practice Exams

alliasneo

Just tried the ICND2 practice exams that came with the new Cisco Press ICND2 book. Gave up after 20 questions as I was doing terrible. I got maybe 3 or 4 right out of the 20 I attempted. I went through the chapters questions in the book and I've been nailing them 8 out of 10, 9 out of 10 but couldn't answer the practice exam questions!

I've been studying for around 4 months now for ICND2 and can configure frame-relay, EIGRP, OSPF, ACL's and I'm working on NAT still. Just makes it feel like a waste of time when it's like that though. I've got my lab next to me which I can set up and run but it makes you feel like you know nothing when you try the practice test and havn't got a clue.

I didn't get on with the cisco press icnd1 exams the first time around and bought the boson one's instead. I think I'm going to buy the icnd2 boson exams at the weekend and try again but it's not good....

networker050184

Don't go looking for an easier test because that ones too hard! Sounds like you know the commands but need to get a bit deeper in the theory. I'd do some more reading and retake the test next week. Rinse/repeat until you know the material,not memorize the answers to the questions.

Roguetadhg

Boson exams are not easy. They're really difficult tests, but they prepare you well for the test.

Just keep on digging into it. Don't look at the answers when you take the exam, instead when you miss a question think through as to why that is the answer and why what you've picked is wrong. You'll be surprised, it's either you made a stupid mistake with a miscalculation, or you forgot something.

Either way, you've reinforced the material more by cross-examining the question's answer.

alliasneo

No I'm not looking for an easier exam I just found the boson ones better I think. I think maybe I do need to go over the theory more but it's just so frustrating!

alan2308

alliasneo wrote: »

No I'm not looking for an easier exam I just found the boson ones better I think. I think maybe I do need to go over the theory more but it's just so frustrating!

Not as frustrating as it would be to have discovered this at Pearson Vue.

Roguetadhg

It's a feeling that crosses Sadness, Disappointment, Anger, Nerd Rage, Depression and well.. Seven steps of Grief.

It's a very interesting thing to go through all those stages and realize it.


Source: http://www.recover-from-grief.com/7-stages-of-grief.html

1. SHOCK & DENIAL-
You will probably react to learning of the loss with numbed disbelief. You may deny the reality of the loss at some level, in order to avoid the pain. Shock provides emotional protection from being overwhelmed all at once. This may last for weeks.

2. PAIN & GUILT-
As the shock wears off, it is replaced with the suffering of unbelievable pain. Although excruciating and almost unbearable, it is important that you experience the pain fully, and not hide it, avoid it or escape from it with alcohol or drugs. You may have guilty feelings or remorse over things you did or didn't do with your loved one. Life feels chaotic and scary during this phase.

3. ANGER & BARGAINING-
Frustration gives way to anger, and you may lash out and lay unwarranted blame for the death on someone else. Please try to control this, as permanent damage to your relationships may result. This is a time for the release of bottled up emotion.
You may rail against fate, questioning "Why me?" You may also try to bargain in vain with the powers that be for a way out of your despair ("I will never drink again if you just bring him back")

4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS-
Just when your friends may think you should be getting on with your life, a long period of sad reflection will likely overtake you. This is a normal stage of grief, so do not be "talked out of it" by well-meaning outsiders. Encouragement from others is not helpful to you during this stage of grieving.
During this time, you finally realize the true magnitude of your loss, and it depresses you. You may isolate yourself on purpose, reflect on things you did with your lost one, and focus on memories of the past. You may sense feelings of emptiness or despair.

7 Stages of Grief...

5. THE UPWARD TURN-
As you start to adjust to life without your dear one, your life becomes a little calmer and more organized. Your physical symptoms lessen, and your "depression" begins to lift slightly.

6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH-
As you become more functional, your mind starts working again, and you will find yourself seeking realistic solutions to problems posed by life without your loved one. You will start to work on practical and financial problems and reconstructing yourself and your life without him or her.

7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE-
During this, the last of the seven stages in this grief model, you learn to accept and deal with the reality of your situation. Acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. Given the pain and turmoil you have experienced, you can never return to the carefree, untroubled YOU that existed before this tragedy. But you will find a way forward.
7 stages of grief...
You will start to look forward and actually plan things for the future. Eventually, you will be able to think about your lost loved one without pain; sadness, yes, but the wrenching pain will be gone. You will once again anticipate some good times to come, and yes, even find joy again in the experience of living.

vinbuck

alliasneo wrote: »

No I'm not looking for an easier exam I just found the boson ones better I think. I think maybe I do need to go over the theory more but it's just so frustrating!

Cisco exams boil down to one simple axiom....prove why every other answer is wrong and you will pass. Cisco gives you all the material in the prep as well as the exam to do this, you just have to adjust your study mindset, and more importantly your test taking mindset.

Cisco exams are very deliberate...they choose words and pictures for a reason...somewhere in them is the answer you need to prove your answer right and all the other answers wrong. They are going to make sure you understand why things work and not just how to plug the commands in the router or switch. If you plan on doing advanced Cisco certification, being able to prove answers wrong is an absolute must.

Each practice exam is going to teach you something if you do them correctly. Start paying attention to which areas you do well in and which ones you don't. Review the areas you perform the worst in and re-take the test. If you follow the model and justify every answer, wrong or right, then you won't have to worry about just picking 'C' on your practice exams since you've already had the question. Boson exams are top notch and come with outstanding references for each subject - don't skip them just because they are a long read. There is a key to passing the exam in every reference Boson puts in their practice exams.

Good Luck!

Puffy

Not sure if you noticed, but you could set the exam to show you the amount of answers needed. That definitely made the practice exams much easier.

I remembered the first time around, when I read the ICND2 portion of the Odom's cert library, went through the CBT Nuggets and did countless amount of labs, I thought I knew my stuff and that I would ace those practice exams. Well, as you would guess, the ICND2 Odom's exam gave me a reality check. I scored 790 on my first go and around 70% of the questions that I answered, I wasn't sure why some of the questions were wrong and why some were right. Needless to say, I retook the questions I got wrong and with the help of the Odom book, I went out to determine which were the right answers and why the wrong answers were wrong. While I was doing this, I reviewed almost the whole ICND2 book picking up the tidbits which I deemed as "trivial" in my first run of the book prior to taking the practice exams. For the remaining questions where I was still unable to get right, I just used the "Show Answer" option and read the explanation ensuring that I understood how the correct answers were achieved rather than attempting to "memorize" them.

Quite frankly I don't see the justification of coughing up $90 for the Boson exams when you got Odom's own . Matter of fact, the Odom's exam was around 2-3x harder than the real thing. If you manage to ace the exams from Odom, I see no reason why you would not pass the ICND2 exam.

alliasneo

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll try and drill down in to some details this weekend and memorise some more crucial bits and pieces.

I didn't know you could show the amount of answers as this was really frustrating me. I'll have to check this out later when I get home.


It's like, for example, I set up frame relay in my home lab but it wasn't working and after troubleshooting it I found the wrong dlci's were being used so it was failing. But I managed to troubleshoot and fix it and it really feels good to be able to do that. But then I started the practice questions and I'm hit with questions about trunking etc, which again I can configure but maybe don't know enough details.


I guess I'm just feeling a bit down on my studying at the moment. I've been putting a lot of time in and just feel like in going nowhere at the moment.

Puffy

alliasneo wrote: »

I guess I'm just feeling a bit down on my studying at the moment. I've been putting a lot of time in and just feel like in going nowhere at the moment.

That was exactly how I felt after I got destroyed by those Odom's exams in my first go but I figured that this was my last set of preparation work so why not just stick it out.

alliasneo

Puffy wrote: »

That was exactly how I felt after I got destroyed by those Odom's exams in my first go but I figured that this was my last set of preparation work so why not just stick it out.

Man alive, they really don't make it easy! I found this with the icnd1 tests though and got the boson ones instead and found them better. I'll give it another go at the weekend. Did you find that by doing the tests and checking the answers this helped with the revision?