Questions about CCENT / ICND1 exam setup

Discussion in 'General Cisco Certifications' started by Straylight, Sep 5, 2011.

  1. Straylight

    Straylight Bit Poster

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    Hi all.
    Long time no post. But I'm finally taking the first exam, ICND1 on Sep 28th. Won't bore you with the whys and wherefores of delays.

    I mentioned when i first signed up, I'm a blind guy. use JAWS screenreader on a Windows machine. Pearson VUE / Cisco won't let me use a computer with screenreader in the tests, so I'll have a person reading from the test system and entering my answers. Luckily I get extra time to cater for that too.

    So my questions about the test setup. The reader isn't CCNA qualified. I need therefore to be clear as possible about what I'm looking for and what I want them to do.

    1. Does the test system run on a Windows machine. If so, can I access notepad?
    (I'm thinking for later simulation questions, I can type the commands in notepad and ask them to copy exactly. Typos aside, I don't need necesarily to hear what I'm writing as I can touch type.)

    2. Is there a consisstant symbol for a router on the diagrams? Circle, square with cross in etc?

    3. How are workstations depicted. Squares? Are servers different?

    4. Crossover cables, IIRC they're a zigzag line. Is that right?

    5. Straight through cables, are they dashed lines?

    6. Is there any particular symbol for a WAN link?

    Sorry about all that. Just need a picture of... The pictures. I might have more questions as they occur. I'm fairly confident regarding the material. Well, ish. Been practising subnetting a lot. Got a homelab and some remote rack access to use. Will go on to ICND2 all being well a few weeks later. Will ask another day about that though.

    Cheers

    Straylight.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2011
    Certifications: CCENT
    WIP: CCNA MS 70-680
  2. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    Hi Straylight,
    Just gearing up for the CCENT exam myself.

    1. Exams run full screen so you probably won't get access to notepad. You could type straight in on the sim though couldn't you?

    The symbols are:
    Router: Circle with 4 arrows on it
    Switch Rectangle with four arrows on it
    Hub: Rectangle with 2 arrows on it
    Bridge: A rectangle with the top of it cut out, meant to represent a suspension bridge I think.
    Workstations: Usually depicted by having a monitor, normally on a horizontal box.
    Server: Normally just a tower, no monitor.

    I don't think there is any symbol for crossover or straight-through cables. It seems to be assumed you know which to use. Easy enough to remember though:
    Group A: Switches, hubs and, I assume, bridges.
    Group B: Pretty much everything else. Hosts (anything with a NIC e.g workstations, servers, network printers), WAPs, routers.
    If you're connecting two device from different groups, use a straight-through. Connecting two devices from the same group requires a crossover.
    WAN links seem to be indicated by jagged lines (like lightning bolts), but you can tell what type of link it is by the interface it's attached to if you're in any doubt.
    I'm hoping to take the exam next week (I don't seem to be able to book it without a Cisco ID, still waiting on that). If I discover anything that might trip you up in the actual mechanics of the exam I'll try to remember to give you a heads-up on it.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job
  3. billyr

    billyr Kilobyte Poster

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    Certifications: CCNP, CCSI, MCSE W2k/W2k3, MCITP_SA
    WIP: Taking it easy for a while.
  4. anandsoft

    anandsoft Bit Poster

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    Have you practiced on any available Network Simulators like Boson NetSim or CertExams.com Network Simulator? All the symbols, types of labs are provided in those sims. Highly suggested that you practice on netsims before taking real exam!
     
  5. Straylight

    Straylight Bit Poster

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    Thanks for replies. Unfortunately I won't meet the reader before the test day. But I'll check that link out later.

    I've not tried any netsims as such. Packet tracer doesn't work with JAWS. I'll have a look at those though.

    Actually just remembered I have Semsim Router simulator, which has some flash card questions. I'd forgotten about that, since I've been using real lab gear.

    One other thing. Is there much questioning about IPV6 in ICND1 or ICND2?
     
    Certifications: CCENT
    WIP: CCNA MS 70-680
  6. Straylight

    Straylight Bit Poster

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    Last edited: Sep 6, 2011
    Certifications: CCENT
    WIP: CCNA MS 70-680
  7. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    Just a little heads up for you straylight.
    In the exam, rollover cables (i.e. console port connections) are indicated by dotted lines. Click on the workstation that has the dotted line connection to the device you want to configure and you're good to go.

    Exam interface tutorial
    Exam tutorial is near the bottom of the page and runs you through all the different types of questions you might be asked. Essential to understand I think because I was confused with one of them initially. The multi-stage questions specifically. One good thing is that I have read confirmation on the comments form cisco employees that states that sims are marked on the outcome, not how you got there.

    As far as I'm aware, IPv6 is not part of the CCENT. It's one of the few chapters in my Todd Lammle book I've been able to completely ignore. My CCENT book doesn't even mention it.

    If you haven't went through those 6 practice exams on that page then it might be worth your while, although some of the answers are wrong, and some of the questions are so ambiguous I thought I was taking the CompTIA A+ again. However, some do look wrong at first read, and then you realise that you missed a key word.
    Unfortunately I've seen a significant amount of those questions before in non-Cisco branded media. I'm hoping they're not breaching copyright on them.
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2011
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job
  8. Straylight

    Straylight Bit Poster

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    Thanks Soundian. How did you get on, if you don't mind saying?

    I've gone through those tests above. Will again a few times. Some of the questions are frustratingly dependant on where you're coming from. The one about the main bennefit of wireless being cost, rather than mobility. Which seems the obvious answer. Was hitting 75% on most of them. Slipped up on some of the WAN questions and did worse there.

    When you get the answers at the end, with the screenreadder I use, it doesn't indicate which you got wrong or right. Maybe it's a different font or something. I'll try get sighted help and run through again.
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2011
    Certifications: CCENT
    WIP: CCNA MS 70-680
  9. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    The correct answers are highlighted and the ticks and crosses are all graphical so that's probably why your screenreader can't handle it.
    Exam is booked for next Friday. No doubt I will post something about my exam experience afterwards.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job
  10. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    Hi Straylight,
    I passed the ICND1 with a good comfort margin, as you may have read in my victory thread.
    I just wanted to let you know that before the exam you get to run through the different question types, the same as is on the cisco site, before the exam. I got 15 minutes to run through it, I imagine some of your extra time will be allotted here, so you can make sure your reader understands what info you need in each question type, and how to complete them fully.
    Multi-part questions (drag-and-drop, testlets, simlets) always ask if you are sure you want to carry on. Since you can't revisit a question, make sure you have answered all before moving on. There was an indication of how much percent of the question I'd answered in some/all of the multi-part questions.
    I wouldn't worry too much about typing in commands. I had to touch the keyboard twice. Your mileage may vary.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job
  11. Straylight

    Straylight Bit Poster

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    Congratulations :thumbs up:
    :)

    Those practise questions on Cisco Learning really annoyed me. So I bought the composite CCNA practise exam from Cisco instead, to get a feel of what's there. Not had someone sighted to help go through so been answering the straight forwawrd text ones. Good to know you get a bit of climatisation before starting in the real thing.
     
    Certifications: CCENT
    WIP: CCNA MS 70-680
  12. Straylight

    Straylight Bit Poster

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    FWIW

    Took ICND1 on Wednesday and failed. argh. 713 score. Needed 803.

    As I suspected, questions involving diagrams and command sim took ages. I had to skip one. I guess in line with T&Cs I can't say which that was. But it wasn't clear what I was supposed to do. Baring in mind someone not familiar with Cisco or networking is trying to describe the picture and bits to be dragged. Ran out of time, even though I had double.

    Will schedule retake soon. Expensive business though. (Test centre was a long ish cab ride away.) All I can do is get to know the show output of commands absollutely inside out and direct the reader straight to what I need. To make up time. The other stuff can't really be speed up.
     
    Certifications: CCENT
    WIP: CCNA MS 70-680
  13. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    That's unfortunate, there is a lot of output in some show commands which can obscure what you're looking for if you're not used to seeing them. I'd figured out show commands were important before I took my exam so I was as prepared as I could be for them.
    Good luck next time, sounds like you know the material.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job

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