Cisco Sim/Practice Scenarios or Commands

Hello all,

I recently just started watching the Cisco ICND1 CBT Nuggets...at first I just thought I would watch them for fun and some general knowledge but the more I listened, I began taking notes and now it has peaked my interest to actually try and tackle the first exam (for starters perhaps). Now in my profession I mostly come from a Windows background, as you can see most of my certs are Microsoft oriented but I thought I'd try out the Cisco world. I did do some Cisco learning when I was in college and some of the commands I saw in the video brought back fond memories of when I did configure the first practice switch in our lab class(es). I am not sure if they're still out there but I remember practicing some of the commands using a simulation program, as if you were physically connected into the console port or you would actually have to "draw" a connection to the console port in these simulations (I forget...its been forever). I think it was called Boson? Not too sure but anyways I thought I would ask if you guys could refresh my memory of what it was or if you would recommend better ones (preferebly FREE but if I have to pay up and its worth it let me know). Also are there like practice labs or scenarios where I could practice these commands I would see on the exam? I mean I could follow along with Jeremy in these videos but it seems like it would get old quick about 2-3 times over and over.

P.S. Mention good practice test engines too

Thanks in advance

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Comments

zrockstar

I think as far as test engines go, Boson is pretty much a household name in the Cisco realm. The do cost a little bit though. Another option is buying the Wendell Odom cert guide and that comes with a Boson engine with a couple tests on it.

jsb515

well like the teacher said in the CBT nugget video for the price of the practice test you might aswell take the real test then you would have a good idea of what to study for if you fail and have an idea of what the test is like. Never thought of it like that but his right.

NetworkVeteran

jsb515 wrote: »

well like the teacher said in the CBT nugget video for the price of the practice test you might aswell take the real test then you would have a good idea of what to study for if you fail and have an idea of what the test is like. Never thought of it like that but his right.

I agree people overdo using practice tests to determine readiness, but they do have some advantages--

(1) If you take the practice test before you begin studying, it can identify areas where you're already "strong enough" and thereby save you from wasting time reading/studying the wrong things. The real exam tells you where you goofed, but not in as much detail, and there's additional overhead in the time spent going down to a testing center during prime business hours. For many in IT, a couple hours wasted costs more than a practice test.

(2) If you are on a tight timeline, failing a real exam by even a few points means you have to wait an entire week. If you fail a practice test, you're able to study your weak points and still take the real exam the next business day.

Qord

The emulators are PacketTracer and GNS3. There might be others out there, but I'm not familiar with them. Both are free, but GNS3 has much greater potential/features than PT. Might be a steep learning curve for it though.

NetworkVeteran

Qord wrote: »

The emulators are PacketTracer and GNS3. There might be others out there, but I'm not familiar with them. Both are free, but GNS3 has much greater potential/features than PT. Might be a steep learning curve for it though.

The free GNS3 package simulates the hardware, but the software runs real IOS. That is great for practice. I found GNS3 quite intuitive to use, but there are a few caveats: (1) you have to obtain a real IOS image, (2) it simulation of routers is awesome but of switches is mediocre, and (3) you have to obtain your own labs although there are many free workbooks online. It's worth digging into if you plan to proceed beyond CCNA into the CCNP or CCIE territory.

If CCNA is your only planned goal, Boson Netsim simulates everything, has labs, and even sets up the topologies for you so you can focus on whatever the objective of the lab is. It has its caveats, too: (a) it's accuracy vs. the real thing goes down if you do something outside the provided labs and (b) it has way too many labs. I wish they had ~20 instead of ~80.

PS - And YES! Your study plan should address both theory (books or videos) and practice (sims or rack rentals).

RomBUS

Thanks for the feedback guys

So it was called Boson, I knew it sounded familiar when I thought of it.... is there a free version of Boson since GNS3 is more for advance use, I am looking to only obtain CCENT MAYBE CCNA if I get more advanced and use it more often.

What are some good test engines for practice questions? Specific brand?