Study Guide for CCNA 640 802

Many people ask me what is the best way to prepare for their CCNA Certification Exam. My answer is that everything depends on the individual. However, there are some training methods and resources that might be better and more helpful than others. Whatever training you choose to follow, the most important factor for passing the CCNA 640 802 exam is determination and consistency with your studies. Other than that, you need also some study guidance for the best resources available. You can find that below.

Many people are already working in the Network field either as Administrators or maybe assistants to the network administrator. If these professionals decide to obtain a CCNA certification, they already have a huge advantage for passing the exam. Their advantage is “Hands-On Experience” with actual Cisco equipment (routers, switches) and with actual network protocols that they use in their networks. Since the CCNA 640 802 exam will test candidates for knowledge of practical skills (commands, configurations, network scenarios etc), the professionals that are already working with Cisco equipment will know those topics pretty well. For those people I would suggest to just read the official Cisco Press CCNA preparation book and then solve many practice questions (total preparation duration for 1 month approximately). This study method would be enough in my opinion for passing the exam.

Now, the majority of candidates preparing for the CCNA have no experience in networking at all. For these individuals I definitely suggest to buy a professional training package. If you fall in this category, then don’t look for free training resources as they will not help you at all. If you have a LOT of money ($3-4K) and time, then go ahead and register with a classroom/instructor based training. This kind of training is usually a 5-day intensive course that will give you the best preparation for passing the exam. Usually, after the training course you will need 2-3 more weeks to study again all the material you received in the class in order to be fully ready.

The second option (and the best in my opinion) is to buy a professional CCNA Computer Based Training (CCNA CBT) package. This kind of training is usually in the form of Videos, with a real instructor teaching the material and showing you on the Video important aspects about the exam and practical examples. These Video DVDs are also bundled with extra PDF instructor nodes, exam practice questions, or even MP3 Audio and iPod Video for studying “On-the-Go”. The leader in CCNA Preparation is the Giant in IT Training, Trainsignal.com. Their Cisco CCNA Training package is the best value for money. It is a COMPLETE training package (Videos, PDF Instructor Nodes, iPod and MP3 Audio training, Exam Practice Questions etc), so you will not need anything else to prepare. I have actually used Trainsignal when I was preparing for my CCNP certification and have passed all of my exams easily, just by studying with the Trainsignal Video Training. Give it a try if you are serious about passing your CCNA 640-802 exam.

Thousands of people are searching the web every day to find training resources to study for their Cisco CCNA exam. Many are searching about practice exam questions, self study guides, books, training videos etc. There are several free online resources available for the CCNA exam but most of them are either outdated (they don’t cover the latest 640-802 CCNA exam) or they are not comprehensive. For a serious CCNA candidate, the free resources should be used only to compliment a professional CCNA training package.

Most people know that the professional training packages are the best, so they search for pirated free download copies over peer-to-peer, rapidshare and torrent networks. In addition that you can get sued for piracy and copyright infringements, you run also the risk of getting infected with malware, Trojans, botnet agents etc from those pirated copies.

My advice for you is to invest in your professional career, and the first step is to invest some money in a trusted professional training, rather than trying to download pirated copies. Especially for the CCNA exam, which is the foundation of Cisco Networking, you should invest in a proven training that will offer you the required solid base knowledge for your further Cisco certification and career development. Trainsignal is the leader in Cisco CCNA Video Training, offering an excellent CCNA Computer Based Training (CCNA CBT) package that will help you to pass your exam guaranteed. Instead of running the risk to download free pirated copies of CCNA training, just buy the official Trainsignal CCNA Video Package. Its value is multiple times bigger than the price you will pay for it. After obtaining your CCNA, you will pay back the price for Traisignal in a few days!! Download your CCNA Video Training with 90-days Total Experience Guarantee.

Continuing the series of posts about CCNA Exam preparation, this is Part 2 of some basic topics that you will be tested for CCNA.

Router Password Types:

Passwords are the first line of defense for securing Cisco Routers. A Password must be configured for the Virtual Terminal Lines (VTY lines) and for the Console port. A Cisco router supports 5 VTY lines (numbered 0 to 4) which are used for accessing the router using Telnet over the network.

There are five password types that can be configured on a Cisco Router:

• Privileged Level Passwords
  • Enable Password (not encrypted)
  • Enable Secret Password (encrypted password)
• Console Line Password
• VTY Lines Password
• Auxiliary (AUX) Line Password

Configuring Passwords:

Configuring Privileged Level Passwords:

! Configure non-encrypted password (avoid this type)
Router(config)# enable password somepassword

! Configure encrypted password (recommended)
Router(config)# enable secret strongpassword

Configuring Console Line Password:

Router(config)# line console 0
Router(config-line)# password somepassword
Router(config-line)# login

Configuring Auxiliary Line Password:

Router(config)# line aux 0
Router(config-line)# password somepassword
Router(config-line)# login

Configuring VTY Line (Telnet) Password:

Router(config)# line vty 0 4
Router(config-line)# password somepassword
Router(config-line)# login

Encrypting Passwords:

By default, only the enable secret password is encrypted. In order to encrypt the other password types, you need to enable the “password encryption” service globally on the router as following:

Router# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

Router(config)# service password-encryption

OK let us list some basic network theory that you will be required to know by heart for your CCNA preparation.
 

• We have three types of data transmission:
  • Unicast: This is the most common transmission type. Data flows from a single source host to a single destination host.
  • Multicast: Data flows from a source host to a Group of destination hosts that have “registered” to listen to the transmission. This is like a conference call where users can join a conference in order to listen what the talker has to say. Multicast works with special IP addresses in the range 224.0.X.X.
  • Broadcast: Data flows from a single source host to ALL other hosts on the same network. For example if the local LAN is subnet 192.168.1.0/24, then broadcast packets have a destination address 192.168.1.255. By default a router will block broadcast packets and not let them travel beyond the local network.

• A Broadcast Domain is a common Layer 2 segment where all devices receive broadcast frames. For example several hosts connected on the same Cisco switch and having the same layer 2 vlan, belong to the same broadcast domain. A router acts as the boundary of a broadcast domain.
• A Collision on an Ethernet link occurs when two devices send data simultaneously on the wire, thus data collision occurs. A Collision Domain is the area in an Ethernet network over which collisions will be detected. For example a switch with 24 ethernet ports has 24 collision domains. Collisions are propagated by hubs and repeaters but are not propagated by routers or switches.
• An Ethernet Hub is working at Layer 1 of the OSI model and all devices connected on a Hub belong to the same Collision Domain (and same Broadcast Domain as well).
• An Ethernet Switch works at Layer 2 of the OSI model. All devices connected on a switch belong to the same Broadcast Domain but each switch segment (i.e port of the switch) has its own collision domain.
• A Router works at Layer 3 of the OSI model. A router blocks network broadcasts. Some of the tasks of a Layer 3 router are broadcast and multicast control, traffic management, optimal path determination, logical addressing and connecting to WAN services.