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certified-ccna networking

Description:

This is a story of my journey getting the CCNA in a single try, as well as study materials for who are interested.

CCNA is important in the world of computer networking.

I understand that in order to work in networking, showing that I have enough knowledge in basic network operations is important. Since Cisco is the biggest network equipment vendor in the world right now, there is no better way to do that than getting the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA).

Because of that, I started studying for the CCNA in early December 2022, a few months after being admitted to my graduate school.

My study method:

1. Build from the basics.

From my experiences as a test taker during high school and universities. I understand that to excel in any tests, the knowledge must be built from the ground up, not from remembering the questions.

Therefore, my journey started with reading books about computer networks, the book I used was Computer Networks by Tanenbaum. This book covered an incredible amount of details about computer networks. One of the special things about this book was it used a network model of 5 layers, instead of 7 layers of the OSI model, or 4 layers of the TCP/IP model. Compared to the OSI model, this book combined the upper 3 layers into a single one, and kept layer 1 and layer 2 separated. In my opinion, this is the perfect approach for an educational model of networking, since it gave sufficient focuses on important parts of the networking model, like the physical layer, while simplified abstract layers, such as the application layer.

In the meantime, I took a lot of classes about networking in university, all of which taught by wonderful and respectable people.

After completed book reading, I sought for more formal types of study, i.e. online classes. The one I chose was Complete Cisco CCNA 200-301 course taught by Jeremy McDowell on Udemy (link). I prefer Jeremy over other instructors due to his amazing ability to explain every concept systematically in an easier-to-understand manner.

Along the course, using a network simulation tool to have hand-on experience was a must. If we only read the theories without actual practice, we would forget everything in no time. There were two tools that fit this purpose: Cisco Packet Tracer and GNS3. I tried using GNS3 but ended up using Packet Tracer most of the time, since it was designed specifically for the CCNA, and it was easier to get ready-built labs from my instructor in Packet Tracer than GNS3.

2. Summary to strengthen.

After getting a certain amount of knowledge from study materials, I started writing notes in order to review what I studied and how it would play in the overall picture of the required CCNA knowledge. This is my 53-page note of what I learned during studies.

3. Then do excercise, rinse and repeat.

There would never be success without actual practice, and Boson ExSim was perfectly designed for this. They had more than 300 questions which were formatted similar to the real CCNA exam, which help me familiarized with the types of questions being asked. They have 3 practice tests: A, B and C. I started doing the test A about 2 weeks before my intended exam date, and got only a little more than 700/1000 points, which is lower than the minimum score of 825 to pass. However, I did not give up. I reviewed all the questions, including those I answered correctly, to see what and why I did right or wrong. For the test B, at 1 week before the exam date, I got 850 in the first try. I rinsed and repeated the reviewing progress, until getting 980/1000 in the first try of test C, at just a few days before my CCNA exam. Boson ExSim really help boosted my confidence in getting the CCNA.

In addition, I also used notes from incredible people on the internet to review my knowledge. Just try to search for ``CCNA study notes'' or similar keywords and there will be a lot of them for you. Some of them are really helpful if used right.

Resources:

• Complete Cisco CCNA 200-301 course by Jeremy McDowell on Udemy.
• My own 53-page note of what I learned during studies.

What is next: CCNP, AWS certificates, or others?

CCNA is just the beginning, I will keep studying hard to achieve higher-level certifications, as well as expanding my field of knowledge outside of networking too. Regardless, CCNA was a solid stepping stone for my future and I hope it will open the door to opportunities for my future.