ICND1 (640-822) booked, few questions.

CKroll

Hello everyone,

I've gone through all my material (Cisco Press book + 101 Labs For The Cisco CCNA w/ home lab setup). I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on how to review effectively, which topics are especially crucial, and any tips for the actual test day.

Sy Kosys

Its funny, i read all sorts of material i thought was going to be on the test, only to be completely wrong lol. I reviewed my notecards i wrote when studying, quizzed online daily at one of those online sites as well as the Pearson stuff with Odom's books, but the big thing was taking time out daily for fun-n-games (slaughtering the zombie horde lol). Gotta give your brain some downtime to absorb.

The day before, and the morning of exam, NO STUDY! If you don't know it by exam day, what you attempt to shove in yer head wont stick. I found a testing spot a good 30min drive from home, give the nerves some time to settle. Hell, during the ICND2 test yesterday i clearly remember flipping off the screen when i got my sims haha.

Crucial topics? Not to be flippant, but whatever is on the first exam that you feel is a weak area. The more in-depth stuff will be on #2. Honestly, i dunno what Cisco's confidentiality agreement can prevent us specifically from saying about the exams, so it's a safe bet that what is in the book will be covered in some capacity.

When do you test? I booked #1 about 2 weeks out, forcing myself to be ready by then. For #2 i kinda waffled and booked it two days before haha. Good luck eh

CKroll

I have to agree with you about taking time out daily for some fun-n-games. I'm noticing first hand that studying all day (covering multiple chapters) burns me out. I'm just as excited as nervous though since this is my first time, and this will be the last time I can take 640-822 due to expiration. I booked my exam for September 26th. At the time of booking (Monday) I gave myself a full month for review. I've been strictly reviewing my notes from the Cisco Press book since Monday. My plan right now is to stop after a couple of chapters to do the exercises in the book, to solidify everything, and validate that I'm retaining everything. Upon reviewing all the chapters, spend some time with just subnetting, followed by lots of practice exams. Does that sound solid?

Sy Kosys

It sounds very similar to a path i recently walked

You have plenty of time for study, so don't feel too rushed. Take notes, but not the crazy extensive kind...stuff you can write down and have someone else quiz you on it. I made up almost 70 cards on DSSS/OFDM, RSTP/STP and the port roles/states, OSPF and the LSA's, EIGRP and the feasible/reported distance + feasibility condition blah blah....Every so often i'd read the notes, whether riding shotgun while the wife drove us wherever, or while taking the browns to the super bowl.
I bought a 60day thingy at one of those online testers (i tried typing it before on here, but it was immediately **** out haha) and would test daily. Read for a couple hrs, take a 60min test, lunch break, finish reading for another 1/1.5hrs, call it a day and kill the undead!

I dunno your proclivities, but limit or suspend your alcohol intake. Kill the brain cells AFTER you pass

Yeah, sounds like you've got a solid plan. Don't be afraid to mix it up some, like reading a few chapters on Spanning-Tree then testing on OSPF. Shock the brain some, keep it guessing

CKroll

Thank you for the advice!