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.

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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.

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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

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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

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Ron Steedman CCNP, CCNA, MCP, BS Computer Science
Free CCNA Practice Tests, Study Guides, & Message Boards!
http://www.congonetworking.com/

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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?

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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.

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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?

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Haven't looked at it, got to the publishers web site. I wonder if they have a sim with it.

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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

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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.

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