CCNA Certification

My first step was getting the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA Routing and Switching) certification to get fundamental network knowledge, to really understand all the layers of the OSI model, and to understand how packets flow, how DNS resolves, and how firewalls/routers work at a fundamental level. Looking back, I still think this certification was definitely the right first step.

I was a Project Manager at the time and my core responsibilities at work had nothing to do with Routing and Switching, so my options were to either pay for a bootcamp myself, or self-study. I opted for the latter. I started in April, 2016, and didn’t get my certification until December 2017. This was because at the beginning, I was only getting through maybe a chapter a week or so.. not really focused on it. It wasn’t until I scheduled my exam that I really picked up pace, so I would definitely recommend making a hard stop for yourself at one point.

I went for the two part exam, ICND1 and ICND2. This was so I didn’t have to learn everything at once.

I found out my company had free access to Safari Books Online so that was definitely a resource I used pretty heavily for many of the books below.

How I studied for it (ICND1):

1. Cisco CCENT/CCNS ICND1 100-101 – Wendell Odom 2013 ISBN-10: 1-58714-385-2
   • 
   • Went through all chapters, did all practice exams.
2. CCENT ICND1 100-105 Exam prep videos by Wendell Odom – Jan 2017
   • 
3. 9tut.com
   • 
   • Googling around.. found this site with a ton of practice tests/sims – was definitely very helpful for taking the test
4. Cisco Packet tracker
   •  
   • https://www.netacad.com/courses/packet-tracer
   • Really helped to get familiar with working in routers, firewalls, switches, etc.
   • Followed along with actually doing a lot of the commands in the Odom books.
5. Cybrary
   • 
   • https://www.cybrary.it/
   • There are some pretty good lessons in Cybrary and I would recommend it. They’re free so you’ve got nothing to lose.
6. http://www.subnettingquestions.com/
   • If you’re taking this exam, you better know your subnet math very well
   • This site was extremely helpful in getting that solidified in my head
7. Here’s the ICND1 study guide that I used

Additional books for (ICND2):

1. CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing and Switching Study Guide with Boson NetSim Limited Edition (Exam 200-101, ICND2) – Richard Deal ISBN: 9780071832304
   • 
2. CCNA Routing and Switching ICND2 200-105 Official Cert Guide, Academic Edition ISBN: 9780134514079
   • 
3. Here’s the icnd2 study guide that I used.

After all this, I did pass both exams on the first try. Next, I moved onto getting my SEC+.