Help me out!!! last minute questions before test!!!

Bill Kaster

So i'm finally taking the CCNA this Monday and i'd be much obliged if anyone can answer the following questions for me:

1- Can i make mistakes during a sim as long as I eventually correct it before submitiing my final answer? I can use the "?" command during the sim just like in real life, correct?
2- How much time should I spend on sims in general? About 15 minutes?
3- Any show commands i should know down cold without having to use a sim to remember its contents?
4- Should I know how to set up ip addresses and default-gateways on a switch? I can set up a vlan, do stp, and all that on a switch, but I'm a little fuzzy in terms of understanding the point of setting up an ip address or ip default-gateway on a switch, so perhaps someone can write out a couple real simple commands to show me why it's important and useful? I can set passwords, descriptions, banners, etc. is exactly the same on my router as it is on my switch. So it's really just ip addresses and default-gateways here.
5-Any last minute tips you think I might need? Material-wise or test formatting-wise?

networker050184

5) If you don't know how or why to set up ip addresses and ip default-gateway on a switch then you are not ready to take the exam.

Sorry to be harsh, but I think you need more study time and some real equipment not sims. If you decide to go ahead with it good luck!!!

tech-airman

Bill Kaster wrote:

5-Any last minute tips you think I might need? Material-wise or test formatting-wise?

Bill Kaster,

Time permitting, physically drive out to the testing center. If you arrive during business hours, try to familiarize yourself with how to get from the front door to the testing room. By becoming familiar with your eventual examination environment may help you relax enough to let your body take the exam with less anxiety.

mikej412

1. Yep -- unless you hit a lethal key combo and kill the exam. And yes to ? -- its in the CCNA Forum FAQ

2. Usually no more than 10 minutes.... if you haven't gotten it by then, you probably won't. But you do get partial credit on a SIM.

3.The Sim practice thread has some links to other threads that could help you.

mikej412 wrote:

Hum.... here's a good "CCNA Simulation questions" thread that passed "NDA muster"
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25457

And here's a thread about "show commands" and a couple of suggestions for books.
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19671

And if you're weak on troubleshooting there's the "CCNA Troubleshooting Tid-bits" thread
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24283

4. I'd say that's in the blueprint

Perform an initial configuration on a switch

You setup the administrative VLAN (and vty access) so that another administrator can telnet into the switch.... and since the CCNA only does layer 2 switches, it needs a default gateway (like any other dumb host on the network) so it can talk to other devices on different networks.

Configure a switch with VLANS and inter-switch communication

Then you add your VLANs, Trunks, VTP configuration, and dream of someday configuring layer 3 switches.

5. Standard Time Management and Read the Questions carefully suggestions.
Keep an eye on the clock and don't waste too much time on a SIM. There may be ungraded/test questions/SIMs so don't panic if you have to punt a question.

Make sure you read the question completely, and ALL the answers. Then read the question again. Only then pick an answer, and make it the correct one(s).

If you have problems remembering something, put it on a **** sheet to study just before you go into the test center -- then write it down on your erasable note sheet during the pre-exam festivities (reading the NDA & pre-exam Demo). If you haven't been doing subnetting wind sprints over at www.subnettingquestions.com then you might also want to figure out a subnetting **** sheet that you can write out on your erasable note sheet before the exam.

Check out the Cisco Certification Exam Tutorial for question types and a link to the pre-exam demo you get at the test center.

Pash

networker050184 wrote:

5) If you don't know how or why to set up ip addresses and ip default-gateway on a switch then you are not ready to take the exam.

Sorry to be harsh, but I think you need more study time and some real equipment not sims. If you decide to go ahead with it good luck!!!

You shouldn't miss-lead him. At the end of the day sims are perfectly fine for studying for the CCNA, you do not need to practice on real equipment. However, it is incredibly important that you understand the reason for setting a default gateway on a switch as well management IP's for vlans etc etc.

networker050184

I gave my opinion. My opinion is that you need real equipment. I think sims have too many bugs and I have seen them wrong almost every time I have used them. So in my opinion you need real equipment not sims.

Bill Kaster

Oh duh, I completely forgot about int vlan1. I was fiddling around with my switches and there's a damn typo in Exam Prep's CCNA guide where they set an ip address directly on a switch fa port. i kept looking over it in befuddlement. It confused me initially but you've jogged my memory now guys, because I did read and successfully set up a vlan 1 int on a switch last August, but you really don't need to do any of that to get the basic idea of how to set up vtp. Haha, I can understand why you thought I wasn't ready networker050184. Don't worry i've just configured a fully functional router on a stick that can ping end to end. Don't worry I'm quite confident I'll at least get a passing grade.

thanks a ton for all that info mikej412, I feel like I'm ready and rearing to go.

Bill Kaster

And yes I have real equipment. The sims I used were OK but theyre not like the real thing imo. I know i'm ready because I can set up:

RIP, RIPv2, IGRP, EIGRP, and single area OSPF (wildcards aren't hard for me, and I love subnetting actually). I know that RIP, IGRP and EIGRP (even though EIGRP is classless) summarize by default at classful boundaries, meaning they'll change a command of "network 192.168.10.10" to 192.168.10.0 in the routing table. With EIGRP you can turn off auto-summarization though. I can also set up a basic VTP, vlans, and yes now I remember my int vlan 1 and ip default-gateway commands and why they're important. I can set up subinterfaces on a frame-relay and do basic HDLC and PPP setup. I'm all good to go with Access Lists too because I remember the specific command terminilogy well but I understand it conceptually too; place a standard ACL nearest to the desitination router as possible, and an extended ACL nearest to the source router as possible because it's filtering both source an destination addresses. Banners, passwords, etc. I know all about. NAT I know well but I doubt I'll be tested on NAT configuration on a router. ISDN and 1900 switch configuration I didn't study hardly at all, but I might cram a little ISDN before the test.

yes, I am ready!

networker050184

Yeah you should be ok if you can set up the router on a stick AND understand it (among other things you should be able to set up and understand). You had me thinking you were crazy for a minute there not knowing why you would need an IP address on a switch!! Depending on the book it may have been talking about multi-layer switches in which case you would put an IP address on a routed port, but you will get to that if you continue on you Cisco journey. Good luck on the exam!!!

Bill Kaster

mikej412, I love that learntosubnet web site. I started with nothing but subnetting on learntosubnet.com before I started reading any books, and it was well worth it because I can subnet in my sleep!

Crunchyhippo

Know the show commands for switches and how to get information about the connected switches in the network. There are several commands that are very useful, so know what they are and what they give you. All the best!