|
Home > Archive > CCNA > March 2003 > Is Formal Training Needed?
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
Is Formal Training Needed?
|
|
| Nistis 2003-03-05, 5:30 pm |
| I just passed the Network+ exam on my first try. I am not bragging, but I haven't had any formal training and all I used was a small book that I bought for $30. I admit, I have been working in the IT field for nearly 3 years though. What I am asking is, how difficult will it be to pass the CCNA with just the Certification Guide from Cisco Press and without having to take the recommended courses of ISDN and the other one? I have already installed a Pix Firewall to work with a "Hub to Spoke" configuration with some Cisco 1751 routers for the spokes on a VPN network. Of course, I did get some help from a few CE's because of the SMARTnet packages that I bought along with the equipment. However, at the same time, I have done a lot of reading on the Cisco website for configuration examples and such. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you  | |
|
| I think you'll be OK if you pick up the Sybex Book + LAB CD combo.. | |
| Nistis 2003-03-05, 5:57 pm |
| Thanks for your immediate reply Dim. Who is the author/publisher of the Sybex book anyhow? I have just recently heard of it. Does Barnes n Noble supply it?
-Nistis- | |
|
| here is my take based on the info you provided... I am making lots of assumptions so here goes.
1. you are working in the field, you have used cisco equip, somewhat limited, but way more than many other *certified* individuals...
2. you seem to have a good head on your shoulder. you have gone to cisco site and look through config examples to get what you needed to get the job done... which again, is a lot more than can be said of a lot of the *certified* individuals... I would venture many of them don't even know cisco has a web site...
so... How would I approach it if I were in your situation? a couple way.
1st, BLAH, skip the official training, if you have the drive as demonstrated by lookihng at various config @cisco, then you can do a lot more your self with that money.
first, read through the CCNA book once, not necessary to study, but to understand the scope and the depth needed for the test. after this read, which should not take long since you are not commiting it to memory, you should be able to formulate an accurate plan of attack.
this is just couple of things I would look at... assuming you were planning to spend 2k on the course, here is how I would spend that money. mix and match base on your own evaulation of your strength etc.
few routers, 2500 or whatever is cheapest and apply your knowledge to get them to work as you wanted... (upgrading and getting dirty with cheap routers are great experience) 2500 are like $200 on ebay... and base on your read of the book, you should then able to decide how many you may need to get the feel and have the configuration used in the book (which is really no more htan 3... so that's like 600 bucks... (this of course you can resell and recoupe your cost, or retain them for your ccnp study should you chose to further your study.)
switches, I won't bother purchasing for ccna, they deal with both ios and set base there very lightly and not worth the effort. I would rather go rent a switch lab on the net for like 30 bucks/24 hours... once you prep the work and the lab exercises to see vlan, vtp etc, should not take you more than a day or 2 on the rack, so 60-100 bucks tops.
simulations, there are a few, 100-200 bucks each, commands are limited, they have built in exercises etc... I rather have real equip to work with, and since you can resell it to recoup cost, I would rather go that route, however, simulations are portable... so....
so... the ICND course is not necessary, all you really need is the book... after all, this is just one crappy test... all others depends on how qualify you want to be and great build up for further study in cisco... at the minimum, I would hope you really know the book you are reading, or maybe get 2 books, like wendel odom's and the ICND course book. (both ciscopress) and compile a list of lab exercises and rent a day's rack and work on it... if you prepare the labs and already done your study, you can do a lot in 24 hours.
the sybex book dim refer to is by todd lammel, you should be able to pick it up at major stores or any of the online store like amazon.com sybex.com barnesandnoble.com etc etc.
anyway, pick a book and go through it to understand the scope of the exam, and then you will be better prepared to assess where you stand. | |
| Nistis 2003-03-06, 10:39 am |
| Thanks for the most informative reply mikop For now, as the "IT" dude here where I work, I have a Pix firewall, and 5 1751 routers for the spokes. I only have one tunnel established, and am going to configure the other 4 today. I do have the configs entered into all the routers, and just need to add them into the Pix. Also, I have a 3620, but that needs an upgrade on the RAM for me to use the 3DES on it. Then after that, I am intending on using that instead of the Pix for the "hub", then I am hoping to implement a "fully meshed" router network. I need the Pix though for the central end to keep our Server behind the firewall. Also, I chose the 3620 because I want to use the IP telephony option it affords. I am sure that the simulations will offer great assistance, not only for exam prep, but for actual implementation with little or no downtime. However, I do already have the "line vty 0 4" and "enable" PW's configured in the routers so that I can telnet to them from my computer in case I need to make config changes... since they are going to be installed anywhere from 10 to 150 miles from here  . Once again, thank you much for your input! | |
|
|
| Nistis 2003-03-06, 3:04 pm |
| Thanks a lot! I'm thinking of going for the 70-210 at the same time. How hard do you think that will be? I've been working with Win 9x, NT 4.0, W2k PRO for the past 3 yrs, and just tackled the networking 26 Win XP Pro machines to work with our W2k Server, where 4 of them I set up for remote access for the people on the end of our VPN to use for a work around to quickly authenticate (under 2 minutes) with our SQL Server, (The front-end program takes a total of 30 minutes to authenticate through the VPN tunnel). | |
|
| You're welcome. I'm using this book and CD now and think it's great.
As far as the MCP goes, I don't think it's hard at all, but there's a lot of information, so it's time consuming. |
|
|
|
|