Introduction
Hi! My name is Nicholas Golden. This is my site about my journey into the world of Cisco and the world of technology and certifications. I have over the last 10 years earned my A+, MCP,MCTS,MCITP,MCSA and CCNA. I am currently a Systems Engineer for a large financial institution and deal with everything networking and servers in a call center environment within a large enterprise. I am now on the path for the CCNP and then I am going for the CCIE Routing & Switching, then going for the CCIE VOICE. This is going to be a long, long extremely difficult journey for me! Anyway, enough about me. Here is what my purpose is:
Are you studying for the CCNA? If you answered yes I will have tutorials and other information regarding this quest as I know a ton about it.
Another note, as some may notice there is a godaddy banner above, I can't ditch it right now as the hosting is free. I am building a fancy pants website and will have proper hosting up when that site goes live, this is just a basic site I put together to at least give me a place to communicate.
Cisco Certification
I recently earned my CCNA, and let me tell you that test is TOUGH. I don't care if you work with the stuff everyday or are brand new! It's a tough exam no matter what way you look at it. 50ish questions, a bunch of sims and really high passing rate of around 85% or more it can be daunting to say the least. I would suggest you get yourself a lab, and become great friends with it. No simulator or virtual environment can replace hands on....NOTHING. With that said, below is what I started with, and I have just ordered 2 more Cisco 3640 (128/16) w/ NM 2ew cards on them. I also picked up another 2501 to add as well and I am on the hunt for a 2511 access server along with some 3560's. I initially used www.ciscokits.com and if you are just starting out and not sure what to get, they make it easy for you. I started with the Advanced CCNA IV kit and then I got a 3550 later on as I now start on my CCNP. If I could go back in time and I knew exactly what I needed, I would have just used Ebay and got it all as it is cheaper that way.
If you are interested in what I used to study here is what I used. If you are waiting for me to tell you about dumps or some other illegal activity, you can leave now as I do not condone nor participate or support the use of dumps or other illegal methods to get the "Answers to the test" so don't ask
Here is a picture of my lab now. The bottom switch is a 3550 and one of the 2501's that are there (3rd unit down) was NOT part of my original lab, I added them just recently.
Order of preparation and list of materials I used and some notes for the CCNA:
- CBT NUGGETS CCNA (JEREMY CIOARA) Went through the videos. Anything I got stuck on I would refer to Sybex CCNA study guide, 6th Edition (Todd Lammle)
- LABS LABS LABS! I cannot say this enough, you NEED to get your hands dirty! Even though I work with the stuff daily, there are things in the CCNA that a person who's daily job to fix this stuff may not see. For example, you will learn about OSPF, EIGRP, RIPv2, Static Routes, Spanning Tree (W/ enhancements) along with everything else routing and switching while studying CCNA and beyond. Well in my environment, OSPF or EIGRP may already be in place, it's a case of MAINTAIN IT not IMPLEMENT IT. So my advice to anyone who wants to wait - DON'T WAIT STUDY NOW!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough, get a lab and do every lab you can find. Learn what happens when you change an EIGRP around, or switch a DLCI on a frame relay, or just unplug a cord and plug it somewhere where it should not be and enjoy the show! Ok, I know I know - one more time REAL EQUIPMENT IS WHAT YOU NEED! Do the labs, live the labs, just do it already. Stop whining and DO IT!!
- LABS! Yes I said this already, but let me add that WHILE you are doing your labs, make sure to run debugs all the time. Don't do debugs at work, trust me do NOT do it unless you want to lose your job. I thankfully never have done it, but I have witnessed what happens when people think it's harmless and they realize its DEATH to a production network. What I mean by this is in a lab it's FINE at work its a BIG NO NO. Examples of running debug are debug ip eigrp, ripv2, ospf, bgp is-is. Now I know the last 2 the CCNA doesn't touch but I am throwing those out there anyway. Debugs will allow you to see EVERYTHING the protocols are doing! For example EIGRP you will get to see adjacencies form, neighbors form, topology tables, metrics and everything else. Topology tables and metrics are really CCNP material, but you will see a TON if you run debugs. Someone once told me after they finished the CCIE they wished they ran more debugs. I took that advice and ran with it, I run debugs on my lab like its going out of style. I ONLY turn them off when I am setting stuff up so my screen doesn't go wild and fill the screen with debugs.
- Sybex CCNA study guide, 6th Edition (Todd Lammle). I read this book from beginning to end....twice. I did ALL the questions and labs at the end of each chapter.
- Review of CBT NUGGETS CCNA over and over again.Follow along, build the same lab (Yes, I said lab by now you KNOW it's important) get intimate with the videos.
- Sybex CCNA Fast Pass 3rd Edition (Todd Lammle). I read this 2 days before my exam, it's basically half the size of the 6th edition CCNA guide I pointed out above, around 500 pages. I would read each chapter and answer the review questions, anything I felt iffy on at all I would read about it on the net and wherever I could find it.
- Various sites off the 'net. I was reading everything I could find about a subject. I liked to read about a subject explained in various ways. Sometimes with this spark an understanding then BAM it all made sense.
- www.Cisco.com this is funny to most people. Why? Well most people who take certifications such as microsoft feel the Microsoft is the devil when it comes to reading material. Ever opened up a Micorosoft Press book? It's very very dry and just will put you to sleep. I guess this stigma carried over to Cisco Press and Cisco.com. Thankfully, Cisco is an EXTREMELY good source for answers. When I had to upgrade an IOS on my 3640 it failed via TFTP and I had to do it over XMODEM. Let me tell you this: You do NOT want to do it over Xmodem more than once!! It will teach you how to do it, but I don't recommend it in a pinch as it takes several hours to move a 20meg IOS!
- When you do study all this material above, you need to make a PLAN! Get a white board and write out your schedule.
For example I can show you one day of my schedule it's a full day schedule, but I didn't list the whole thing. This is just to give you an idea of what it takes.
7a to 7:30a - www.Subnettingquestions.com
7:30a - 9a - CBT nuggets Rules of the ACL and ACL implementation
9a - 10a - Lab - Implement RIPv2, EIGRP, OSPF use CBT Lab
10a - 10:15 - Break
10:15 -11:30 Background reading. Todd Lammle 6th edition, read up on weak topics
11:30 - 12:30 Labs! Create standard, extended ACL's using figure 5c from lab book.
12:30 to 1:30 LUNCH and relax!
1:30-2p - Walk through labs on NAT and ACL.
.....and on and on until about 6 or 7pm Then have dinner with the wife, relax watch some tv then go back and read for another hour to recap the days reading.
What I am telling you is you have to make yourself study. The CCNA will not earn itself. Make an appointment and keep it, it's for your best interest. Yes, I know you have heard that before but really it's for your own good!!! If you want to succeed you must study like you mean it and that means sacrifice. My wife stood by me through the 10 hour days at work then another 6 hours at night studying and then most of the day on weekends. Yes it's hard, but damn when you pass that exam you feel GREAT!
Some further advice for those who are thinking about taking the CCNA, CCNP or even the CCIE. Sometimes we as tech's think that by surrounding ourselves with 100's of sources of information we will learn faster. I learned that too much is as bad as too little! In my course of studying I like the #3. Why 3, well I feel that 3 sources of information seems to be just right for me. CBT, Todd Lammle and Cisco Press did the trick for me. Now I know I have Todd Lammle Sybex listed twice, but those 2 books are the SAME really, one is just half the size and more "Exam Cram" Style. Speaking of Exam Cram, I do not recommend those books except for the CCNA one with Jeremy Cioara as one of the authors. The Sybex is the BEST in my opinion and a bunch of people agree with me on that. Trust me, get the SYBEX guide 6th edition and don't worry about anything else as far as books go.
So in a nutshell, pick 3 sources of materials to round yourself out. I recommend one that's a video training course like CBT, a book such as Sybex 6th edition (Todd Lammle) and maybe adding a condensed version of the todd lammle book - Fast pass 3rd edition. Top this off with online reading, get involved with some forums and ask questions to some of the gurus on the net. A warning though, always ALWAYS double check and cross check the answers people give you, unless you have read the past work and they have been spot on. Some trolls on the net like to throw you off so it's always wise to trust but verify.
Last words
So now you are at the bottom of my long spill about taking the CCNA. Does this make you feel better or more scared? I hope it makes you feel better, but being scared is natural. The test is BRUTAL on your nerves. You have to be calm. In the beginning there is 5 minute waiting period which you could skip. I let the clock run down and hit next when there is a minute left. I take the time to BREATHE and use the dry erase board (or paper if that's what they give you) to write out my binary chart and powers of 2 and the subnet masks. Sounds silly yes, but saving a few seconds here and there will add up when you are on that exam. There is also another tutorial on how to take the test, exam question formats etc, you can go through that and then wait and hang out for a few, gather your nerves.
I am TELLING you if you stay confident and rely on your skills and knowledge you can work through any question. You will BEG them to give you another subnetting question! I know I did, I was like "Give me subnetting questions I will DESTROY them!"
With all that said, thanks for reading and I hope my words help you out. If you have questions, you can email me. For the love of all things tech, don't ask me about dumps or anything that would break the Cisco NDA for certifications - I will NOT answer those emails!
Thanks!
NG.