| Author |
Thinking about taking the CCNA exam!
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| therock6336 2002-07-06, 8:08 pm |
| I"m thinking about taking the CCNA exam for my next certification. I would like to know what's the best book to get and can I teach myself. | |
| mikop 2002-07-07, 12:37 am |
| spend some time going over some posts over the last oh say 2 months and you will find lots and lots of information regarding the exam, books recommendation, ways to get some hand on and various other tips that will pay dividend when the exam times come.
huray for run on sentences
this whole process should take you less than 30 minutes and will gain you a wealth of info. | |
| ChrisDfer 2002-07-07, 1:35 am |
| I'm using the CCNA All in One Guide and so far it seems excellent. A few tupos, but dont we all make those? Also some good router simulators are always good to have if you cant get access to real routers. I used the sybex one, the router sim 3.0, the cisco Esim and the Boson router sim and the best one to be is routersim 3.0 | |
| rsteedma 2002-07-07, 12:52 pm |
| Hi TheRock,
Many people use self-study to pass and ace the CCNA exam. It's possible. 
A good study plan should include Theoretical Knowledge, Applied Knowledge, and Self-Assessment.
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(a) Theoretical Knowledge
Here are arguably the best books for CCNA:
1. Sybex CCNA Study Guide by Todd Lammle
- Covers material in enough detail to pass the exam. Good explanations.
2. Cisco Press CCNA Exam Certification Guide by Wendell Odom
- Covers material in more detail than strictly required to pass the exam.
If you want to REALLY learn the material you could optionally combine both books, or pick up the Cisco Press ICND book, or both.
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(b) Applied Knowledge - Routers
1. Router Simulators - Cisco CIM, RouterSim, Sybex Virtual Lab. Fake routers with guided labs that you can practice on endlessly. $100 - $200.
2. Online Routers - www.r1r2.com. Real pair of routers that you can practice most of the exam configurations on!! FREE!
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(c) Self-Assessment
!!! Practice Tests !!!
Identify your weakest areas and know when you're ready to take the real exam.
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Putting Theoretical Knowledge, Applied Knowledge, and Self-Assessment together you will have a killer study plan.
The real exam will hit you with questions and simulated router scenarios. Be ready!
Cheers,
Ron
---
Ron Steedman CCNP, CCNA, MCP, BS Computer Science
Free CCNA Practice Tests, Study Guides, & Message Boards!
http://www.congonetworking.com/ | |
| therock6336 2002-07-07, 6:32 pm |
| That's good so far guys. Where can I go to get the routers sims at? Are they online to download or do I have to go a store to get them? | |
| jeff_j_black 2002-07-07, 11:15 pm |
| I got this from Amazon.com. Virtual Lab eTrainer
The price is right from these referral vendors. It covers all of the 607 objectives.
Boson is a pretty thourough simulator as well. (Choose a variety of routers and switches and create your own topography.)
The latest version of eTrainer is available with Sybex (Lammle) 607 text book (Gold).
Both Boson and Sybex come in at $150 - $200.
Pretty much depends on your text choice, which simulator to get. I went with Cisco press Exam Prep Odom $60 and the eTrainer from Amazon $30. There's enough free and inexpensive practice exam engines online to round out your studies. | |
| therock6336 2002-07-08, 8:53 pm |
| What about the 'All-in-One CCNA 2.0 Study Guide' from Osborne? I have used them for getting my A+ and Network+ certs. Do you think they have a good sim on the CD in the book as well? | |
| jeff_j_black 2002-07-08, 9:10 pm |
| Haven't looked at it, got to the publishers web site. I wonder if they have a sim with it. | |
| Chammi 2002-07-08, 11:58 pm |
| Hi all,
I wanted some advice in terms of the best study technique that works for you when working for your CCNA ? All this info is a bit overwhelming especially because I have 3 books that im working from.
Shall i break it down topic by topic and then refer to each book for their explanation ...?
Thanks in advance..
Regards
Sunny | |
| jeff_j_black 2002-07-09, 9:27 am |
| I would probably read the most highly recommended one cover to cover and use the others for drill-down on topics that you find difficult to grasp. This way you get different points of view when needed, wihtout having to read three books entirely. | |
| Chammi 2002-07-09, 11:55 pm |
| Hi all
As a beginners book what would you recommend :
1)Cisco : A Beginner's Guide
by Toby J. Velte, Anthony T. Velte OR
2)CCNA for Dummies Ron Gilster ??
Also is the ESIM and Sybex virtual lab sim enough to practice on to pass CCNA? | |
| mikop 2002-07-10, 12:07 am |
| not sure about the sims, but as I understood it from reading the product discription for the sybex one, it is enough.
What I would still recommend is that, after reading the book, doing the exercise on sims, is to still rent rack time for just a day and try your hands on the real thing. what you will gain is to deal wiht the real ios... you don't just click on the router icon and it suddenly pop you into console... these experience with the real router even for just a day can be valuable when you show up for the technical interview. some of these rack that's more than suitable for ccna cost only like 15 bucks, well worth it.
about books... I don't know either of the 2 you mentioned. I dunno, sybex by lammel is easy to read enough for a beginner and the ciscopress odom's book is more comprehensive. I don't think I will trust anything that's even easier than sybex's as indicated by the dummies series... stick with what everyone have tried and verified... sybex-lammel, cisco-odom.
edit: also, about the sybex sim, I believe the exercises there match with the book, so that may be another + in term of book/sim selection. You should be work around it if it does not match exactly tho, such as using sybex sim with odom's book. shouldn't be a big deal. | |
| jeff_j_black 2002-07-10, 11:03 am |
| I feel that Cisco Press Odom 640-607 Exam Prep book is quite thorough. there are a few topics that you still need to drill down on though. But that gets exposed once you start doing sims and practice exams. The drill down is easy, mostly going to Cisco site for specific info or doing a web search. | |
| makan007 2002-07-11, 7:13 am |
| quote:
Originally posted by Chammi
Hi all
As a beginners book what would you recommend :
1)Cisco : A Beginner's Guide
by Toby J. Velte, Anthony T. Velte OR
2)CCNA for Dummies Ron Gilster ??
Also is the ESIM and Sybex virtual lab sim enough to practice on to pass CCNA?
My personally preference is SYBEX. If you have practice on the SYBEX Virtual Lab e-trainer, you will be safe. | |
| HOOLIGAN 2002-07-12, 6:31 am |
| quote:
2)CCNA for Dummies Ron Gilster ??
Noooo, in my opinion Dummies is a bit of a waste of money. I used sybex and sybex sim
both were good though, were I to do it again I would have used the official ICND book from cisco as it goes into greater depth.
Bottom line is you need hands on router experience, sims are great but I was always asking, 'did I make a mistake or is this a bug in the software'.Also I had two questions on commands that the sybex sim and book did not cover. Im sure you could pass with just a sim but nothing beats hands on. Remember you can always sell routers on when your done.
good luck |
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