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Failed CCNA 6 Times Now
- Thread starter Ludoggg
- Start date
CiscoGuy33
Instructor
Ludoggg,
Not sure how old you are, what your background is or how you have been trying to get ready for the CCNA. But .......
At this point you might want to check your area for a Cisco Network Academy for several reasons.
I think it might help to "team up" with another student to study and do hands-on labs so that you are discussing what it is you are doing. In the Academy you should find other students that are the same age and backgroud as you - that you would want to work with.
You also would have an instructor/mentor in the Cisco Academy that you can discuss and talk the talk. Talking about what you are learning or what you do not understand is very important.
You will also get tools and software from the academy as well as access to the Cisco Academy website for FLASH videos and practice tests to help measure where you are!
IF the Cisco Academy Program is taught the way Cisco has intended it to be taught - it is almost like brainwashing and you can not help to learn things - they repeat things over and over and have you do things over and over and then you duplicate it in the hands-on labs!
You will need to go to the Academy and talk to the instructor and see if you feel that this is what you will get out of the program, what kind of equipment do they have and what access do you have to that equipment. WILL THEY PUSH YOU !!
If you do not want to go that route I will say what I have said for years and what I tell my students -
You need:
1) 2 good books - 1 Cisco Press and 1 the Sybex CCNA Study Guide by Todd L. You need to read these front to back!!
2) At least 3 routers and 2 switches to do hands on practice - when you read about it - you must go out and do it on the routers !!!
3) A good test software like Transender (not cheap) or even some of the free test software that comes wth the 2 books you buy. DO NOT TRY TO LEARN FROM THE SOFTWARE - use it to see where you are - most will tell you what areas you need to improve and thewn go back to the books on that area!!!
Then take the test or a different test again - and see where you are and then back to the books on that area - do not take test until you learn the questions - THAT WILL NOT HELP !!!
4) Look into CBT Nuggets at (not cheap)- these are videos that you play on your computer so when you are tired or reading you can watch a guy explain the concepts on a whiteboard
5) Would not hurt to have a good router sim to practice on when you do not have time to work on your home lab! Hands-on practice - again and again till you know what every "show" command shows you!!
Hope this helps !
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
Not sure how old you are, what your background is or how you have been trying to get ready for the CCNA. But .......
At this point you might want to check your area for a Cisco Network Academy for several reasons.
I think it might help to "team up" with another student to study and do hands-on labs so that you are discussing what it is you are doing. In the Academy you should find other students that are the same age and backgroud as you - that you would want to work with.
You also would have an instructor/mentor in the Cisco Academy that you can discuss and talk the talk. Talking about what you are learning or what you do not understand is very important.
You will also get tools and software from the academy as well as access to the Cisco Academy website for FLASH videos and practice tests to help measure where you are!
IF the Cisco Academy Program is taught the way Cisco has intended it to be taught - it is almost like brainwashing and you can not help to learn things - they repeat things over and over and have you do things over and over and then you duplicate it in the hands-on labs!
You will need to go to the Academy and talk to the instructor and see if you feel that this is what you will get out of the program, what kind of equipment do they have and what access do you have to that equipment. WILL THEY PUSH YOU !!
If you do not want to go that route I will say what I have said for years and what I tell my students -
You need:
1) 2 good books - 1 Cisco Press and 1 the Sybex CCNA Study Guide by Todd L. You need to read these front to back!!
2) At least 3 routers and 2 switches to do hands on practice - when you read about it - you must go out and do it on the routers !!!
3) A good test software like Transender (not cheap) or even some of the free test software that comes wth the 2 books you buy. DO NOT TRY TO LEARN FROM THE SOFTWARE - use it to see where you are - most will tell you what areas you need to improve and thewn go back to the books on that area!!!
Then take the test or a different test again - and see where you are and then back to the books on that area - do not take test until you learn the questions - THAT WILL NOT HELP !!!
4) Look into CBT Nuggets at (not cheap)- these are videos that you play on your computer so when you are tired or reading you can watch a guy explain the concepts on a whiteboard
5) Would not hurt to have a good router sim to practice on when you do not have time to work on your home lab! Hands-on practice - again and again till you know what every "show" command shows you!!
Hope this helps !
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
- Thread starter
- #3
I am 34 and have been working in the IT for 8 years now mainly getting experience on help desks. I have 1 2500 router and 1 1912 switch. I also have the Boson CCNP simulator which includes CCNA sims, Cisco Press ICND and Intro book by Wendell Odom and a TestKing .pdf. My last 3 scores were 770, 834, 834. I don't know what I don't know. I am going to see if my company will pay for a Network Academy. I feel it would help if I had somebody to talk with about it and practice over and over and over.
kumputirgeek, CHDP, Network +
kumputirgeek, CHDP, Network +
not trying to be nosey, but what was the breakdown on your scores? If you have one area that you are consistently scoring low in, you need to focus in on that area. Don't be afraid to ask questions out here either. Lot's of great resources to help explain topics. Just be specific in the question so that you can get the best answer.
Ciscoguy has some good suggestions, or if there isn't an academy is there someone in your company that could help you as a mentor? Someone that has taken the exams or the course?
Check out Cisco's CCNA prep center website as well. This site was helpful to me when I was working through the CCNA:
Ciscoguy has some good suggestions, or if there isn't an academy is there someone in your company that could help you as a mentor? Someone that has taken the exams or the course?
Check out Cisco's CCNA prep center website as well. This site was helpful to me when I was working through the CCNA:
- Thread starter
- #6
norteldude78
IS-IT--Management
I think the first step is finding out what you don't know. You have to be real honest with yourself in this regard. It's easy to pass a practice exam and say "ok, I know that" and move one. I would go through the CCNA exam topics and study ones your not sure of. There MUST be some questions that you didn't feel sure of. You should also get another router, or 2 
, to go with your 1 2500.
, to go with your 1 2500.
CiscoGuy33
Instructor
Ludoggg,
I agree with norteldude78 - You can not do much of ANYTHING with 1 router - you need to have at least 3 routers (like 2501s or 2503 with 16 mgs DRAM and 16 mgs FLASH and the latest IOS that you can get) connected serial to serial -
Router A ------ Router B ------ Router C
And then you can have all the Ethernets dead-end in the CAT 1912 switch. You can get these on eBay. You really need a 2950 switch - the CCNA no longer tests on the 1900s anymore but if you at least had the routers you could do all your router labs and do the switching stuff on a SIM.
With 3 routers you can practice setting up ALL the interfaces so that you can go from "A" to "C", you can setup your routing protocals like RIP, EIGRP and OSPF in a single area. You can even make Router "B" (one of the 2501s) a Frame Relay switch and practice Frame Relay.
Getting the right cables, hooking it all up, upgrading the DRAM and FLASH , backing up to a TFTP, making sure that your PC , when connected to the switch can telnet to all 3 routers and that you can TFTP to the PC - this is the kind of hands-on that will help you understand all aspects of CCNA and networking!
Check with the local Cisco Network Academy - if it is at a community college you might not need your company to pay for it!
Or you can just invest in yourself - and pay yourself!!!!
I think you need to "team up" and find a mentor to discuss all this with!
Good luck
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
I agree with norteldude78 - You can not do much of ANYTHING with 1 router - you need to have at least 3 routers (like 2501s or 2503 with 16 mgs DRAM and 16 mgs FLASH and the latest IOS that you can get) connected serial to serial -
Router A ------ Router B ------ Router C
And then you can have all the Ethernets dead-end in the CAT 1912 switch. You can get these on eBay. You really need a 2950 switch - the CCNA no longer tests on the 1900s anymore but if you at least had the routers you could do all your router labs and do the switching stuff on a SIM.
With 3 routers you can practice setting up ALL the interfaces so that you can go from "A" to "C", you can setup your routing protocals like RIP, EIGRP and OSPF in a single area. You can even make Router "B" (one of the 2501s) a Frame Relay switch and practice Frame Relay.
Getting the right cables, hooking it all up, upgrading the DRAM and FLASH , backing up to a TFTP, making sure that your PC , when connected to the switch can telnet to all 3 routers and that you can TFTP to the PC - this is the kind of hands-on that will help you understand all aspects of CCNA and networking!
Check with the local Cisco Network Academy - if it is at a community college you might not need your company to pay for it!
Or you can just invest in yourself - and pay yourself!!!!
I think you need to "team up" and find a mentor to discuss all this with!
Good luck
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
to answer your question on what is covered under technology, go look at the exam objectives (not knowing if you are taking this as one test or split between ICND and INTRO)
norteldude is absolutely correct in the fact you have to be very honest with yourself in what you don't know. I use the exam objectives as a gauge for this. Go through line by line, areas you aren't comfortable with, read up on, ask questions, get some hands on. If you are running labs, research the debug commands so you can see some of the processes. That's what really helped me with Spanning-tree, to truly see the steps the switches go through.
norteldude is absolutely correct in the fact you have to be very honest with yourself in what you don't know. I use the exam objectives as a gauge for this. Go through line by line, areas you aren't comfortable with, read up on, ask questions, get some hands on. If you are running labs, research the debug commands so you can see some of the processes. That's what really helped me with Spanning-tree, to truly see the steps the switches go through.
- Thread starter
- #10
CiscoGuy33
Instructor
Ludoggg,
About bootcamps - first, do you plan to go on to CCNP or CCSP?
If so then CCNA is the foundation and the 5 day bootcamp might get you your CCNA but you will not understand the fundamentals that you need for the next level!
Bootcamps are very expensive $$$$ I do not believe there are any shortcuts - you might as well learn it now!
The best example I can give:
I had a student who came to my Cisco Network Academy class as a CCNA already - he did the bootcamp and got his CCNA - he went to a job interview and got blown out of the water by the technical questions and a hands-on lab he had to do - they told him to come back when he had the knowledge to go with the CCNA title He sat through all the classes and learned what he needed to be a CCNA!
It is you or your companies money - but the title is only as good as the knowledge that sits behind it!
Just my thought!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
About bootcamps - first, do you plan to go on to CCNP or CCSP?
If so then CCNA is the foundation and the 5 day bootcamp might get you your CCNA but you will not understand the fundamentals that you need for the next level!
Bootcamps are very expensive $$$$ I do not believe there are any shortcuts - you might as well learn it now!
The best example I can give:
I had a student who came to my Cisco Network Academy class as a CCNA already - he did the bootcamp and got his CCNA - he went to a job interview and got blown out of the water by the technical questions and a hands-on lab he had to do - they told him to come back when he had the knowledge to go with the CCNA title
He sat through all the classes and learned what he needed to be a CCNA!It is you or your companies money - but the title is only as good as the knowledge that sits behind it!
Just my thought!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
CiscoGuy33,
Damn, that's gotta hurt being an CCNA guy, get hired, and get blown out because he didn't understand the materials. Wow man, that's gotta hurt.
I'm glad I have full knowledge on N+ because I can relate all that stuff very well. But CCNA needs hard work. I'm struggling myself. I try to understand it and not rely on just the questions. For many people have a strong or good memory can pass it easily, still lacks the understanding. I would look like a fool to have a CCNA and can't do squats in real life CISCO.
I basically work as a CISCO TESTER, we just don't do enough programming to have that required skill. I was going to head over to Nortel, but hell with it. I'm sticking with CCNA. I want to understand the materials, just hate failing.
Live long, and proper....Mr. Spark.
***************
R. Corrigan Jr.
Network+, (working on CCNA)
Damn, that's gotta hurt being an CCNA guy, get hired, and get blown out because he didn't understand the materials. Wow man, that's gotta hurt.
I'm glad I have full knowledge on N+ because I can relate all that stuff very well. But CCNA needs hard work. I'm struggling myself. I try to understand it and not rely on just the questions. For many people have a strong or good memory can pass it easily, still lacks the understanding. I would look like a fool to have a CCNA and can't do squats in real life CISCO.
I basically work as a CISCO TESTER, we just don't do enough programming to have that required skill. I was going to head over to Nortel, but hell with it. I'm sticking with CCNA. I want to understand the materials, just hate failing.
Live long, and proper....Mr. Spark.
***************
R. Corrigan Jr.
Network+, (working on CCNA)
CiscoGuy33
Instructor
motogprc,
What was really bad was that he was a cable installer and had a strong electrical background - it was GREAT talking to him because of his background with the bootcamp!
He always said that he just felt that because he was "around" it he would know enough to "fake it" until he learned on the job - he said that he never wanted to go through that again - no more short cuts!
Just some thoughts!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
What was really bad was that he was a cable installer and had a strong electrical background - it was GREAT talking to him because of his background with the bootcamp!
He always said that he just felt that because he was "around" it he would know enough to "fake it" until he learned on the job - he said that he never wanted to go through that again - no more short cuts!
Just some thoughts!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
CiscoGuy33
Thanks for the information.
Here at work, we test many different Cisco product lines, and quite a few things are good to know. My department doesn't required to know the advanced CCNA like Access list, NAT, PAT, RIP, RIP v2, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF, etc...and what not.....We even work on PIX Firewall routers, how to do pass. recovery, load the new image, etc...you those things...
I just gotta work hard, use concepts understanding....I hate hacking my way through it because it would look like that guy that got the boot. I like to get drilled on to learn it, makes me push and prove myself to the instructor.
Some day, I'll pass it...just taking time...
Peace
***************
R. Corrigan Jr.
Network+, (working on CCNA)
Thanks for the information.
Here at work, we test many different Cisco product lines, and quite a few things are good to know. My department doesn't required to know the advanced CCNA like Access list, NAT, PAT, RIP, RIP v2, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF, etc...and what not.....We even work on PIX Firewall routers, how to do pass. recovery, load the new image, etc...you those things...
I just gotta work hard, use concepts understanding....I hate hacking my way through it because it would look like that guy that got the boot. I like to get drilled on to learn it, makes me push and prove myself to the instructor.
Some day, I'll pass it...just taking time...
Peace
***************
R. Corrigan Jr.
Network+, (working on CCNA)
- Thread starter
- #16
CiscoGuy33
Instructor
Ludoggg,
GREAT JOB
Brag away!!!!!!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
GREAT JOB
Brag away!!!!!!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
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