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

networker050184

CCIE Rack Rentals - INE

For INE. These days you're usually better off going virtual though. VIRAL is a good alternative. Theres always GNS3 as well on the free side.

Allan81

rob42 wrote: »

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.

Thanks for the inspiring message Rob I've only really been able to study for 3-4 weeks and just reading ur message makes me want to do it even more as I thought I was the only one who was in this situation and couldn't understand all the jargon etc but it's great to know that we are all in this together,thank you for that info on tracers etc I wil really look into that,wil post back my updates on how I'm doing,good luck 👍

rob42

Allan81 wrote: »

Thanks for the inspiring message Rob I've only really been able to study for 3-4 weeks and just reading ur message makes me want to do it even more as I thought I was the only one who was in this situation and couldn't understand all the jargon etc but it's great to know that we are all in this together,thank you for that info on tracers etc I wil really look into that,wil post back my updates on how I'm doing,good luck 

You’re very welcome and thank you for taking the time to reply. I find that the people on this forum are really helpful and will help anyone who is prepared to at least try to learn stuff for themselves – sometimes you just need someone to point you in the right direction before the topic you’re having trouble with seems to click into place. Stick with it buddy.

N3rdz0n3

100% True

studygal

I self studied and bought the Cisco textbooks. I also looked at the Cisco website for information. I think the Cisco website has relevant information on what type of textbooks to buy. I passed the CCNA Route and Switch.

the_dude7

Great information in this thread. I may just get some actual equipment at some point. It sounds fun to figure out what you need.

Just a quick question though: since the original post was from 2012, the links to the free labs don't work anymore... does anyone know where to find some decent ones? I'm finding a few things through a simple Google search.

dejacir.junior

Hello everyone Anyone can indicate some website that offers the labs for CCNA 200-125 for free so I can practice and study??

the_dude7

To those who are attempting this: I would recommend Wendell Odom's book over Todd Lammle's. I just recently realized how much better the Odom book is than the Lammle one (which I solely used to study for the test). I actually just ordered a cheap used version of Odom's off Amazon last week and have been reading it so I can brush up on some older topics or one's that I didn't feel 100% confident in. It's a lot more in depth, lays out each concept in a clear, organized, logical manner, and there's more info on each topic, so there's actually a full 900+ page textbook on each half of the exam (ICND1 and 2). But don't let that scare ya away.

Although Lammle's book has a bit more humor, personality, or pizazz, and is written in a more casual, "conversational" style, I've realized its writing style is at times less clear, and there are extensive errors throughout the book. Some parts aren't explained ideally, and he doesn't walk you through each concept to full understanding in the way Odom does. Now I truly get it and this book is helping me "fill in the gaps" of understanding so to speak. I can also use it as a reference manual in an actual job I suppose.

Nonetheless the Lammle book is still okay and you can definitely pass with it (along with other study materials of course).

kpc21

Am I right that the topics such as:
- types of LSAs in OSPF (even those most basic ones: 1 to 5),
- forwarding mechanisms in switches and routers (store and forward/cut through/fast forward/fragment free switching in switches; process switching/fast switching/CEF in routers)
are not present on the current CCNA exams?

Because I found them in some study material, including even the official NetAcad courses from the Cisco Networking Academy, but I can't see them in the blue print, actually the blue print even explicitly excludes the LSA types.

But I also can't see them mentioned (that they got excluded from the new version) in the YT videos treating about the differences between the previous and the current version of the certification.

Should I assume that those materials were included there just because it is useful knowledge allowing to better understand the behavior of the OSPF protocol (talking about the OSPF) but I don't have to memorize it, it is enough to know that different types of LSAs are used for different purposes in communication between different types of routers (such as routers within the area, the DR, the ABR and the ASBR)?

Am I right that there are no (and there can't be any) questions about the things not mentioned in the blue print on the exam?

Datcyde

Thanks for the info. 

bowmatty

Hey guys, im going to be doing my CCENT studies from next month (having a break after passing my Network+ recently). 
My plan is the CCENT first and then the second half of the exam for the CCNA. 

Great post  

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Jackphom

Howdy everyone!

I wanted to say to the OP. You are a savior! Thanks for posting so much in depth information especially for the lost and confused...(me)

After A+, I decided to not move forward with CompTIA and go for my CCENT/CCNA before it's up in 2020. 

This honestly has cleared so much, thank you again!

raj443

Hi friends    ,This tutorial gives you an overview and talks about the fundamentals of CCNA.

CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is an IT certification from Cisco.

Once you know the basics of networking during our CCNA training, we’ll help you understand both the OSI reference model and the TCP/IP model. Both of these models are very important for you to understand from not only from the CCNA exam perspective, but also for the rest of your networking career.

Roguetadhg

I'm going to need to revisit this thread down the road. Fixing coding and updating material. Comments welcome!

itdept

It might need a title change now that CCENT is gone