Complete newbie - how to start?

Hi,

I am a junior year college student and a complete noob with any Cisco products or routers.

My area of interest is network security and since my college is really crappy, I need to do serious self study to make myself employable. Now I have posted earlier enquiring about the SSCP and CISSP certifications, and the general recommendation was that CCNA would be a much better place to start.

I got the book by Todd Lammle, sixth edition. However, I got thoroughly demoralized when I tried to wrestle with the assessment test at the beginning - I knew maybe 2 questions out of the 20 odd present.

So my question is - being such a big newbie, how should I start with this book? Which chapters should be given the maximum amount of attention? In short, a concise plan of action would be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

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Comments

Todd Burrell

Even though I have some other certs and a good deal of work experience, I am not far ahead of you when it comes to routers and switches. Right now if I took the 640-802 test I would probably get 20-30% right.

Having said that, my advice would be to setup a small lab and play around some. You can setup a decent lab for $100-$200 and you can probably get 2 2620XM routers and 2 2950 switches for less than $300 on Ebay. I have learned more with the hands on stuff that I could ever learn from the books.

I would also recommend getting both the Lammle and Odom books. For every cert exam I have tried to get at least 2 sources... And use this forum - this place is a gold mine for info and someone will always know the answer to your issue here.

The main thing to remember for any IT cert is that you may start reading the book and not feel like you know anything - just keep reading and studying. It will all start to sink in and before you know it you will be nailing the practice tests.

Good luck...

gosh1976

For someone with little to no networking experience you should start with the topics one would cover in studying for the Network+. Anybody can learn commands to type into the CLI but you need to learn the foundations in order to understand when and why to type them in. Learn the basics the OSI model, start learning how to subnet, etc.. Actually just take a look at the Professor Messer site he lists his free videos for Network+ and they are organized per objective. Professor Messer's Free CompTIA Network+ Certification Training Course | Professor Messer - CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Certification Training While you are learning the baiscs you can start putting a lab together. You'll learn a lot putting that together.

odysseyelite

I agree with the others. Network+ may be a place you want to start. Atleast to get the foundations. You don't need to take the exam if you don't wish but it gives you a good grounding. Get a lab setup. Depending on money you can even start with some older 2500's for cheap. I'm going the two test route using Odom's book and Todd's book. You may want to go that route as well. It will begin to sink. I have several years working with servers and networking, but not at a deep level. I've had to watch the CBT nuggests twice and read the book twice but it is starting to come together.

Stick with it and it will come to you.

Chris_

I'm gonna risk being attacked here! But as a complete noon I would advise that you go to juniper's website, register on the fast track program then watch there 5 hour Cbt on network fundamentals - it's really good FREE material. Then once you're comfortable with this, get the cbtnuggets and the wendell Odem CCNA books. You'll fly.

ehnde

Don't be intimidated just because you don't know it - that's why you are reading the book! Start reading, if you don't understand a topic after you read the chapter, ask us.

Also I would suggest making flashcards to help you retain new material.

down77

Chris_ wrote: »

I'm gonna risk being attacked here! But as a complete noon I would advise that you go to juniper's website, register on the fast track program then watch there 5 hour Cbt on network fundamentals - it's really good FREE material. Then once you're comfortable with this, get the cbtnuggets and the wendell Odem CCNA books. You'll fly.

Not a bad suggestion, especially for free material. I would add to this by saying make sure to follow up the videos/courses/certifications with practice. This can be done by purchasing lab gear, virtualizing an environment, or through on the job experience. Don't try to master all the material at once but remember to digest it over time. Many of us have spent years practicing, reading, and reviewing material.

Good luck and remember there are many here who are willing to help

lm10

Thanks a ton

I'll definitely look into building a small network at home. Luckily I have tons of time.

In the meantime I'll start with the book and, as advised, definitely ask around here for help. I'll also check out the supplementary material recommended.

Frankly, I am quite heartened by the highly positive response. Thanks a lot again to everyone