Network+ to CCENT?

I've been around this forum for a little while now and had a quick question for anyone that might be able to help me out. I went down a little different path with my certifications by starting out with Sec+ (passed w/ 865) and will be taking the Net+ in about 2 weeks. After Net+ is out of the way I will immediately start on CCNA. My question is how much will the Net+ knowledge prepare me for the CCENT if I decide to go the two exam route? I think that I would benefit from going the two exam route because I will also be trying to finish up my Masters in Information Technology at the same time. Thanks in advance guys.

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Drift King

heyy,

i certified frm net+ then i started on the ccna course n finished ICND1 and half of ICND2 from my experience..if u prepare well for the network+ and actually understand these basic stuff u will have a good start in CCNA altho it is somehow different as the configurations need to be set on cisco devices.

aldous

larue38462 wrote: »

I've been around this forum for a little while now and had a quick question for anyone that might be able to help me out. I went down a little different path with my certifications by starting out with Sec+ (passed w/ 865) and will be taking the Net+ in about 2 weeks. After Net+ is out of the way I will immediately start on CCNA. My question is how much will the Net+ knowledge prepare me for the CCENT if I decide to go the two exam route? I think that I would benefit from going the two exam route because I will also be trying to finish up my Masters in Information Technology at the same time. Thanks in advance guys.

i've not done the N+ but i have the offcial course book and have read through it.

the main diffrence(aside from the cisco stuff) i can see is net+ does not go into a much detail compared to cisco. i cant think of many examples off the top of my head but things like subnetting are only skimmed. subnetting fast and accuratly is probably the #1 thing you need to be able to do for ccent.
n+ also doesn't cover cisco commands and such and iirc doesn't have anything about routing protocols etc.

imo i'd say do the two exam route (this is what i'm doing) and invest in odoms two books for it, you probably have a sound foundation in things such as OSI, topology,subnetting etc and will be able to skim a few chapters before getting down to the cisco stuff which you can practice on packet tracer.

hope this helps and good luck

peanutnoggin

The Net+ lays the foundational groundwork of Networking. The CCENT will expound on that foundational knowledge and teach you how the technology works in production.

The way I look at is... Net+ is the overview and CCENT begins the configuration. HTH and good luck on the Net+

V/r

~Peanut

larue38462

Thanks a lot guys. I see that a lot of people on here are spending hundreds of dollars on lab equipment for their CCNA prep. Is this really needed or can you get by with virtual labs and a lot of studying?

human151

The router sims are okay. I used the Sybex virtual router up until I passed my CCENT. When I begun my ICDN2 studies I put together my own lab and i can say thAT studying with your own equipment is the way to go, without a doubt.

Xenz

Network+ and ICND1 have some overlaps, but the major difference being that Network+ is focused on client configuration and client technologies. The ICND1 focuses on some of the concepts of the network+, but focuses heavily on Cisco devices and protocols.

You should know some subnetting for the network+, but the depth needed such as subnetting/network design and VLSM aren't required. If you go the Cisco Net Academy route, Cisco 1 Discovery will have a good bit of Network+ topics, Exploration will contain some Network+ topics, and some of the Cisco 2 Discovery stuff will have it. Cisco 2 Exploration and Cisco 1 exploration deal heavily in Cisco devices, which doesn't apply to Network+ topics.

larue38462

human151 wrote: »

The router sims are okay. I used the Sybex virtual router up until I passed my CCENT. When I begun my ICDN2 studies I put together my own lab and i can say thAT studying with your own equipment is the way to go, without a doubt.

So what kind of cash did you throw out there for your lab and what did it get you?

PC509

eBay and Craigslist are some great places to look for equipment. Do your homework first, so you aren't buying stuff you don't need or spend too much for. You can build a decent lab for around $200. I've saved a lot of money by getting a little by little on awesome eBay deals (2600 for $1 + $15 shipping). Sometimes you hit an awesome deal.

I've seen 2500 routers (good for CCNA, but not much past that) for $5 on Craigslist, too.

I've spent probably around $200-$300 on a 2610, 2611, 2 3620's, 2 2950's, 3550, and 2 2924's. A good setup for what I'm doing. But, I've also just bid on a couple 2600XM's, which can do the 12.4 IOS (which is what you should aim for).

human151

larue38462 wrote: »

So what kind of cash did you throw out there for your lab and what did it get you?

I spend about $350 for my CCNA lab. Its in my sig, minus the 3550, which I recently added recently (not required for the CCNA) so I can be ready when its time for me to study for the BCMSN, I still need another one though

I put my lab together piece by piece, but a collegue of mine bought his from ciscokits for about $400