just scored 90% in my practice ICND1

bugs

Hi all,

I have decided I want to take my CCNA certs so have been doing a bit of general reading up, I have also subscribed to a CCNA podcast which im listening to everyday, I wanted to get a head start as I WAS going to get myself on a training course. This morning I thought I would just do a practice test and see where i`m at, to my surprise I scored 90% using this site so not sure how good it is. I am weak on the OSI layer and port numbers so I still need to work on that, but I am now thinking do I need to spend a shed load of money on that course? and just go for the ICND1 exam?

xza

if you haven't, read lammle ccent, read odom icnd 1. BUT dont do the "do i know this already" questions until you've finished reading the book. once the book is done go over the do i know this already questions, once you can answer them correctly without getting more than 1 wrong per chapter then i think you're set. know show commands, how to see which router is conntected to the router im currently consoled to, show cdp neighbor detail and its variations, and know how to find if im on the DCE or DTE and what speed is configed

pamccabe

How long is the course? Just curious because I hear the CCNA certification is going to be changing in June so there might be a cutoff time as to when you can do the ICND exams. I've been self-studying and going to take the exam in April. I am taking some cisco courses at school too. However, I am finding that if you are a member of the Cisco Networking Academy you have all the resources right there to study for the exams. You could save some money doing it that way. There are very good materials from CiscoPress that will help you prepare.

As far as passing a free test with a 90%, I'm not sure that means you are ready or not. I've been doing quite a bit of practice exams and score well on them. However, I hear that simualtors like Boson, and even the practice test from Odom's CiscoPress book are closer to the real deal and quite a bit more difficult. That is why I don't put too much weight into the free online questions. I use those more to identify my weak areas than determine how ready I am.

Instead of taking a course, you could buy some great materials from Odom or Lammle, and Boson's test material. That would be all you need I would think. I am doing that and even bought cisco switches for home use to practice with. That might be overkill though.

gp7816

If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have wasted money on the Practice tests I bought from Cisco, or even the Network Simulator I purchased. I would go straight to Lammle's book, together with CertSim and NetVisulizer 7 that I also purchased. I did that because when I sat down in front of the test computer, I got slapped square in the mug with a test format I hadn't prepared for. I did not try the Boson, but have heard good things about it. I did not have a problem with Odom's books (read ICND1 and ICND2 both twice), my dissatisfaction only lies with the PearsonIT Practice Test. The one redeeming quality it has though is that is heavy on calculating subnets, and I continued to use it for reason only. These are just my opinions based on my journey to CCNA, take it as just that, an opinion.

bugs

I know I am deffinately not ready to take the exam was just a little surprised I scored so high. The course is with IT Net Academy, it is £495. I know people are going to say ahhhh its gonna be rubbish, but I dont necessarily want it to cover every minute detail I just want a bit of a "leg up" so I can get the bulk of the fundamentals sorted, the rest I can build on.

Another reason for the course is i`m not the strongest willed character and given any excuse ill skip out on study.