year to go to Linux and also reflect upon my life’s goals. I came back and it was so much less of a struggle to stay focused and concepts jumped out to me more. There are many benefits in Taking a break

Plus I am hugely grateful Cisco decided to extend continuing education credits to the CCNA/CCNP. 

Good luck! 

Lunchbocks

Thanks, Guys. I was so focused on being ready by my deadline that I became more focused on passing the test rather than learning the material. The break definitely cleared my mind and reset my focus.

I might run out of time and only get my CCENT before February, but if that happens, that's OK. But I am still shooting for having my CCNA before the February deadline and then going for my first CCNP.

EANx

CCENT by Feb is still an achievement. Don't let someone else's expectations, or trying to keep up with other people, impact that sense of accomplishment.

Lunchbocks

EANx said:

CCENT by Feb is still an achievement. Don't let someone else's expectations, or trying to keep up with other people, impact that sense of accomplishment.

Yes it is; thanks for that!

Spiegel

I think that getting the full CCNA by February is still a realistic option. If you have subletting down packed then you're more than halfway there. I would just go over any other topics you're kinda shaky on and take a Boson exam and see where you're at. If you pass by the three week mark you'd have roughly 3-ish months left for ICND2. At which point you'd want to put in as much hours as you can. At the very minimum 4 to 5 hours per day and I'd honestly say 8 or 10 hours on your days off. It won't be easy but the pay off will be huge as you'll be able to obtain the old CCNA and qualify for the new CCNA.

Lunchbocks

That's exactly my plan. I am in the review process of going over what I am shaky on and practicing my subnetting. I should start back on labbing this weekend.

Lunchbocks

I have been going back through topics doing heavy labbing, and I am really grasping this. I feel like I understand the topics I have been working on, not just knowing them for the exam. This week I am working on routing tables and ACLs. Next week I am working through the end of Odum's CCNA guide. I am looking at testing no later than the second week in December.

I do have a question on port security. I understand it is to protect the port from devices plugging into it, but I keep reading and hearing things about frames coming back into the port from other devices tripping port security. So my question is this; if I enable port security on FastEthernet 0/1 with default settings, and I plug 1 computer into that port, should port security trip with normal network traffic? It seems like the answer should be no, but I've also heard that adding port security to a trunk link is a bad idea because of all of the frames that go through it. If port security is only to protect against devices being plugged into that port, then it shouldn't matter how much traffic is going through that port. But if it is against all traffic that goes through the port, how can you possibly set it and it never get tripped? Needless to say, I'm confused about this point on port security and need help understanding what port security is protecting against.

As far as configuring/editing/troubleshooting port security, I have that down.

Thanks!