CCNA - Learning from home?

You can do it at home. Get the books, dvd's, and a couple of cheap routers off ebay, and figure it all out yourself.

I know a few peeps that have done it without setting foot in a classroom.
 
It's very hard going when you aint got an instructor to guide you though when you need help. Home CCNA is very hard but it can be done.

I have Cisco routers sitting here in need of a good home lol.
 
Im doing it now - it is hard work, and the Cisco material, although technically accurate is hard going and does not in places explain concepts very well (variable subnet length masks for instance). But the Internet is a great resource.
http://www.firewall.cx/index.php is a good site, with an excellent subnetting tutorial http://www.firewall.cx/ip-subnetting-intro.php
They also have virtual Cisco Routers for you to book time on (free) though I recommend getting a couple off ebay, as it will help no end.
 
It is possible mate. Just set yourself up a lab with a couple of routers and switches, that way you can practise configuring and troubleshooting them. Some of the material I found was heavy going and that's where I found my instructor useful.
 
You can do it but it will be very tough if you don't already have a basic grasp (Are you working with Cisco kit at the moment)? If you're starting from scratch I'd recommend the instructor-led classes.
 
thanks guys your replies have been very encouraging.

What sort of equipment should I be looking for from the bay that would be helpful?

andr3w1984 - I would love to give those routers a new home but just got a new baby and money is extremely tight - this is why I am trying to do this from home.

We have cisco kit here at work and I am sure that some of the guys could give me a few pointers if i begged enough
 
ah I wasnt implying a sale of the routers :P thats not allowed unless its in the MM lol.

Aww congrats on the new baby and if you do choose to do the course be prepared because it aint no easy course especially to self study.

I recommend 2 books to you though, which will help (CCNA Companion Guide Revised Third 1/2 3/4 Edition).
 
andr3w1984 said:
ah I wasnt implying a sale of the routers :P thats not allowed unless its in the MM lol.

Aww congrats on the new baby and if you do choose to do the course be prepared because it aint no easy course especially to self study.

I recommend 2 books to you though, which will help (CCNA Companion Guide Revised Third 1/2 3/4 Edition).
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How much did your setup cost?

Ive checked online and its looking like £300 to £500 for a lab. Is there a cheaper way.

Ill have a read of those books, thanks!
 
bloodline76 said:
How much did your setup cost?

Ive checked online and its looking like £300 to £500 for a lab. Is there a cheaper way.

Ill have a read of those books, thanks!
Click to expand...

Well I have 4 routers at present. 1x 2514, 2 x 2610, 1 x 2620

Set me back around £400 for books, cables and routers e.t.c. I even increased it by buying an ADSL wic just to mess about with the adsl side (which isnt needed in CCNA), which cost me about 110 for the WIC alone.
 
You might to take a look at Boson NetSim or Packet Tracer. They are basically network simulators for CCNA and CCNP. Really useful if you can't afford to buy your lab equipment, although Boson costs a bomb (last time I checked anyway).
 
andr3w1984 said:
Well I have 4 routers at present. 1x 2514, 2 x 2610, 1 x 2620

Set me back around £400 for books, cables and routers e.t.c. I even increased it by buying an ADSL wic just to mess about with the adsl side (which isnt needed in CCNA), which cost me about 110 for the WIC alone.
Click to expand...

What would be the cheapest equipment that I could still learn from? Any makes or models to watch out for?
 
hi, i've just replied to your other thread with some information you may find useful. a couple of points to pick up on from this one though - i would personally buy the newer books that are seperated out per semester rather than the 1/2 and 3/4 books. that said, there is an entirely new curriculum just out so you may even want to have a look into those. oh, and as a result of the new curriculum being brough out there are additions such as dsl (in place of isdn), wifi, and security. whether you go into the nitty gritty of configurations, i don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me.
 
I have just spent the last 7 months taking the CCNA course with the Open University. It has cost me just over £500 and that has included home study, training days at Sunderland college, exams and plenty of tutur support. The open University have just changed over to the new curriculum which includes wireless and security options, course is now over 10minths and you can pay in instalments at a very low interest rate. Head over to the Open University site at www.open.ac.uk and search for cisco ccna in the courses. I can heartliy recommend it and they have study days in various centres over the UK .

Rob H

And you get access to real routers during the study and access to online simulators and other resources.
 
Super Tigers said:
I have just spent the last 7 months taking the CCNA course with the Open University. It has cost me just over £500 and that has included home study, training days at Sunderland college, exams and plenty of tutur support. The open University have just changed over to the new curriculum which includes wireless and security options, course is now over 10minths and you can pay in instalments at a very low interest rate. Head over to the Open University site at www.open.ac.uk and search for cisco ccna in the courses. I can heartliy recommend it and they have study days in various centres over the UK .

Rob H

And you get access to real routers during the study and access to online simulators and other resources.
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Thanks. That sounds within my budget, I will give them a try. :D

Would it be this one that I need to apply:

http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01T216
 
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I'm glad you've decided to go with doing an actual course rather than trying to prepare for the exam entirely by yourself, it's the more sensible option to be fair.

I'm studying for it one morning a week at college.
 
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