Failed 640-816

Scored a 818. Missed passing by 7 points. Can't believe the difference in difficulty on the 822 and the 816. So many toplogy scenarios and so little time. My weakest section was NAT/ ACL and WAN technologies. I am very upset at this point. I guess my next step is to get another book and study again for the next 4 days until I can take this test again.

Shitty thing is I was set to take this test 2 weeks ago but had an emergency and missed it. Vue didn't give me any credit so now I've spent $250 soon to be $375 on just 640-816

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Majorly Bummed out

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dynamik

Look on the bright side, third time's a charm. It's a scientific fact that you cannot fail it again.

Seriously though, now you know what to expect. Brush up on your weak areas, and take it down.

It's funny. I like to schedule my exams about a month out, so I have a deadline to work towards. Well last summer, I absentmindedly scheduled 294 for the beginning of July. Well, I have an out-of-state family reunion I attend over the 4th every year, and I completely forgot about my exam. Once I got back, I realized that the date was probably coming up soon, and I decided to push it back a bit. Whoops. Too late. Yea, it's $125 down, but just think about how much dough you'll be raking in when you get that CCIE. It sucks now, but it's not the end of the world. Don't beat yourself up over it (plus, it sounds like you had a legitimate reason to miss it; you weren't just being stupid like me).

aragoen_celtdra

gonzoflick wrote:

Scored a 818. Missed passing by 7 points. Can't believe the difference in difficulty on the 822 and the 816. So many toplogy scenarios and so little time. My weakest section was NAT/ ACL and WAN technologies. I am very upset at this point. I guess my next step is to get another book and study again for the next 4 days until I can take this test again.

Shitty thing is I was set to take this test 2 weeks ago but had an emergency and missed it. Vue didn't give me any credit so now I've spent $250 soon to be $375 on just 640-816

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Majorly Bummed out

So close, man! Keep your head up. We all must fall sometimes. But your true character will show when you get back up in the saddle. Keep going, man! Don't let this deter you, in fact, let this be your motivation.

To put things in perspective, eventhough this test is an entry level, the amount of work that you need to put in is certainly not. Imagine, you have to learn a whole breadth of knowledge in one sitting. The topics are so general that you have to stretch your brain and memory so far and deep. It's not like learning single technology or two and get drilled on it over and over. You get maybe a question about the OSI layers and all of a sudden the next question jumps to something else like setting up a DHCP on an SDM, and then another on maybe interpreting the output of a "show ip route" command. You spend a whole week learning about one topic and all you get is one or two questions from that topic. So don't feel to bummed. It is a difficult test.

But you'll get it eventually. Don't think about the money you're losing. Think about the reward you'll get in the end. Keep going, bro!

Vito_Corleone

Sucks, man. Do you think 4 days of studying will do it? Not criticizing, I'm honestly curious.

Did you pass the 822 in the first shot? I really hope that the 816 is THAT much harder. I plan on taking it in the next couple weeks.

gonzoflick

I scored 948 on 822 and 818 on the 816. Yea it was significantly harder. Don't expect lots of "What key combination moves the courser to beginning of line" questions. I probably will take a few days off.. then get back at it. I'm sort of in a crunch here because I'm looking for a job and want to be able to put that on the resume...to get past the dreaded HR "filters".

Vito_Corleone

gonzoflick wrote:

I scored 948 on 822 and 818 on the 816. Yea it was significantly harder. Don't expect lots of "What key combination moves the courser to beginning of line" questions. I probably will take a few days off.. then get back at it. I'm sort of in a crunch here because I'm looking for a job and want to be able to put that on the resume...to get past the dreaded HR "filters".

WOW! I didn't score that well on my 822, lol. I guess I'll really have to study hard for this one.

I hear ya about the resume, it's not like anyone cares about the CCENT (yet).

Glynixx

gonzoflick wrote:

I scored 948 on 822 and 818 on the 816. Yea it was significantly harder. Don't expect lots of "What key combination moves the courser to beginning of line" questions. I probably will take a few days off.. then get back at it. I'm sort of in a crunch here because I'm looking for a job and want to be able to put that on the resume...to get past the dreaded HR "filters".

Hi Gonzo. Grats on the 948 and I'm sure you will do well on the next 816. You heart and attitude are in the right place. As far as the HR peeps, make sure you state that you are Cisco Certified and put down that you are going for your CCNA. This way, if they are using HR software you will still get the hit on the CCNA search (tricky but true). The key is to get them on the phone or in person so you can tell them what you know and maybe even get a functional test.

Trust me on this. I interviewed over 40 people before I had 2 that knew what they were doing. One of the other candidates who knew what he was doing never used the CLI before and other asked me how he could move his career INTO the networking field. I do not think that the market is saturated but you certainly need to be able to do what you state. I've been wanting to get certified for quite a few years but was always side tracked by projects, reorgs and now kids lol. I am getting my tail in gear and trying to bang out the CCNA before the end of the year (did I mention kids lol).

Good luck and we will all be pulling for ya!

G.

StrikeZone

I was also shocked on how much more difficult 816 was. I scored 961 on 822 and 796 on 816. Time was a big factor for me on 816.

127.0.0.1

The ICND 2 exam will obviously be much harder than the ICND1/CCENT exam! The ICND 1 exam is just about the basics of networking and it goes into some of the routing protocols, but not really in depth.

ICND 2 is all about routing protocols, VLSM, subnetting, IPv6, Frame Relay, DHCP, ACLs NAT, and all the other concepts you will see on the blueprint. So it's meant to be harder, you can't be surprised. With the 55 to 60 questions you can expect Cisco to test you on all the different concepts you learned, and as a CCNA you should have that knowledge too.

I plan on taking the ICND 2 in about 2-3 months and getting my CCNA. I will definitely post here once I pass.

jarodm

I know exactly how you feel!!! I actually just took it yesterday as well, and ALSO got an 818, while my weakest section was NAT/ACL. I know I was strong with the ACL questions for the most part but not the NAT questions. So close! Just give it another week of studying and you'll have it no problem.

cscopa

I too failed the ICND2. 818 here as well. Seems like we all have the same weakness on this exam as my worst part was the NAT/ACL also. I found that the exam was harder with less time to complete. I am going to brush up on the areas that I was weak in and possibly re-take in 2 weeks. I don't want to push it and do it in 1 week as I want to be fully comfortable with the clock in the corner ticking down on me. My prediction for my re-take: 916.

Wish me luck....

And, good luck to everyone here as well....

Glynixx

Good luck to both of you!

Gonzo, did you get a chance to take the test yet?

Hope all is well!

127.0.0.1

It surprises me that 4 people in here got the same score -- 818! I wonder how that happened.

remyforbes777

I would advise you all to get the CBT nuggets for the NAT and ACL sections. It is invaluable. I think that is one of the reasons I took the 1 test approach. 1/2 as many questions haha. Why let them drill you on 50-60 basic questions and then 50-60 hard questions when you can get half that. Yes I had to study both books and it took longer but it paid off. I passed last week with 881.

nel

Keep the hard work up man! Dont let it get you down.

How long have you been studying for this?

ive just finished my "first read" of the icnd2 book and there is a big jump in knowledge between the 2.

At first for a newbie (like me 2 ) i would say some stuff is pretty overwhelming but the thing i have found is that there's so much practical to be done, its actually great to be given a challenge like this. I am stronger with practical stuff than theoretical and practising the configs on real equipment really makes me understand the concept of the topic, how it works and how to configure it a whole lot easier. If i were you i would get some labs on the NAT/ACL q's

darkerosxx

Cisco has a free second exam promotion right now for you guys that failed...

http://vue.com/cisco/comeback/

mikej412

darkerosxx wrote:

http://vue.com/cisco/comeback/

That's the one if you had a Cisco Certification and it expired -- Cisco wants you back.

Use the SecondChance if you take a Cisco Exam now and fail.

aragoen_celtdra wrote:

So I finally called PearsonVue to find out what the dealio. As it turns out, the "comeback" promotion is indeed targeted towards those who have let their certification lapse.

But don't fret my little bebes, the nice lady on the other line did mention that there is also a "Second Chance" promotion for those taking any Cisco test the first time. She didn't know the actual web page to direct me to but doing a little reverse-engineering (or not) of the http:// vue.com/cisco/comeback page being thrown around in the last few posts, I was able to get to http://vue.com/cisco/secondchance/ and there it was.

darkerosxx

Hah, can't believe they did two promotions that are the same, just different wording. Thanks for pointing that out.

mamono

Yeah, it does sound very weird to have four people all get the same score...

I've been very hesitant about taking the ICND2 640-816 exam myself. 3 months and still studying for it... I know all the concepts, but I can't spell out all the commands in my head. Hopefully soon, I will tackle it. With SecondChance, I'm considering finishing prep in a week and a half, sit down, take the exam, and see where I stand. That way, I know where to focus. I think I agree with everyone else that ACL/NAT's are a common weak area.

Paul Boz

Access control lists and NAT are traditionally the hardest subjects for people to wrap their heads around. I think that it is because people often don't study them enough. They require extra attention given their complexity but are completely worth spending that extra time on because NAT and ACLs are fundamental subjects in networking.

Practice using access control lists and NAT. It is the only way you can be competent with them. The lightbulb went off for me after practicing and implementing them in various ways both at work and in my home lab.