Failed CCNA - score 825

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So close, but yet....

After being stripped bare - no water, no watch, no hidden camera - I settled down for a nice relaxing exam. Not!

Everything was going so well, until I got a sulmulation question on configuring switches - VLAN & VTP. I panicked - mostly because I didn't know what to do - and moved swiftly on. To make matters worse I finished with 13 minutes to spare. What sort of exam doesn't let you review your answers? It's not cricket.

The exam breakdown:

Planning & design 85%
Implementation & operation 80%
Troubleshooting 52%
Technology 88%

Does anyone know what troubleshooting entails and the best way to strengthen my skills in that respect?

I do not have a lab and suspect the answer is to get one, then practice til I drop

Any advice much appreciated.



PS I had two simulation questions, is that the norm?

 

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Troubleshooting usually entails making sure that you know your show commands and debug commands off by heart!

EDIT: Oh and that you understand the output from them.

 

The sim questions are weighted very heavily. If you don't know your way around the CLI, passing the CCNA will be tough.

 

To tell the truth, I can't believe you actually thought you could pass the CCNA without any hands on. At the very least get a Boson NetSim it will give you the ability to work with all the IOS commands that a CCNA certified person should know. That's the least possible route. The better route is to get a few routers and switches and actually do the work.

 

This book is a huge asset to have, but I agree with Freddy 100%. No hands on exp was a waste of money. And let's just assume for a moment that you did barely pass. You'd still have to prove you know what you are doing. I don't mean to sound harsh, but even after a year of hands on configuring and troubleshooting Cisco routers I'm still not comfortable enough with my practise exam results to take the actual exam. Sure, I could probably pass the exam, but then a situation would arise where I didn't know the answer and the comment would arise "You're a CCNA and don't know how to do this?".

 

my friend sat and failed the CCNA today
831 of 849 required
about 1 or 2 questions

he got strong scores on most sections (above 80% on the most part)

and the sim not only supports the ? command
but it also is scored in pieces, ie, doing to overall goal wrong, doesnt mean you get 0 points
setting the vlan ip could net you a point, as could setting the vtp details correctly, despite getting the question wrong over all


seems you need some practical experiance, its not hard to get, and its silly to sit an exam like that without any
dont try again too soon, you want to be an expert with the IOS before you continue

 

It seems to me that one can practice forever and never feel ready to take the test....I must admit that I was a little lacking in hardware experience, although I used the Cisco Network Academy labs extensively. The problem is that even with routers and switches to fill a room, you may encounter an exam scenario that you hadn't planned for or that looks different under pressure. But that's life

Probably Cisco make the exam difficult in order to stop people like me - without hands on experience - from passing. I think that's good because it makes the cert worth having!

I shall now try to learn switch & router configuration. Then next time alot more time to answering the simulation questions.

Sean

 

Tough luck Sean, seems you learnt the hard way that hands on practical experience is the key to passing any IT type exam.

Good luck, at least now you know what you are up against

 

There's a good switching lab on the prep centre web site.

I used online racks rather than buying routers/switches.

After a while I was making up my own lab excercises, I'd make sure that every day I'd set up ISDN, Frame-relay, OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, PPP over 3-4 routers. I made access lists and tested them with extended pings. Leading up to the exam I was doing this every day over and over again. For switching I did the lab on the prep centre website until I could do it without being prompted.

I used Mindtech racks they're very reasonable, use the CCNP ones not the CCNA though.

 

Pete01,
I like the sound of the switching lab at the 'prep centre' but cannot find this website. Could you please point me in that direction.

Not sure about renting router time though. I shall look into it. Thanks for the ideas anyway

Sean

 

http://www.cisco.com/go/prepcenter/

You need to register (free).

Using real routers/switches was not an option for me but online racks are real equipment which most will say are better than sims.

 

Passed my CCNA on second attempt, after 3.5 weeks of extra study.
So what did I do to increase my score from 825 to 900?
Well the Boson Netsim was about the only thing. It has some bugs - or my copy did - but altogether it was a reasonable router/switch simulator. The lab notes weren't bad either

One point I should mention. The re-take simulation questions were exactly the same as the first time around. Perhaps I was lucky, but anyway the extra work helped me to answer them correctly this time.

Just need to find a networking job now and gain some of that vital stuff called 'experience'. Now that's going to be the hard part!

Merry Christmas one and all

Sean

 

Congratulations on the pass, Sean.

 

Good onya Sean, well done

 

Grats on the pass!

 

Well done Sean