New to cisco HELP !

I be starting a new job soon, and one of the task in the near future will be IP routing, I decided to study and learn CCNA .. study part is to get certification and the learn part is to know and study and apply the learning in everyday work,

I want to know if wat i have is enough
Testout for 802 and cbt nuggets
packet tracer

Wat did u guys use to start ? Just for the record time is against me

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networker050184

I'd say that isn't enough to pass. The CBT Nuggets are good material, but they definitely won't prepare you enough on their own for the test (or the real world). I'd recommend picking up the exam cert guides by Odom. Very good, thorough resource. Combine that with the CBT Nuggets and that should be enough to pass.

I have no experience with the Testout though so I can't offer anything on that. The questions that come with the cert guides have always been good enough for me.

Stotic

Pick up the ICND1 & 2 books and correlate the nuggets with the books.

tribe_menx

Thanks for the replies , wat about playing with the real equipments like wen i was studying mcsa i had a server 2003 box to play around with, my question is with ccna apart from getting real cisco equipment wat is the alternative ?

Stotic

Get your hands on an IOS image and use GNS3 | Graphical Network Simulator

KPWright

tribe_menx wrote: »

Thanks for the replies , wat about playing with the real equipments like wen i was studying mcsa i had a server 2003 box to play around with, my question is with ccna apart from getting real cisco equipment wat is the alternative ?

Router Simulator: Cisco CCNA labs simulation.
CCNA Router and Network Simulator
SemSim CCNA Exam: Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Free Study & Router Simulator - 640-802, ICND1, ICND2, CCENT
Boson NetSim for CCNA 7.0 - Cisco Network Simulator
CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator

Here's a variety of options. These are all variations on a theme. Someone has written an application that places you in a configuration window and responds to your commands more or less like the real equipment would. Some of them only support the specific pre-configured labs they provide you, some of them also allow you to configure your own topology using a limited sub-set of hardware.

From what I can gather, using only these simulators probably won't get you very far toward CCNP, but I think (haven't done it yet, but I'm counting on it) it will probably be adequate to get past CCNA. Obviously, if you had access to the real deal complete with the array of cables, IOS, etc. necessary to make it function that would be the best, but that takes money and time.

Most have some kind of trial mode you can download and run it in.

I'm using Boson now. It's letting me practice most of what I'm reading and hearing but it is limited. The GNS3 application sounds like it would be pretty good in that it actually emulates the device and allows you to telnet, etc. to connect to it and manage it. From what I can gather though, by the time you run enough of it to emulate a network with multiple routers and switches it sucks up a significant amount of resources, so if you're tempted to go this way check out the requirements. It's not a good choice for me in that I don't have access to IOS to provide the configuration.

Enjoy.

ncsugrad2002

tribe_menx wrote: »

Thanks for the replies , wat about playing with the real equipments like wen i was studying mcsa i had a server 2003 box to play around with, my question is with ccna apart from getting real cisco equipment wat is the alternative ?

GNS3 is your best bet. It uses real IOS files and emulates router hardware..soo, all commands, behavior, etc is exactly like a real router because well, it basically is.

tribe_menx

Thanks Guys ! and most important wats the shortest period or time did you guys spend on studying ICND1 or 2 ? Is it possible to finnish CCENT early january ?

AlexMR

One and only source: Sybex CCNA by Todd Lamle.

Shortest time? Hard to say. A decent timeframe for somebody who is not familiar at all with the concepts is 250-280hours of study and practice.

After you pass the exam and go deeper with the CCNP studies you realize how superficial the whole thing is, but DURING te studies the whole thing feels very intimidating. It is a lot of stuff!!

Oh and no way the CBT nuggets can prepare you for the tests by themselves. I find it interesting that TestOut has a "pass guaranteed" policy because their BSCI material can be done in 50hours...just checked and the CCNA material can also be done in 40-50hours. That is interesting because I dont think you can really cover the official ICND 1-2 books in 40hours. I would definitely check them out if I could.

mella060

If you are fairly new to networking concepts then i think you may require around 6 months to go through all the material, do heaps of labs and fully comprehend what is going on and how everything works. The key is to take your time with the material. Don't rush through it. Its not a race. It took me around 3 weeks just to get the hang of subnetting itself.

I spent around 3 months on ICND1 and another 3 months on ICND2.

Definitely look into Todd Lammles book. Its great for the labs. Wendell Odoms books are great for the theory. They are essential.

The CBT nuggets videos are excellent and really make learning fun but dont just rely on them. But they are great to get your blood flowing.

tribe_menx

3 months for ICND will target that with cbt nuggets and the books , Wats your views regarding CISCO academy CCNA 1 - CCNA 4 ?

Geek1969

I went through the academy at a local college. I thought it was slow paced but there is an instructor to ask questions if you can't fully understand a topic. CBT's are great if you can go research topics to get a better understanding also. I think the over-riding theme in these forums is that hands-on is the absolute best way to learn the material. I did my mcsa mostly from books and cbt's with little hands on in the topics covered, but so far, I think Cisco requires more rack/sim time than MS.
My thoughts....