Hi all
Passed today after 2 years of Cisco Networking Academy.
Used mainly the online material and CCNA companion guides (yes they are hard going but very complete.....and full of mistakes).
Bought a couple of 1600's off eBay right at the start, with serial interfaces and a back to back cable. I spent many hours just plugging in config's til they became second nature. Definitely helped a lot in the exam, along with learning how to do subnetting. Lots of subnetting, more subnetting and VLSM.
Also played with a couple of simulators mainly to get experience of the feel of them for the exam, but found them very limited in function.
And finally, spend the last 8 moths or so lurking in this group picking up tips so thanks to everyone, if you're still here. Things seem a little quiet these days.