CCNA - self study or classroom??

red_diesel

I want to get the CCNA qualification. Can this be realistically achieved using the self study kit or is it best to do the course. The course is pretty expensive (€2250 in WIT) and my employers just do not have a training budget at the moment so I will have to foot the bill myself.

mack81

Hey RD,

I got my CCNA last year by self study. I bought the book on amazon http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Certified-Network-Associate-640-801/dp/0782143911/ref=pd_sim_b_2 and also the bryant advantage http://www.thebryantadvantage.com/ which i found really usefull especially for the subnetting questions.

It took me about 6 months doing 15ish hours a week, its tough but very do-able once you get into it. I personally wouldnt pay the money for classroom course, id save the money for when/if you start the CCNP.

Hope thats some help to you.

Mack

Adventure Pout

It depends if you already have some knowledge of networks as well.
I did it as self study but you need some good kits to have the practical site, which is very helpful. For CCNA, you really need to understand how subnetting works. It can be a headach for some people but easy for others (I honestly found it easier than the security parts!!)
honestly to pay a vendor over 2K for teaching you cisco in 5days or so, is a waste of money!
If you want to do in a class, I recommend you to do with the Open University http://ict.open.ac.uk/courses/t228.pdf - However, you will need to go to England for the classroom and the guys teaching it are really really really good. You get all the practicals to do from scratch. Also, you will be enrolled with the cisco academy for life and can find lots of greats tools etc...

red_diesel

Thanks guys. The course in WIT is actually over 36 weeks, one evening per week and one Saturday per month. Also, you never know what the standard of lecturing is with these course's until you start.

noel123ie

Hi there

I wonder how much the self study kit - books , router, simulation software costs versus the cost of doing in a college

I have self studied MCSA and am motivated but would be good to have assistance when needed

However 2250 cost is excessive but very good teachers in CIT

Hoping to do this myself this Autumn

Thanks
Noel

le_dazzler

I did the Year long course in CIT a few years ago, and i can't recommend it highly enough. Getting hands on access to the kit is pretty important (and valuable once you go job hunting) imo. That being said, 2k is a lot to have to shell out yourself, so I could completely understand going for the self study option.

If you do, you should check out http://www.gns3.net/. It's an excellent cisco simulation tool ... it'll be really helpful for doing labs etc.

There's a pretty good introduction video here: http://www.blindhog.net/cisco-gns3-graphical-router-emulation-software/

Best of luck with it!

mark renton

link below for those with no experience and no job - Cisco with Fetac

http://www.crumlincollege.ie/pages/full/it/cisco.html

Kye1

By self-study, do you structure your learning by yourself and then book the exam?

I applied for the CCNA via FAS, but have not recieved anything from them in two weeks. I plan on getting a refund and finding an alternative route for ahieving this qualification.

I paid 120 euro for the fas course. If I am only paying for the course material, then I think I would rather buy 120 euros worth of networking software and books.

Kye.

mack81

Kye1 wrote: »

By self-study, do you structure your learning by yourself and then book the exam?

I applied for the CCNA via FAS, but have not recieved anything from them in two weeks. I plan on getting a refund and finding an alternative route for ahieving this qualification.

I paid 120 euro for the fas course. If I am only paying for the course material, then I think I would rather buy 120 euros worth of networking software and books.

Kye.

I booked the exam for 6 months down the line once I had the books. I did this cos I know I probably wouldnt have studied if I didnt have a date to work towards. I didnt really structure it rather just read the book and took it as they came.

I read the book then did the bryant advantage ebooks and simulators mentioned earlier and all the sample questions that came with the books.

I also had access to an old router and switch at work to mess about with which helped a lot to get a feel for them but the sims would have been sufficient.

All in all i reckon 6 months of relatively good study (i did about 15 Hours per week on average) should be enough to get you the ccna.

Hope that helps.

axer

I would strongly advise anyone self-studying the CCNA curriculum to get their hands on the packet tracer cisco simulation software. It is great for practicing on.

Kye1

Thanks for the advice so far! Would someone be able to give me a link to that site which you need to book the exams? vue or something like that.

Once I have the material, I will book the exams for 6 months. Did you take the two part course or the CCNA exam? I heard the two part one is easier, since the first has nothing about subnetting so you can focus on that on the second exam.

Lastly, I was wondering how benefitial it is to have a CCNA for employment. I have no IT qualifications but it is a strong interest of mine. I was going to try and take a computer science course but I feel I much more suited for hardware then software. I plan on taking the MCSA afterwards since they are a good set of qualifications to have, but I would like to be employed as a network admin before I decide to pursue the CCNP.

Kye.

noel123ie

Hi there

You could also consider

http://www.commsupport.co.uk

Saw this on a uk based site. They run courses in London and are alot cheaper for 5 day course and are suppose to be very good

Hope this helps
Noel

axer

Kye1 wrote: »

Lastly, I was wondering how benefitial it is to have a CCNA for employment. I have no IT qualifications but it is a strong interest of mine. I was going to try and take a computer science course but I feel I much more suited for hardware then software. I plan on taking the MCSA afterwards since they are a good set of qualifications to have, but I would like to be employed as a network admin before I decide to pursue the CCNP.

I think the CCNA is very beneficial for employment. I just recently started as a Junior Network admin (will be dropping the Junior part in about 3 months ) and have found that the things I learned during the CCNA are actually beneficial to me understanding how networks operate.

Granted I don't use Cisco equipment day in day out (although I have been able to successfully set up things on our cisco router) but many manufacturers out there follow cisco's approaches and protocols so you will understand the underlying principals of things which can be built on vendor specific.

I also added a few MS certs to compliment my CCNA (you really do need some server stuff to go with the CCNA for a network admin job).

I would agree with getting a job as a network admin before further pursuing qualifications otherwise you will end up qualified in everything with no experience then people might not hire you thinking you are over qualified and going to leave after a short while.

I took the CCNA in two parts so that everything had time to settle in thus I would understand things better otherwise you are rushing preparing for exams rather than giving your brain time to fully understand things.

Book your exam here:
http://www.vue.com/

sconn69

For those who have done or know of anyone who has done the part-time option...how many hours part-time is sufficient? I've read through other threads with people saying 5 days full-time is way too short, 20 weeks is too long, etc...

IACT offer CCNA part-time 1 evening per week over 12 weeks (48 hours)
Full time course in general is 8hours 9-5 over 5 days so seems these options are basically the same just spread out over 12 weeks.

Dorset college offer it twice a week for 20 weeks (100 hours). Is this excessive or worthy amount of time to learn? Interestingly they both cost €1995...?

Coyote

having not done the CCNA myself I can't say just how many hours is needed.
but I think that when people say that a one week course is too short
and a 20 week is too long, they mean that on a 1 week course your not going
to have much mental room in your head to do self study after each day.
where if your doing a 10/20 week course you should be doing self study as well as
the hours you spend in class.
I'm sure somone who has done it might be able to give more info about the hours
they did for it.

Coyote

Thoushaltnot

Can anyone recommend the CCNA Networking Academy Programme (CISCO) in CFE Dundrum?
I'm long term unemployed so my get up and go has got up and left but I have my Network+ and a bit of industry experience. The course runs from now to May.

mark renton

Thoushaltnot wrote: »

Can anyone recommend the CCNA Networking Academy Programme (CISCO) in CFE Dundrum?
I'm long term unemployed so my get up and go has got up and left but I have my Network+ and a bit of industry experience. The course runs from now to May.

Just out of interest - what is the cost?

Thoushaltnot

john47832 wrote: »

Just out of interest - what is the cost?

I'd be doing it as Back to Education scheme, so €320 for me. The receptionist wasn't sure whether that included exams.

You'd have to ring them yourself (unless someone else here replies). It's a 5 day a week thing (but the days are short). I've only just started making enquiries myself 'cos I don't think Crumlin is as suitable for me (tho it would be handy).

mark renton

Thats a good price - if you are working and want to attend part time you are then looking at 2 - 3 grand for the year.

sconn69

Coyote wrote: »

having not done the CCNA myself I can't say just how many hours is needed.
but I think that when people say that a one week course is too short
and a 20 week is too long, they mean that on a 1 week course your not going
to have much mental room in your head to do self study after each day.
where if your doing a 10/20 week course you should be doing self study as well as
the hours you spend in class.


Coyote

Thanks, makes sense. For anyone who has done the course, how many hours is sufficient? IACT do 48hrs and Dorset do 100hrs for the same price...

mark renton

sconn69 wrote: »

Thanks, makes sense. For anyone who has done the course, how many hours is sufficient? IACT do 48hrs and Dorset do 100hrs for the same price...

That really depens where your at with networking - can you configure interfaces, do subnetting, grasp protocols, understand OSI model?


1 week course IMO is really for people who work in the area or have some experience and require the certificate - even then I would imagine the pass rate is low

Coyote

john47832 wrote: »

That really depens where your at with networking - can you configure interfaces, do subnetting, grasp protocols, understand OSI model?


1 week course IMO is really for people who work in the area or have some experience and require the certificate - even then I would imagine the pass rate is low

good point john47832

Yea I should have said that, It really depends on what your level of experience is. ie:if you work
all day with Cisco routers and understand 80-90% of stuff that you might need to do the exam,
but need to brush up on somethings you don't do everyday or what is the exam way of doing
something a one week might get you set for the exam.

one week course are not for people trying to start learning something new. you might pass at the end of a week, (i doubt it)
but a weeks about how long you will last in a job, as chance are everything you learn in that week you will have
forgotten a few weeks later. much better to spend the time learning it right.

how much time are you willing to spend outside of the class studying ?
a 10 week course prob would be loads if your going to spend 10 hours a week outside of class studying.
you need to get around 85% on the CCNA exam to pass

disclaimer
(again time needed changes depending on what your studying ie: one week learning to use ms word would be loads and if you could not pass the exam after that turn off the pc and never touch a pc again )
I have not done the CCNA, so hopefully someone who has done one of the course will give you a reply on how long they needed to pass.

Coyote

rom

Packet tracer is all that is needed for CCNA. Frame relay is the only thing that it can's do. Stay away from GNS as you need to know your way around packet tracer first. Any year long course you can claim tax back for so its not as expensive as that

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it31a.html for more info but it could be scrapped any time knowing those in the Dail

axer

rom wrote: »

Packet tracer is all that is needed for CCNA. Frame relay is the only thing that it can's do.

If I remember correctly it can do Frame Relay. You put in a cloud. Create a virtual circuit and then connect to the cloud with a modem and serial connection (iirc). Obviously you need to setup the routers aswell.

eamonpendergast

john47832 wrote: »

That really depens where your at with networking - can you configure interfaces, do subnetting, grasp protocols, understand OSI model?


1 week course IMO is really for people who work in the area or have some experience and require the certificate - even then I would imagine the pass rate is low

I'd be shocked if anyone could get a CCNA qualification with a 1 week long course. I've recently got CCENT certified, I had a pretty good understanting to begin with (understood everything above), we did a 1 week course and I'd say the pass rate was 50%. I'd shudder to think what the pass rate would have been if we had to do the entire CCNA course instead of 1/2.

Going back in Dec to finish it off and get CCNA!

msg11

Doing mine over 2 years in Killester at a cost of 450euro per year!

Take the program in 4 section each section 10 chapters long test at the end of each and a final at the end of a section.

Too be honest, there is alot too cover, and how anybody new could cover the stuff in one week is madness, unless your brain dumping.

Which would work out totally useless in the real world, also you get hands on in the course. With cables and routers and switches.

rom

axer wrote: »

If I remember correctly it can do Frame Relay. You put in a cloud. Create a virtual circuit and then connect to the cloud with a modem and serial connection (iirc). Obviously you need to setup the routers aswell.

I didn't know that. I have been using GNS too long

event

where can you get a copy of packet tracer?

axer

event wrote: »

where can you get a copy of packet tracer?

I think it is only officially available through CCNA Academy training centers as part of the course but...

samdeluxjones

packet tracer is up for free in plenty of places, if ya can't get it message me and i'll send ya on a link or 2.

Sybex network plus study guide 4th edition also a good tutorial book with lots of test questions.

think i got it off ipmart e-book section

i start the cisco fas course in 2 weeks if they let me in, not heard a thing from them yet.. messin with networks for about a year..

msg11

samdeluxjones best of luck with the course it is though.

Also I strongly recommend taking down them links mate..

samdeluxjones

just changed it, cheers man. links against the rules or something?

some other threads seem to be full of em..

Col_Loki

I'd be shocked if anyone could get a CCNA qualification with a 1 week long course. I've recently got CCENT certified, I had a pretty good understanting to begin with (understood everything above), we did a 1 week course and I'd say the pass rate was 50%. I'd shudder to think what the pass rate would have been if we had to do the entire CCNA course instead of 1/2.

Totally agree with you there. I have recently gotten my CCENT aswell and to be honest before i started the study i thought it would be a breeze with the experience i had.....not the case at all. I put in a pretty big amount of study for this exam, bought equipment to have a practical understanding of how cisco routers/switches look/connect etc, also would have been working a little with them too.

I went into the exam and to be honest thought i might fail for the first couple of questions until i settled down.

Found the course great and really enjoyed it but give it the time it deserves. I dont see how someone can cover it all in a week never mind the CCNA. Reckon i will have to give the second half a good bit more time, might well enjoy it.

Just my opinion though.

msg11

samdeluxjones wrote: »

just changed it, cheers man. links against the rules or something?

some other threads seem to be full of em..

Torrents or Warez are against site rules, you don't want too be getting yourself in trouble.

It's only "available" threw netacad.

CorkFenian

Have a fair bit of exposure to networks, planning on doing CCENT before year is out...Its not the cakewalk its meant out to be IMO anyway...I find the cisco mentor stuff brilliant...

MrMiyagi

samdeluxjones wrote: »

packet tracer is up for free in plenty of places, if ya can't get it message me and i'll send ya on a link or 2.

Sybex network plus study guide 4th edition also a good tutorial book with lots of test questions.

think i got it off ipmart e-book section

i start the cisco fas course in 2 weeks if they let me in, not heard a thing from them yet.. messin with networks for about a year..

Hello,

Is the Cisco FAS course any good?

NullZer0

I think its important to keep in mind here that the CCNA alone will not get you a job.

Infact, the CCNA doesn't cover many of the day to day tasks that are required by an engineer.

Its a great starting point but not the be all and end all... this is why for me, it doesn't make much sense to spend a year or two doing it.

You just need to get a lab, read the books and lab lab lab. Then do the exam... thats really all there is to it.

You'll get more specific at CCNP/IP/VP level which IMO are essential.

d'NObodyspecial

axer wrote: »

If I remember correctly it can do Frame Relay. You put in a cloud. Create a virtual circuit and then connect to the cloud with a modem and serial connection (iirc). Obviously you need to setup the routers aswell.

He must've been referring to a prior version of Packet Tracer - I think the latest is 5.3, but how are you supposed to learn about CCNP stuff on Packet Tracer anyway? Is there a CCNP version or do you have to fork out a truck load of money that you just don't have?

d'NObodyspecial

no offense to anyone here... I think the whole certification system is a complete con-job...MS, Cisco, Juniper, Citrix...they all come out with their own software/equipment & then try & corner the market on selling the 'technology of information'. Because sharing information comes at a price-tag or so it appears in the corp. sector. I'm only slightly cheesed off because I really did love to work with pc's when I was younger - piecing them together... as frustrated as I was at times it seemed like leaps of great accomplishments to get the damn thing to work properly. Anyway, as time flew by I thought I'd try n' up the skillset by taking an MCSE course that ran about 3 months (actually 2 months minus all the days in between). That cost me around $3000 back in 1999. What I found out is that taking a crash course is no good unless you have the software already & some labs to work on at home or you have worked on the technology already. There will always be questions that you might have for the instructor on things that you don't understand & they might give a great explanation, but remembering these things for the tests is key - and this is only achieved by practice. I still can't afford to buy MS software to study for the MCSE/ MCSA... unless it's free, but somehow I doubt it. That's why I think that you should consider very wisely before spending money on a crash course... Note: some places will actually say that they can get you a job or experience after certification, but 9 of 10 times it's a hoax to get you to pay first. As for the Cisco stuff I'm CCNA certified since last year Feb. - I went to the library nearly every chance I could - wrote down everything on a notepad to help me recap each chapter - scheduled the test (@ €200) and I got a 96% on the 802. However, since that time I've been having a hard time in finding experience in the industry/ a foothold in the door. After all this frustration I'm still interested in pursuing the CCNP...God knows why, but I think that being CCNA certified is not much of a benefit to me without a degree specifically in IT. If anyone has any suggestions on where to go that might offer experience I'm all ears & runnin outta ideas. I do volunteer from time to time assisting in the refurbishment of servers, but I need to get some wheels rolling in some networking direction. Thank you in advance. Ps- any questions regarding study materials, etc. just ask

mickman

d'NObodyspecial wrote: »

no offense to anyone here... I think the whole certification system is a complete con-job...MS, Cisco, Juniper, Citrix...they all come out with their own software/equipment & then try & corner the market on selling the 'technology of information'. Because sharing information comes at a price-tag or so it appears in the corp. sector. I'm only slightly cheesed off because I really did love to work with pc's when I was younger - piecing them together... as frustrated as I was at times it seemed like leaps of great accomplishments to get the damn thing to work properly. Anyway, as time flew by I thought I'd try n' up the skillset by taking an MCSE course that ran about 3 months (actually 2 months minus all the days in between). That cost me around $3000 back in 1999. What I found out is that taking a crash course is no good unless you have the software already & some labs to work on at home or you have worked on the technology already. There will always be questions that you might have for the instructor on things that you don't understand & they might give a great explanation, but remembering these things for the tests is key - and this is only achieved by practice. I still can't afford to buy MS software to study for the MCSE/ MCSA... unless it's free, but somehow I doubt it. That's why I think that you should consider very wisely before spending money on a crash course... Note: some places will actually say that they can get you a job or experience after certification, but 9 of 10 times it's a hoax to get you to pay first. As for the Cisco stuff I'm CCNA certified since last year Feb. - I went to the library nearly every chance I could - wrote down everything on a notepad to help me recap each chapter - scheduled the test (@ €200) and I got a 96% on the 802. However, since that time I've been having a hard time in finding experience in the industry/ a foothold in the door. After all this frustration I'm still interested in pursuing the CCNP...God knows why, but I think that being CCNA certified is not much of a benefit to me without a degree specifically in IT. If anyone has any suggestions on where to go that might offer experience I'm all ears & runnin outta ideas. I do volunteer from time to time assisting in the refurbishment of servers, but I need to get some wheels rolling in some networking direction. Thank you in advance. Ps- any questions regarding study materials, etc. just ask

from someone with 10 yrs experience in the IT industry and countless certs. certification is a great way to go, a degree in IT is one thing but you need more . you need a degree , experience and the certs for a career in IT

Gonzovision

Hopefully someone here would be kind enough to give me a hand with this question.

Basically it consists of 4 switches a router, server and WAN connection. 3 switches, 1st floor, ground floor, 2nd floor connected to main switch. The 3 switches have 3 pcs connected to each, i.e HR, accounting, publishing etc. The network is /24.

The question is basically to set up trunking between the switches, VTP, one server switch and 3 clients and separate vlans for each department. I believe I have all this done correctly but the problem I'm having is I can't ping anything once the PCs are subnetted, as is required.

.pka

The packet file is in its unmodified state.

Thanks

axer

Have you the router setup to route between the subnets?

Gonzovision

I haven't made any changes on the router, would implementing rip achieve this?

axer

If I remember correctly you have to make the link between the router and the switch it is connected to a trunk link. Then create sub interfaces on the router - one interface for each vlan (giving the sub interfaces the relevant ip address and encapsulation).

I found this page that will explain how to set it up:
http://www.anythingoverip.co.za/tutorials/course-content/ccna/inter-vlan-routing-router-on-a-stick/

Let me know if you need any more info.

Gonzovision

Thanks a mill Axer, everything is working perfectly. Very much appreciated!

starlit

Is there a practical element to the CCNA exam or is it all a written/online multiple choice questions?

mack81

when i did it 2 years ago it was all online multiple choice and a couple of sims. No practical dor ccna. Think its just ccie that you would need to do practical exam but stand to be corrected on that.

starlit

mack81 wrote: »

when i did it 2 years ago it was all online multiple choice and a couple of sims. No practical dor ccna. Think its just ccie that you would need to do practical exam but stand to be corrected on that.

Does that apply to all the cert exams similar to those ones and A+ ones etc?

Shamo

Actually for the new CCNA coming in a few weeks you have to do a 4 hour practical lab at a Cisco building where they ask you questions during it.

Ah no only joking! No real world practical side to anything up until CCIE. Network+ and A+ are multiple choice as well.

starlit

Shamo wrote: »

Actually for the new CCNA coming in a few weeks you have to do a 4 hour practical lab at a Cisco building where they ask you questions during it.

Ah no only joking! No real world practical side to anything up until CCIE. Network+ and A+ are multiple choice as well.

So basically most of those exams are only multiple choice questions? Great. Thanks. Self-learning and online tutorials might be handier though, you learn more on your own than from an instructor in a classroom.

coolpix23

check this out.

http://www.howtonetwork.net/public/department95.cfm

I haven't tryed it, pressumable they will try to flog you courses/kits.

I'd always try to have some kit and go through a self-study before I started a €2000 plus course. I have a lab on adverts, it's pricey but that's because it's top gear.

Just starting out try just one switch plus GNS3 on a PC. If it's your first piece of Cisco gear make sure to get a console cable. It has a serial connector on one end for the PC and RJ45 on the other for the Cisco console socket. I have a 2950-24 for €80.

check http://www.subnet192.com/?page_id=282 for some labs.

Patrick