CCNA Lab IV: Choosing the IOS Version and Feature Set
It's back to the CCNA Lab series today to discuss how to choose the right IOS for routers. Cisco routers run software called IOS. Traditionally - that is, from the early days of Cisco until the last...
View ArticleCCNA Lab Part V: Ruling Out (or In) 2500 and 2600
Cisco 2500 and 2600 series routers have long been some of the favorite router models for cost-conscious Cisco cert candidates looking to build a lab. They were cheap, they worked, and there was a...
View ArticleCCNA Lab Series Part 6: The Best Router for CCNA, 2011
Today we'll wrap up the router portion of this lab series with the conclusion: what should you buy? Hopefully, the earlier posts in this series so far helps anyone make their own decision, especially...
View ArticleCCNA Lab Part 7: Choosing the Right Switch Models
After working through a longish discussion about Cisco routers for your CCNA lab, it will be nice to discuss switches. Thankfully, the choice of switches is a lot easier to figure out than the choice...
View ArticleCCNA Lab Part 8: How Many Switches, and Which Ones?
It's time to wrap up (hoorah!) this spring's foray into the question of what to put in your CCNA lab. I hope that you've found the series useful. Today, I'll touch on a few final points with switches,...
View ArticleMiscellaneous Thoughts from the First Day at Cisco Live this Year
As usual at Networkers, my schedule's a little tight to write something thorough about what's come up at the show this week. But even on the first full day of the show Monday, there were a couple of...
View ArticleAnswers on Cisco's Cert Announcements Here at Cisco Live
In the last day or so here at Cisco Live, I've heard John Chambers talk in a couple of settings, and had several conversations with folks who work with Cisco certs. Today I'll toss out a few more...
View ArticleCisco Announces the Cisco Certified Technician
Practical. That's the one overriding word that keeps coming to mind when I think of Cisco's new Cisco Certified Technician (CCT) cert announced today. But then again, I've always been a fan of the...
View ArticleChoosing the New CCTRS Instead of CCENT? Really?
Cisco announced their three CCT certs last week, all geared towards technicians. CCT has a clear and obvious good core purpose: to certify techs that Cisco dispatches to customer sites. The question...
View ArticleClosing the Cisco Cert Zone (for Now)
Hi folks. This short post is a notice to let everyone know that I'll not be continuing to blog in the Cisco Cert Zone for the foreseeable future. For those of you who just saw this blog, the links...
View ArticleGetting Started Part 2: Primary CCNA Study Source
Last week, we discussed in the blog, and confirmed in a poll, that CCNA is easily the most popular first step in Cisco certifications (CCENT and CCDA being the other options). This week, I'll take us...
View ArticleGetting Started, Part 3: What on Why on the Cisco CLI
If you just started your Cisco certification journey, and followed the specifics listed in the first two posts in this series, you'd have made a couple of big choices. You'd have chosen whether to...
View ArticleSecurity - the Best Cisco Specialization for Your Near-Term Career?
It's Cisco Live this week - in London, at least. As usual, Cisco makes certification announcements around the time of the show, and this time the announcement has to do with Security. And while the...
View ArticleGetting Started Part 4: Simulators vs Real Gear for CLI Skills
You need CLI hands-on experience to do well on the Cisco CCENT and CCNA exams. To get that experience, you can use real routers and switches, a simulator that simulates routers and switches, or an...
View ArticleGetting Started Part 5: Your Third Option for CLI: Dynamips
Imagine a lab pod with 4-5 routers, connected with serial links, Frame Relay, and Ethernet. It has PCs for testing with ping and traceroute. Now think of the cost: $0.00. And it takes no more...
View ArticleGetting Started, Part 6: Using Practice Questions
The need for practice questions may seem obvious: to get the cert, you have to pass a test, and that test has questions - so practice by answering questions on those same subjects. However, there is...
View ArticleSeeing the Forest Instead of the ARP Trees
In last week's post, I compared two sample test questions - a simple one, and a more exam-realistic one. The more realistic question required a deeper knowledge of the topic (ARP), and it required...
View ArticleInterface Down/Down and CLI Prep Time for CCNA and CCNP
I'm sure we all wonder at times why certain ideas pop into out heads. Wrting a blog, in some ways, gives you a place to write those ideas, rather than just letting them rattle around. Today I'll toss...
View ArticleMore on a Switch’s Layer 2 Interface Status
Most people learn new technology by learning topics one at a time, and for each new topic, learning how it relates to the topics already learned. However, to pass the final at the end of a course, or...
View ArticleCCNA Lab Series 2011: Overview
You need experience using the Cisco Command Line Interface (CLI) to be ready for CCNA. Pay attention to others who have taken these entry-level Cisco exams, and you'll hear stories about the challenge...
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