ICND1 & ICND2 practice software

Eildor

I have had a brief look at the practice exams which came with ICND1 by Wendell Odom, but I can see that it's not a very good representation of the real exams.

What is the general consensus on here regarding what software is best for ICND1 & ICND2 practice exams?

mikka1984

I found Boson exams harder than ICND1/2 exams, so don't knock it . When I was practicing i got 75%, went and done the exam (although i have done CCNA) 2 days later and passed.

Eildor

I'd like something that is a little more like the real thing :P ...if that exists haha.

Eildor

Never mind.

mikka1984

IMHO if you can pass or come close to pass within the time limit on Boson test then the next real thing is to take the actual exam. There are a few other vendors that do same thing as Boson does (google is you best friend ) but I personally would save my money. Even if you don't pass on your first go it will be the best experience you can get. Plus taking the test from the comfort of your home is nothing like going to the test center and actually doing it. I's sure most here will agree.

Eildor

Yeah you're probably right. I guess I just want a way of knowing when I'm 100% ready... but I suppose if we all knew when we were ready we wouldn't have people failing huh. Anyway, I still have quite a bit of material to cover before taking the Boson practice test; taking it before I'm ready and then having to repeat it isn't going to give me an accurate enough idea as to whether I'm ready or not (since I'd remember some of the answers no doubt).

Back to studying

mikka1984

Good luck mate, let us know how you get on.

okplaya

The practice exams bundled with the book will help to reinforce the concepts in the book. If you have a sound understanding of the concepts in the book then the actual exam can be passed without a problem.

Eildor

I have ICND1 and ICND2 by Wendell Odom, but haven't been able to read through them yet. I have to complete CCNA 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Network Fundamentals as part of my degree. I have completed CCNA1, CCNA2, planning to take CCNA3 next week, and CCNA4 the week after. Then I can start on ICND1 and ICND2.

I feel as if the Network Fundamentals books contain too much information. Sure, the more you know the better but some of the information in there I can't for the life of me understand the use for in the real world. In a network technician job role is learning about things like LCP and NCP going to be useful? I know it's part of CCNA so I'm having to read into these things, but after becoming a CCNA, is knowing about LCP and NCP going to help me configure/troubleshoot a WAN? Is knowing how many DS0's there are in a T1 connection going to be useful to me in getting a job? I don't think it is, but I don't know very much so I'd like to know what some of you experienced guys think. This is a genuine question by the way

fslima0

Eildor wrote: »

I have ICND1 and ICND2 by Wendell Odom, but haven't been able to read through them yet. I have to complete CCNA 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Network Fundamentals as part of my degree. I have completed CCNA1, CCNA2, planning to take CCNA3 next week, and CCNA4 the week after. Then I can start on ICND1 and ICND2.

I feel as if the Network Fundamentals books contain too much information. Sure, the more you know the better but some of the information in there I can't for the life of me understand the use for in the real world. In a network technician job role is learning about things like LCP and NCP going to be useful? I know it's part of CCNA so I'm having to read into these things, but after becoming a CCNA, is knowing about LCP and NCP going to help me configure/troubleshoot a WAN? Is knowing how many DS0's there are in a T1 connection going to be useful to me in getting a job? I don't think it is, but I don't know very much so I'd like to know what some of you experienced guys think. This is a genuine question by the way

How are you going to troubleshoot something you don't know about? that's why you need to know the difference between LCP or NCP, for instance. I must say these little facts are very easy to forget when you are not dealing with them on a daily basis (makes me want to study the PPP protocol). You need to know what they are for at some point...

Eildor

fslima0 wrote: »

How are you going to troubleshoot something you don't know about? that's why you need to know the difference between LCP or NCP, for instance. I must say these little facts are very easy to forget when you are not dealing with them on a daily basis (makes me want to study the PPP protocol). You need to know what they are for at some point...

That's what I'm worried about... spending time memorizing information for CCNA and then forgetting what I have learnt later, or finding no use for the information. Unless you review everything you're going to forget it. But once I have the CCNA qualification, do I need to review things like, for example, what a HDLC frame looks like? Does a network engineer need to know what TDM is and how it works? I just want to understand where this information fits in when configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting a network. Perhaps some people who are working in the field can explain with examples.

Michael.J.Palmer

Eildor wrote: »

That's what I'm worried about... spending time memorizing information for CCNA and then forgetting what I have learnt later, or finding no use for the information.

Unfortunately that's how it is for most everything you test and cert on. The tests are always going to require a wealth more knowledge than you actually need in the real world. In the real world if you're working for a large company you're never going to need to know how to configure and work with RIP or how to do static IP routes, likewise as Cisco continues to develop GUI tools for their routers/switches you'll probably do fewer and fewer commands via a terminal.

And don't get me started on subnetting... Chances are if your boss asks you to subnet a network for them they might fire you as soon as you pull out a piece of paper and start converting to binary and breaking everything up from there... Cisco requires you know it and do it for the exam but in the real world you're allowed to **** and use a subnet calculator... in fact, chances are your boss will prefer that you do.