Best CCNA self-study materials

M Riding · Guest

I have a question for everyone who has certified primarily through
self-study (e.g. ccna books, practice tests, real world experience,
and using labs [remote, simulated, or real]). I have used several
materials, have failed the test twice now (822 both times - I'm
getting older and even stupider, or somethin), and am looking for
additional study materials. What I have used so far for studying for
the 640-607 include:

* Cisco Press CCNA book by Wendell Odom (would rate about a 7 out of
10)
* Sybex CCNA book, third edition, by Todd Lammle (would rate 10 of 10)
* Whizlabs CCNA practice tests (would rate 4 of 10 [most questions
were good, but lots of errors & mistakes that they say they'll fix but
haven't - stay away])
* Real world lab (but with older routers and IOS versions)
* Real world experience (mostly with Cisco Cat switches/PIX)

In addition, I have looked at / considered / downloaded trials of:

* Transcender CCNA
* CertSavvy CCNA
* CCNA virtual lab (the one by Todd Lammle)
* Testking CCNA

One thing I find frustrating with almost all the practice tests have
outdated information that I haven't seen **at all** on the real exam
(e.g. questions specific to Cat 1900 switches, IPX/SPX questions,
Ethernet packet/frame type questions).

From the homework I've done so far, the CertSavvy and Testking are
probably the next direction I'll go. I've looked on the Internet for a
'review of study materials and practice tests' type site, I haven't
found it.

Does anyone (who has passed the test in the last 6 mo) have any
practice tests or study guides that they were really happy with and
would recommend (and didn't focus on / ask questions about information
not on the exam)?

thx smile

monte

M Riding
mcse, cna, a+

beLIEve · Guest

Hi there.

I took the exam a couple of months ago. I've used:
1. Cisco Press CCNA book
2. Transcender (practice exam, very similar to the real CCNA)
3. TestKing (supposedly dumps, but I used it as practise - I did not
cram the questions. It's very accurate)
4. Boson Router Tests (practice exam, tougher than the real CCNA. Good
lab simulation questions)
5. Hundreds of old 640-407 practice questions I downloaded some time
ago.

Preparation for the exam varies between individuals. I've had 2 years
of router (non Cisco) hands-on experience, so it's not really a
problem for me. I read the book once, did plenty of questions till I
score nicely in the them.

Though I never really tried CertSavvy, I doubt you should go for both
CertSavvy and TestKing together coz I beLIEve they should have very
similar contents. It's just a waste of money. You can also take a look
at http://certcities.com/certs/cisco/exams/

Did you have any problems with the simulations? If you did, then I
guess it's time to find an old router and try RIP and some basic
router configurations, such as setting the hostname, password etc.

To make it short, my suggestion is, get some exams such as Transcender
and Boson and practise until you score nicely and have confidence in
taking the exam.

Good luck.

On 2 Aug 2003 12:10:33 -0700, monte237@comcast.net (M Riding) wrote: