Finally taking the ICND this afternoon

After taking the INTRO exam late last year I'm finally going to take the ICND. Between school and work I never have time to sit the test but I used a sick day today so I can comfortably take the exam. Here's to hoping I do okay!

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sprkymrk

Good luck Paul.

Gypsie

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Vask3n

Oh wow!

That's pretty much my exact situation! I took it late last year and took today off so I can take it at 2:00.

Good luck!

BeaverC32

Best of luck to you both...now go nail that exam!

Paul Boz

Took it, killed it.

I got a 970/1000

mikej412

Paul Boz wrote:

Took it, killed it.

Congratulations!

After the celebration,

what's next?

tibul

Congrats on the pass

Paul Boz

I'm starting CCNP study tonight, actually. I got Diane Teare's BSCI book in the mail today.

kafifi13

WOW...that's awesome man. Great job. I like the fact your getting right into the CCNP.

markzab

Paul Boz wrote:

I'm starting CCNP study tonight, actually. I got Diane Teare's BSCI book in the mail today.

Getting the new book in the mail used to be one of my favorite things back in the day when i was passing my certs. Partly because it meant I just passed a test and also because it meant I was about to be introduced into a whole new dimension of knowledge. Mmmmm...knowledge.

Slowhand

Sweet, congrats on the pass and the shiny new CCNA. (I only hope I can do that well on my next go at the 640-801)

MrfixitRight

Congrats!! Hope I can do as well on the 640-801.

Not to take away from your revelry, but I got a question. Why does Cisco have 3 exams for CCNA? I asked my instructor at TechSkills about this, as I was concerned that I would have to take 2 more exams before getting my CCNA. He said that some people choose to take the 2 exam route to get CCNA rather than just doing one exam. Is the 2 exam route easier?

The Prize Is Lobster

does your TechSkills coursework have CCNA broken up into six weeks? I laughed when I saw that...more like six months.

seraphus

Congrats!

MrfixitRight

The Prize Is Lobster wrote:

does your TechSkills coursework have CCNA broken up into six weeks? I laughed when I saw that...more like six months.

So this is a scam? I blew all that money to get my cert and I probably won't pass the exam? If this is the case, maybe I need to contact the BBB and State Attorney General. They guarantee a pass if you can maintain above 900 on the weekly exams, which I have consistantly done. (My lowest was a 923 this last week.) I do have some good instructors, both have multiple Cisco certs and they are always available when I have questions. I just hope this isn't all for nothing and I take the exam and fail miserably.

Weekly Exam 5 (923) 04-21-2007
Weekly Exam 4 (1000) 04-12-2007
Weekly Exam 3 (965) 04-06-2007
Weekly Exam 2 (956) 03-31-2007
Weekly Exam 1 (931) 03-27-2007

The course is broken up into 6 weeks, but I started the 19th of March and the class ends the 19th of May. I am already in my 6th week in the book, (I was 5 days ahead of schedule until this past weekend when I had to go out of town on a family thing), and will be taking the weekly this Saturday. That will give me at least 2 weeks to prep for the exam. Even if I have to take vacation days and spend every day at the school, I intend on passing this exam!

The Prize Is Lobster

nah TechSkills is decent. I am going there....just that six weeks is pretty laughable as a completion time. If you study really hard, shoot for 8-12.

holy man...you're going thru those fast. Its taking me forever. I started in March and I am on week three

Paul Boz

I've been told that the 2 test route is a little more specific because there are more questions combined, on the same amount of material as the one test route. In effect, where you may have 40 questions on all of the CCNA information if you took the one test route, you'll get twice as many questions. The INTRO exam was a joke but the ICND was much harder.

MrfixitRight

Paul Boz wrote:

I've been told that the 2 test route is a little more specific because there are more questions combined, on the same amount of material as the one test route. In effect, where you may have 40 questions on all of the CCNA information if you took the one test route, you'll get twice as many questions. The INTRO exam was a joke but the ICND was much harder.

Here is what the Cisco site says:

Exam Number: 640-801
Associated Certifications: CCNA
Duration: 90 minutes (55-65 questions)

Exam Number: 640-821
Associated Certifications: CCNA
Duration: 75 minutes (45-55 questions)

Exam Number: 640-811
Associated Certifications: CCNA
Duration: 60 minutes (40-50 questions)

It looks like there are not that many more questions on the "one" exam, maybe 5 to 10 more. I guess it depends. The only big difference I see is the length of time. Personally, I'd rather sit one exam than two any day.

Paul Boz

what I'm saying is that by taking the two test route you get more questions on the same amount of material, so the odds of getting more in depth or harder questions goes up. If it was my money I'd rather the one test route but my employer foots the bills for certifications and stuff so I did the easier route.

357

Hello!
Good day!

What study guide (books) are you using for ICND?

I had mine just arrive last week from amazon Ciscopress CCNA Exam Cert. Library - 2nd Edition - Wendell Odom.

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Regards

Paul Boz

I wasn't impressed with the Cisco Press books at all. I used (almost exclusively) the Sybex book by Todd Lammle.

MrfixitRight

I have to agree, the Ciscopress is not that impressive. The Todd Lammel books, most all, are good for studying for the Cisco certs. There are a lot of others out there that you can glean some good stuff from. Having access to the schools on-line library, I can access a wide variety of books on the exams. Sybex, Coriolis Group, even CCNA for Dummies!! (Sometimes I really need that one!!

) The "Dummies" book has some good links, like: http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/

Anyway, there are some very well written books out there, and unfortunately, some poorly written books. Best thing is to do what your doing here, ask the people that are doing/have done the exams. Good luck!

BeaverC32

I actually found the Cisco Press books to be very well written, and used them exclusively to pass my CCNA (passed both exams my first attempt). I guess it's just personal preference.

malcybood

I definately think you need 2 resources/references at least for this exam.....I used sybex book but found it thin on detail in a few areas. It's a great book and explains pretty much everything clearly, but I combined this book with my alumni access to the CNAP curriculum (mirrors ciscopress books i believe) which seemed to fill in the blanks.

I also used the portable ccna command reference guide for help configuring/making up new scenarios for my lab