Failed ICND w/ 816..JUST PASSED W/916

**UPDATE:

Hey all, just passed the icnd w/ a 916. This time was kind of the opposite of last time (and not just with the passing/score). This time the early on questions were not too bad and I was actually making good time. Last time I was doing horrible on time and struggling w/ the questions until I got to the one lab, which was easy. this time I was cruising until I got to the lab and really struggled with it. spent 15min. on it and could have spent more but I just could not figure out what i was missing. 3 routers w/ ip's addys set up on all interfaces, clock rate on the dce, and rip as the routing protocol. the 2 outside routers could not communicate w/ each other. i checked show run conf, show ip int's, show ip route, etc, made sure the clock rate was set on all dce's..only thing I found was one of router 1's interfaces were not included in the rip config. but even after i added it and saved it i still could not get a ping between the 2 outside routers. anyway moved on and felt pretty confident in most questions..there were aboout 5-6 that made me worried but nothing like the 1st time.

got 100% in planning/design and implementation/operation
93% in technology
63% in troubleshooting..no surprise as the router sim was troubleshoooting.

my advice to any taking or re-taking the icnd,

i had 3-4 questions that were the exact same as before. was not sure if they would give me anything the exact same from the last exam but they did. i think they were all ones i missed and luckily i felt they might so i made sure to remember as many as i could, and it paid off. if you re-take the icnd than make sure to be ready for a few exact same questions you had the 1st time you failed.

switching/vlan/stp was once again in there big time and unlike last time I was prepared for it this time. make sure you have an in depth understanding of these topics. i did not the 1st time and it kept me from passing.

i asked for an extra pad to write on and, while it only saved a a few seconds, or several seconds on some questions having all the subntets, etc written down it is worth it. time is not on your side on the ccna, do anything to save yourself some time, even if just a minute or 2 is saved total by doing it.

think i will be going for the ccsa next. i want to pursue the ccsp but that is a beast and i want to shift gears to checkpoint for now. we use it a bit at work and i have always wanted to learn it.

good luck to all taking it and i will lurk here for a while if you have any questions and probably post in whatever board is related to the ccsa. on a side note this cert. is kind of bittersweet as i broke up w/ my girlfriend on tuesday. found on she had been cheating on me w/ her ex. i had originally scheduled my exam for wednesday but after finding that out i just could not concentrate very well and postponed it til today. even still i was worried i was thinking about that too much and not having total concentration on this exam as i wanted. sucks when that happens but nice to know it didnt cause me to fail this exam as it has caused enough bad things with me as it is. oh well s#$t happens, life goes on. but now i have a reason to smile today after a very rough week. thanks again to all who helped out with any specific questions I had.

Hey guys,

Haven't posted in a while. I passed the INTRO in June. Since then I guess I have gotten a bit burned out w/ the cert.'s and maybe enjoyed the summer a bit too much. Around mid-September I started my studying for the ICND. I was very, very confident with subnetting and any labs I might get. Felt my weakest points were WAN's and switching topics (vlans/stp. etc) As it turned out I only had one lab which was quite simple (it seemed more suitable for the INTRO except for one part of configuring a routing protocol). I only had 3 questions at the most on WAN's I got overrun with switching questions and think that is what got me, most w/ diagrams then have to explain what is wrong or what is/isnt possible. Some I was confident on but there were several that really had me concerned. Going to try again in about 2-3 weeks. In that time I am really going to concentrate on switching while continuing to review all other topics. Not sure if there will be alot of switching questions or if they will shift gears and give me more on another topic but regardless I have to be ready for anything.

As was the case with the INTRO time was a huge factor as I was running out of it fast. No question I had to rush through the last 12-15 or so questions (40 total questions, 60 minutes) faster than I liked. I am not as disappointed as I thought I would be as I did come close. More sad about the $100 I just lost. I might post some questions in the near future, mainly about switching topics as this board is always a huge help.

FWIW here are my scores:
Planning and design 50%

Implementation and operation 77%

Troubleshooting 90%
Technology 68%

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Comments

Webmaster

Sorry to hear that. Considering the 50% on Planning and design and "I got overrun with switching questions ... most w/ diagrams then have to explain what is wrong or what is/isnt possible" It seems very likely that's the main topic. You came close indeed, so you'll have a good chance of passing it next time.

opers13

I just failed the 640-801 exam last saturday. 85% of the questions were on switching. I had only one sim on switching.....I thought it was somewhat "easy"....but i ran out of time. I spent around 24 minutes on 2 questions. Won't make the same mistake again this Saturday.

opers13

Don_PA

What is the passing scores for these CCNA 2 exam option???

Also How many sim questions on each of these:, one or two

1. 640-811 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices

2. 640-821 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Technologies

I know they cost about $100 each, but I thought it might be an easier 2 exam option because the have a lower minimum pass as opposed to the 640-801 exam of 849 pass rate.

milliamp

Passing score on the 640-801 is 849 of 1000.

The other 2 exams are "about 85%"

So it looks like all 3 exams require an 85% to pass.

source is cramsession

johnnynodough

all three are 849 to pass.

milliamp

opers13 wrote:

I just failed the 640-801 exam last saturday. 85% of the questions were on switching. I had only one sim on switching.....I thought it was somewhat "easy"....but i ran out of time. I spent around 24 minutes on 2 questions. Won't make the same mistake again this Saturday.
opers13

Saturday?

I wish my test center let me take tests on Saturdays.
I have been having to burn 2 hours of sick time per exam.

Hi jsond

Sorry to hear the news.... but since you have an idea of the format and main topics, I am sure you will be able to make it the next time. Only one advice.... please do not delay it. Since the topics are fresh in your mind you will just need to put in a bit more effort.... basically just the final touches. As you would have noticed subnetting is partially there in almost all the question. VLSM is another time consuming topic. Focus a lot on developing techniques to cut down the time taken to solve these questions.

Good luck jsond

jsond

SV wrote:

Hi jsond

Sorry to hear the news.... but since you have an idea of the format and main topics, I am sure you will be able to make it the next time. Only one advice.... please do not delay it. Since the topics are fresh in your mind you will just need to put in a bit more effort.... basically just the final touches. As you would have noticed subnetting is partially there in almost all the question. VLSM is another time consuming topic. Focus a lot on developing techniques to cut down the time taken to solve these questions.

Good luck jsond

Thanks SV. I think I am gonna shoot for 3 weeks. I want to take it soon but I really need to get a more in-depth understanding about my weak points before trying. I guess I thought the stuff I was strongest at (subnetting/labs/ios commands) would be such a big part of the exam that I would be ok if I was a bit weak in a few other ares. Don't get me wrong I studied hard on all topics but always felt the switching/stp/vlan specifics were the hardest for me to get an in-depth understanding of. Well it turned out to be my downfall as there was only one lab, an easy one. Not too much on subnetting and a whole lotta switching topics.

I will say I still think that these exams should give you a few more minutes. I understand that they want to make sure you know this stuff inside and out and want to challenge you to prove it. But 60 minutes on 40 questions is tough. And even though the lab wasnt that hard you still have to spend a minimum of 7-8 minutes on it. Sure there were several that I wa able to get in under 30 seconds. But so many that you have to spend some time on. I mean I had answered 12 questions at the halfway point. Yes one of them was the only sim but still that aspect of the exam is going to have me very worried the next time regardless of how much I feel I know all the concepts. But time to climb that mountain again starting today.

opers13

milliamp wrote:

opers13 wrote:

I just failed the 640-801 exam last saturday. 85% of the questions were on switching. I had only one sim on switching.....I thought it was somewhat "easy"....but i ran out of time. I spent around 24 minutes on 2 questions. Won't make the same mistake again this Saturday.
opers13

Saturday?

I wish my test center let me take tests on Saturdays.
I have been having to burn 2 hours of sick time per exam.

test center I go to opens Saturday and Sundays! Awesome!

jsond

update in 1st post..finally passed.

Ten9t6

Congrats on the pass.

Kenny

DarklyWise

jsond wrote:

update in 1st post..finally passed.

Congrats on the pass - what did you use to study?

Is it worthwhile getting a couple of 2501s and setting them up or would lab sim s/w suffice?

Thanks

jsond

DarklyWise wrote:

jsond wrote:

update in 1st post..finally passed.

Congrats on the pass - what did you use to study?

Is it worthwhile getting a couple of 2501s and setting them up or would lab sim s/w suffice?

Thanks

Thanks! I used the cisco press icnd book and the Mcgraw Hill CCNA study guide. Also used the Boson practice tests. I think the lab sims would be sufficient just make sure you have good ones that cover all the topics you need to know about. The cisco press book did not have great labs, imo but the mcgraw hill cd had some very good labs that covered just about everything. Not to mention a cert cam index where the guy logs into the router and performs various commands with audio so you can hear what he is explaining. If it is not too expensive for you then getting real hardware is probably the best way to go. But as long as you have lab sim's that cover all the topics you need, I think it would suffice.

mikeyoung

Congratulations! Way to hang in there!