Aspiring CCNA

Hi everyone. im new to the site, new to networking, but am not computer illiterate by any means. I was just wondering what an acceptable amount of time is to become a CCNA. Ive read that its one of the hardest certs, i took A+ in High School but never followed thru w a test. any responses would be appreciated.

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remyforbes777

An acceptable amount of time varies from person to person. It depends on previous experience with Cisco and networking and your study habits. It took me a year to study and take the test. I got some equipment, used Packet Tracer along with Cisco Press books. I am not new to networking though although the refresher that the Cisco press books gives you was nice to have.

nicklauscombs

exactly, the time frame to complete it solely depends on how much time is available for you to study each week and with the CCNA really depends on how much hands on you have and/or can get while studying as it's close to impossible to pass without really getting hands on with routers and switches and configuring them.

I highly suggest to use multiple sources for your studies especially if you don't have much of a networking background - Wendell Odom's ICND1 and ICND2 books from cisco press, Lamlle's book from sybex press, cbt nuggets videos are all materials a lot of people will recommend.

For hands on experience:

For simulators you can use packet tracer, boson makes a simulator for ccna and then there's the best and free Dynamips though you need a cisco IOS image to run it

Really though nothing beats getting a home lab set up and running and can be as cheap as any of the pay simulators. Here's a great blog with plenty of info on this http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/24916

you can rent rack time if you don't want to build a home lab and http://www.thebryantadvantage.com/ offers that as well as tons of other study materials

mitchellislearning

thanx all for the replys. i have the CCNA Cert Library from Cisco Press but honestly i dont use it much. would it really help me to read the same stuff in a harder format (Cisco Press books) thosebooks dont talk about it in a n00b frndly way. i have no way to get real hands on exp tho. it requires money. i am trying to rite a blog to detail my studies. do you think this will help me reenforce the material?

nicklauscombs

mitchellislearning wrote:

thanx all for the replys. i have the CCNA Cert Library from Cisco Press but honestly i dont use it much. would it really help me to read the same stuff in a harder format (Cisco Press books) thosebooks dont talk about it in a n00b frndly way. i have no way to get real hands on exp tho. it requires money. i am trying to rite a blog to detail my studies. do you think this will help me reenforce the material?

You have the wendell odom books from cisco press? if so that's the ones I would recommend, making notes/keeping a blog is a great way to help retain the knowledge and there's no doubt about it the CCNA is a tough cert I know I went through the books multiple times before the material started sinking in, just keep at it

Plazma

Albert Einstein was a genius for the fact he was creative.. his philosophy was that if you could illustrate problems and solutions in more than one way.. drawing, notes, thinking, talking.. etc (HUGE emphasis on visual methods) that you would retain it much better and have a much deeper understanding of what is at hand. I think he also may have mentioned that creativity is more important that knowledge itself because creativity allows you to discover new ways and facts about things, where as knowledge is black and white - you know it or you don't. I can't really quote where i got this from or the exact wording, but I read a lot about Einstein in various places.

nicklauscombs

http://www.subnettingquestions.com I also can't say enough good things about this site, I hit these questions everyday until I could subnet in my sleep

mitchellislearning

so cisco press is the best? i use my sybex book alot. ill reopen those dusty books then. thanx

nicklauscombs

I liked both sybex and cisco press for different reasons, multiple sources is always the best

smart84

Hi All,
I just joined this community today. May be my question is already answered previously. Sorry if that's true and will appreciate if you can point me to that thread here.

I am working with Cisco and having an experience working with Catalyst 6500 for more than 1.5 years. I am thinking to give CCNA exam soon, but don't know where to start. I searched on internet with two Cisco press books.

CCNA Preparation Library, 7th Edition
Author: Stephen McQuerry
Publisher: Cisco Press
ISBN: 1587054647
Published: 18/Mar/2008

CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802), 3rd Edition
Author: Wendell Odom
Publisher: Cisco Press
ISBN: 1587201836
Published: 4/Sep/2007

I also found few Cybex books. Which books you recommend to prepare for this exam? I am planning to appear for this exam by end of this year i.e. 2008.

Considering that intermediate knowledge of networking, how many hours of reading is good enough to prepare for this exam? So based on that I can plan my exam date.

Your any help answering my query will be really appreciated. Thanks in advance!

nicklauscombs

smart84 wrote:

CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802), 3rd Edition
Author: Wendell Odom
Publisher: Cisco Press
ISBN: 1587201836
Published: 4/Sep/2007

combine that with the sybex press and you should be good to go, as for the amount of time to prepare that's really up for you to decide when you are ready.

smart84

nicklauscombs wrote:

smart84 wrote:

CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802), 3rd Edition
Author: Wendell Odom
Publisher: Cisco Press
ISBN: 1587201836
Published: 4/Sep/2007

combine that with the sybex press and you should be good to go, as for the amount of time to prepare that's really up for you to decide when you are ready.

Thanks a lot for a prompt response! I really appreciate it. Can you give me the name of a Cybex book that you recommend? How many hours/days you spent to prepare for this exam? Did you consider your knowledge as a beginner/intermediate/expert before you started preparing for exam? That may give me some idea to prepare.

nicklauscombs

smart84 wrote:

Thanks a lot for a prompt response! I really appreciate it. Can you give me the name of a Cybex book that you recommend? How many hours/days you spent to prepare for this exam? Did you consider your knowledge as a beginner/intermediate/expert before you started preparing for exam? That may give me some idea to prepare.

Sybex Book:
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Certified-Network-Associate-640-802/dp/0470110082/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216751608&sr=8-1

I definitely started out with very little experience and it took me 3 months of study / put in about 2 or 3 hours a day and more on the weekends

mitchellislearning

Multiple books. some exp w cisco equipment. great. im downloading packet tracer. and will look a t dynamips or gen. how do i get ahold of IOS files? is there any study tips u guys got. ik know im needy but im a n00b i cant help it

smart84

nicklauscombs wrote:

Sybex Book:
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Certified-Network-Associate-640-802/dp/0470110082/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216751608&sr=8-1

I definitely started out with very little experience and it took me 3 months of study / put in about 2 or 3 hours a day and more on the weekends

awesome! I think I can also spend same amount of time in weekdays and can extend my schedule up to 10 hours on weekends. I will go with your both recommended books. Any other materials or exam papers are preferred to complete before exam?

smart84

mitchellislearning wrote:

Multiple books. some exp w cisco equipment. great. im downloading packet tracer. and will look a t dynamips or gen. how do i get ahold of IOS files? is there any study tips u guys got. ik know im needy but im a n00b i cant help it

what kinda IOS files you wanna have it?

mitchellislearning

idk wat models i need. which ever ones are the best for practicing on

nicklauscombs

obtaining an IOS file from any source other then Cisco is illegal and shouldn't be discussed here

mitchellislearning

yessir. i was just wondering what IOS files i should buy from cisco.

dynamik

It'd probably be cheaper to get them off of actual gear you buy on eBay.

Spend some time reading through other posts in the CCNA forums. You'll learn a lot that way

tech-airman

mitchellislearning wrote:

Hi everyone. im new to the site, new to networking, but am not computer illiterate by any means. I was just wondering what an acceptable amount of time is to become a CCNA. Ive read that its one of the hardest certs, i took A+ in High School but never followed thru w a test. any responses would be appreciated.

mitchellislearning,

In high school, did you take classes such as physics and calculus?