Judgement Day Nov. 18th ICND1

Finally took the leap and scheduled the ICND1 exam. After around 5 to 6 months of study, gonna finally attempt to take and pass the test to continue my path on to the CCNA. Took that many months due to life; finding out that my wife and I was expecting; work; and just the everyday things.

Wish me Luck!!!

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Deathgomper

Good lucks and congratz on the future bundle of joy!

ThePrimetimer

Ok
Just went through the Boson Exam from the ICND1 book and failed pretty bad. Scored 550 out of 1000, yet the Train Signal tests I'm getting 85% to 90%.

I've read a number of posts on here about the Boson Exam, but is it really that much harder than the exam itself?

So, my question is, are the questions that are being asked on the Boson Exam very similar to the exam questions or should I not really worry about them.

Any advice helps.
Thanks

bermovick

Question: when you took the practice exam, did you treat it like a practice exam: "I'll just answer what I think real quick and see how I score", or did you treat it like a real exam: "I'll read the question, look at the answers, sit and think each answer through to qualify/disqualify it as correct, do a quick double-check before selecting my answers and hitting next".

I ask because I have a habit of doing the former on practice exams and scoring rather low as well. If I then go through and actually pretend it's a REAL exam, I score several hundred points higher because I'm actually TRYING to pass then.

[edit follows]

Also: on the exam engine, I find it helpful to give a time limit (90 minutes), a specific # of questions (50), check for it to show the correct # of answers (just like the real exam), do NOT show my current score, and show me correct answer if I answer incorrectly. Except for the last option, that's fairly close to what you'll expect from the actual exam.

Finally: I don't know if your boson exam is the actual one from boson or the one that comes with the cert guide; they're different questions so it matters. I've taken the practice exams that come with the cert guides, and find them to be a bit trickier than the actual exam questions; but if you take your time and think each possible answer through and compare it with the question, it's a pretty good indication of if you know what you're doing. Come to think of it, it also is giving you a good habit of thinking your answers through, because on the real exam while the questions are less TRICKY, they're slightly HARDER, meaning you'll HAVE to think through each answer to rule out the incorrect ones -- but if you know the material, it's mostly not too difficult.

jobox

I took my ICND1 exam today and failed miserably 535/1000. I was advised to get a good night sleep the night before and I got only 2 hours on top of that I left my apartment at 11am thinking I would show up at the testing center before my scheduled testing time of noon and had trouble finding the place and arrived 10 minutes to. I don't mean to give excuses as to why I failed but to tell my experience so people going into this know just how on point you have to be for this entry level exam.

Now regarding the actual exam I was surprised at how intricate most of the questions were. I looked online typing ccent questions into google not to get the actual questions I would encounter but really just to get an idea of the level of skill required for the entry level exam. Most of the questions I encountered online were so simple I really thought that I would blow the doors off this exam. Boy was I wrong! I realized this 3 questions in, lol. Cisco and especially the CCENT earned my respect today and once I do get this certification I will really take pride that I earned it.

I felt comfortable with the subnetting questions but realized my skills with the simulator and commands were weak. I need to download a simulator before I start putting money into building my own private test lab.

Without going into specific detail on what some of the tougher questions were on below is the outline of the sections that my particular 50 question exam covered and the percentage I got on that section.

Describe the operation of data networks 43%

Implement a small switched network 56%

Implement an IP addressing scheme and IP services to meet network requirements for a small branch office 33%

Implement a small routed network 7%

Explain and select the appropriate administrative tasks required for a WLAN 0%

Identify security threats to a network and describe general methods to mitigate those threats 67%

Implement and verify WAN links 33%

ThePrimetimer

jobox,
How long have you been studying for the CCENT?

The part that I failed so bad on with the practice tests was with the subnetting and binary conversions. However, i can nail almost every question that is given on subnettingquestions.com. I even played the binary game from the ICND1 exam disc and was doing really good on it.

Maybe its the time restriction. I feel better when there is no amount of time and can take my time. I'm sure everyone does. oh well, I'm gonna keep studying and doing labs until my nail it.

Two weeks to the day!!!

chmorin

I imagine there is no better motivator than a baby on the way. Get it done, and then some! We are all here to help

jaykoolzboy

Even though it's a hard test (IMO it's harder than ICND2 for whatever reason, I got like 880 on CCENT, but 960 on ICND2), you can nail it down easily if you studied hard and do your lab.

Keyword = Subnet and subnet mask IMO.

Also master some of the basic theory of CDP and RIP, you will do just fine.
I am looking forward to hear good news from ya soon.

GL

ThePrimetimer

Ok guys, need a little encouragement here.

Been studying my butt off for the last 4 days and today decided to take some practice tests.

Train Signal = 95% and up

Measure Up = 43/45 96%

Boson = 780/1000 78%

I missed the Boson exam by one question and its bothering me just a little. When I see the percentages from the Train Signal and MeasureUp exams, I feel confident that I could pass, but when I see my score from the Boson exam, I second guess myself. I went through the questions I missed and found where I made my mistakes, such as miscalculating my subnets not paying attention to links, if they were LAN or WAN.

So, with the percentages listed about, what you be your guys opinion on my taking the test. Do you think that I'm ready? I am scheduled to take the exam this Thursday.

Thanks for the help!

P.S I love TechExams!!

gosh1976

Are you taking the Boson exam that came with the Odom book or the Ex-Sim Max ICND1 product from Boson? I can't comment on the Boson exam that came with the book but I did use the ExSim Max practice tests and found them to be a pretty decent predictor for success on the actual exam. I scored better on the actual exam by quite a few points but I also spent a couple more weeks studying after taking the last practice test. All things considered the actual exam was probably a little easier than the practice test but not by much.

It can not be understated that you have got to be able to subnet quickly and accurately. Spend plenty of time working lab exercises so that you are familiar with setting up everything in the objectives and troubleshooting those setups with show commands.

If you are still having trouble with miscalculating subnets then I would say don't try and sit the exam. Other than that it sounds like you are probably in pretty good shape.

edit: did I mention be comfortable with subnetting quickly and accurately and lab, lab, lab?

Essendon

There's no harm in pushing back your exam a week or so, in case you think you are not ready. When you think you are, go kill it. Good luck!

ThePrimetimer

I am using the Boson exam that came with the Odom book. I've read other posts that have said that it is a bit harder than the actual exam, and being able to miss the exam by one question tells me I know my stuff pretty good (not good enough to past, but...)

Plus, I can nail almost every question that comes up on subnettingquestions.com within 15 seconds. I mean, it's boom, boom, boom! Even the subnetting questions on the Train Signal and MeasureUp exams didn't bother me. I feel comfortable with subnetting and when I said I miscalculated my subnets, it wasn't that I don't know subnetting, just that I am making small mistakes.

And labs are no problem for me. Packet Tracer is a godsend if you don't have any real equipment, and I have no problem in working at the CLI (that's the best part!)

And I really don't want to move the test out as I am expecting a little one and would like to nail this before he shows up!!

Anywho, thanks for the replies guys!!!

ThePrimetimer

I SURVIVED!!!!

I passed today with a 937/1000! What? I didn't think that I would do that good but I'm not gonna gripe about it. Here is what the report said:

Describe the operation of data networks: 93%
Implement a small switched network: 89%
Implement an IP addressing scheme and IP services to meet network requirements for
a small branch office: 100%
Implement a small routed network: 87%
Explain and select the appropriate administrative tasks required for a WLAN: 67%
Identify security threats to a network and describe general methods to mitigate those
threats: 100%
Implement and verify WAN links: 100%

Now I am gonna sit back and have a beer (or two

) and wait for my son to be delivered. Then I think I'm gonna start on ICND2 after the beginning of the year.

Thanks for the responses on here!

earweed

Congrats!! That's a great score.
You scored really high in all but 1 area.
Why are you gonna wait so long to start your ICND2 studies?

ThePrimetimer

I know the score in Wireless wasn't that good, and it was the chapter I skipped last night. Guess I learned my lesson.

I am gonna post-pone ICND2 as my son is due December 10th and I wanna have some time with the newbie. Plus, I can think of it as a New Years Resolution

viper75

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

I SURVIVED!!!!

I passed today with a 937/1000! What? I didn't think that I would do that good but I'm not gonna gripe about it. Here is what the report said:

Describe the operation of data networks: 93%
Implement a small switched network: 89%
Implement an IP addressing scheme and IP services to meet network requirements for
a small branch office: 100%
Implement a small routed network: 87%
Explain and select the appropriate administrative tasks required for a WLAN: 67%
Identify security threats to a network and describe general methods to mitigate those
threats: 100%
Implement and verify WAN links: 100%

Now I am gonna sit back and have a beer (or two ) and wait for my son to be delivered. Then I think I'm gonna start on ICND2 after the beginning of the year.

Thanks for the responses on here!

CONGRATZ and the Pass and the baby on the way!

Good luck with ICND2. You'll do fine. Make sure you're familiar with the STP and CDP.

gosh1976

Congrats on the pass!! and on the little one on the way!!

we actually got the same score!

MosGuy

Congrads on the baby and passing!. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the boson software with Odom's book now after taking the exam. Do you feel it was a good prep for the real thing ?.

mikej412

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

passed

Congratulations!!

Remember that you've got year or two where you can get away with using your Cisco Books

as a source of bed time stories

Javi437

Congrats on the pass and on the me born. I'll be taking my test tomorrow.

simtech

Congrats !

Deathgomper

Cogratz! Enjoy Baby+

ThePrimetimer

MosGuy wrote: »

Congrads on the baby and passing!. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the boson software with Odom's book now after taking the exam. Do you feel it was a good prep for the real thing ?.

I really liked them. However, I am gonna have to jump on the band wagon and say that they were a bit harder than the exam questions, but not by far. i would recommend them as they helped me study harder so that I could pass them. I feel just by that notion itself, helped me pass the exam.

MosGuy

ThePrimetimer wrote: »

I really liked them. However, I am gonna have to jump on the band wagon and say that they were a bit harder than the exam questions, but not by far. i would recommend them as they helped me study harder so that I could pass them. I feel just by that notion itself, helped me pass the exam.

Thanks I appreciate the feedback as I've heard mixed opinions. Good to hear the questions are a little more difficult. That's far better then being too easy IMO. I'm also using Odom's book as my primary source along side Jeremy's CBT videos + Todd's book for a quick final review. I just can't seem to get into his book, prefer Odom's writing. Looking forward to using the software now. Good luck with ICND2

cains

congratz on the exam.