Advice from all of you folks

Greetings Everyone:

I'm a "rusty" CCNA interested in starting back down the cisco path. I've got a good 15 years in the IT industry in general, but would like to begin learning about the Cisco CCNA path.

I've done some reading, but would like a good recommendation to start. Are the bootcamps valuable? Are there good web sites available? What about router simulations on the exams? How can I practice those with a limited budget?

Where is a good place overall to start?

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
John John Smith
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Personally, I think the bootcamps are overpriced and a waste of time. I think you'd be far better off picking up either a Sybex or Cisco Press CCNA book and going through one of those books. As far as the practice goes, I highly recommend a program called Dynagen (see the linik below). What this program allows you to do is run a "virtual router" (within Windows or Linux) using ACTUAL Cisco IOS. You literally can execute any command that's supported by the IOS, just as you would in a real router. The only catch is you'll have to have access to the IOS (they don't supply it due to legal reasons of course). If you've been in IT for 15 years, I'm sure you could get this running on your own. It's not difficult and is very powerful. People studying for their CCIEs use it!

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Andy

Reply to
PixNewbie

The Bryant Advantage has helped me greatly on my path to CCNA certification!

I highly recommend his (invaluable) learning material:

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"The Ultimate CCNA Study Guide" is what you want to purchase!

Reply to
Intuitive

Skip downloading Dynagen and pick up the all-in-one package of GNS3. It includes Dynagen and DynaMIPS but is in a graphical user interface. It is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux with the Linux and MacOS platforms being the most stable. Please note that you must be able to provide your own Cisco IOS images which will not be available unless you have an existing partnership or CCO login with Cisco. Without being able to obtain those device operating system image files, Dynagen/DynaMIPS/GNS3 is useless to you.

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If you have been in the industry for this long, skip the bootcamps. They are just going to teach you ethernet and IP subnetting all over again. Just go read the books on how to apply what you already know in the Cisco command line interface (CLI). If you already understand routing protocols and worked on other router and switch platforms, just do that. I know of Cisco trained network engineers that side-stepped into Juniper systems and picked up their certifications without classroom training. It is just a matter of learning the interface. If you have just been in the industry and have not worked on enterprise switches, routers, firewalls, and VPN systems, then do consider the other training options.

----- Scott Perry Indianapolis, IN

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"PixNewbie" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com... On Sep 13, 3:21 pm, "John John Smith" wrote:

Personally, I think the bootcamps are overpriced and a waste of time. I think you'd be far better off picking up either a Sybex or Cisco Press CCNA book and going through one of those books. As far as the practice goes, I highly recommend a program called Dynagen (see the linik below). What this program allows you to do is run a "virtual router" (within Windows or Linux) using ACTUAL Cisco IOS. You literally can execute any command that's supported by the IOS, just as you would in a real router. The only catch is you'll have to have access to the IOS (they don't supply it due to legal reasons of course). If you've been in IT for 15 years, I'm sure you could get this running on your own. It's not difficult and is very powerful. People studying for their CCIEs use it!

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Andy

Reply to
Scott Perry

If you work for a partner take a look a PEC via the Cisco website.

Reply to
Paul Matthews

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