I passed the 607 today with an 885.
Well the second time around was winner! After just missing the mark on Wednesday the 27th(got an 832) I studied those areas that I did poorly in and made sure to brush up on everything in general for 48 hours! The guys at work were a little amused by the fact that “I ain’t got time to B.S. with you I gotta study.” But anyway to all those that want info on how to pass this exam the key is study, study, and study some more!!! Take your time reading the questions, read the answers and then READ THE QUESTION AGAIN!!!! I think that is what cost me on my first test, felt that I need to hurry and probably missed a few gimmies. I said it once and I’ll say it again; Cisco wants you to know your stuff. This ain’t no Micro$oft or CompTia test (and I’ve taken lots of those).
I primarily used Lammle's 507 Sybex study guide and a small home lab to do all of my studies. (They wouldn’t let me practice on the routes and switches at work) I did pick up a Cisco press book for a little more in-depth knowledge on WAN Technologies, but that was mainly because I blew the first test, but Todd’s book will do the trick. (And no I don’t work for him or Sybex)
Also thanks to everyone at Tek-Tips.com, your questions, advice, and encouragement helped a lot!!
Know for those that want the meat from the exam (without violating the NDA). I took it twice so I got a pretty good idea of what’s there. (BTW…1st test was completely different from the second, only had 3 or 4 questions on both that were the same)
1. The sims- very basic stuff, if you do all the labs in the Sybex book 2 or 3 times you will have no problems at all. They are that easy.
2. Subnetting- know it like the back of your hand, after you sit down for the test, but before you start the exam write yourself out a subnet cross table or what ever you use to figure out subnetting. You will get several subnetting questions and there isn’t time to start doing all the math and trying to figure out first/last host, broadcast and subnet address.
3. Got to know the OSI and how to read the question they are asking. They don’t ask what’s the 3 level of the OSI, it’s more like “This level s responsible for updating X types of routed protocol tables.” Makes you think on several planes at once.
4. Switches, hubs, VLAN- they are all there and in-depth, don’t forget the basics like wiring devices together and what levels, protocols, and functions are taking place at any given time on different devices.
My study advice is simply this, get Todd’s book read it once without worrying about questions, labs notes or anything. Then read it again, make some notes and do the chapter tests. Read it a third time do the labs, do the final test. After that do the labs again and study your notes. Before you sit the test do a few subnet problems to get in the rhythm, review your notes and relax. Wish I would have had the foresight to do it this way, maybe only had to take the test once. Best of luck to all those search of their CCNA, and again thanks to all of you who helped me on my way.
Steve
De Oppressor Liber
MCSE, A+, NET+, HP Certified Consultant and now a brand new cherry CCNA!!!!!
Let me at those production routers now!
Well the second time around was winner! After just missing the mark on Wednesday the 27th(got an 832) I studied those areas that I did poorly in and made sure to brush up on everything in general for 48 hours! The guys at work were a little amused by the fact that “I ain’t got time to B.S. with you I gotta study.” But anyway to all those that want info on how to pass this exam the key is study, study, and study some more!!! Take your time reading the questions, read the answers and then READ THE QUESTION AGAIN!!!! I think that is what cost me on my first test, felt that I need to hurry and probably missed a few gimmies. I said it once and I’ll say it again; Cisco wants you to know your stuff. This ain’t no Micro$oft or CompTia test (and I’ve taken lots of those).
I primarily used Lammle's 507 Sybex study guide and a small home lab to do all of my studies. (They wouldn’t let me practice on the routes and switches at work) I did pick up a Cisco press book for a little more in-depth knowledge on WAN Technologies, but that was mainly because I blew the first test, but Todd’s book will do the trick. (And no I don’t work for him or Sybex)
Also thanks to everyone at Tek-Tips.com, your questions, advice, and encouragement helped a lot!!
Know for those that want the meat from the exam (without violating the NDA). I took it twice so I got a pretty good idea of what’s there. (BTW…1st test was completely different from the second, only had 3 or 4 questions on both that were the same)
1. The sims- very basic stuff, if you do all the labs in the Sybex book 2 or 3 times you will have no problems at all. They are that easy.
2. Subnetting- know it like the back of your hand, after you sit down for the test, but before you start the exam write yourself out a subnet cross table or what ever you use to figure out subnetting. You will get several subnetting questions and there isn’t time to start doing all the math and trying to figure out first/last host, broadcast and subnet address.
3. Got to know the OSI and how to read the question they are asking. They don’t ask what’s the 3 level of the OSI, it’s more like “This level s responsible for updating X types of routed protocol tables.” Makes you think on several planes at once.
4. Switches, hubs, VLAN- they are all there and in-depth, don’t forget the basics like wiring devices together and what levels, protocols, and functions are taking place at any given time on different devices.
My study advice is simply this, get Todd’s book read it once without worrying about questions, labs notes or anything. Then read it again, make some notes and do the chapter tests. Read it a third time do the labs, do the final test. After that do the labs again and study your notes. Before you sit the test do a few subnet problems to get in the rhythm, review your notes and relax. Wish I would have had the foresight to do it this way, maybe only had to take the test once. Best of luck to all those search of their CCNA, and again thanks to all of you who helped me on my way.
Steve
De Oppressor Liber
MCSE, A+, NET+, HP Certified Consultant and now a brand new cherry CCNA!!!!!
Let me at those production routers now!