This morning I finally took and passed the CCNA 640-802 exam. After probably over a year of off again and on again studying, it’s a relief to finally have something tangible to show for it!
Passing the exam may mark the end of my CCNA studies, but this is only the beginning of the studying process for me. I have already begun looking into the next certification I would like to work towards. CCNP is a given for me, but I have been looking into the CCNA Voice certification. The possibility of an upcoming IP telepony project at work combined with the high demand for IP telephony skills right now are two motivators.
At this point I am going to take a short break from studying and catch up on some reading I have been putting off (all networking related, of course).
CCNA Study
It seems like not too long ago that I had to jump through hoops just to be able to get some lab time in at work, or when I was otherwise away from my rack. My original routine for remote labbing was to leave the equipment I needed powered on with my laptop connected via console cable to my access server. I then setup port forwarding to my laptop so that I could RDP into it while I was at work.
This setup was inefficient for several reasons. The most obvious was the fact that I had to leave all of that equipment powered on for a full eight hours just so I might be able to get less than an hour of lab time. Another problem I ran into was that the connections between the equipment could not be reconfigured when I was not physically present.
My recent purchase of a Western Digital Passport external hard drive sent me on a quest for more portable apps to install onto it for remote use. It was then that I discovered GNS3 could be installed onto a flash drive or external hard drive (just about any removable media for that matter). The process was simple, during the installation of GNS3, you just set the installation directory of a folder on your removable media. The installation only requires about 40MB, so a minimal amount of space is required. From there you just copy the IOS images you need onto the flash drive and you are good to go!
It should be noted that GNS3 does WinPcap if you would like to bind some of your labs to the physical network card on the laptop. If you do not require this feature, then there are no other dependencies.
Links:
GNS3
GNS3 on a USB Key
CCNA Study
Studying for any sort of Cisco certification can get expensive very quickly, particularly when you factor in the cost of piecing together your own lab. One problem I have personally run into, is how to squeeze some lab work in while I’m away from home (at work or otherwise traveling). Having my entire lab powered up for eight hours or more, just so I could possibly run a lab exercise for 45 minutes at work did not seem efficient to me.
Recently, I have been playing with Dynamips, which is an emulator that allows you to run real Cisco IOS images. Experience with Linux made me feel right at home with the configuration and operation of the virtual Cisco devices in Dynamips. However, getting the hang of the configuration and inter-workings, could be confusing for some (including myself at points).
While browsing the Dynagen web site this morning, I came across a program called GNS3. This is a GUI interface that simplifies the use of Dynamips. Since it is a GUI, it allows you to see the topology of the network you are creating, which I find helpful.
The emulator in general is very handy when experimenting with certain things without purchasing additional hardware. I know many CCIE’s find Dynamips useful, since they have access to all of the downloads from Cisco. In addition, Dynamips can be bonded to a physical interface, allowing you to connect it to a physical lab or an outside network.
Below are links to the software I have talked about. Keep in mind, all of this software is free.
- Dynagen – Text-based front end for Dynamips router emulator
- GNS3 – GUI front end of Dynamips
CCNA Study, Cisco Lab
After finishing my first CCNA book, I felt there was something missing from my self-study experience. The book had a few exercises in each chapter, but the exercises tended to revolve around the virtual lab simulator included with the book. What bothered me the most was the the exercises were, just that, exercises.
I have nothing against exercises, it’s just that I wanted a more in-depth experience. While exercises focused only on the topic in the chapter, I was looking more for a book of labs that built on the topics covered in each previous lab.
After looking around, I came to the conclusion that the Cisco Networking Academy Lab Companion books were the best choice. There are two books based around the Cisco Networking Academy courses. The CCNA 1 and 2 Lab Companion starts with the very basics, including cabling (which is something that is valuable if you are unfamiliar with cabling topics). The CCNA 3 and 4 Lab companion goes into more depth, including advanced configuration of CIsco routers and switches.
If you are looking for some labs to go along with your CCNA study, take a look at these books.
CCNA 1 and 2 Lab Companion
CCNA 3 and 4 Lab Companion
CCNA Study
I started reading though my CCNA book about a month or two ago. Before I did not have a set schedule, but I have started to set the goal of one chapter a week for myself. While it is a conservative goal, I hope it will give me time to apply what I read in hands-on labs.
Currently, I am preparing to finish up the chapter on VLANs. That leaves about six to seven chapters left in this book. Once I am finished with that current book, I will move on to the Cisco press books I have for CCNA study.
Below are the books I currently have in my collection:
CCNA Study