*Sigh* CCNA....again....and again....and again

[Knightshade Dragon]

I just took the CCNA exam for the 3rd time now.  I've brought this on myself, but I've failed it again.  I missed it by 90 points (out of 1000) and I have only myself to blame.  I've not spent the time studying that I should, trying to balance this site, work, and my study time.  To that end, I'm asking for a few things:

1.) A little patience on some pending reviews.  I plan on knocking a few out that I can't delegate, but otherwise I'm handing 100% of what I have to review off to other people, no matter how much I want to play.
2.) A little patience with the staff as they cover the slack.
3.) A cease-fire between you forum members that can't get along.  I simply can't spend the time to police any bickering.

I am also asking anyone who has passed this God-forsaken exam to give me any sort of advice, study materials, magic wand, bribe amount, or whatever the fuck else it'll take for me to get this damned thing done by the 6th. (On the 7th they change the exam - yep, last chance here folks)

I'd expect that you won't see much of me until the 6th.  Coordinate with the staff if you need something.  PM me directly if you know who I can shoot to pass this thing. 

[DarkEL]

Sorry dude...

Have you been using a transcender practice exam?
http://www.transcender.com/dept.aspx?dept%5Fid=120100

It's been a few years but those things used to make passing most certification exams a walk in the park.

[WarPig]

Bite the bullet and ask Brian for study help.  He's already got a tutorial lesson plan made to help me get my cert.

[mikeg]

Go to bryantinstruction.com and buy the $99 ccna study package.  His study guides, lab times on real routers and switches, 100 must-know things to pass the exam that you get in that bundle are THE way to pass. 


I just bought his CCNP package and was able to use it solely and pass the CCNP recert exam for the 2nd time with a score in the 900's. 

I highly recommend it.  And he personally will answer email questions on tough to understand subjects.  He did for me anyway.

Just a suggestion.  Worked for me after tediously studying the Cisco Exam guides from Ciscopress for the first recert and his was 10 times easier to grasp and funner to learn.  Period.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Go to bryantinstruction.com and buy the $99 ccna study package.  His study guides, lab times on real routers and switches, 100 must-know things to pass the exam that you get in that bundle are THE way to pass. 


I just bought his CCNP package and was able to use it solely and pass the CCNP recert exam for the 2nd time with a score in the 900's. 

I highly recommend it.  And he personally will answer email questions on tough to understand subjects.  He did for me anyway.

Just a suggestion.  Worked for me after tediously studying the Cisco Exam guides from Ciscopress for the first recert and his was 10 times easier to grasp and funner to learn.  Period.

bryantinstruction.com is a parked domain.  You mean http://thebryantadvantage.com/?

[mikeg]

Correct.  I was looking at his personal email from some of our question/answer emails we exchanged.  Sorry.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Correct.  I was looking at his personal email from some of our question/answer emails we exchanged.  Sorry.

Ordered - just waiting on the unlock codes.  If this guy is as good as you say he is, and as good as his testimonials suggest, I'm willing to give it a shot.  At this point I'm rather desperate. 

[mikeg]

I read the study guide through three times, took his practice exam over and over til the questions were rote, and did the labs twice.  I personally did not actually log into any of his lab equipment and just read through the labs slowly and carefully. 


Beauty of it is he guarantees you will pass or he will give you back the money. 

I intend to use his ccnp one again in 2 1/2 years when it is time to renew again. 

Oh, and you are right about the vicious 3 year cycle.  I hate it!  I think it is lame that you have to do that.  I don't know why you can't just show proof of continued ed to Cisco (receipts from classes or something) and that be sufficient.  The constant test taking sucks.  Especially on the CCNP, as it took 5 tests to get it and if you don't renew you fall back to not only having the CCNP, but not even having the CCNA.  And to get back there you would have to take all 5 again.  Not happening.  Now, that will motivate ya by god!

Best of luck to ya.

[jersoc]

I'm actually in the middle of taking courses for this. Started the 2nd part tonight. We're using the new cisco program they almost literally just rolled out. I plan on taking the first half of the CCNA after this course and the 2nd after in the spring/summer. It's 150 for each half, so 100 bucks more, but to me it's worth it. I have a horrible memory and there's no way I could pack all that info at once. Anyone in Wi wanna give me an internship?! 

[unbreakable]

I was going to recommend CBT, but others beat me to it.  All my certs, I used self study and CBT, passed the tests first time.

[drifter]

Do any of you do any work on Cisco Fiber switches?  If so I can definitely hook you up with material on those; would be up to KD though as its a LOT of info.

[DamageInc]

Bite the bullet and ask Brian for study help.  He's already got a tutorial lesson plan made to help me get my cert.

Bradford may be of some help as well, he is a really smart guy, and Brian would be an excellent choice as well.

[JuniorDan]

I think now is a good time for you to pay the King a visit.
http://www.testking.com/

[drifter]

I recommended them the first time he asked.

One of my instructors at DeVry in Alpharetta Ga was going thru the process to become a certified Cisco instructor he said that was one of the best sites.  This guy doesnt need that himself but recommended it to us Students if we wanted to get certified.

[unbreakable]

I think now is a good time for you to pay the King a visit.
http://www.testking.com/

[mikeg]

Test king is a brain dump.  I bought there ccnp routing test package and it was a worthless pile of crap.  30 percent of the questions were repeated over and over and over.  And I found, and emailed them about it, multiple errors in not only the questions, but the answers. 

I wouldn't spend a nickel on em myself, but to each his own.  I can't speak for there other tests, understand, only the one I tried. 

[ericb]

I got the ccent package from http://thebryantadvantage.com/ today...on "sale" for $67 and it includes the CCNA upgraded package when it comes out towards the end of Nov.  If it's a third as good as people claim then it's worth every penny (the official cisco press books are expensive as hell and hard to follow in most cases).  I figure it will be easier to start out with the new ccent since I haven't looked at anything Cisco in 2 years (though I've previously studied for the CCNA multiple times).

[unbreakable]

Test king is a brain dump.  I bought there ccnp routing test package and it was a worthless pile of crap.  30 percent of the questions were repeated over and over and over.  And I found, and emailed them about it, multiple errors in not only the questions, but the answers. 

I wouldn't spend a nickel on em myself, but to each his own.  I can't speak for there other tests, understand, only the one I tried. 

I actually used Trancender, but this was back in the day.  I have no idea if they are even around, much less still good.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Tomorrow at 9:30am.  God....wish me luck again.

[ROTC1983]

Tomorrow at 9:30am.  God....wish me luck again.

Good luck Ron...I wish you the best

[EngineNo9]

Best of luck to ya!

[Jarrodhk]

Good luck!

[faide]

 It took me 4 tries myself so hopefully the 4th try is the charm for you as well.  The good news is that if you plan to keep going up the Cisco ladder the tests seem to get easier after the CCNA.  I've started working on my CCVP and have passed 2 of the tests already on the first try.  I think the CCNA is so hard because the test itself is so broad, it covers a lot.  The mid-level tests go deeper but are more focused on 1 subject at least.


Good luck man!

[CeeKay]

good luck!  hurry up and pass so you can take over the Hellgate guild.  ROTC is a power crazed maniac!!! 

[Knightshade Dragon]

It took me 4 tries myself so hopefully the 4th try is the charm for you as well.  The good news is that if you plan to keep going up the Cisco ladder the tests seem to get easier after the CCNA.  I've started working on my CCVP and have passed 2 of the tests already on the first try.  I think the CCNA is so hard because the test itself is so broad, it covers a lot.  The mid-level tests go deeper but are more focused on 1 subject at least.


Good luck man!

Sadly, 4th time wasn't a charm for me.  I gave up all of this time, pushed off all of my work, and studied for 6 days straight and netted myself exactly 1 point more than I did last time.  I don't know what to do at this point...

[javahead]

Sorry man 

[jersoc]

It took me 4 tries myself so hopefully the 4th try is the charm for you as well.  The good news is that if you plan to keep going up the Cisco ladder the tests seem to get easier after the CCNA.  I've started working on my CCVP and have passed 2 of the tests already on the first try.  I think the CCNA is so hard because the test itself is so broad, it covers a lot.  The mid-level tests go deeper but are more focused on 1 subject at least.


Good luck man!

Sadly, 4th time wasn't a charm for me.  I gave up all of this time, pushed off all of my work, and studied for 6 days straight and netted myself exactly 1 point more than I did last time.  I don't know what to do at this point...

That sucks. Is it really just this insanely hard? Now I'm worried about come summer, hehe. Do they allow you use of notes or anything or is it all just hard core memory knowlege?

[gellar]

Bummer.

gellar

[Destructor]

Sadly, 4th time wasn't a charm for me.  I gave up all of this time, pushed off all of my work, and studied for 6 days straight and netted myself exactly 1 point more than I did last time.  I don't know what to do at this point...

Crap, man. Sorry to hear that.

[Knightshade Dragon]

It took me 4 tries myself so hopefully the 4th try is the charm for you as well.  The good news is that if you plan to keep going up the Cisco ladder the tests seem to get easier after the CCNA.  I've started working on my CCVP and have passed 2 of the tests already on the first try.  I think the CCNA is so hard because the test itself is so broad, it covers a lot.  The mid-level tests go deeper but are more focused on 1 subject at least.


Good luck man!

Sadly, 4th time wasn't a charm for me.  I gave up all of this time, pushed off all of my work, and studied for 6 days straight and netted myself exactly 1 point more than I did last time.  I don't know what to do at this point...

That sucks. Is it really just this insanely hard? Now I'm worried about come summer, hehe. Do they allow you use of notes or anything or is it all just hard core memory knowlege?

Just gotta know it. You don't get notes of any kind.  You get a single sided dry-erase board and a pen that doesn't erase.  Wheeee!   Most people fail it 3 times (at 150 bucks a pop) before they pass it.  The average is 4.  I'm feeling a bit below average at this point.

[jersoc]

Ah crap lol. I suck at memorizing stuff. I'm gonna take the test in halves though, so that should help. My class also just switched to the new material format they have, which I guess presents it better. So far the book is pretty neat. Much more organized than the previous I must say.

[Punisher]

It took me 4 tries myself so hopefully the 4th try is the charm for you as well.  The good news is that if you plan to keep going up the Cisco ladder the tests seem to get easier after the CCNA.  I've started working on my CCVP and have passed 2 of the tests already on the first try.  I think the CCNA is so hard because the test itself is so broad, it covers a lot.  The mid-level tests go deeper but are more focused on 1 subject at least.


Good luck man!

Sadly, 4th time wasn't a charm for me.  I gave up all of this time, pushed off all of my work, and studied for 6 days straight and netted myself exactly 1 point more than I did last time.  I don't know what to do at this point...

That sucks. Is it really just this insanely hard? Now I'm worried about come summer, hehe. Do they allow you use of notes or anything or is it all just hard core memory knowlege?

My understanding is that the Cisco tests are the only ones that actually mean something in the real world. A+, MCP, MCSE's, don't really mean much. I've worked with people that had those and some of them I would trust to plug my PC in....

[gellar]

It took me 4 tries myself so hopefully the 4th try is the charm for you as well.  The good news is that if you plan to keep going up the Cisco ladder the tests seem to get easier after the CCNA.  I've started working on my CCVP and have passed 2 of the tests already on the first try.  I think the CCNA is so hard because the test itself is so broad, it covers a lot.  The mid-level tests go deeper but are more focused on 1 subject at least.


Good luck man!

Sadly, 4th time wasn't a charm for me.  I gave up all of this time, pushed off all of my work, and studied for 6 days straight and netted myself exactly 1 point more than I did last time.  I don't know what to do at this point...

That sucks. Is it really just this insanely hard? Now I'm worried about come summer, hehe. Do they allow you use of notes or anything or is it all just hard core memory knowlege?

My understanding is that the Cisco tests are the only ones that actually mean something in the real world. A+, MCP, MCSE's, don't really mean much. I've worked with people that had those and some of them I would trust to plug my PC in....

This is correct.  CCNA (and related) is really the only thing that counts nowadays.  Pretty much everyone runs Cisco in their network for switching and routing (at the least) and they want people who won't bork it up managing it.  They are willing to pay a premium for that.

A+, MCP, MCSE are largely for help desk/server folks, which are a dime a dozen now.

gellar

[Knightshade Dragon]

*nod*  It is why I'm bothering to keep at this. 

My plan is to take a big step back from the test, finish the holiday season, get my family life in order (wife is going in for surgery, a conversation for another time), relaunch the site, and then strike at it again after Jan 1.  I've got too much on my plate...

[Austin]

Did you try those sites that were discussed before?

Also, sorry you didn't pass that one.  I hope you collect your head through the holidays and come out on the other side and ace the thing.

[whiteboyskim]

*nod*  It is why I'm bothering to keep at this. 

My plan is to take a big step back from the test, finish the holiday season, get my family life in order (wife is going in for surgery, a conversation for another time), relaunch the site, and then strike at it again after Jan 1.  I've got too much on my plate...

You've made the right call, my friend. Relax, focus on the family, then when things are better off strike back at the test with a vengeance.

[CeeKay]

*nod*  It is why I'm bothering to keep at this. 

My plan is to take a big step back from the test, finish the holiday season, get my family life in order (wife is going in for surgery, a conversation for another time), relaunch the site, and then strike at it again after Jan 1.  I've got too much on my plate...

You've made the right call, my friend. Relax, focus on the family, then when things are better off strike back at the test with a vengeance.

and save up enough money to buy the test giver a case of scotch.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Ok, I've attached a diagram of the beast that I think has killed me all three times, as well as the questions that I can recall from the test. The SW items are switches, the DR and R are routers, and the DS1 is a switch as well. Here we go:

1.)   Which is the root switch?
2.)   If MAC address XYZ is headed for MAC address ZYX, which interface would it leave?
3.)   Where did SW3 get its last update from?
4.)   If a new switch is added and it has a revision of 6  (there is a graphic, but this seemed the most relevant piece of data.  SW3 has a revision of 7), what happens? (a. VLAN x, y, and z will be discarded, b. VLAN x, y, and z will be added to the table, c. All VLANs will be deleted d. Can’t remember the 4th option)
5.)   What IP address should host 4 on SW1 use for a gateway of last resort?

I'm open to any suggestion on how to tackle this damned thing.  The first time I encountered the question I had no idea what to do with it.  The second time I hacked at it with sh vlan and completely forgot about sh spanning-tree.  This third time I remembered sh arp, sh spanning-tree, sh vlan, but none of those got me closer to answering this question.  The only thing I learned was that there are 4-5 VLANs (VLAN1, Production, Management, and some others), SW3 is in client mode, and the aforementioned revision number of 6.   I don’t know how random the test really is or whether or not this question was my downfall, but I’d really like to know how to solve it. 

[Eightball]

It took me 4 tries myself so hopefully the 4th try is the charm for you as well.  The good news is that if you plan to keep going up the Cisco ladder the tests seem to get easier after the CCNA.  I've started working on my CCVP and have passed 2 of the tests already on the first try.  I think the CCNA is so hard because the test itself is so broad, it covers a lot.  The mid-level tests go deeper but are more focused on 1 subject at least.


Good luck man!

Sadly, 4th time wasn't a charm for me.  I gave up all of this time, pushed off all of my work, and studied for 6 days straight and netted myself exactly 1 point more than I did last time.  I don't know what to do at this point...

Sorry to hear it KSD.

[whiteboyskim]

I take it that now would be a bad time to say something like "a round peg won't go in to a square hole"?