Self study ccna

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I'm currently working in a company specialized in IT Security, from Checkpoint/Fortinet, to Ironport (Antispam solution) to penetration test. I work mostly with checkpoint, nokia appliances, etc. The things is, that i'm seeing that it would be very valuable to my job (And my career) having a ccna certification, first because here in argentina cisco is a well know brand (Something like comptia it's only going to be know by few people) and second because well, having a network certification of cisco will add a lot of value to my resume, so my question is the next..

How many months should i expect to self-study (Videos, books) to have all the knowledge to pass this cert? Of course this time will vary deppending on the person, how much effort i put into this, but i'm looking some experiences so i can tried to calculate how much is going to take me approximately.

Regards,

 

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Christian, do you have exposure to Cisco kit and if so, does your current job entail having having hands on experience with it?

 

Not really. There are some cisco equipments in our datacenter in production, i even saw other IT technicians using cisco switches that we have for backup purposes, but i'm not sure if i can ask them to play with it for too much time. I was thinking into using gns3 or a similar software, i suposse it's not too important to have hands on if your job isn't going to be installing routers and switches, but it would be nice to have that knowledge.

 

Yes it would be nice to have the knowledge, but.. certifications aren't a short cut to jump steps in your career path. they are a means of underpinning your practical experience. having certs without the relevant corporate experience with the product isn't a good idea. it is the combination of experience and certifications that employers are looking for and in fact, having qualifications that are higher level than your current experience can put off potential employers, as they will believe you to be over qualified for the roles you are best suited to.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just trying to help you see the bigger picture

 

And i appreciate your insight a lot, but that would be truth if i were trying to get into a networking job, and i want to stay into security, specially checkpoint. I want to get this cert, to give me more knowledge of networking, its not my idea to try to change jobs or applied in a future to another department. You think i shouldn't try to get the ccna knowing this? Or should i try to get another one?

 

well the CCNA is no walk in the park and the cert expires after 3 years (i think) so you have to re-certify. i just think it's a lot of work for essentially learning how to configure a specific vendors networking kit.

Why don't you consider the Comp-TIA N+.. that is vendor neutral, does not expire.. is globally recognised and is also an entry level cert that wont potentially harm your career prospects. Also, the N+ teaches you a lot of fundamental stuff that would be assumed knowledge and hence, not be covered in the CCNA track.

 

how about going for the CCENT first.

Once you have completed this you may be able to ask for some exposure to cisco then take it from there.

I'd say it can be done in anything from 1month to 6 months depending on person and the time spent studying.

 

This.

If you don't have first-hand access to Cisco kit anyway then it's not going to be of benefit to you (yes, I'm a hypocrite)

Even if you got the CCNA (which isn't an easy task by any means) then you'd still need the prerequisite experience in order to get a job which uses it. Do you really think a potential employer would hire a network engineer with no experience?

Get the N+, it's more useful to you.

Qs

 

CCENT is also an entry level cert

 

.... or go for the CCENT.

But remember this is still manufacturer specific unlike the N+. Not everyone has Cisco gear

Qs

 

True.

Cisco FTW IMO lol.

 

O fosho!

 

Well, mi idea was to give the CCENT and then the CCNA, but i didn't specify that because at the end the important one was the ccna. I was going to give the ccna a few weeks after passing the ccent, but i didnt want to study for one, then study for the other, i wanted to study for both (Not to long ago this was just one certification, is not something to strange) and then schedule the exams.

Is this idea wrong? I suposse its going to help me in my work to understand some networking issues or concepts i dont fully manage, like i said, i'm not planning to enter into networking..

 

to be honest dude i think if your not going into networking then i'd do the network+ which gives u a nice broad overview of networking. If your not going to go into networking - troubleshooting NAT and ACL problems probably isnt requireed!

You can still do the CCNA as one exam i think ? However anyone i know whose tried the all in one has said its incredibily hard as u have no time whatso ever

 

After this thread i realized i could buy some equipment (ciscokits.com has very good prices) and try with that, its better than a simulator. I still have to see all the issues with customs and shipping, but one Cisco Dual 2501 & 2514 16/16 Router & 2924 Switch (Or something similar, i expect to pay around 300uss, probably its going to be twice that number for the other reasons i mentionated before) should that be enough for what i want to do right?

 

I think i paid 10$ for 2 2903 routers (ok not the best) - i got a 3524 switch for 60 pounds and nick..borrowed a 1721 router from work just to play around with routing protocols etc....i think if your looking at ccent level u dont need much else - i think its better with the kit than a sim if u can afford it - nothing like a mound of cables sitting in your bedroom

 

Be advised that Cisco's official position is that it is against Cisco's licensing to use their IOS outside the hardware it was designed for... meaning, it is illegal to use their IOS in a router emulator.