Hey Guys,
I'm going away week after next to do a week long CCNA intensive course with Firebrand. Is there anyone out there who has done an intensive course? What prior knowledge did you have? I'm just a bit nervous in case I fail... I work on a 2nd line helpdesk and deal with quite a few network related issues and often need help from the 3rd line guy so I have had a good exposure.
Thanks in advance!
Maybe you should get the official book on what you need to know?
I'm doing the school version of that course now. I have no idea how it compares with the intensive version, but i can probably answer some questions if you have them.
If things are the same they are going to start at the basics and ramp up fast, most people in my class have no idea about networking and they seem to do fine.
Maybe I do..
My worry is that I am going to be overloaded from the start.. I have gone through about 40% of the content and am understanding it well. What made me post this is I have just typed in "top ccna questions" and the questions are extremely in depth and I have no idea what to answer.
What level are you at now with it?
>needing a course for pajeet-tier cert
just off yourself now
Just finished vlans, doing different methods of dynamic and static routing now.
They do go deep on the questions but when you get hands on with the stuff it starts to make sense. Just pay attention from the start.
Nice!
I'll just cram in as much as I can now and do as you said there and try not to fall back.
Thanks user.
I took a course at CC for CCNA. Huge mistake, its like mostly dindus who think it'll get you paid. Like I never thought I'd use the word "dindus." Until I went into this class, and really understood the context of what that word truly means.
How come you did it in the first place?
>oh wow I should really get my CCNA
>I know I'll take a class
>that will focus me for sure
You can do a week long intensive course on your own.
It may help you get the cert but you wouldn't learn shit from a week-long course.
Grab the official books, buy a couple routers and switches and play with them. Or at least play with GNS3.
you are much better off showing an understanding of networking in general than focusing on a single vendor. otherwise you are stuck only looking for a cisco shop when there are plenty of other manufacturers out there.
Yeah I guess.
I tried revising in my spare time but as much as I enjoy the info, I don't want to get back from work everyday and revise.
Exactly what I'm doing, got a lil NAS and managed to pinch an old cisco router from werk. Haven't heard of that but I'll check it oot.
Yeah a colleague of mine said the same, but I've heard that the routing and switching exam is one of the hardest due to the knowledge gap and I have to start somewhere..
i am currently in a course that goes over ccna routing and switching, we arent there yet, that is towards the end of the course.
yep. same story here
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well unless you want to specialize in juniper.
They don't own anywhere close to 90%, Cisco makes their instructors parrot that shit in their classes so that people will buy more equipment. Cisco definitely dominates the Enterprise-class routing and switching, but they don't even own half the market in the Service-Provider or SOHO segments.
I agree with you, but it's much easier to learn Cisco equipment than anything else. Especially with tools like GNS3 and Packet Tracer easily available.
Juniper it is
cisco dominates the market in america in all respectable manners. it is true that instructors spout so much garbage that they cant tell fact from fiction anymore. my current instructor was in the chair force for 25 years and has drank the fuckin kool aid on all this cisco bullshit. but also i have a question, if not cisco, than what are service providers using? new age hardware? juniper? or foreign equivalencies?
my instructor keeps telling us not to waste time on packet tracer because the command line in real routers and switches is different. is he just being a cunt? should i be spending more time on packet tracer?
It depends on where the service provider is located. Most of the providers in North America/Europe use some combination of Juniper/Cisco, depending on their current infrastructure and what they're trying to achieve. Providers in most of the developing world use Huawei because it's cheaper. There is still some HP thrown around here and there too. Providers also use a lot of really old shit like Alcatel-Lucent because they will hang onto anything as long as it still makes them money.
As for your second question: Use packet tracer only to understand the basics of routing/switching and to mess around with really complex setups that would cost a lot of money to build. Getting comfortable on the command line is important because in nearly all production environments that's all you will have. P.S.: Juniper's command line is way nicer than Cisco's.
>my instructor keeps telling us not to waste time on packet tracer because the command line in real routers and switches is different.
Packet Tracer is a simulator developed by Cisco. It's very close to the real thing, but doesn't have absolutely everything implemented. It's not a bad resource for your CCNA. If you're paranoid about things being EXACT then use GNS3 because it's an emulator and things will be identical to real hardware.
i was considering quiting this 9 month course to go to a union cert so i can just start working but i think i will just bite the bullet. hate the cisco bs. netacad is bs.
Just keep in mind that certs don't guarantee jobs. They're good for getting past HR, but when you're being interviewed by other competent network administrators they'll know whether you're bullshitting or not. It's all about what you know. And if you know enough then you can get a CCNA no problem.