Subnetting speed and practice tests

I have talked to a few people that said they did not have problems with how to subnet but struggled on the test because of how long it took them. I have also seen at least one member here suggest you should be able to answer subnetting questions in about 15 seconds to be well prepared for the test.

I started using Subnetting Practice Questions for my practice because it lets me type in my answers. Forces me to get it right not think I'm close enough. This site has a game mode that gives you points for answering as many questions as you can in 5 minutes. If I were able to make 20 points consistently (I'm not there yet) so that's 1 point every 15 seconds. Should I be confident in my understanding and speed?

I was also wondering if anyone knows of a site that gives you scenarios with overlapping address ranges and asks you to find/fix the problems. This seems like it would be much harder and time consuming then simply identifying the correct subnet.

I appreciate any and all feedback.
Jon

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Comments

NotHackingYou

I used subnettingquestions.com - Free Subnetting Questions and Answers Randomly Generated Online when practicing for my CCENT and CCNA exams. I would do as many questions as needed until I got 20 in a row correct, under 20 seconds each. The thing to remember with Cisco is that many questions will contain a subnetting question.

jsterril

I took the ICND1 class and sat for the exam last week. One of the instructor's four keys to passing the exam was to be able to complete subnetting questions in around a minute. For example: You have a host with the IP address 10.175.15.37 /27, give the subnet mask, subnet address, broadcast address, first and last usable IP addresses, number of subnets, and number of usable hosts per subnet. He said if you can produce that information in around a minute, you should be good to go. After taking the exam last Friday, I would agree with him.

Having a good subnetting or set of subnetting tables that you can reproduce from memory when taking the exam can really help with your speed. If you know what you're doing, you can get 10-15 minutes of time to write that kind of stuff down without it counting against your exam time.

Good luck!
Scott

Moab

Jon I really like your link. I used this link alot on my phone at work.
IP Subnet Practice - San Bernardino Valley College

m1979

Any good apps for an Android phone?

mrjoefriday

jsterril wrote: »

I took the ICND1 class and sat for the exam last week. One of the instructor's four keys to passing the exam was to be able to complete subnetting questions in around a minute. For example: You have a host with the IP address 10.175.15.37 /27, give the subnet mask, subnet address, broadcast address, first and last usable IP addresses, number of subnets, and number of usable hosts per subnet. He said if you can produce that information in around a minute, you should be good to go. After taking the exam last Friday, I would agree with him.

Having a good subnetting or set of subnetting tables that you can reproduce from memory when taking the exam can really help with your speed. If you know what you're doing, you can get 10-15 minutes of time to write that kind of stuff down without it counting against your exam time.

Good luck!
Scott

Can you give a little detail about getting the 10-15 minutes. Also, does anyone know of a site that asks for all of that information (subnet mask, subnet address, broadcaset, 1st/last host, # subnets, # hosts/subnet). The other sites are great, but usually only ask for one piece.

xnx

I think he means he wrote down his subnetting masks etc whilst he was meant to be going through the tutorials at the start of the exam.... technically cheating

If you know your subnetting well enough then you shouldn't have to write anything down, but it's good to have if your mind goes blank in the exam.

danb83

On the topic of subnetting, can anyone advise what the situation is regarding IP subnet zero on the Cisco exams.
I haven't studied subnetting for some time, and originally I was taught to always remove 2 when working out the available subnets, however I understand this doesn't usually apply in the real world.

I have just done some practice questions and got a couple wrong because I wasn't taking into account the first available subnet i.e x.x.x.0. I'm hoping to take the CCNA exam soon I just want to be clear on this.

Jon_Cisco

Without having anything to reference i believe that the current exams assume you will include subnet 0. You still need to -2 for the hosts.

This was a relatively recent change for the exams.

roch_greg

Jon_Cisco wrote: »

Without having anything to reference i believe that the current exams assume you will include subnet 0. You still need to -2 for the hosts.

This was a relatively recent change for the exams.

That's what I heard as well. Got it from Todd Lammle latest CCNA book. Through me for a loop cause I had learned Subnetting @ University and used the same method for my Network + cert.

But since IOS 12.x CISCO implemented the IP subnet-zero command. Don't know if any other kit manufactures use it but it's what makes subnetting for CISCO different from others.

So it appears you will assume IP subnet-zero is in effect unless the question states otherwise.

mella060

danb83 wrote: »

On the topic of subnetting, can anyone advise what the situation is regarding IP subnet zero on the Cisco exams.

Because most routers today use the zero subnet by default, then assume in the exam that the subnet zero is being used unless the question states otherwise. The question will say if it is not being used.