Which CCNA study guide ??

Hi,
I am new to CCNA. I have done CCDA and am familiar with the concepts of networking...Now am planning to go for some hands-on experience as my network design job isnt very exciting!!
I am planning to get CCNA certified on self-study. I have no experience on router/switch configurations..
Can some one tell me if its possible to learn and pass the exam based on the study guides and sim CD's available in the market ?

How is the CCNA study guide by Richard Deal ? I am inclined towards purchasing it because it comes with a CD tht includes Lab videos and Boson network simulator !! But its edition is 2003 and I am not sure if it'll cover the latest exam related topics since I have heard that the exam questions keep updating.

Any suggestion on how I should go about it !!!

thanks
Mugs16

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Comments

mikej412

The CCNA Forum FAQ has a section on books.... I've seen people mention the Deal book, but usually the Odem books with the Sybex book is the most suggested for the CCNA.

There is also the Sim vs Lab section. Hands on practice is very important, and you should try and get some hands on work with real routers and switches -- but yes, you can pass the CCNA with just the Simulator. If the version you get has all the Boson Labs, then it covers just enough. You may run into problems with the simulator if you try things outside of the included labs.

Since you're working in network design now -- if you have access to 7200 or 3600 IOS images you might want to take a look at Dynamips, and the Front-end configuration tool Dynagen.

It's easier to start with Dynagen -- which includes the Dynamips version that works with it in the download. Dynagen has a dependency on Winpcap 4.0 -- the download link for that is in the first URL below. Dynagen works on Linux and XP.

Dynagen - The Dynamips Configuration Generator

Dynamips / Dynagen Tutorial

Check out the Dynamips Home Page here

Support and bugs are here:
Cisco 7200 Simulator Blog

If you decide to go with Dynagen/Dynamips -- check out the Dynamips - Lab share thread.

The FAQ and Dynamips information should keep you busy reading for a while

dissolved

Richard Deal's book is pretty good. I used that with Sybex. I actually spoke with Richard via email about some mistakes in the book. . Oh well. Go figure the incorrect info in the book was in regard to interVLAN routing. He stated it cant be done on 10mb interfaces. I told him an IOS came out that permitted it and I had VLANs running at the house.

Of course, his ego was too big to admit he was wrong. He wrote my comments off

EdTheLad

dissolved wrote:

Richard Deal's book is pretty good. I used that with Sybex. I actually spoke with Richard via email about some mistakes in the book. . Oh well. Go figure the incorrect info in the book was in regard to interVLAN routing. He stated it cant be done on 10mb interfaces. I told him an IOS came out that permitted it and I had VLANs running at the house.

Of course, his ego was too big to admit he was wrong. He wrote my comments off

It works fine on a 2610,funny as this incorrect info made me buy a 2620 which cost about $100 more than a 2610 when i was starting out.

dissolved

ed_the_lad wrote:

dissolved wrote:

Richard Deal's book is pretty good. I used that with Sybex. I actually spoke with Richard via email about some mistakes in the book. . Oh well. Go figure the incorrect info in the book was in regard to interVLAN routing. He stated it cant be done on 10mb interfaces. I told him an IOS came out that permitted it and I had VLANs running at the house.

Of course, his ego was too big to admit he was wrong. He wrote my comments off

It works fine on a 2610,funny as this incorrect info made me buy a 2620 which cost about $100 more than a 2610 when i was starting out.

Exactly what I'm running, 2610 with inter-vlan routing. Luckily I had already purchased it before reading his book