My journey for the CCNA (640-802)

I Passed!
See Passed post: http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/66510-my-journey-ccna-640-802-a.html#post537794

See Study materials post: http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/66510-my-journey-ccna-640-802-a.html#post538075

Initial Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 33.75%
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 10%
Studying: 25%
Practice Tests: 0% (Not started yet)

Don't worry.

Original plans was to schedule the exam after completing reading the book.

I decided to give myself a preview first, let's see what happened ...

I downloaded a free Boson prac exam, got to one SIM where I had to configure an ACL, and froze up completely ... which means that I need to devote more time to practice, so that the answer to such easy questions will be second nature.

My mom used to say "if you really know something, someone can wake you up in the middle of the night and ask you the question, and you'd be able to answer it ... until you are at that point, you don't really know something"

I'm pretty good on all the theory stuff so far, but need to go back through and revisit on all of the configuration bullets in the syllabus.

I think I can be ready for this one in a couple weeks.

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Second Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 40.0 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 40%
Studying: 50%
Practice Tests: 10%

======================

Realize my math is off in my initial update, LOL. I changed a number after I had made the calculation, so need to update that post.

================

Update: I re-attempted that same sample practice exam that had spanked me before, and I aced it. I got through that ACL sim with no issues. No freezing up, and I knew exactly what I needed to do, and how to do it. I'm only putting practice test at 10% for now, give myself some leeway for how well I do, with the practice exams included with the book. Want to get closer to complete on studying and labbing, prior to attempting those.

With regards to studying, I've been going through the flash cards, reviewing the notes I made while reading the text, and reviewing the written labs in the text of Lammle. These are better than the Review questions, as the written labs require you to recall commands from memory, whereas the multiple choice just requires you to pick a good answer out of four choices, which is not that challenging, if you know the material, to be honest, and the only way to really screw that one up is if you make a careless mistake. Flash cards are awesome, as they're just like studying for the written labs, as you have to just recall the answer from memory, no getting lucky with clues from the answers being there before you.

If I get something that gives me any sort of issue, I google it, and read about it in someone else's words. Maybe whatever Lammle said didn't stick, but maybe if I see it in another slant, it will stick.

==============================================

Third Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 43.0 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 40%
Studying: 50%
Practice Tests: 25 %

======================================

Update:

Took one of the practice test in Lammle's book, but scored only 87%. It had ZERO sims on it. This is a hint to me that I need to pursue the Boson practice tests, as I liked the one sim that I had in the demo.

I missed various easy questions in the practice test I took: cable lengths were one thing that stuck out to me like a sore thumb as something I should have taken more seriously, for example.

Oh well, just a sign to me that I need to make flash cards for cable lengths.

Flash Cards:

As I'm going back through the book, I'm making flash cards. I'm basing which ones are most critical, based upon how well I did on my first attempt of the written labs a couple days ago.

These were my worst: (0-60%) (seem like I fell asleep on the end of the book, lol)
10 (Security), 11 (NAT), 12 (wireless?), 13 (ipv6?), 14 (WANS)
These were the next tier: 70-85%
7 (EIGRP and OSPF), and the first lab in chapter 1, surprisingly.
Everything else was 90% or higher (the chapters written labs usually had 10 questions at most)

These are how many flash cards I have right now:
ch. 10 - 41
ch. 11 - 52
ch. 12 - 71
ch. 13 - 131 (I think I may have gone overboard here)
ch. 14 - 51 ... still making more.
^^^ Trying to make flash cards for my worst chapters first.

As a side effect of making the flash cards, I'm getting to re-read these sections of the book.

hrm, my math is wrong in my second post, should be 40%, not 50% ...

Fourth Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 56.25 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 40%
Studying: 60%
Practice Tests: 25%
Have these flash cards made so far:
10: 41 (SECURITY)
11: 52 (NAT)
12: 71 (WIRELESS)
13: 131 (IPV6)
14: 100+ (WANS)
08: 100+ (SWITCHING)
09: 100+ (SPANNING TREE + VLANS )
07: 100+ (EIGRP + OSPF)
06: 100+ (ROUTING + RIP)
^^ Do have a count, but don't have the cards handy at the moment to update the post.
Flash cards yet to make:
01: (INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING)
02: (OSI MODEL)
03: (SUBNETTING)
04: (BASIC NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING)
05: (IFS, IOS, + SDM)
Concerns: Need to make more flash cards for 10 (Security) and 11 (NAT). Chapter 12 (Wireless) was insanely short, so not sure I can get much more notes out of it.
Edit: realize I said that chapter 11 was VLANs before, which is inaccurate.

instant000 wrote: »

Fourth Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 56.25 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 40%
Studying: 60%
Practice Tests: 25%
Have these flash cards made so far:
10: 41 (SECURITY)
11: 52 (NAT)
12: 71 (WIRELESS)
13: 131 (IPV6)
14: 100+ (WANS)
08: 100+ (SWITCHING)
09: 100+ (SPANNING TREE + VLANS )
07: 100+ (EIGRP + OSPF)
06: 100+ (ROUTING + RIP)
^^ Do have a count, but don't have the cards handy at the moment to update the post.
Flash cards yet to make:
01: (INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING)
02: (OSI MODEL)
03: (SUBNETTING)
04: (BASIC NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING)
05: (IFS, IOS, + SDM)
Concerns: Need to make more flash cards for 10 (Security) and 11 (NAT). Chapter 12 (Wireless) was insanely short, so not sure I can get much more notes out of it.
Edit: realize I said that chapter 11 was VLANs before, which is inaccurate.

Interested study method. Seems like it what help you learn all the concepts and Lab practice is essential. I don't if you omitted SUBNETTING, but it is a MUST to know. I Like your metod of study.

Good study journal. Reminds me I need to create one too.

THA_DOC wrote: »

Interested study method. Seems like it what help you learn all the concepts and Lab practice is essential. I don't if you omitted SUBNETTING, but it is a MUST to know. I Like your metod of study.

Well, I had already gone through this book, and made notes by hand for each chapter-- all 14 chapters.

Then, I saw I wasn't as sharp as I needed to be, so I figured flash cards were the best way to get things to stick. I started at the chapters I had the worst performance in (10-14) ... did I fall asleep reading the book, or what? Making the cards causes me to slow down enough to pull out what could be questions and answers, based on the text in the book.

Yeah, after I finish making all these flash cards (a chore, in and of itself). I plan to hit up the labs harder, since I'll have time to do them in the hours I'm not spending making flash cards. Making the flash cards is the reason I haven't increased my labbing percentage, as I wasn't making them all along, then got to the end, took a practice test, and realized I should have been making those, instead of wasting time making a bunch of notes ... that do serve a purpose, as I review those, too, but flash cards are more convenient, and break the information down into "digestible" (sp?) chunks.

When I do this next time, I'll have these categories:
1. Reading (Reading the texts)
2. Carding (Making the flash cards)
3. Labbing (Doing the labs)
4. Studying (Studying the flash cards)
5. Practice Tests (Taking practice tests)

I plan on doing steps 1 thru 4 all at the same time, and after all the flash cards are made, do steps 3 thru 5 all at the same time.

Hah. yeah, subnetting is serious. It's what I called chapter 3, even though that's probably not what the chapter is really called, LOL.

If you can't subnet, then you can forget about being able to do the following:

1. implementing an addressing scheme, using VLSM
2. routing
3. access lists
4. NAT
5. WANs
6. troubleshooting addressing errors, for all of the above

Fifth Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 67.50 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 50%
Studying: 70%
Practice Tests: 50%
Flash Cards:
01: 130 (INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING)
02: 52 (OSI MODEL)
03: 38 (SUBNETTING)
04: 32 (BASIC NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING)
05: 147 (IFS, IOS, + SDM)
06: 131 (ROUTING + RIP)
07: 215 (EIGRP + OSPF)
08: 125 (SWITCHING)
09: 110 (SPANNING TREE + VLANS )
10: 41 (SECURITY)
11: 52 (NAT)
12: 71 (WIRELESS)
13: 131 (IPV6)
14: 239 (WANS)
NN: 10 (cable lengths)

Update Information:
Reading: Have basically read the book twice (at least) now, having to go back through to make the flash cards.

Labbing: Have to lab more this week. Completing making the flash cards provides more time to lab each evening. Want to get fast enough to be able to do all the labs within an evening study session.

Studying: Been going over more flash cards, as I finished making those over the weekend ... or so I thought. when I took the practice test last night, it had a cable max length question, and I didn't know the answer to it. My solution? Go bang out about ten flash cards on cable lengths

. I do not mind this, as the practice tests are being leveraged to make my study materials more complete. One thing I did do that I wished I had done earlier is move to electronic on my flash cards, mainly because my home desk was not comfortable for writing on, to be honest. So, half of chapter 14, and all of chapters 1-9 are in cuecard format. Unfortunately, chapters 10-13 are on 3 x 5 index cards.

Practice Tests: I took a second practice test last night, and only got 59/70 right (84.29%) ... was so upset, until I realized that I had skipped on the last 5 questions somehow, and they were all insanely easy ... at least I made this mistake on a practice test, and not the real thing. Also, I went back to make sure I review the concepts I got wrong, especially the cable length, which I made a set of flash cards for.

Sixth Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 73.75 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 65%
Studying: 75%
Practice Tests: 55%
Flash Cards:
01: 130 (INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING)
02: 52 (OSI MODEL)
03: 38 (SUBNETTING)
04: 32 (BASIC NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING)
05: 147 (IFS, IOS, + SDM)
06: 131 (ROUTING + RIP)
07: 215 (EIGRP + OSPF)
08: 125 (SWITCHING)
09: 110 (SPANNING TREE + VLANS )
10: 41 (SECURITY)
11: 52 (NAT)
12: 71 (WIRELESS)
13: 131 (IPV6)
14: 239 (WANS)
NN: 10 (cable lengths)

Update for today, I did a bit more studying, and I went back through the written labs in the Lammle text. (Hadn't done this in two weeks, so I was hoping the memorization level would have worn off, and the studying would shine through better.)

The first time through, I had an overall grade of 77.66%. This time through, I had an overall grade of 87.82%.

I've made notes on a few commands that I need to work on some more, so I should be really jumping that lab number up some, as I review the WAN and IPV6 more (totally convinced I slept through these chapters, but I'm at least up to 70% on these now was at like 10 and 30%, the first time through these a couple weeks ago.)

Most of those I missed were due to plain issues with command memorization (that is, I knew what I *wanted* to do, but with the written labs, there is no question mark to bail you out, LOL)

Oh well, that's what flash cards are for

SurferdudeHB wrote: »

Good study journal. Reminds me I need to create one too.

Yeah, it helps me to keep track of what I'm doing. Like, I realized I'm lagging behind with my lab time, so I'm trying to pump that up some, as you'd be amazed the difference in retention from typing the command at a router prompt, versus typing that same command into notepad (same exact command, same exact keyboard) ... shouldn't matter that much, but it makes a difference to me, for whatever reason.

Seventh Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 73.75 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: Found Various free Workbooks + those in the Lammle text - 65%
Studying: 75%
Practice Tests: 55%
Flash Cards:
01: 130 (INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING)
02: 52 (OSI MODEL)
03: 38 (SUBNETTING)
04: 32 (BASIC NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING)
05: 147 (IFS, IOS, + SDM)
06: 131 (ROUTING + RIP)
07: 215 (EIGRP + OSPF)
08: 125 (SWITCHING)
09: 110 (SPANNING TREE + VLANS )
10: 41 (SECURITY)
11: 52 (NAT)
12: 71 (WIRELESS)
13: 131 (IPV6)
14: 239 (WANS)
NN: 10 (cable lengths)

Sorry, not updating the percentages for this one. In this post, I went back through my written lab results, from attempts 1 and 2, and recorded what areas I got something wrong in and needed to work on. These are areas I need to focus on, to make sure I'm sharp on them next time. (Remember, no question mark in written labs.)

Key Review:

01 - Application Layer, Transport Layer, Session Layer, Network Layer
02 - Address Range of A, B, C (Decimal/Binary) and valid hexadecimal numbers
03 - Typos
04 - N/A
05 - CDP show commands
06 - N/A
07 - Redistribution, EIGRP/OSPF show commands
08 - N/A
09 - trunking
10 - access list commands
11 - NAT commands
12 - 802.11h
13 - ipv6 address types, ipv6 prefixes
14 - frame relay commands, router username password for authentication, PPP commands, PPP components

I also wanted to be sure of some key tables that I'd need to be successful: (i.e., something I would probably write down at the beginning of the test, since it would come in handy on problems)

Key Tables:

1. multiples of 2 up to 2^16
2. hex to decimal translations
3. 0-128-192-224-240-248-252-254-255
4. TCP/IP vs. OSI Model

Time Management:
Attempt 1 on Written Labs: 197 questions in 2 hours, 35 minutes (77.66%)
Attempt 2 on Written Labs: 197 questions in 1 hour, 15 minutes (87.82%)
^^^ These were taken two weeks apart, trying to avoid the memorization of the questions.

My goal with speed is to be able to answer direct questions, such as definitions or calculations, as fast as possible.

I'm the same on the labbing, wanting to be as fast as possible on the command entry.

Next Idea:

I need to make my own labs. The labs in the book are too 'structured' in that they tell you what commands to enter in some cases.

I'd rather just start with a network diagram, and require for example, that routing be configured so that I can ping all remote interfaces even through 2 intermediary routers. Just tell me what protocols to use, not exactly what commands to enter. I think this would be more appropriate training for a simulation type of question, as it would require me to both recall the command, and understand what the command is going to do for me.

Eighth Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 81.25 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: From the Lammle text - 80%
Studying: 80%
Practice Tests: 65%

After all of my preparation, I went back through, and I've pulled out the 53 flash cards that are giving me the most issue (yes, they're config-based). I've just about memorized all the other cards, but the more config-specific ones are the main ones I need to drill in at this point, as theory only gets you so far, and I don't want to get lost when I forget a key command and fail it.

(EDIT: Didn't actually pull out the 53 cards, just made 53 new ones on the topics still giving me issues. I looked at the category of questions I missed consistently across my written lab attempts, and made cards specifically on those categories.)

So, I had a pretty good session today, did ACL, PPP, EIGRP, and OSPF configs today. I'll probably be doing these same ones up until test time, LOL.

I'm currently using GNS3, which is working just fine for me. Switch-specific configs can't be the greatest, but you can't have everything on a shoestring budget.

Looked at labs, and decided to just stick with the Lammle ones in text. Compared to the objectives, they're sufficient, so all I need to do is copy his directions, and leave out the commands he gives you to enter.

When you do enough of this stuff, you start to seeing some similarities. Such, as when you configure the subinterfaces for interVLAN routing, this is similar to configuring subinterfaces when you're doing the frame relay configurations.

Ninth Update:
CCNA (640-802)
Overall Prep - 100.00 %
Reading: Todd Lammle 6th Edition - 100%
Labbing: From the Lammle text - 100%
Studying: 100%
Practice Tests: 100%

Since my last update, I reviewed my flash cards, and I was stuck with about ten that I still needed to get to "stick". At this point, I I decided to go ahead and sit the exam, trusting myself to memorize 10 cards across the next 24 hours. (I had booked it a while ago, but I had pushed it back twice already, as I knew that I wasn't ready yet, as I hadn't done the labs enough times.)

Fast forward to today, and I took the exam. I walked in confident that a question on any objective would not blindside me.

Result: PASSED!! (with 30 minutes to spare)

What I learned from my study preparation, versus what I ended up seeing on the test:

Positives: (without these, I would have surely failed)
- Subnetting fast
- Memorizing configurations
- Memorizing terms
- Memorizing commands

Negatives: (I got by like this, but I know better for my next exam)
- Not memorizing show outputs
- Not memorizing debug outputs

I was able to get by on the areas that I didn't specifically prepare for, simply because I did see the show and debug outputs in the labs and text, so the hours I spent on those really helped a lot. My mistake was not making flash cards for these, so I didn't have the "instant" picture in my mind when looking at these, but had to "think back" on what to do for these. Since I only did all the labs two or three times, I can say that for my next test, I'd want to do all the labs at least four or five times

What's next for me?
I've not read the Network Warrior, so I'll start there, as well as look up the Cisco config guides on the FWSM. In my next role, I will have to deal with FWSM a lot, so I need to get some reading up, as I've not touched the 6509 before. I have done Pix 500 series firewalls, and the VPN 3000 series, but not the ASA or 6509.

Congrats!!!

Congrats and great going! Your hard work paid off. Did you follow a similar approach for your CISSP?

j-man wrote: »

Congrats!!!

Thanks!

ITdude wrote: »

Congrats and great going! Your hard work paid off.

Thanks!

ITdude wrote: »

Did you follow a similar approach for your CISSP?

Not really. I took it a bit slower this time around, LOL.

See this post: http://www.techexams.net/forums/isc-sscp-cissp/65041-my-cissp-journey.html

Congrats!!

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Congrats!!

Thanks.

So, in studying for the CCNA, what type of study materials did I compile?
I'm making this posting so you can know what mistakes that I made, and that it really makes sense to choose a main text, and stick with it throughout. Also, just to bring highlights to materials that I found helpful.

My Study Materials: (see attached image)

1 - CCNA 640-802 Guide, 6th Edition (by Todd Lammle) - The labs included in the text were sufficient for the test, recommend doing them more than 2 or 3 times like I did.
2 - CD included, which contains 4 practice exams, 200 flash cards, audio/video samples, plus all chapter review questions, PLUS the entire book on PDF
3 - CCNA objectives tear-out card
4 - Bottom White Binder - Notes I took while reading the text
5 - Index Cards - Flash Cards ( 426 ) handwritten
6 - Middle White Binder - Flash Cards ( 1108 )I made using cuecard and printed out 4 sets to a page.
7 - Top Black Binder - Written Labs I printed out from the text of Lammle 6th Edition CCNA Guide
8 - Dynamips Emulator - I have owned routers and switches in the past, but not right now, I listen to equipment whine enough when I go to work, no need to do this at home.

== ** So, yeah, I made over 1500 flash cards for the little ole CCNA. So what? I passed, and that's what counts, LOL. ** ==

====================
====================
Other resources used:

Internetworking Technology Handbook - DocWiki (truth be told, I think I found an error or two here while reading here, but most of it is solid intro material ... content like this is only as good as its editors)

Select Your Product or Technology - Product/Technology Support - Cisco Systems (great resource, if you ever need to know how Cisco wants you to configure anything, it's here)

Welcome to The TCP/IP Guide! (the main appeal to me is this ... FREE! read as much of this as you can. I did not read the entirety of this ... yet, but it's good so far, wish I had found it earlier in my exam preparations ... will use it for future, though. it helps to look at things through a non-Cisco view, to make sure you're getting a clearer picture of the technologies, and not just a vendor's implementation of it.)

Free MCTS MCITP CCNA CompTIA and CISSP exams, study notes and forums -- This site is ohhh, so helpful. The CCNA FAQ alone is full of rich knowledge.

GNS3 | Graphical Network Simulator

Note: I say again, don't try to read the entire things (except for tcpipguide.com, you should read this entire thing--or something similar--if you have the time to, it makes everything else flow much more easily)

====================
====================
Resources acquired, but not used (Mistakes):

-- Free LAB books off the net ... doesn't make sense to do labs that don't fall in line with the text you're reading, I actually couldn't find a way to do them without it just seeming "off" from the text I was reading. The Lammle labs in text fell in line with everything he was explaining throughout the book, they flowed so naturally. The one free lab I thought was nice was the one that someone linked to in the CCNA forum here, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, so it went unused.

-- Bryant Advantage for CCNA ... yes, the "Bulldog" got me for a few $$$$. I mean, he's an obnoxious self-promoter, and everything, but I was thinking I would get some "edge" his material looked nice and readable, but ... it was too much to go to so many different sources, and Lammle was doing a good job for me.

-- in60days.net ... this was a nice site and idea, but it seemed more appropriate for someone starting from scratch, and not someone with years of experience. However, in defense of the site, I can indeed say that one principle the site owner has rang true for me: you can go around and look at someone's house, and get a good idea if they're going to pass the CCNA or not ... dishes not washed, clothes piling up, not going out, etc. ... that was me. I did a thorough house cleaning yesterday after the test, and today, too.

-- Boson ... I downloaded the testing engine, and I liked their sample exam with the ACL sim, but my Lammle text already included 4 sample exams on the CD, and the book was full of labs throughout, so no real need to get some other material.

Summary:

Just to be clear: All you really need to be successful is a good main text, some type of emulator or equipment to practice on with labs that coincide with the text, and the daily time to put into it, so that it all works out in your head, and you understand it all.

I can confidently say that it is just a distracting mistake to get a bunch of material. You'll find yourself unable to focus, it'd be like going to a class, and having four instructors talking to you at once ... part of your learning groove comes from getting a feel for the instructor's vibe. Once you catch on to that, the learning comes easy. If you're distracting yourself with 4 different instructors for the same class, expect to have issues!

====================
====================
So, how do you know when you're ready?

You'll know that you're ready when you look at the syllabus, and it says configure, verify, and debug EIGRP, and you're already thinking in your head: router EIGRP <as number>, network <classful network), (discontiguous or not?). sh ip eigrp neighbor, sh ip protocols, debug ip eigrp notification, etc. Not only that, you're familiar with the outputs of the show and debug commands. You know what the running-config of properly configured EIGRP looks like. You know what your route table should look like, your neighbor table, your topology table, etc. You understand what makes a feasible successor, versus a successor. You know which one of these shows up in the topology table, versus the routing table. You realize the effects of passive interface. You know what auto summary does to your route table, etc. And that's just EIGRP, for example. You'd need the equivalent level of knowledge and understanding for IP addressing, OSPF, VLANs, etc.

====================
====================
It's so much, how can I know everything?

You don't have to know "EVERYTHING" about EIGRP, OSPF, switching, etc. But, you do have to know the fundamental basics that would be covered in an authorized CCNA trainer's material. Lammle is a CCSI (Certified Cisco Systems Instructor) so it wouldn't do him much good to lead you wrong, and given the strong name he's made for himself, he's apparently leading many people right. For example, it's common knowledge that CCNA only covers single-area OSPF, and CCNP covers multiple-area OSPF. However, if you don't know what's going on with OSPF in a single area, you're even more screwed if you try to run OSPF in multiple areas, and they start cranking out the umpteen different stubby types and LSAs they have waiting for you. So, no need to know "everything" but get strong in what is at this level, and you should do quite well. (Note: By "everything" I mean everything possible in the command references and configuration guides at cisco.com. If it's covered in your certification preparation text, then it's something that you should be prepared to be tested on.)

====================
====================
Is such-and-such topic covered on the exam?

To avoid NDA violation, I say this: If it's on the syllabus, expect it on the test. If you're weak in an area (must be, to be asking this type of question), just push the test out another week, until you're ready. I'll confess: I pushed the test back twice before I finally took it. I won't be out on the street if I lost $250 on an exam attempt, but I'd hate to think I drove 1.5 hours to fail a test and lose $250, besides the only other thing I got out of the trip was a bag of chips at the Shell station ... the chips were good, but not THAT good.

Hope this helps!

Study_Materials.jpg

Nice thread and Congrats!! Excellent write-up too.

Essendon wrote: »

Nice thread and Congrats!! Excellent write-up too.

Thanks.

Congratulations!!

Nice write up!

mikej412 wrote: »

Congratulations!!

Nice write up!

Thanks.

I want to strengthen my foundational knowledge, prior to going further. I start my next job, pretty heavy in firewalls, next Monday.

So right now, I'm looking at Ahriakin's thread to get a good idea of the foundational texts to be reading. I'm most curious about the vendor-neutral books he read in this list:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccie/36057-ccie-sec-lab-diary-how-make-ahriakins-brain-implode.html#post256262

I know this is coming in a tad late, but congrats on passing the 640-802!

Reading through your milestones and comments has been interesting and helpful. Appreciate you taking the time to do this. Good luck on the 640-553.

onesaint wrote: »

I know this is coming in a tad late, but congrats on passing the 640-802!

Reading through your milestones and comments has been interesting and helpful. Appreciate you taking the time to do this. Good luck on the 640-553.

Thanks.

I think having a sort of "checklist" helps me see my goals more clearly.

Good morning!

I have the CCNA 640-802 exam the next day 6.
I studied a lot but I like to play with some actual exam questions or ........ you help?

thanks

Oskir wrote: »

Good morning!

I have the CCNA 640-802 exam the next day 6.
I studied a lot but I like to play with some actual exam questions or ........ you help?

thanks

1. Good morning!

2. Are you taking the exam six days from now?

3. No one taking Cisco exams--including me--should be helping you with actual exam questions! Just study your book and practice the labs, and you'll do just fine. You can always reschedule the exam--no need to try to rush yourself into something that you do not understand.

It is unfair for you to come to me, who made 1500 flash cards in order to pass this thing, and you just want a toss of some questions?! Are you kidding me?! No way!! All this does is cheapen the certification.

You need to focus more on understanding the objectives, and less on cheating!

4. You didn't mention this, but I will. This certification won't get you a job. It might help you to get an interview, but it won't help you to get a job. If you **** to get the certification, you will interview poorly (because you cheated, and don't actually know anything). Please focus on gaining the understanding first, and worry less about the test. If you gain the understanding, you will pass the test.

First let me (Congrats) you on kicking this Monster of a Exam in the Ass
Second let me thank you for documenting your battle with this Monster.
I have been studying for this test on an off for a while and I could not get it to stick in my brain. I used the Wendell Odom 1and2 study guides and I needed to get or find a system that worked. and so far your system has helped me thanks alot man and God bless you !!!

tnyb123 wrote: »

First let me (Congrats) you on kicking this Monster of a Exam in the Ass
Second let me thank you for documenting your battle with this Monster.
I have been studying for this test on an off for a while and I could not get it to stick in my brain. I used the Wendell Odom 1and2 study guides and I needed to get or find a system that worked. and so far your system has helped me thanks alot man and God bless you !!!

Hah, you're welcome.

One tip I can give is to know what the exam objectives are, and try to practice those as much as possible.

Hope this helps!

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