How to study for the CCENT/CCNA. [Tutorial]

bull313

Great post! After I run the CompTIA gauntlet I just might try this one!

HattrickNZ

Hi, Firstly thanks for this great post it is very much appreciated!!

In the book that your recommend: CCNA 640-802 Official Cert Library, Updated (3rd Edition)
Link here CCNA 640-802 Official Cert Library, Updated (3rd Edition): Wendell Odom: 9781587204388: Amazon.com: Books
It says these will be the exams covered.
ICND1(640-822)
ICND2(640-816)
CCNA(640-802)

But on this site CCNA Routing and Switching - IT Certifications and Career Paths - Cisco Systems
It gives the below exams.
These are the exams


Required Exam(s)
Recommended Training


200-120 CCNA
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices: Accelerated (CCNAX)


OR


100-101 ICND1
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1)


200-101 ICND2
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2)



Is this book still worth buying and using for studying? Can anyone please clarify? Thanks.

HattrickNZ

to answer my own question, this is the one that I want
Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching 200-120 Official Cert Guide Library: Wendell Odom: 9781587143878: Amazon.com: Books

Kenneth196

Great choice Hattrick. That book is the most up to date one. The 640 exams are outdated, as are the training material (books, rather).

tsimo

I am new to CISCO World of CCNA Exam. I start reading from OSI Model. who advise me the best CCNA ebook topic or Author

Nikola-T

Hi everyone, I am a new member at this forum.

I would like to switch over to a networking career but I have no knowledge and computer science degree so I wonder is it possible learning and passing CCNA exam by self-studying even if you don’t have any knowledge and computer science degree?

Actually I am a mechanical engineer and was working as an R&D cooling engineer in a home appliances company in Turkey. My girlfriend is from San Francisco and we currently live in this city and would like to keep living somewhere in California. Anyway…

I would appreciate if you guys share your experience and advice about the questions below:

1) Are cbtnuggets’ video enough to pass CCNA (ICND1+ICND2) ?
2) Do I need windows pc ? (I have apple macbook pro-Mac OS X version 10.6.
3) Do I need a lab to study ? Can’t I learn without building a lab?
4) Do you guys know any group kind of meet-up group in San Francisco where I can go and learn about networking ?

Sorry if there is any funny questions, as I told I have no knowledge about networking

Chev Chellios

Great thread and posts by the way. I'm on track to do my MCSA 2008 exams in the not too distant future, not so bothered about taking the Cisco exams but I think the material will be useful to learn through self studying alongside the Microsoft stuff, thanks for the tips and recommendations

Roguetadhg

Welcome Nikola-T and others:

1. You May. Video lessons should be seen as the quick and dirty way, there's a lot of information that can't be taught. While all the topics may be hit on with CBT, it's best to go through a book as well. Use both in combination

2. Nope. Depends on how you plan on getting you lab work done. If you go with a 'simulator' then you'll most likely be tied to a Windows OS for the duration. If you invest in your own lab you can use any OS as long as you have a terminal emulator.

3. Nope. Preferred though... for a couple reasons:
1) Saying you HAVE hardware is a lot better than saying "I used a simulator".
2) Confidence Boosting. It's one thing to simulate flying a plane on a computer, it's a totally different thing to get in the pit. While you know that if you fudge up, you aren't miles above the earth.
3) Hardware can be the problem. You can't really troubleshoot a 'almost plugged in' RJ45. Likewise a DCE cable may have gone bad or part of the switch did go funky.
4) Simulators can be the problem. When I studied for the CCNA, I used a simulator at one point. I found that I wasn't able to input commands or the full range of functions the real IOS supports.

4. No idea.

Koval88

This was a great read, I just started in the Networking. Currently taking cisco courses. I really enjoy the courses. Thanks for these tips. I will keep them in mind and try some of the resources

SeekBytes

Hello dear members of TechExams.net.

I would love to get an advice regarding some tools to verify my understanding for the modules 100-101 & 200-101.

I thought to go with Boson which offers a full kit with labs and an exams simulator to verify your preparation before to attempt a real exam.

Since I am really terrorized from the idea of failing the exam, I wanted to ask an advice regarding flash cards and other materials I could use to review the whole syllabus.

Kind Regards.

delshad

I have taken the college cisco courses (the first 3, didn't take the 4th) and I think I made the right choice by taking chris bryant's CCNA course on udemy just to re-paint the knowledge i have and i also got the two books from Odom to get into detail with on everything else (including the 4th course i skipped out on).

NightEye00

Hi there,
I started to learn to the CCNA exam on my own from the CCNA Exploration book. It's really helpful but I suppose it won't be enough to pass the exam as it's only a book and contains no packet tracer labs or any other resources to learn. It's only usable to repeat the main topics before I start to attend a real course.
So my question as which is the better possibility to prepare the following:
1. I'd choose a curriculum with online video material where I can ask per online chat and my question will be answered online still in the videostream. The lab practices (via packet tracer) can be completed through a virtual environment of Cisco. There're no physical devices available on this course but in this case I'd buy some equipment on eBay. My other problem is that I don't receive any book format curriculum in order to review the things later if necessary, e.g. for the renewal of he certification in 3 years..
This is the cheaper opportunity where I need to learn at home on my own which is absolutely not problem for me by the way.
2. I'd take a "traditional" course which lasts 5 days (45 hours in all), where we have an instructor. It begins with theroretical knowledge then some demos and at the end the practical network building, of course instead of physical assets on virtual environment, packet tracer... you know.
It much more expensive but I get the book format curriculum too.

So what do you think, which would be the better from which points of view, more practice-orientated, cheaper etc.

Thank you in advance and have a nice day!

therebeeye

NightEye00, just my opinion and what worked best for me: My local community college offered Cisco CCNA courses that were very helpful as they offered face to face instruction, the opportunity to work as a team on projects using real equipment and collaborate to solve problems. Also, as it was a Cisco licensed course, accounts were created with the Cisco Networking Academy site (www.netacad.com) for each student. This in turn gave you access to PacketTracer and various other study tools. On top of that, we were given discount vouchers for the CCENT/CCNA exams. There were 4 classes, each a semester long, so it would take you about a year to do all 4.
But if this is too long for you or your local college doesn't offer Cisco classes, I would still suggest some kind of traditional course. I'm not a fan of "boot-camp" style courses, unless you already have a pretty good grasp of the material, as it's truly not realistic to absorb all the information required to pass the CCNA in 1 week.
Again, just my opinion but I hope this helps and good luck if you haven't taken the exam already!

mxdarvin

Hello evryone. I am on my way of studying for CCENT and then CCNA, it's a great post, but I have decided I will not attend any classes, there is lots of material available on the web also I have dedicated books for ICND1 and ICND2 with CBT Nuggets videos which are great. I would say that motivation is the most significant factor to pass this exam but not only to pass but learn something from it and remember, lots of people after exams they do not know much from it anyway so I would say the main thing is to not rush with that certification and learn it step by step, try to understand each topic very well. To be honest I think CCENT and CCNA they are the foundation which should stay in our heads forever trough our certification path as well as for our carrer... Once you will started, do not give up!!! Push yourself, try to motivate yourself as much as you can, sometimes it is hard but once you will feel that "kick" you will get it

Gororow

I've bought a 2950G switch mainly to give me the motivation to study (physically toying with the hardware is the work that I enjoy doing) however it says that the IOS version is 12.1. I've seen sites which sell bundles for the latest CCNA course offering switches using IOS 12.2, so my question is how big a deal is it that I've got something older than v12.4? Should I be keeping it, or should I be selling it on and having another look?

DPN1

You could just upgrade the IOS? You'll need to create an account on the cisco website and find the right file , have a tftp tool there's loads of free ones out there, then you put the file onto the tftp software and connect you laptop/pc to the switch , give your device a static IP and run the copy tftp flash command in the privileged exec mode (#). It'll ask about destination and source file ( is the name of the file you have uploaded/uploading) and the destination ip which would be the static IP of the device running tftp.

I think that right but describing things isn't my strong point so I have this backup in case that didn't make sense

7 Steps to Upgrade IOS Image on Cisco Catalyst Switch or Router

jesusriles

Thanks for the post, really useful for start studying for CCNA.

Thanks & Greetings!

steelodon

I noticed that 3 routers and 3 switches were suggested for study.

PCExpert

steelodon wrote: »

I noticed that 3 routers and 3 switches were suggested for study.

Yes, I noticed that one too. I am currently researching to try and work out what would be good stuff to get for a starter kit for CCENT --> CCNA and getting totally swamped, as in information overload! I'm also looking at this page https / www . certificationkits . com / lab-suggestions /cisco-lab-suggestions/ in combination with looking at various ebay kits, and finding it a nightmare.

Spiegel

Is it better to get a CCENT/CCNA lab kit or work with PacketTracer or both? Is it more or less advantageous in order to pass the exam? I'll spend as much as I need too in order to pass my exams and get a good real-world lesson out of it but if I'm able to save money that'd be great as well.

Micronewb

Spiegel wrote: »

Is it better to get a CCENT/CCNA lab kit or work with PacketTracer or both? Is it more or less advantageous in order to pass the exam? I'll spend as much as I need too in order to pass my exams and get a good real-world lesson out of it but if I'm able to save money that'd be great as well.

After speaking with my professor he suggested a lab because he doesn't want me to become a "paper CCNA". A paper CCNA is someone who on paper knows what to do but when brought into a server room is lost and has no idea what to do.

Thus, I suggest a lab (I am in the process of looking to buy one and am asking this forum for help. ) maybe you can piggy back the one I buy.

Geoson

Hey guys, I am also new to the CCENT/CCNA Cisco certifications. I want to ideally do the 100-101 ICDN1 exam before August 20th this year before they update the exams to the new ones that was announced in May this year. I have only read chapter 1 so far when I started studying for the exam a few days ago. I graduated last year in university and still actively looking for a full-time job. Do you think getting the CCENT then the CCNA will open more doors in terms of getting a job? I live in Canada so the job market is really tough especially I don't have any internships/past experiences in business or computer networks. I graduated in Business Technology Management at Ryerson University and my GPA isn't stellar. I just hope I can land a gig somewhere even part-time in the field would be great. Do you think studying for two months straight starting now is sufficient for the CCENT exam? Thanks for your help.

Trucido

Is the new CCENT / CCNA change going to be harder or more difficult? Instead of 7 modules its going to be 5.

ccnapremium

Any recommendation for free CCNA questions with answers and explanations?

provisions

Haha rock on man, this is a great guide. I've gotten up to the motivational pirate, :P I will read the rest later when I get back home. I'm currently a college student trying to get some certs for when I look for jobs. I literally knew nothing about networking when I majored in it, I was literally scared when I took a networking, as many terms and algorithms were thrown at me. But luckily, I was smart enough to study alot for the tests and thoroughly. Well, hopefully I start studying for the CCNA. Thanks for this guide and warning us about the motivational pirate. :P

ulviallahverdi

In one word, You are great man... this is very excellent explanation.
I have just 2 questions please...
My problem is I have no good or medium networking skills. I have just simple configuring and windows linux networking skills. I have just created 1 dedicated server but without more skill. My question is can i start from book ( CCNA study guide )that is said by you without learning Introduction Networking if i want to get CCNA certificate ? So is it possible to learn CCNA without experince?

and second question is : You had said 2 books. 1. TOD LAMME
2. Wendell Odom. in same time it is hard to read theese books. Is it enough just start with Wendell Odom?

kcayangyang

Hello everyone,
this is my first time here on this website, I wanted to get into the IT field, I currently work for Honda as their bumper to bumper technician and its time to switch careers, I would like to go with ccna but do I really need ccent? if that's the case should I just go to the cisco website and purchase their online demand video for ccna or ccent? I was thinking about going to intense school and the next boot camp is in aug 15, 2016 through aug 21, 2016 in las vegas, I also found ccbootcamp in las vegas are these boot camps advisable? and since it is a crash course I would assume you won't retain or absorb knowledge? I already had put pto in my job to register but I am having cold feet plus I have no experience. All answers could help! thanks!

Allan81

kcayangyang wrote: »

Hello everyone,
this is my first time here on this website, I wanted to get into the IT field, I currently work for Honda as their bumper to bumper technician and its time to switch careers, I would like to go with ccna but do I really need ccent? if that's the case should I just go to the cisco website and purchase their online demand video for ccna or ccent? I was thinking about going to intense school and the next boot camp is in aug 15, 2016 through aug 21, 2016 in las vegas, I also found ccbootcamp in las vegas are these boot camps advisable? and since it is a crash course I would assume you won't retain or absorb knowledge? I already had put pto in my job to register but I am having cold feet plus I have no experience. All answers could help! thanks!

I'm new to here and I too am looking into the self study route to attain my CCNA certificate in routing and switching.i am currently in a factory job that I hate and want to change careers and take that leap of faith,I've always had an interest in IT,however looking into CCNA there is a lot of terms that put me off that I don't understand,packets,subnet etc. But I'm 100% determined to study all the way and read as many books and build my own lab if I hav too,I've seen they are cheap on eBay,although wot to do with the lab I havnt got to that point yet,I've literally no experience at all,has anyone else been in a similar situation that can offer positive advice?? Thanks again

rob42

Hello fellow members.
First off, a big thanks to Roguetadhg‎ for spending valuable time in putting this guide together; this is exactly the kind of encouragement and advice that is needed by people like me, studying from home while holding down a full-time job and staring at two, 700 to 800 page books, and wondering how the hell I’m going to get through them AND remember all the content!!

I've been studying for the CCNA cert for only about 8 to 10 weeks and its hard work! I’m pleased that I’ve found this forum and I’ve had an answer to my first post in a very short space of time (my thanks to both clarson and sillymcnasty).

To Allan81: I’m in the same boat as you. I don’t know how long you’ve been studying or what books you’re reading, but for me, I managed to get the Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching 200-120 Official Cert Guide Library off of eBay for less than £25.00 and a Cisco 881 Router for less than £50.00. I plan to get a Cisco Switch next month. I know, not everyone is in the position of being able to afford these items, but you can get Cisco Packet Tracer V7 (it’s a fabulous simulator) for free and there are loads of free tutorials on the web (I can provide some links if anyone would find that of use). Also, the information on this site alone should be enough to keep you busy for months.

Don’t be put off by terms that you don’t yet understand. None of us are born with this knowledge, we’ve all had to start from first principles and build up our knowledge a bit at a time. The main thing is that you say that you are “100% determined to study”. That’s the kind of attitude that will get you to where you want to be. It’s not going to be easy, if it was, then everyone would be doing it.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough. Remember, you have to make your own luck in this world and nobody is going to hand it to you on a plate; work hard and keep your eyes on the prize.

Best wishes,

Rob.

varelg

On renting rack links, INE is 404 not found and Bryant Advantage doesn't seem to offer rack time (anymore). Any other suggestions?
Would rack time be a solid substitute for the hardware kits? I really am wary of aquiring any more hardware than I already have (all personal electronics).