ADvise on CCNA

kreyzie · July 2009

Hi all cisco-er! I am planning for CCNA too but there are few Q's i would like to ask.

I have few copies of self paced and videos from cbt for CCNA. Will this work for someone like me wihtout any Cisco product knowledge ? I dont even touch a cisco router before.

Do i need any experience to start this studies ?

Whayt would you guys recommend me or any advise ?

Thx in advance!

cjthedj45 · July 2009

Hi,

Are you new to IT as a whole or just to networking? I think someone with no IT experience would find the CCNA a very difficult exam to pass. If you have a background in IT and had some exsposure to networking then this would certainly help. I took the network+ before the CCNA and this helped with some of the topics in ICND1 and gave me a good insight into networking. However I found studying the CCNA much more difficult as the topics are much more advanced. If you have no hands on experience at all then I would recommend using lab software like packet tracer or dynamips so that you can set up labs and practice the things you have learned. This really helps me to learn because you can set up a lab and it won't work so you will need to troubleshoot it yourself. It also really helps me remember the command lines too as I don't think I could just read the commands froma book and remember them. The way I learn best is a combination of books, CBT's, labs and practice exams. Good Luck with your Studies

mikej412 · July 2009

Experience would be helpful -- but isn't required.

You can make up for lack of experience by being that much more motivated and dedicated and studying that much harder.....

Or if you have no Information Technology experience at all, then the CompTIA Network+ Certification may be a better place to start your studies. There will some overlap with the ICND1 portion of your CCNA studies, so you don't lose too much time doing Network+ first since parts of your ICND1 studies would then go faster.

cjthedj45 pretty much "nailed the answer" -- but I'd add that using real hardware when you're first starting out may be a good idea. Simulators will work -- and you may want to use one for the ICND1 portion of your studies and hold off on trying to build a home lab (or finding one at work or school you can use) until you know that you're going to continue your networking studies (and that you're good at it

).

kreyzie · July 2009

thx for the answer. ive been working as Technical support for almost 8years doing desktops , workstations , servers thingy. I dont know how deep is my networking knowledge. my company have a few cisco product by it wasnt me who got it setup or troubleshoot. is the NA from the data centre who did it cuz we dun host our servers in our company. i start all this microsoft cert thingy just bcuz my it manager told me that im going to be promoted as mis supervisor but im just lack of some papers to show it to the HR boss. well i took some ms cert as shown there but still thats not up to what my it manager want it but atleast a mcsa and a ccna/ccent.he want me able to handle atleast basic setup and troubleshooting for cisco routers/switches so that they can save some charges from the cisco guy who came once a months. and for saving that cost , it'll add up to my salary :P as a mis supervisor. being a mcsa is not that hard compare to ccna maybe i have 8years or more exp in MS.

cisco routers - as i know this product is not as easy as a home routers , click n save. keen to learn it!

i dont think they are gonna let me play around with the cisco routers or switches. any virtual or simulation lab that works with all cisco command ? maybe i can give a try. pls advise thx!

kreyzie · July 2009

oh i found a copy of boson simulator from my previous IT colleague. will this work as a test run fro me?

ADvise on CCNA

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