CCNA prep

Jacob Marble · Guest

Hey all-
At work we just purchased a 2621 that I get to manage/configure. I figure I may as well get the CCNA at the same time. A Cisco geek recommended the Cisco Press 607 book by Wendell Odom, so I've ordered the 801 version. I also have here Cisco IOS in a Nutshell and TCP/IP Illustrated so that I can start getting this router configured now, as University classes start in a month and I'm a student. Is this going to be enough? Someone said that the Cisco Press books aren't that great, but again this Cisco geek friend of mine said he just loved this one by Wendell Odom.

So, with what I have right now, does anyone recommend something different/more/less? Thankyou in advance,

Jake

LandEZ

beLIEve · Guest

To me that's more than enough. I guess your geeky friend is rite, you
can find almost all the answers in the Cisco Press book. Many says
that reading the Sybex book is easier as it's not as technical.

As I've experience in configuring routers, I just read the Cisco Press
book once and did plenty of questions till I feel like puking before I
signed up for the exam.

To get a feel of the real exam, you should consider getting the "Boson
Router Tests" from www.boson.com and Transcender
http://www.transcender.com/products/list.asp?Vendor=Cisco. From my
experience, Boson's test is much tougher than the real Cisco test.
Transcender is just nice.

There are also dumps available, TestKing's the best. It all depends on
how you use it. Cram all the questions and you'd be a paper engineer.
What I did was, print out and go through the questions, answer them,
and see how frequent I'm wrong. Too many wrongs means it's time to
spend more effort in revising.

Good luck.

On Fri, 1 Aug 2003 18:21:57 -0600, "Jacob Marble"
<jacobmarble@landez.com> wrote:

Javier · Guest

I used the CiscoPress CCNA book by the same author and found it worthwhile. As far as taking classes find out what the credentials of your instructor are and how long he has been working in the network field and how much hands on experince he has.

I took two semesters of Cisco's CCNA Academy and found out that the guy teaching it did not even have a ccna cert. I decided to buy a few routers and a switch and use the Cisco Press book, I passed with a perfect score.

--
Javier Rojas
"Jacob Marble" <jacobmarble@landez.com> wrote in message news:vim0totj9v2nb4@corp.supernews.com...
Hey all-
At work we just purchased a 2621 that I get to manage/configure. I figure I may as well get the CCNA at the same time. A Cisco geek recommended the Cisco Press 607 book by Wendell Odom, so I've ordered the 801 version. I also have here Cisco IOS in a Nutshell and TCP/IP Illustrated so that I can start getting this router configured now, as University classes start in a month and I'm a student. Is this going to be enough? Someone said that the Cisco Press books aren't that great, but again this Cisco geek friend of mine said he just loved this one by Wendell Odom.

So, with what I have right now, does anyone recommend something different/more/less? Thankyou in advance,

Jake

LandEZ

JWC · Guest

Now that's the right way to use a braindump. It should never be used as
the sole source of study, only a check to see if you totally comprehend
the material.

beLIEve wrote:

|{evin · Guest

On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 16:31:20 GMT, JWC <cook47@earthlink.net> wrote:

beLIEve · Guest

I know this is gonna spark a long debate. You have your point, we have
ours. I'm pretty sure the professor will not hinder you from doing any
past year questions on your own initiative. I did up to a thousand
questions prior to sitting for the exam, including some 640-407s. LOL.

The point here is, you don't cram the questions and go for the exam,
but make use of ALL materials you could lay your hands on and prepare
for it. I treated the dumps as an additional source, not the sole
source.

Anyway, this thread's supposed to help Jacob. We can start a new
thread for the debate if you're interested :D

On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 20:46:55 GMT, "|{evin" <You@dont.need> wrote:

|{evin · Guest

On Sun, 03 Aug 2003 10:38:12 +0800, beLIEve <moonangel@hotmail.com>
wrote:

Cisco_Newbie · Guest

Yeah, I agree with exact questions & answers being cheating.

However, from a Microsoft point of view (I've yet to take my first Cisco
exam) the fact that there are no 'past papers' (the question sets are not
changed very often) means that you may be able to competently handle a
software product in the real world, yet fail the exam. Obviously, part of
all certs are strategy, familiarity with question types (drag & drop, lists,
sims, etc.), trying to 'get inside the examiner's head', etc. But, there is
a lot more emphasis on the non-tech skills required to pass an exam at
College or University...I think we need some of that brought into the IT
certification world. I've taken a lot of MS exams, and I don't particularly
rate any vendor's practice tests...there's an element of 'wierdness' and
oscurity on all MS exams that you just don't often hit as real world
examples. You guys who think MS certs are easy...pass a current MCSE track
without 'dumps', than come back and say that!

I think braindumps of the 'exact' type generally survive so well because of
the lack of guidance of a legit form from cert vendors. There aren't many
people who want to cheat...I genuinely believe most peoples' case to be more
using 'all resources possible' because of the consequences of failing
(especially when a job, mortgage, etc. might depend on it!).

Just an example...one MS Cert Partner I worked for insisted one of their
developers take an MCP to help keep their certified status. He was offered
no job enhancement incertive what-so-ever, yet used 'proper' books,
materials and brought years of VB development experience to bear on his
MCP - he failed on the first attempt, passed on the second. And this guy
was very good at what he did, and had previously graduated at PhD level.

I guess it's the old saying that any exam is basically a measure of ability
to take that type of exam :)

No cert guarrantees an employer that you're gonna be good enough to do a
job.

Certs just help to work your way up the ladder, and to get jobs where you
can put the time in to get the experience that everyone wants.

At the end of the day, I have no problem with people passing certs in any
particular fashion (how is any vendor going to completely police the
Internet? But that's another debate LOL); you can normally tell, right
away, at interview/test whether someone has learnt the material and tried to
use it in real world projects. The guys who memorise answers don't tend to
get jobs.

"|{evin" <You@dont.need> wrote in message
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Cisco_Newbie · Guest

I'm currently using the CBT Nuggets video course, and the instructor, Emilio Valdez, is excellent. Combine that with some cheap(er) Cisco gear from EBay, and try to integrate it into whatever PC setup you already have at home.

We invested(?!) in some £15 PC's from EBay to add to our home LAN as TS clients, and I found a 7010 router (fully loaded) for £99. Being new to Cisco, I have a 'triangle' setup of the 7010, 2504, and a 2513 linked via serial, with an AD Forest, peer-to-peer LAN, and very basic Token Ring LAN (consists of 1 laptop & a hub, at present!), and a 1900 switch. Most MS software is available as a 120 day trial version, and there are some great contacts on EBay for cables, transceivers, media filters, etc. It all constantly mutates as I learn more.

Best plan I heard whilst I was at Uni, was several like-minded people all contributing one device to a small network setup they had in their student house. The group also found they learnt more putting it together with others, than alone.

Personally, I get more out of replaying the vids and configuring our home kit than a live instructor class.

"Jacob Marble" <jacobmarble@landez.com> wrote in message news:vim0totj9v2nb4@corp.supernews.com...
Hey all-
At work we just purchased a 2621 that I get to manage/configure. I figure I may as well get the CCNA at the same time. A Cisco geek recommended the Cisco Press 607 book by Wendell Odom, so I've ordered the 801 version. I also have here Cisco IOS in a Nutshell and TCP/IP Illustrated so that I can start getting this router configured now, as University classes start in a month and I'm a student. Is this going to be enough? Someone said that the Cisco Press books aren't that great, but again this Cisco geek friend of mine said he just loved this one by Wendell Odom.

So, with what I have right now, does anyone recommend something different/more/less? Thankyou in advance,

Jake

LandEZ

Darkmere72 · Guest

Interesting discussion, Bernie...

If you had to devise a solution to all the dumps out there, what would be
your suggestions in a practical sense?

Do you think any of the vendors would be able to enforce their
non-disclosure agreements? E.g. the alt.cert newsgroups are full of cracks,
dumps, hacks, etc... (I must admit, this group is refreshing in that most
participants don't encourage such)

Just to clarify my conclusion, I don't agree with 'cheating', but I don't
see an easy way to stop it. My point was that the job interview process
usually defeats the fraudsters.

Darkmere72 · Guest

I would say that's exceptional, and you have my congratulations. Most
people need at least a year to fit MCSE study in with work, family, etc.
commitments.

It also depends on your background...both my degrees are in Archaeological
Science, I work on an Equine Cushing's research project and my day job's IT
networking :)

Certs as part of someone's learning process, or the icing on years of IT
experience?

"|{evin" <You@dont.need> wrote in message
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Bernie · Guest

On Sun, 3 Aug 2003 14:58:32 +0000 (UTC), "Cisco_Newbie"
<Cisco_Newbie@btopenworld.com> wrote:

I agree with one point of yours, but I disagree with your conclusion.

|{evin · Guest

On Sun, 3 Aug 2003 14:58:32 +0000 (UTC), "Cisco_Newbie"
<Cisco_Newbie@btopenworld.com> wrote:

<snip>

|{evin · Guest

On Sun, 3 Aug 2003 22:51:22 +0000 (UTC), "Darkmere72"
<Cisco_Newbie@btopenworld.com> wrote:

Darkmere72 · Guest

You solve it.

If you take an MCSE properly, it should involve practical study
time/projects/jobs at work, or on the best approximation to the required
gear you can afford at home to study on, over a considerable time period.

In networking, as in most things, when you're on a paying customer's site
the job has to be done, and be done right. Good managers supervise or
provide support to juniors (e.g. 'paper' MCSE) on such projects. They don't
ignore someone's potential just because they have not been given the
opportunity to have extensive network experience.

My point was that some people use certs as part of their networking learning
path, others have the experience, but are perhaps required to have certs by
their employer (e.g. MS Cert Partners require a certain number of their
staff to be certified).

And for some, I think your 'study', 'no experience' point is irrelevant. I
have no formal veterinary training, but successfully found a treatment for
my horse's terminal illness that is being remarked upon by experts in this
field. And that was completely 'blind' - the neuroendocrinology principles
I'm working on have not (ever, as far as it's possible to determine) been
applied to equines before. No veterinary or medical help, no-one who had
even tried this course of action before...not even any study guides (!).
And this was literally life and death. I'm hoping it will provide an inroad
to treating my Father's diabetes more successfully. And you're saying that
because I'm a Systems Engineer, not a vet, I shouldn't have been capable of
doing this?????!!!!! Or that, as a qualified archaeologist, I can't manage
IT networks?

Neccessity is the mother of invention.

And some of us know how to use Google properly LOL

"|{evin" <You@dont.need> wrote in message
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