For those who have taken the two test route...

I am currently studying to take the ICND 2 probably in the next few weeks, I am just wondering how it compares to the ICND 1. Was it more difficult? Are there the same amount of questions? Anything in particular I should focus on for the ICND 2? Did any material from the the ICND 1 show up on the ICND 2?

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Jon_Cisco

I found the test itself more difficult. However I found studying for it easier.

Two basic reasons. Some of whats on ICND2 was already studied for ICND1. Think of things like subnetting.
Second I had already taken ICND1 so I knew what to expect in the exam environment. The first test I did not.

Good Luck!

goldenlight

I took the Icnd 2 June 2013 I found it was easier ..

markulous

I just passed the ICND2 this past weekend.

There is a little bit of overlap, so if you're strong on the ICND1, that's a good start. I would look at the objectives and make sure you're comfortable with those. It goes more in depth into OSPF and EIGRP and talks about STP and RSTP a lot more.

I don't know if I'd say it was easier or harder. I think Jon_Cisco said it well stating that it was easier to study for but a more difficult test.

I failed ICND1 the first time and passed ICND2 the first try though.

theodoxa

I took the old tests (640 Series), so I don't know if this is still true, but ICND2 felt a lot more difficult. Interestingly enough, I actually did slightly better on ICND2 than ICND1.

[Deleted User]

If you look at the exam objectives, ICND1 has less material then ICND2. However difficulty varies on the questions you receive. There is some overlap between these 2 tests keep that in mind. There have also been findings that people who pass their network+ have a higher rate of passing their ICND1 the first time. It really depends on your experience also. If you have a few years of networking experience, you may be able to get by with the 200-120. If you have less experience, then do the 2 exam route. I took the combined exam twice and found it to be very painful. 519 and 588. You need to evaluate yourself and what you need to do personally.

Alex90

What sort of time did you guys spend studying for each exam? Did you find you spent less or more time on ICND2?

Jon_Cisco

The timeline was not so straight forward for me. I spent a year on both of them.
First I did the Netacad courses in school which lasted two semesters. Then I took ICND1 in May and ICND2 in August.

So in my case studying for the two overlapped.

From reading the posts on this site I would say if you were focused you could probably do the exams in 2-3 months each with no experience. I feel like a lot of members take longer. My guess would be that the focused people don't spend a lot of time here since they are more focused on studying.

markulous

Alex90 wrote: »

What sort of time did you guys spend studying for each exam? Did you find you spent less or more time on ICND2?

I spent a month on each. Although I'm in a position for my job where I have a few hours to study every single day.

theodoxa

Month 1-2: Odom's ICND1
Month 3-4: Odom's ICND2
Month 5: Lammle's CCNA (Reviewed ICND1 Chapters Only) + Labbing, Passed ICND1
Month 6: Lammle's CCNA (Reviewed ICND2 Chapters Only) + Labbing, Passed ICND2

zholling10

Thanks for the advice guys. I passed the ICND 1 first try with a 920 so maybe I am a little more prepared then I thought for the ICND 2.

TechGuru80

I thought 2 was harder than 1. Basically you have to have a firmer grasp on the material. The amount of questions varies based on how many sims you get.

jayskata

i can't tell how long to study for each exam since i got lots of distraction. However what I can be certain about is, when you gauge your knowledge to the covered topics by answering exam questions that you can find in the net like the ones in freeccnaworkbook.com then repeatedly check exam objectives and ask yourself what topics u already have a firm understanding and the ones you need more practice via PT or GNS3. Then once you are confident about it. Go take the exam.

jayskata