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Home > Archive > CCNA > August 2003 > Passed 923!
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| Hey All,
I was eagerly waiting for this day & here it is. Passed it last Tuesday 923. Phew! Just thought of sharing the good news and thanking all who helped. I am NOT ecstatic about the score, mainly because I studied my A * * off for it. I am not going to disclose what was in the exam, but heres' some thoughts about the exam; when you think you know it all there will always be something to test you. Believe me I was tested big time. There were at least 10-12 questions that I had absolutely no idea. Educated guessing is what I did.
My advise is;
1. Everyone thinks the sim's are a nightmare, well... It is not. If you think the sim questions are hard you are wrong, they are quite easy. Build up that confidence by practising, RIP, assigning IP Addresses, setting passwords for Console, Telnet, Aux. & Practice other config's as well like ACL's, IGRP, VLAN's. I used the Sybex virtual Lab.
2. If you&'re just starting on your CCNA, make short notes while studying, especially on the OSI model, VLAN's, FR, ACL's & Show Commands. Read them before the exam. It helped me.
3. I did not purchase too many books; I got a CD rom (.pdf version) of Wendell Odem's 640-607 guide together with the routersim from a friend. A second hand copy of Todd Lammle's Exam notes for the old syllabus (640-507), a CCNA Sybex virtual Lab Gold edition sim package, which was a worthwhile investment, given that I had no access to routers or switches. I will recommend Todd Lammle's Exams Notes, it is really tops (go for the new edition 640-607 or 801).
4. During the exam ask for an extra erasable note pad & make some notes before you actually start the test. Do a few subnet masks, write down the ACL format for standard & extended, write down the OSI model with TCP/IP & data encapsulation and what ever you think that might help you remember something important. This link will show you tips on what I wrote down Tips
Off to the CCNP forum, Good Luck to everybody sitting for the CCNA.
djjit | |
| scooter 2003-08-19, 2:36 am |
| That's a damn fine score.... !!
Congratulations and thanks for the helpful info.
 | |
| yannchua 2003-08-19, 4:41 am |
| Congrats to u...
hope i will get as high too... | |
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| Thanks fellas, hope the study tips helped. let me know whether I should add anymore. Good Luck in the exam. | |
| mparks 2003-08-20, 8:37 am |
| I passed my last night with an 898. My score was lowered a ton by a 44% in Routing Protocols. Most likely due to the fact that I screwed up a router sim.
I didn't spend much time using the sim I had and I really regretted it. I wasted about 30m on the sim on the exam and still didn't get it even though it shouldn't have been too difficult.
All of my studying saved my butt by getting me 4 100% sections. I was actually suprised that I passed. | |
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| Hey mparks, 898 after getting 44% in the routing protocols is excellent. I thought I knew it all but came across about a dozen question that I had no idea about, that lowered my score. Have you worked much on routers or router sim’s? If you haven’t now is your chance it will add more value to your cert. And also help you in the work industry. I’m browsing on e-Bay for some cheap routers & switches, so that it will help me with my CCNP. | |
| mparks 2003-08-20, 10:43 am |
| Ya I've been working with Ciscos from 1720s to 12008s for about 5 years now. Thats kind of why I blew off working with the simulators.
The simulator I have is called ESim and is the same thing as what is on the CCNA. It runs real slow unless you are on a very fast PC. It was so slow on my out-dated PC that I couldn't stand to use it, but that was about the same performance I got during the exam.
It was kind of funny that I knew one of the questions on the exam from a situation that came up at work an hour before I took the test. | |
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| I know the feeling. The simulator environment is somewhat different compared to the real thing. Also the exam simulator is awfully slow. This is something I forgot to mention in my original post. I know people in this forum have brought this up many times, but in my case, after I have typed in the command I waited for over 3 minutes but still did not see anything, I couldn’t handle it anymore so I pressed “enter” & it is then the simulator executed the command & the screen showed what I’ve typed. Even worse if you have a error in your command, you have to retype it all over again & press enter to see whether you have got it right. I truly believe Cisco should assess their exam simulators. This can be a nightmare if you don’t stay cool & clam, luckily it worked out well for me. Was it like this for you? | |
| mparks 2003-08-20, 10:30 pm |
| Yep. Really slow response. No 3 minutes though. About a second per character. Reminded me of troubleshooting routers over a dialup connection from home at my last job. Thats where nowing the <ctrl> and <esc> combos speeds things up. Also helps to be able to touch-type. I was typing in three different commands before I saw any output on the screen.
I agree Cisco should resolve this somehow. Its a tough enough exam without having to deal with an extra handicap. | |
| yannchua 2003-08-21, 12:23 pm |
| congrats mparks...
i screwed myself up in cisco basic and routing protocols...
can anyone tell me what is on cisco basic ? | |
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| Yannchua, I referred to my score sheet this morning, it should be “Cisco & Networking Basics”. I think it deals with the Cisco IOS config & general router & switch network stuff. i.e. your knowledge in;
1. IOS software, POST, RAM, ROM, NVRAM, Bootstrap code, etc..
2. Boot systems (how to boot a router from “flash memory” & “tftp”).
3. Also knowledge about cpu processes
4. config-regiter (0x2102)
5. IOS Versions & its capabilities (show version)
6. “copy” command, etc..
7. What happen in “setup mode”. i.e. the setup process
8. router capability in user EXEC mode, Privileged EXEC mode, Global configuration mode.
9. using Crtl+E, Crtl+A, Crtl+f, Crtl+b, Crtl+p, up arrow key .. etc..
10. Setting the clock
I’m hoping this is what it is, because I can’t think of anything else that might fall into this category. I have updated my tips link so if wanna, have a look at the “Booting IOS” section. Anything else people. | |
| ruscorp 2003-08-21, 9:20 pm |
| Congrats on your pass! | |
| yannchua 2003-08-23, 8:18 am |
| thanks djjit..
still don't know how come i could get so low... was quite sure i know them... 
maybe i didn't look carefully in enough in the ans... just click on the ans without looking at which mode it is in..
how about the routing protocols ? | |
| Ddice 2003-08-23, 11:05 pm |
| Congrats!! | |
| thomashong 2003-08-24, 12:14 pm |
| quote:
Originally posted by yannchua
how about the routing protocols ?
Yanchua,
Routing Protocols
Configure a router for inter-VLAN communication
Verify IP routing with show and debug commands
Compare and contrast the key operations that distinguish distance-vector, link-state, and hybrid protocols
Identify exterior and interior routing protocols
Configure static and default routes on a router
Enable RIP and IGRP on a router
Identify routing metrics used by IGRP and RIP
If you or anyone need more information, the official site is http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10...ms/640-607.html
Hope this help! | |
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| Yep, spot on thomashong. Basically everything to do with router configuration. | |
| thomashong 2003-08-24, 7:47 pm |
| quote:
Originally posted by djjit
Yep, spot on thomashong. Basically everything to do with router configuration.
Hey Djjjit,
are you going to put any of those routing/routed information on your review sheet to?
btw, thanks for sharing your review to us...
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| Thomashong, I endeavour doing it soon. The 10Meg web space provided by my ISP is on the verge on being full, as I am currently running 4 separate sites. However, the Routing/Routed info should be on the site very soon. | |
| MattyJV 2003-08-25, 7:03 pm |
| djjit-
awesome job!
i agree with everything you said, although I used Virtual Lab Gold i believe RouterSim 3.0 was more efficient and more "robust" lol. however we used the same study materials (to the T)
i was issued Keystone Learning Systems CCNA 2.0 w/ Todd Lammle basically a 6 CD set that talks to you like a teacher presents slides, ect. and goes throughs the routers/switches step-by-step, therefor eliminating the need to read. Which I took advantage of...
www.keystonelearning.com
But SYBEX CCNA EXAM NOTES 604-607 3RD -- LIFE SAVER! No ??'s asked an absolute need for every prospective CCNA candidate 
My score 923, quite a coincidence isn't it? | |
| MattyJV 2003-08-25, 7:05 pm |
| I liked your study notes web-site too.
I will be recommending it to others taking this exam, if that is alright? | |
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| MattyJV, it is a coincidence! Thank you so much for your positive feedback. I heard a lot about RouterSim, but never tried it. Would it be good enough for the CCNP you reckon? The keystone Learning website looks great, I’ll be browsing it more often. I am very impressed by your study method – saving time – learning more. So you recommend the presentation method of learning via CD’s? I know the prices are quite dearer than most books, so how long did it take you to complete the CCNA?
I see from your profile you’re working on the MCSE, why not the CCNP?
Thanks for sharing the news about the study notes, it is for all to share.
Good Luck in your endeavours.
djjit | |
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| Hi All, just added the Routing & Routed Protocols, as a seperate link on the tips page | |
| MattyJV 2003-08-26, 12:22 am |
| Your right about the prices on the
Keystone. I got them from my certification school though.. www.techskills.com
I did the CCNA in two weeks, the CDs were excellent, I wish Todd Lammle taught everything.
I am doing my MCSE right now, because quite simpily I need a break from Cisco
RouterSim has a CCNP suite, that covers all four courses. | |
| yannchua 2003-08-27, 1:27 am |
| thanks djjit for sharing... |
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