CCNA Study Group

Jon_Cisco

I love threads like this. It's a nice break from studying but keeps you motivated!

I just added an AS2511RJ access server to my rack to make life easier.

So far I have:
AS2511RJ
Cisco 2650 router
Cisco 2611xm router
2 - Cisco Catalyst 2950 switches
I plan to add another router and layer 3 switch the next couple months.

My goal is to duplicate most of what I am doing in packet tracer for class on the real hardware. I decided to go with real equipment because I don't work with cisco equipment in my current profession. I needed some idea of how interfaces really worked. Most of my learning I do in packet tracer first and I will play with the new GNS3 once it is released.

P.S. only go with kits if you are in a hurry. Buying one router and switch will get you started and you will have more fun browsing ebay.

shyguyIT

Thanks Agent47 starting lab portion of my studies today using the the labs from Odom's book and using packet tracer.

santaowns

Count me in, I want to get my CCNA by summer, I took the CCENT last June and failed and I have been scared of it since then. Back then I read Todd Lammle's book twice, had a lab with 3 switches and 3 routers and messed around in packet tracer as well. I think I failed because I did not do to well on the lab sims as I shortcut to eliminate a few answers then took a best guess... I thought I was going to run out of time but ended up having plenty.

Alhaji265

Update:

Reviewed key topic of Ch. 6 on Odom ICND1 book on Building Ethernet LANs with Switches on Sat. & Sun. Right now, setting my lab up to do some hands-on work.

Nightflier101BL

Update:

This evening, working on subnetting with Jeremy Cioara from CBT Nuggets - CCENT videos number 18,19,20

Robert

mykeee

Anyone purchase the Boson prep exams? I took an old ICND1 (640-822) prep exam and scored a 700/1000 (fail) and was wondering if I should purchase the new prep exam? I purchased the old exam a year back but never got around to actually taking the cert. I scheduled myself to take the ICND1 (100-101) next week and I felt prepared until I realized I had purchased this prep exam software a year back and tried taking it, and failed. From what I gather the 100-101 is more difficult than the 640-822, but some of the material I've studied for the 100-101 wasn't on the 640-822 and there were things on the 640-822 I didn't study for. Sorry for the rant, I got ~10 days and I'm nervous!

Agent47

Hi Wgroom, Im going to have to look up each and every one of those acronyms to understand what you just said lol. Kind of reminds me of that scene in rush hour where Lee says: “Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth” and then Carter goes “Don’t nobody understand the words coming out of your mouth” hahahaha. You’re making great progress and considering that you have real live equipment makes all the difference! You’ll be ready by April.


Your welcome Zxbane! Want to make sure I touch base with everyone, see how it’s goin.


Welcome Sixtyten! What are your timeline goals to learn the topics in ICND 2? How will you approach? Have thought of a date yet?


Ok Staunchy, almost to the home stretch! Sounds like a plan to do the labs afterwards so that you can completely focus on just that. How are you feeling about your progress so far?


Jon_Cisco, Cool! That’s the goal, wanna keep you all motivated! Thanks for your advice on the kits. Someone was actually going to get me one but I declined (I know, I know) because I wanted to really learn about what I was getting and build piece by piece eventually. I’m one of those DIY’ers hah. How long did it take for you to grasp what you needed to build your own lab?


You’re welcome Shyguy, that sounds good, Im trying to get my head around PT as most people seem to prefer it. Also have the old version of the Wendell Odom's simulator. Good luck!


Santaowns Welcome!! Time to get back into the game. Looks like you’re setting the pace to grasp the concepts which is good! Although Cisco exams are known to be somewhat challenging they are all doable (although some take more time than others). It’s just about not getting too overwhelmed with the resources you’ll need to pass and retaining info along the way. Remember to stop by and let us know how you’re doing!


Alhaji & Nightflier sounds good!


Welcome Mykeee, hopefully someone could answer your question soon in regards to this. Considering that you have 10 days and it seems like you want (or need) more lab prep better to get something that's already setup and easy to follow, If I were in your situation I’d probably do it due to the time constraint.

As for me, finished up chapter 1 in Lammle’s book along with all of the written labs. Plan to skim over the ch1 summary again and complete ch 2 & accompanying labs tomorrow! Goal is to finish ICND1 portion in January and start ICND2 in February!


Thank you all for posting your updates! Much appreciated!

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. ~Emelia Earhart

santaowns

Mykeee, I used the Cisco practice exams and the questions are spot on to the format what you will see on exam

Magic Johnson

mykeee wrote: »

Anyone purchase the Boson prep exams? I took an old ICND1 (640-822) prep exam and scored a 700/1000 (fail) and was wondering if I should purchase the new prep exam? I purchased the old exam a year back but never got around to actually taking the cert. I scheduled myself to take the ICND1 (100-101) next week and I felt prepared until I realized I had purchased this prep exam software a year back and tried taking it, and failed. From what I gather the 100-101 is more difficult than the 640-822, but some of the material I've studied for the 100-101 wasn't on the 640-822 and there were things on the 640-822 I didn't study for. Sorry for the rant, I got ~10 days and I'm nervous!

I have them, came along with the netsim 9.0 for a few extra quid so thought why not. However I also purchased the extra practice ones that came heavily discounted with the CISCO Press book too, so now I've got them and the Boson to do. Just revising some more before I start the practice testing. Revising ACLs again today, those along with NAT are the toughies for me.

Agent47

Hmm was talking to someone today who had just passed thier CCENT and planned to skip onto security. Didn't even realize that we could do that but I guess that change was recent (the pre-req requirements). Now I think that's exactly what i'll do. Brush up on the ccna topics then go for the 640-554 exam. Hmmmm.

Associate-Level Certifications Exam Level Logic Tool

wgroom

CUCM - Cisco Unified Contact Manager, Call Manager
CUC - Cisco Unity Connectin, voicemail server
UCCX - Unified Contact Center Express, call center server
CUPS - Cisco Unified Presence Server, sort of an IM server
PSTN - Public Service Telephone Network such as AT&T and the Baby Bells

Sorry for any confusion!

jason32641

That would be me that you spoke with earlier today.. I recently found out about that option through one of my co-workers and I was going to do the same thing you were originally planning to do until I found out about the other route of jumping straight to CCNA Security after passing CCENT. I'm planning on taking the 640-554 exam within the next couple of months and possibly CCNP security towards the end of the summer.

Jon_Cisco

Well I spent the day reviewing Netacad Networking I.
Unfortunately I had different instructors for Net I and Net II. One used discovery and the other used exploration.

So I now understand why this second half of the semester was a lot harder. Exploration is more current and much more interactive. At least my instructor confirmed that for III and IV we will be in the Exploration course and hopefully everything will flow better.

Happy New Years everyone!

Technoracer

I just finished the exploration courses, and they are quite challenging.. Just the way I like it! But because of the current test I have to go over the bridging material from Cisco Netacad to catch up to the current topics. Instead of RIP now they test on multi-area OSPF.. They also added more IPv6, including OSPFv3, ether channel, and IOS 15...

Xyro

Agent47 wrote: »

Hi Xyro!

As for me,
Thought I would get a head start and got through a chapter today. Putting what I need to memorize on my whiteboard (ports, binary, terms etc). Copied the end of chapter questions to a word doc to print out (already printed out each chapter summary). Will try to really get through it next week. Got through 30 UDEMY vids (before posting this thread) but I'll probably go through it again to really try and retain.

Thanks everyone for stopping by! It's really motivating to see everyone coming through and sharing their experience.

Thank you very much for the attentive response. I am glad to see that you are progressing in your studies and wish you the best of success in your endeavor. I was studying for ICND1 in late Spring with plans to then take both the ICND1 and ICND2 before the cut-off date; however, because of school and a family tragedy I was not able to do so. I will now have to study for the new exams.

As for where I currently am: I am in the process of deciding whether to take ICND1 and then the ICND2 or to just go ahead and take CCNAX. I lean more toward the latter option for various reasons. Either way, my end goal is still the same - to obtain the CCNA. My R&S OCG Library just recently arrived in the mail and I have not begun studies yet. I am still only in the formation stage of gathering my materials for study.

I had purchased Boson's NetSim & ExSim for the prior exams but obviously those are no longer viable so will have to be purchased again. I was also considering subscribing to TrainSignal (apparently now known as Pluralsight) but I see there have been some changes to the site, so I will have to take a look at this before deciding. As I stated, I am only in the early stages of all of this. That is why I did not have much to initially add to this thread. It is a great thread though and as I become more formed in my goals I will likely be posting updates here.

Alhaji265

I managed to install a IOS on my 2610 Router today, after being shelved for a couple of months. Also, read for a little of an hour on Ethernet Switch (Ch. 6).

Hey Agent, what's your update?

CoolAsAFan

Awesome thread! I got my CCENT on 12/22 and am currently half way through the CBT Nugget series on 200-101. So far, everything has been surprisingly easy for me to pick up, which is awesome because I was kind of intimidated going in.

I can't remember who posted about using a white board, but I totally agree with that guy! I have been using one since I started CCENT and it has helped dramatically when learning commands. You can even buy a 4x8' sheet of MELAMINE (what they are made from) at most hardware stores if anyone is interested.

sixtyten

Agent47 wrote: »

Welcome Sixtyten! What are your timeline goals to learn the topics in ICND 2? How will you approach? Have thought of a date yet?

I just restarted my studies today. I study with a mix of packet tracer, GNS3, CBT Nuggets, Bryant Advantage, the Odom ICND2 book, Boson Tests (I have the old ICND2 one, may upgrade but not sure), and physical hardware. In fact, I ordered some memory for my two 2500s to get them upgraded to practice with actual hardware. I know its old but I like practicing remotely on them when I'm away from home. I plan on using a Raspberry pi on a DMZ port on my home router to telnet over to them after I'm connected to the Raspberry Pi via SSH. I also have two 2950 switches.

I should have a test date planned out by the end of next week. I want to study for a week and get and idea of where I'm at to determine the test date. I'm hoping for the end of February but I'll see. If not it will be no later than March.

Agent47

Hi everyone, welcome Jason glad you joined. It was good chatting and I hope this thread and website helps you. Alot of good people and resources on here. I have a question for you but will ask in my next update. Also welcome CoolAsAFan! Unfortunately I do not have any updates as of yet. Dealt with backing up and moving a clients website to a new server so getting everything back up and running took most of my time yesterday. Also have a meeting tomorrow so I'm preparing for that. Will try to get back to your messages this weekend. Thanks.

Technoracer

I found a nice Android App for the 200-120 exam, by certification2go. It costs a couple bucks for the full version, but it is pretty nice to practice on the go.

A10

Nice idea of this thread. I'm gonna join this train to the top.

My plan is to go through all the CBT nuggets first. Then through the books.
I have never dealt with cisco or this kind of stuff before.
Agent47 would I need real routers and what models are best for ccna and are the
videos from Chris Bryant better than the nuggets series.

Thanks
A10

mikebou

Hi all,

My name is Michael. I work full time and have to squeeze study in where I can. I have decided that enough is enough and that after 2 years of having the material I am going to knuckle down and get my CCNA in the next 6 months.

I have the latest CCNA boot camp with Chris Bryant, Cisco Press Routing and Switching guide by Wendell Odom, PT, GNS3 (now a paid member for early release next month), NetSimK (free). I also got "101 Labs for the CCNA Exam" from Amazon for $5 australian. It's a little dated but the author, Paul Browning, is still listing it as the current release. I have found it fun to work through the labs. It really puts things together.

I will log in every day to report my progress.

To date I have finished a single view of the icnd1 videos on the boot camp. I have read the same material from Chris's book and I am currently starting chapter 9 of the material from the Cisco press book for icnd1. And as I said I am doing the labs from the 101 Labs book.

I have one of the worst memories and at times wonder if I should be a techy because of it. But I find that practice, practice and more practice seems to hammer it down. I have read some material 2 or even 3 times and now some of it is starting to stick and gain context. I have learnt that rushing to learn is counter productive. Over learning a topic to a degree is incredibly useful as it gives me a wider view of the topic and I get greater perspective and context. But that takes time and patience with myself.

I hope this encourages others who may be struggling and having doubts. Don't give up.

Staunchy

Update:

Oke so I have not managed to get as far as I wanted the last 3 days I have only finished reading chapter 13 last night and the CBT Nuggets videos Frame Relay: Understanding Frame Relay part 1 and 2 today and planning to finish reading chapter 14 implementing frame relay tonight and hopefully CBT Nuggets video too....

I must say frame relay concepts are a bit tricky. have any of you done frame relay so far and how did you find it?

Magic Johnson

mikebou wrote: »

I have one of the worst memories and at times wonder if I should be a techy because of it. But I find that practice, practice and more practice seems to hammer it down. I have read some material 2 or even 3 times and now some of it is starting to stick and gain context. I have learnt that rushing to learn is counter productive. Over learning a topic to a degree is incredibly useful as it gives me a wider view of the topic and I get greater perspective and context. But that takes time and patience with myself.

I hope this encourages others who may be struggling and having doubts. Don't give up.

I do too. That's why I struggled with college, as it was more of a memorisation game as opposed to actually understanding and implementing (in the UK at least).

I am not attempting to memorise though, even though Odom suggests it in some places on his book I am trying to understand, make connections through practice and describing things to myself as if I were a student rather than re-reading. I didn't sit down and memorise the CIDR chart, or commands, or anything really, I just can't do it that way and fair play to you if you can.

The way I remember is by doing. That's the best advice I can give if you have a dodge memory like me.

mikebou

Hi Magic,

Yep, I learn by doing. I still do some rote memorisation of things like well known ports, cable types, speed and distances etc. I find that the practice questions include these details to brush up on. But my 'practice and more practice' is building a network, say frame-relay and tearing it down again and then re-building it.

Talking about frame-relay. Staunchy, you were asking about how hard is frame-relay. It sounds messy at first but there is a logic to setting it up (as with any routing protocol). As I said to Magic above, the only way I get my head around any routing protocol is practice, practice practice. Grab a simulator (hardware if you have it, two routers and you can setup a frame-relay link) and build the network, test that it works, tear it down to build it again. One afternoon I did this 5 or 6 times. Once it becomes second nature on setting it up, you begin to see why things happen the way they do. I did all my practice in Packet Tracer. There are plenty of articles on how to setup the frame-relay switch. Once this is done you can build your frame-relay network by adding routers to the mix.

wgroom

There are some good tips happening here. Practice really helps the processes sink in. And if you can understand the process, you are well on your way to understanding the topic, and how to implement it. This leads to better troubleshooting and planning processes. A lab, either virtual or physical, really helps in getting hands on time with the theories.

Staunchy

mikebou wrote: »

Talking about frame-relay. Staunchy, you were asking about how hard is frame-relay. It sounds messy at first but there is a logic to setting it up (as with any routing protocol). As I said to Magic above, the only way I get my head around any routing protocol is practice, practice practice. Grab a simulator (hardware if you have it, two routers and you can setup a frame-relay link) and build the network, test that it works, tear it down to build it again. One afternoon I did this 5 or 6 times. Once it becomes second nature on setting it up, you begin to see why things happen the way they do. I did all my practice in Packet Tracer. There are plenty of articles on how to setup the frame-relay switch. Once this is done you can build your frame-relay network by adding routers to the mix.

Hi Mikebou,

Thanks I managed to finish reading "implementing frame-relay" and also watch the videos, I think I understand how frame-relay works but will be doing some practicing today with GNS3 to see if I can set it up.

Hope and pray I pass the ICND2 exam 1st time around...

ande0255

Is there any kind of actual collaboration space for this yet? If not, I can see about settings up meetings through my work place, as this is just a fantastic idea.

I have a coworker or two who might be interested, and I'm pretty sure I could set up a meeting weekdays @ around 6pm. Phone conferenced, and screen sharing via webex. Let me know your interest level, and I'll gauge my ambition level to make it happen

Jon_Cisco

My study is going slow and steady.
I have started redoing all of the packet tracers from the Netacad I and II. This is really helping bring back into focus everything I was learning the last 4 months. Surprisingly most of it still makes sense. I want to spend the next 3 weeks really completing the first two modules so I am well prepared for the next class. Still working on my home lab as I hope to use it extensively through classes III and IV.This weeks goal is to come up with a wiring scheme that works for labbing so I don't need to play with cables much.

ande0255 I don't think I will be able to participate. My schedule is all over the place. I do like the tips and feedback this is generating.

santaowns

I would be down for the webex but at what time zone?? I can record them and post on my website to share.