Need help For CCDA!!!

manojkumar_np

Dear All,

I attened CCDA exam three times but failed.I has studied

CCDA Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition
By A. Anthony Bruno - CCIE No. 2738, Jacqueline Kim.

But i am searched those question in this book. But some of the question are not able to find.Pls give me a guide lines to pass CCDA.

I am going to take CCDA again on next week.(Within dec,2005).

Advance Thanks for ur valuable suggestions....

thx & regards,
MK

Webmaster

I don't remember the title from the top of my head, but there's another Cisco network design book that works well if combined with the CCDA study guide.

Are you using a good set of practice questions?

Ten9t6

When I took it....(a long time ago....so, i am not sure how much it will help now...) I used "Top Down Network Design" along with the CCDA study guide. This was one of the harder Cisco tests that I had taken. I would also suggest, pulling down the blueprint and start hitting the whitepapers in those areas.....

Kenny

mostecryder

Does anyone know if there is going to be a simulation question in the CCDA or is it all going to be concepts? I have my CCNA and it seems to be more on the implementation part of a network.

mikej412

Ten9t6 wrote:

I used "Top Down Network Design" along with the CCDA study guide. This was one of the harder Cisco tests that I had taken.

Thanks for that nugget Kenny!

I'm glad I saw your post -- I got the 2nd Edition of Top Down Network Design and used it as the tie-breaker when the Self-Study Guide and Exam Cert Guide were at odds and as a second opinion when one of the 2 Cisco Press CCDA books didn't cover something that the other did.

Top Down Network Design is an excellent book and reading it along with the 2 CCDA books is probably what allowed me to pass the CCDA test on the first try.

I felt very confident going into the test, and was very happy when I crawled out with my passing score. Tough test.

texican

Congrats on the pass!

I used the CCDA Self Study guide from Cisco Press... think it was different than the exam certification guide.... plus the CCDA/CCDP flashcard book. Kinda neglected studying the details for business/technical goals/req's which pretty much torpedoed my first shot at the exam. Seemed like I had 4 or 5 four-part questions on those.... doh!

mikej412

I didn't have a problem with the touchy-feelie business/technical requirements/contraints/goals -- it was the unexpected IP Telephony questions. I had 2 or 3 testlets, and it was at a level I wouldn't even have expected on the ARCH test. And I only remember 1 IP Telephony testlet on ARCH and I think it might have been an ungraded question since I think it was identical to one I had on DESGN.

I've gotten the new book Campus Network Design Fundamentals by Teare & Paquet. I'm starting on the CCSP so I've only taken time to page through it, but I like what I've seen. Its part of the Fundamentals series and probably isn't detailed enough for the design certifications, but it may be a good first read for someone considering the design certifications.

Alien

Congrats mikej412. Being here on christmass day shows your dedication . Those are a nice bunch of certs you got there. Pure crystal clear Cisco.
How did you find the difficulty of the DESGN exam compared to CCNA?
Is it true that the DESGN Self-Study guide by Diane Teare is sufficient as a sole companion for this exam?

Happy celebrations. Cheers.

mikej412

Thanks. For me it was Christmas Saturday when I got to bring home the barn cat that had tangled with the coyote from the vets. But true dedication was taking the ARCH test after taking the cat into the vet clinic. Running Bear is doing as well as can be expected and I'm going to be playing personal kitty nurse for the next 2 weeks -- hopefully I'll be able to sneak out for an occasional CCSP exam.

The Teare book was the best book of the CCDA study material. It seemed that the Teare book and Top Down Network Design agreed most of the time. But it probably was going through the Exam Cert Guide, getting confused by it, and then going back to the Teare book that helped me learn the stuff. And then finding the Top Down Network Design book and deciding that Teare was right most of the time.

Other than documenting the network, it was mostly hand off fluffy business stuff and technical writing/technical interviewing stuff. That's what makes this a hard test for a techie type person. I found the CCNP tests easier. ARCH was still mostly hands off, but since it built on DESGN and came back to some good technical stuff, it was an okay test.

If I had to recommend only one book for the CCDA, it would be the Teare book. It possibly could be enough, but I'm not sure since I used all the Cisco Press CCDA stuff and Top Down Network Design. And having a CCNP isn't required, but it sure helped actually knowing how to do the stuff that was just talked about in DESGN.

texican

With regards to the CCNA exam, I think the CCDA exam was more difficult, probably because it's a very different kind of test, and I wasn't prepared for that. You can get by on CCNA a lot better with rote memorization, whereas the DESGN exam is more of an "application" exam, applying the concepts and using Cisco's opinion of what works best in a situation. I don't recall the telephony questions, but then I work at a phone company and have had some exposure to SIP and VoIP. It's always nice to be able to use that to your advantage on these exams.

Big ditto on the Teare book. It's thick, but definately a must have for this exam.

Ten9t6

mikej412,

congrats on the test pass. I am gladd the book helped.


And to the others asking.....Yes, I thought the CCDA was quite a bit harder than the NA. And the last test for the DP will put a foot right in your butt if your not ready. I finished it with (if I remember correctly) 2 minutes left.

Kenny

mostecryder

In my opion, the DA is a little bit tougher than the NA. I used the Cisco Self Study Guide and the Top Down Network Design books to study for it. Just read and understand those two books and you'll be set.