I am going to take a CCNA class at a New Horizons school. I do not have any experience with routers and I am starting to read a CCNA Prep book before I take the class. I am no stranger to certification exams. I have my MCSE NT 4.0, MCP+Internet, MCSA, N+, and A+. Any words of wisdom regarding the CCNA exam? I plan to regester for the test before Sept 30th so I will be taking the current version. Thanks
Welcome to the world of "internetworking". CCNA is a first step towards CCIE. I am a CCIE completed in 2001. Learn as much as you can in your class room. Buy couple of routers on e-bay and practice (you can always sell them back). CCNA test covers basics of internetworking. You can also buy a router sim. Let me know if youhave any other questions.
I never owned a simulator. I had a CCIE lab set up for my test and sold it on e-bay in 2001. Below are some of the free labs for CCNA. http://www.boson.com/netsim/free/online_learning.htm http://www.routersimulator.com/ http://www.topshareware.com/SemSim-Router-Simulator-for-CCNA-download-7708.htm There may be a lot of them on the internet. Do an exhaustive search .. you might get o a good one for free(shareware). But its a good idea to buy couple of routers and practice. You can also buy time-slots on the labs on the internet and practice. I know one of them .. http://www.bradshawlabs.com/index.php Also check out CCNA Virtual Lab e-trainer by Todd Lammle, William Tedder, Bill Tedder http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0782127282/102-9650647-7005732?v=glance Book Description If you're serious about passing the new CCNA exam (#640-607), you need hands-on experience with routers and switches. Until now, this has required access to expensive network equipment--not to mention the freedom to experiment with it. The CCNA Virtual Lab gives you everything you need to tackle Cisco's challenging simulation format questions. You can practice with this, "equipment" on your own, use it in conjunction with suggested labs that cover CCNA exam objectives, or even design custom labs. Simulating a network environment consisting of three routers, one switch, and one host, this program provides hands-on practice for the following topics and more: * Logging in to a router * Starting and saving router configurations * Setting passwords, hostname, IP address, and clock rate * Static routes and default routes * Dynamic routing with RIP and IGRP * Backing up, upgrading or restoring your router IOS * IP name resolution * Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) * Internetworking Packet eXchange (IPX) * Secondary network addresses and frame types * Configuring frame relay
Thank you manjuap. I will look at Transender. I did study for the CCDA in the past but never took the test. I never did feel ready and did not have any motivation to take it. I started to self study for the CCNA before I take my class (Last week in September) and it is very basic so far. A lot of the material is the basics of networking- Network+ stuff. I will let you know when I pass the exam.
Randell, ebay is a good place to buy an all in one Cisco Lab ~ $800 - $1000. Here's an example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3047430035&category=11185
try www.cbtnuggets.com and they have a excellent training video for the ccna they have several free videos on the site look at them first and see if you like them . I love these videos they teach way more that you will need for the actual test and they explian everything in such an easy way that you cant help but understand. if you dont believe me try it for yourself and see!