Couple of CCNA Questions

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Hi guys,

Im planning on teaching myself for CCNA this summer over a 4 month break from uni (longer if needed), I intend to get a home lab setup and take the all in one 640-801 exam.

Firstly i was wondering how far in advance I need to book the exam? Specifically how many opportunities a year are there to take it? Im in the UK if it makes a difference, using a Pearson VUE test centre. Do i have to register with Cisco as well, or is it just a case of registering to take the exam and they pass the info onto Cisco?

I have no Cisco experience yet, and am currently studying Computer Science, however I hold quite alot of knowledge with general home networking. So if I get hold of a lab will the books explain clearly how to set routers/switches up from a 'no cisco experience' point of view?

Book wise, I will be using: CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide (640-801)

And I have various other sources on top of that.

For my home lab, Im looking at the following equipment:

Code:

Routers:

+ Cisco 2610 Ethernet Serial Router 64D/16F 
+ Cisco 2610 Ethernet Serial Router 64D/16F
+ Cisco 2610 Ethernet Serial Router 64D/16F with NM-4A/S Four Serial Frame-Relay Module

Switches:

+ 1 x Cisco 2924-XL Enterprise Switch running Cisco IOS
+ 1 x Cisco 2912-XL Enterprise Switch running Cisco IOS

Is the above likly to cover all my needs?

Thanks very much for any advice, much appreciated.

Jack

 

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Welcome to CF.

If the book you're talking about is the one written by Richard Deal, then you've made a good choice, because that's the one I used and I'll recommend it 100%.

As for the equipment, everything looks okay to me. I don't know much about those particular switches though because I 've never used them before. Ideally, it's best to have switches that support both ISL and 802.1q. However these tend to be a tad more expensive. So just do the best you can.

One last thing. There's a rumour going round that Cisco are going to revise the CCNA certification path next month or thereabouts. I don't know how true this is, but keep an eye on their website just in case.

 

Thanks alot, so do you think it would be a bad idea investing in a lab now if they are potentially going to change things? Or is it more likely to just be small syllabus changes?

Thanks
Jack

 

The only thing I heard is that changes might be made to ISDN. But again, it's only a rumour, nothing confirmed, so don't take my word for it. Just keep an eye open is all.

Anyway you're still gonna need a lab regardless. Routing protocols, ACLs, Vlans, frame-relay.... those things aren't going anywhere. They're as part of cisco as white on rice. So a lab is absolute must have for the CCNA.

 

ISL trunking is not nessasary. You need to know what ISL is and how it works in relation to Dot1Q but current Cisco equipment doesn't support ISL. Just my .02 cents. You lab looks ok.

 

Wierd. This link seems to be suggesting that WS-C2924-XL doesn't support trunking. I hope that's not the same switch that JackC's getting.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk389/tk390/technologies_tech_note09186a008017f86a.shtml

 

A couple of hours, subject to availability of a testing centre.

I'm being serious too - you can book in the morning and turn up and sit the exam that afternoon if you felt like it and your testing centre was fine with you booking at such short notice although personally, i'm going to book a couple weeks in advance just to make sure I get the date and timeslot of my choice.

That's exactly how it works - your pass/fail is sent to Cisco and then they send your certificate out to you.

I have no experience of your book so I honestly cannot say. I have both the official Cisco books plus the Sybex one and I would particularly recommend the Sybex one as it tells you what you need to know and cuts out a lot of the guff.