Finally passed ICND2!

First attempt was 801/811.

Second attempt 930/811.

I spent a month studying for the resit because of how difficult it was the first time. I found the Offical Cert Guide to be the most informative resource, it doesn't have 100% coverage of whats in the exam but its very close. I also used Todd Lammle's book, Kevin Wallance's videos, the Boson practice exams and Cisco's documentation. All my labbing was done on physical equipment / GNS3.

If you're like me and don't have any work expierence, it's definitley a good idea to study from as many authors/instructors as you have time for. It really helps to have a few different perspectives on the materials. Good luck if you're still working on this and thanks for all the help!

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PCTechLinc

Awesome job with the pass on the second attempt, and getting your CCNA! How long did you spend studying after the first attempt?

Have you decided what to pursue next?

WastedHat

Thanks! I spent a month which was overkill but I really wanted a comfortable pass, I found it way too hard the first time.

Got my eye on MCSA server 2012 next. How do you find Micorsoft certs compared to Cisco?

Dakinggamer87

Congrats!!

PCTechLinc

WastedHat wrote: »

Thanks! I spent a month which was overkill but I really wanted a comfortable pass, I found it way too hard the first time.

Got my eye on MCSA server 2012 next. How do you find Micorsoft certs compared to Cisco?

Keep in mind that I am comparing older exams. I'm not sure how the new ones are, BUT if they are similar to what I experienced:

Cisco:
ICND1 = Two weeks of study, pass first try (almost 100%)
ICND2 = Two weeks of study, pass first try (almost failed)
CCNA Security = About 3 months of study, pass first try (very high score)

Microsoft (Server 2008 ):
70-640 = One month of study, failed first time. Additional month of study, pass with a fairly decent score.
70-642 = 7 months of studying and failing three times, finally passed 4th attempt
70-646 = One month of studying, pass first try (exact score needed to pass)

So in MY experience, the M$ exams were MUCH more difficult. From what I've read in other posts on this forum, a lot of people share my thoughts.

jws86

Congrats on the pass!

Fulcrum45

Congrats on the pass!

Congrats!!!

Congrats!

nice congrats!

Congrats!

Good to hear you got it.

I have been studying hard for ICND2 since my ICND1 pass in January.

I am using the official cert guide, kevin wallace vids, older chris bryant vids, older cbt nuggets vids.

I have though about eventually getting Todd Lammle's book and in addition which I didn't use on ICND1.

Definitely gonna use the new cbt nuggets vids soon as Jeremy finished that up recently. I gave myself a target date of the middle of the year but on the pace of work I'm putting in I think I can do it much sooner.

I also finally got some real gear. 2-1841, 1-3750, 1-2960, 1-2950 and also have one 2821 on the way.

WastedHat

wseyller wrote: »

Good to hear you got it.

I have been studying hard for ICND2 since my ICND1 pass in January.

I am using the official cert guide, kevin wallace vids, older chris bryant vids, older cbt nuggets vids.

I have though about eventually getting Todd Lammle's book and in addition which I didn't use on ICND1.

Definitely gonna use the new cbt nuggets vids soon as Jeremy finished that up recently. I gave myself a target date of the middle of the year but on the pace of work I'm putting in I think I can do it much sooner.

I also finally got some real gear. 2-1841, 1-3750, 1-2960, 1-2950 and also have one 2821 on the way.

I got Todd Lammles book to study for my resit, I was surprised at the lack of detail but it's probably because I was so used to Odom. One area Lammle goes into more detail is packet types and neighbour states for EIGRP, OSPF, HSRP and IPv6. Not all of it is necessary for ICND2, for example he also describes all the LSA types. I found his practice questions and flash cards to be really useful.

I would recommend it actually, the first time I sat ICND2 I read the OCG twice and made sure I understood everything, labbed everything to the point I knew all the commands and used Kevin Wallance's videos. I passed all my Pearson practice exams and two Boson exams first time so I was really confident, when I failed it was close on paper but I really struggled on the exam. I think if I had used OCG + Lammles book to prepare I would have passed first time. It's a walk in the park to read if you're used to Odoms book. And his practice questions/flashcards really helped me get used to the Cisco's vague questions which I thought were the hardest.

HTH.