General Advice for the ICND2 ?

SMR511

I'm not asking for anyone to violate NDA and I plan to be prepared with all the listed topics....But I'm wondering what to expect. For example, I read on here the day before I took the ICND1 to expect the tough sims early. That little hint really kept me calm when I got a few brutal questions right out of the gate.

Also, I feel good about my ICND1 stuff, but should I expect much/any of it on ICND2...For example port-security or 802.11 ?

Thanks for any tips.

mikej412

640-816 ICND2 - IT Certification and Career Paths - Cisco Systems

SMR511

Got it Mike. I certainly didn't mean for that to sound like I wanted any specifics . I guess I'm a newbie and unclear where the line is drawn. If you feel it's a good idea to delete the question, I'll take no offense.

mikej412

SMR511 wrote: »

I guess I'm a newbie and unclear where the line is drawn.

If it's in the Odom book, it's probably good to know. Odom does cover the background material that you need to understand the rest of the stuff, and that background stuff might not show up on the exam.

The CBT Nuggets and TrainSignal Videos are good additional sources of study -- but they are not 100% complete exam preparation.

Todd's Sybex book is GREAT for subnetting and a "fun read" -- and great for review before the exam -- but should probably only be used as a "single source" of study by someone with lots of Cisco work experience at a Cisco Business Partner or with the network infrastructure of a large global enterprise.

Discussing specifics where someone has to answer with what they saw on the exam is where the line is usually drawn.

But since there is a large pool of questions and there may be "luck of the draw" involved with the question you get versus what someone else got, any answer someone gives you based on their exam experience could still be wrong.

Here's the links from the CCNA Forum FAQ with the "highlights" of the Cisco Certification Agreement (NDA) and the Cisco Candidate Conduct Policy.

Cisco Candidate Conduct Policy

No candidate will take any action that will compromise the integrity or confidentiality of a Cisco Certification examination or otherwise compromise the integrity of the Cisco Certification program. Such actions include but are not limited to:
• Disseminating actual exam content via web postings, discussion groups, chat rooms, study guides, etc.

Cisco Career Certifications and Confidentiality Agreement

You agree that the contents of the exam are confidential and that the disclosure of that information could compromise the integrity of the Program and of Certifications. Cisco makes exams available to you solely to test your knowledge of the exam subject matter for which you seek Certification. You are expressly prohibited from disclosing, publishing, reproducing, or transmitting any exam and any related information including, without limitation, questions, answers, worksheets, computations, drawings, diagrams, length or number of exam segments or questions, or any communication, including oral communication regarding or related to the exam (known collectively as “Proprietary Information”), in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, oral or written, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the prior express written permission of Cisco.

SMR511

Great. I will keep that in mind for future posts. I've read the Odom book (once so far) and am into my 17th hour of Chris Bryant TrainSignal videos for ICND2....Thanks for the additional resources!

thenjduke

I have not taken the exam yet but I am using four resources. Odom Book, Todd CCNA book, CBT Nuggets and Trainsignal. Trust me I have learned from all different areas.

*BB*

I took INCD2 twice a week apart. Each test was completely different. That being said, you really do need to understand it all because you dont know what you're going to get on the test and you need to be prepared for anything.

CiskHo

*BB* wrote: »

I took INCD2 twice a week apart. Each test was completely different. That being said, you really do need to understand it all because you dont know what you're going to get on the test and you need to be prepared for anything.

+1
I took it twice and studying up on what I knew I missed on the 1st attempt did me no good as far as the 2nd attempt went. Every sim I had was different. What was covered during my 1st try wasn't even asked on the 2nd try. Without violating the NDA all I can say is look at the blueprint and know ALL of it if you want to be 100% prepared. If you don't you are just rolling the dice...

I wouldn't expect the ICND2 to be easy or a "guessable" exam either. It was much tougher for me than the ICND1. But heck, its for the CCNA so it should be tougher.

Geetar28

SMR511 wrote: »

Great. I will keep that in mind for future posts. I've read the Odom book (once so far) and am into my 17th hour of Chris Bryant TrainSignal videos for ICND2....Thanks for the additional resources!

I was scheduled to take the exam next week....I moved it back a month, cause I'm finding it ridiculously hard to carve out study time. I'm on my second time through the book...first time I just read straight through, I'm watching CBT's (3rd time now) and Chris Bryant Train sig vids......this time I'm am trying to master each section from the Odom book before going to the next...

Have you scheduled the test, if so when?

AD227529

My best advice is don't let your time get away from you. I spent five months studying for the ICND2 exam, and still barely passed it. I read the Odom book cover to cover five times. I also used CBT Nuggets and Trainsignal to study. The test is tough, but if you know the material you will pass. Practice VLSM until you can do it fast and accurately and definately know how to set up VLAN's. It will all be worth it once you pass. Good luck!

*BB*

AD227529 wrote: »

My best advice is don't let your time get away from you. QUOTE]

Yup. Thats where I screwed up the first time I took ICND2. Bad time management.

DevilWAH

*BB* wrote: »

AD227529 wrote: »

My best advice is don't let your time get away from you. QUOTE]

Yup. Thats where I screwed up the first time I took ICND2. Bad time management.

I have a bad habit of finishing exams early, I remember in the ICND2 clicking through questions and sundly about 15min before the end of the time they ran out.... (howevver i did pass with good marks and i put this down to a lot of practice and really knowing the subjects in a working env environment irmment) Out of the ICND1 ICND2 and CCCNA security. I found the ICND2 the most logical to follow.

I would say more than anything know how the technologies work, not just the exact commands and wording to set it up. And know your way around the IOS hands on. get to grips with the differnt areas of the IOS and how it works. It is organised in a very logical way and knowing you way around it as a whole, will help jog your memory for those questions where you are not sure if its A or C...

The CCNA does try to give a practical example of topics that you need to apply your knowledge to to solve and answer. IT will not jsut test your recall abilitys. So as every one has said, you need to know and to be able to work with the topics it covers.

Like Mike said the CBT nuggets are not a replacement for the study guides, but one thing they do give you is a demonstration of the topics in action. so you can see how they are applied and what they actuly do, this is often lost when reading a test book so if you can't get much LAb time I would recommend watching them through.