Hi all My 2 cents worth for the CCNA (640-801) aspirants.
Took the exam today and passed with score in the 900s.
Here are some tips, in case you need them.
a. Expect the exam to be thorough content-wise and difficult to finish within the alloted time.
b. High pass % (85%). So, you have to get around
47 correct answers out of 55 questions. Always keep this in mind.c. Focus areas. a. Be very thorough in ip addressing/subnets etc., * Got an entire simulation question on this. * Got many questions on this. b. Lots of switching questions. * Be very clear on collision domains/broadcast domains * VLANs - general ideas, recognize correct config etc., * Basic idea of VTP * Trunking - many questions based on this. 802.1q. * Ideas on bridge Id - priority c. Lots of routing questions. * Very clear on RIPv1,v2 - what it supports * OSPF, IGRP and EIGRP - know to a good extent. * DV and LS type distinction * OSPF areas - backbone, RID, etc., * route summarization and auto summarization - diffs d. Lots of FR questions, some ISDN dialer questions. e. Many ACL, NAT questions also came.
d. Other stuff: a. Many questions deal with scenarios - application of knowledge rather than just plain testing of knowledge - many questions require you to apply concepts from multiple areas - switching, routing etc., - Know your stuff - no shortcuts. b. It helped to write down subnet bits etc., in the scratch pad. c. Pace yourself - always keep time in mind. 10 mins per simulation is the max - you get around 3 simulations and many drag/drop questions - no fill in the blanks questions for me. d. Read question carefully and fully - some trick questions.
e. Prep stuff: (All comments here are my personal views) a. Wendell odom book(2004 edition) is the best resource. do all the prep questions/simulations and you should be good. b. Lamle book mainly for subnetting and practice exams. c. MUST DO practice tests - cisco netsim and lamle's routersim. d. Semsim was practically useless for my prep. Lots of errors.
f. To expect no surprises, just work hard/know your stuff/work fast in the exam.
Thanks Sri