Ready for 640-801 Exam?

[Dane0554]

I've been studying for the past 5 months for 801.

I've used both Cicso's ICND and Todd Lammel 5th edition.
Combine that with Router Sim and a Cisco NA Lab notes.

I recently purchased a copy of Transcenders 801 practice exam.

I did not do so well on this practice exam because they put in items that I had never came across. Two examples, eigrp stuck in active state and eigrp bandwidth-percent - these two items were not covered in either book or labs.

So - my question to someone that has studied for and taken the exam recently, can I expect some exam prepare to have went through the IOS manual and pulled things out at random, or do they play mostly fair and stick to what is covered in the official study material.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[rmcp2k]

know these topics well.

ACL- know them well, standard and extended. expect a few questions from that.

routing: RIP v1, RIP v2, EIGRP, OSPF

switching: know your vlans, STP, VTP

know how to subnet,

 

[CiscoGuy33]

Dane0554,

I agree with rmcp2k on those topics - remember that the CCNA is all about troubleshooting - KNOW your "Show" commands and have an idea of what the different screens look like and what they show!

As for the EIGRP questions off the Transender - they seem a little deeper then the CCNA tends to be - might expect that more on a CCNP exam in my opinion!

I would be more concerned about the "show" commands that EIGRP uses and what they tell you about the status of EIGRP.

You can always hit a Borders or Barnes and Noble and grab several other CCNA books with practice questions and sit there and read them ALL! Just to get a little more practice for free! The most it costs me is $2 for a large cup of coffee in the coffee shop they all seem to have now!

Hope this helps and good luck on the exam.

E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +

 

[darkhut]

I can tell you how I did it. First time I failed it, I had never touched a router or had an online lab before. It pays to invest in a pair of used Cisco routers, 2500 series, get them from Ebay. make sure they have at least 8mb flash, so you can fit a better featured IOS. Nothing like some hands-on experience, it will make a lot of the questions on the test seem easier. The most time consuming subjects on the exam, at least for me, were access-lists(when they have a lot of conditions you have to implement), subneting when there's VLSM involved(got to be careful about overlapping and such), and switches. The Boson simulator isn't very good with switches, there aren't online labs with more than one or two switches, and they are also expensive to buy on Ebay, the 2950 series I mean.

fresh CCNA

 

[lerdalt]

Here is a list of links that I put together when I was studying:

http://www.tek-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=6313

It's been awhile since I took the CCNA exams, but what I remember, the best advice I can give is subnet subnet subnet. If you don't know subnetting, don't sit for the exam yet.

As for EIGRP, the stuck in active questions you described are more geared for the BSCI. For CCNA, all I remember is how to enable the routing protocol, and make a basic network start to route.

Getting a pair of 2500's is good advice. If you are thinking of continuing on to the CCNP, you might want to load them up with more memory. I'd look at trying to get a 2507 since it has the ethernet ports built in.

 

[helpdeskdan]

That'a good idea, I should have posted my CIT review guide as an FAQ. Oh well, test is expired now anyway.

 

[lerdalt]

helpdeskdan, I'm not certain, but I think I added most of the links you sent me to the FAQ. You had good links, that relate to other topics outside of CIT. Don't be afraid to post them, or send them to me and I'll add them to my list.

 

[helpdeskdan]

I don't have any that I haven't posted. Good job with the FAQ.