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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Last Updated:   29/05/1999
Maintainer: gauravs@hss.hns.com (Gaurav Sabharwal)
URL: http://www.groupstudy.com/faq/

This is the FAQ for the Cisco Certification mailing list. In case you know of anything that is not included but should be present, send the relevant information to faq@groupstudy.com This FAQ is also available through anonymous ftp. ftp://www.groupstudy.com/faq

Table of Contents

Section 1. To Do/Updates
Question 1.1. Contributions needed
Question1.2.  What's new?

Section 2. General Information
Question 2.1. What is this mailing list about?
Question 2.2. What all Cisco Certifications are discussed on this mailing list?
Question 2.3. Are there any rules, which I should go through before sending a mail to the mailing list?
Question 2.4. How can I subscribe to this mailing list?
Question 2.5. How do I post a message to the group?
Question 2.6. What else can I do?
Question 2.7. How do I unsubscribe from this mailing list?
Question 2.8. To whom do I direct my questions in case I need more assistance/information regarding the mailing list?
Question 2.9. I want to look for something that has already been discussed on the mailing list. Are there any archives of old messages, which I can go through?
Question 2.10. I would like to contribute something to the web site. How can I do that?
Question 2.11. Are there any other mailing lists/discussion boards, which can assist me in attaining my certification?
Question 2.12. I am appearing CCIE Lab in near future. Any mailing list to which I can subscribe?
Question 2.13. The number of mails from the mailing list is voluminous. Is there a newsgroup that I can use to read the mails?

Section 3. Books and In-house Lab Setup
Question 3.1. What books would you suggest for CCNA?
Question 3.2. What books would you suggest for CCIE?
Question 3.3. What is the best way of buying books on the Internet?
Question 3.4. What kind of a lab do I need for CCNA and CCIE?
Question 3.5. From where can I buy used Cisco equipment for my lab?

Section 4. Miscellaneous
Question 4.1. Can I get sample questions for Cisco Examinations? If so, where can I find them on the Internet?
Question 4.2. Can I get practice lab exercises that will gear me up for my Certification examination?
Question 4.3. Can I get any CBTs that would assist me in my Cisco Certification?
Question 4.4 Are there any personal sites, which can be of assistance in my certification?

Section 5 Cisco Site
Question 5.1. What is the URL of the official site from where I can get Certification objectives and guidelines?
Question 5.2. Where can I get the objectives of various Cisco Certifications?
Question 5.3. Is there a FAQ on Cisco's web site regarding Certifications?
Question 5.4. I have heard that Cisco offers beta exams. Where can I find information about the same?
Question 5.5. I am confused regarding exam numbers. Is there any listing for the same?
Question 5.6. From where can I find CCIE related information at Cisco's web site?
Question 5.7. Where can I find information related to training partners, self study material and class locator?
Question 5.8. Is there a list of Worldwide Cisco training partners?
Question 5.9. Where can I find more information about Cisco Networking Academies?

Section 6 Acknowledgements
Question 6.1. Contributors
 

Section 1 To/Do -Updates

Question 1.1. Contributions needed


Question 1.2. What's new?
 

Section 2  General Information

Question 2.1. What is this mailing list about?

This mailing list is an open list for discussions pertaining with Cisco Certifications. This list is designed to allow a group discussion of various topics related to Cisco's certification programs.
 

Question 2.2. What all Cisco Certifications are discussed on this mailing list?

This mailing list discusses all the Cisco Certifications, which are as follows:

Question 2.3. Are there any rules, which I should go through before sending a mail to the mailing list?

Yes. There are few points that one should keep in mind before sending a mail to the mailing list. The rules can be found at http://www.groupstudy.com/list/guide.html
 

Question 2.4. How can I subscribe to this mailing list?

To subscribe, send an e-mail message to listserver@groupstudy.com with the body of the message containing:

Subscribe Cisco

You should then receive (almost immediately) an authentication message, which you will need to return. This message is used to verify you really want to subscribe to the list.

If you want to subscribe a different e-mail address than the one you are currently at, send the message in the form:

Subscribe Cisco myname@foo.bar.com

The authentication message will be sent to myname@foo.bar.com.

If you have web access, you may subscribe from the homepage http://www.groupstudy.com
 
 

Question 2.5. How do I post a message to the group?

First check the guidelines. If you message meets the guidelines send the e-mail to cisco@groupstudy.com. The message will be immediately forwarded to all list members.
 

Question 2.6. What else can I do?

Send a message to listserver@groupstudy.com with the body containing:

Help

You will receive e-mail describing all the functions of the listserver.
 

Question 2.7. How do I unsubscribe from this mailing list?

To unsubscribe send a message to listserver@groupstudy.com with the body containing:

Unsubscribe Cisco
 

Question 2.8. To whom do I direct my questions in case I need more assistance/information regarding the mailing list?

If you ever need to get in contact with the owner of the list, (if you have trouble un-subscribing, or have questions about the list itself) send email to owner-cisco@groupstudy.com.
 

Question 2.9. I want to look for something that has already been discussed on the mailing list. Are there any archives of old messages, which I can go through?

All mails sent to the mailing list are archived. You can visit http://www.groupstudy.com/arch_front/index.html in case you want to refer to something that has been already discussed. We also suggest that you search the archives prior to mailing to the whole group.
 

Question 2.10. I would like to contribute something to the web site. How can I do that?

Send e-mail to Paul Borghese pborghese@groupstudy.com Paul is currently maintaining the mailing list.
 

Question 2.11. Are there any other mailing lists/discussion boards, which can assist me in attaining my certification?

This is a very wide question and here is a list of few mailing list as well as news groups, which will assist you in attaining your Cisco certification.

Cisco Spot mailing list: This mailing list DOESN'T discuss certification related mails but is instead used my folks for their real world problems. It is a voluminous mailing list. Please avoid posting any certification related posting on this mailing list. You can subscribe to this mailing list by mailing at cisco-request@spot.colorado.edu with "Subscribe Cisco" in the body of the e-mail. The quotes shouldn't be there in "Subscribe Cisco". Please keep in mind that addition and deletion of members to this mailing list is done by a person (Mr. David Wood) and not by a robot, hence it may take time to subscribe to this mailing list. Be patient! There is a newsgroup too for this mailing list. All the mails from the mailing list are pushed to the newsgroup. The newsgroup is comp.dcom.cisco. This mailing list and newsgroup will assist you a lot in your achieving your certification.

Editors note:  If you do subscribe to both list, please do not cross-post messages between lists.

Question 2.12. I am appearing for the CCIE Lab in near future. Any mailing list that I can subscribe?

Yes. Recently we have started off with a mailing list meant for people who are appearing for the CCIE Lab. This mailing list is a closed one. If you are appearing for CCIE Lab in nearfuture this mailing list is for you. To get more information about this mailing list, please visit http://www.groupstudy.com/ccie_lab/index.html

Question 2.13. The number of mails from the mailing list is voluminous. Is there a newsgroup that I can use to read the mails?

Yes. We have now started beta-testing a newsfeed version of the mailing list. The newsfeed is in the initial stages of testing and may not operate continuously. Check it out at news.groupstudy.com
 

Section 3 Books & In-House Lab Setup
 
 

Question 3.1. What books would you suggest for CCNA?

There are number of books floating today related with Cisco Certification and there have been varying comments about them. There have been long debates about the best book for CCNA. The two books that are most debated upon are.

  1. CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide -- Todd Lammle, Donald Porter; Hardcover
  2. CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide -- Syngress Inc(Editor); Hardcover
The Introduction to Cisco Router Course Book, which has been edited by Laura Chappell, has made its way into the market and is being rated as one of the best books for CCNA. The book deals with the ICRC material and people have claimed to pass the CCNA test by reading this book and some switching related documents from Cisco's web site.

This is something, which I would suggest for CCNA. I would really appreciate comments and your suggestions on this.

Cisco has recently come out with the CCNA Preparation Library. The Cisco CCNA Preparation Library is a bundle of the Cisco press books Introduction to Cisco Router Configuration and Internetworking Technologies Handbook, Second Edition, with the added value of the Cisco training publication High-Performance Solutions for Desktop Connectivity included on CD.
 

Question 3.2. What books would you suggest for CCIE?

Again there is no single shot answer to this question. First of all, one should keep in mind that it is literally impossible to attain CCIE certification just by reading the books. One needs to have solid understanding of all the Internetworking concepts at the grassroots level. This is very much essential for a future CCIE. A list of books recommended by the members may be found at http://www.groupstudy.com/bookstore. If you do purchase a book through Amazon.com, try and use the link found in the bookstore section. Your cost will be the same and the mailing list will receive a small "kickback" to help defray the cost.

Below is a list of 21 books that have been suggested by Lou Sr. at http://www.ccieprep.com. Thanks to Lou Sr. for sharing this information with us. The Rossis have used these books in creating the site and Lou states that many of these books will be helpful in attaining your CCIE certification.

  1. Perlman, Radia 1992 Interconnections: Bridges and Routers, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
  2. Stevens, Richard W. 1994 TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1 The Protocols, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
  3. Ballew, Scott M. 1997 Managing IP Networks with Cisco Routers, O'Reilly, Cambridge, Mass.
  4. Lewis, Chris 1998 Cisco TCP/IP Routing Professional Reference, McGraw-Hill New York, N.Y.
  5. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Switching Services, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  6. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco Router Configuration, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  7. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  8. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Solutions for Network Protocols Volume I: IP, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  9. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco CCIE Fundamentals: Network Design and Case Studies, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  10. Halabi, Bassam Cisco Systems, Inc. 1997 Internet Routing Architectures, New Riders Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  11. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Network Security, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  12. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Dial Solutions, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  13. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Solutions for Network Protocols Volume II: IPX, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  14. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Wide Area Networking Solutions, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  15. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Network Solutions, Macmillan Technical Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  16. Cisco Systems, Inc. 1998 Internetworking Technology Handbook, Second Edition, New Riders Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  17. Siyan, Karanjit 1993 NetWare The Professional Reference Second Edition, New Riders Publishing Indianapolis, IN
  18. Comer, Douglas E. 1996 Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume 1: Principles, Protocols, And Architecture Third Edition, Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ
  19. Johnson, Howard W. 1996 Fast Ethernet Dawn of a New Network, Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ
  20. Black, Uyless 1998 ATM Volume III: Internetworking with ATM, Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ
  21. Bates, Regis J. and Gregory, Donald W. 1998 Voice and Data Communication Handbook, McGraw-Hill NY, NY
Question 3.3. What is the best way of buying books on the Internet?

Below is a mail from Chad Marsh chad@wa.net, which he had posted to the mailing list and is one of the best ways of buying books. Chad explains step by step on how to buy books on the Internet.

This is how I buy books on the net:

  1. Go to Amazon.com and locate the book you want to buy, because they have the fastest, most comprehensive book site on the net. (Of course you all probably know that already)
  2. Highlight the ISBN number of book and hit <ctrl+C>
  3. Go to http://www.acses.com and search by selecting ISBN, clicking in the box, and <ctrl+V> to paste. Then click 'Search'
  4. When the next screen comes up, click 'Check Prices'
  5. Acses will search for your book from up to 25 online book resellers. (Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Computer Literacy, A1 Books, Kingbooks, Books.com, Shopping.com, Wordworth Books, etc.) It will then spit out this neatly itemized (and linked) listing of all places offering your book, sorted by best DELIVERED price. It also gives you base price, discount off list price, shipping price, shipping service, and shipping timeframe. Seldom is Amazon the best price, plus they charge me sales tax here in WA, none of the others do.
  6. The only place not included in the search engine that may have a better price is bookpool.com, but they don't seem to keep stock in too many titles.
  7. Almost forgot, you may want to go to http://www.esmarts.com and look under coupons to see if there are any good deals going for books. (i.e.: A1 Books has 6% off with discount code: ZCQW2H2X)
Hope this helps some of you, it sure does me...

Chad Marsh, CCNA

Editors Note: Please remember, if you do purchase through Amazon.com, please click on one of the links in the bookstore section (http://www.groupstudy.com/bookstore). By clicking through from the site, you are helping support the mailing list.
 

Question 3.4. What kind of a lab do I need for CCNA and CCIE?

One of the most frequently asked question on the mailing list is about the In-house Lab setup. This section explains in depth the kind of Lab that one should have to achieve CCNA and CCIE. Comments and suggestion to add to this list are welcome.

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA):

The above list of equipment should be great for the CCNA Exam. Thanks to Tom Thomas tothomas@netcerts.com for providing this information. I did some editing on the feature set version.

Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE):

These equipment are in addition with the CCNA equipment.

Please note that all routers should have 16 Megs of memory to hold the 11.3 Enterprise Version.
 

Question 3.5. From where can I buy used Cisco equipment for my lab?

This is a short list of used Cisco equipment resellers. In case you know of any reseller that should be here in this list, please mail to faq@groupstudy.com
 

Section 4 Miscellaneous
 
 

Question 4.1. Can I get sample questions for Cisco Examinations? If so, where can I find them on the Internet?

Yes, you can get sample questions related to Cisco Certifications. There are various sites that are providing them. The ones that I know of are listed below. In case you know of any more sites, please send a mail to faq@groupstudy.com and I shall add them to this list.

  1. http://www.ccnaprep.com This site is rated as one of the best by number of people. They update the Q&A bank every month. They also provide in depth explanation to the questions to assist the user.
  2. http://www.networkstudyguides.com This site provides questions for CCNA, CCNP and CCIE certifications. In addition to the question and answers they also provide reading material. The reviews of the sites have not been good so beware before you leap into the offer. They offer online tests and the testing system grades your performance instantly
  3. http://www.ciscocertified.com A new site, which has come out with CCNA related Question and Answers, Guide to help you in passing the CCNA certification. They offer online tests and the testing system grades your performance instantly.
  4. http://www.ccieprep.com A sister concern of ccnaprep.com. This is an excellent site and the reviews of this site have been excellent. They have got Questions and Answers dealing with the CCIE written exams.
  5. http://www.cisco.com/warp/customer/331/questions.html This site requires CCO account. 14 odd questions related with CCIE written test.
  6. http://www.bfq.com Beach Front Quizzer sells variety of practice tests dealing with Cisco Certifications.
Question 4.2. Can I get practice lab exercises that will gear me up for my Certification examination?

The answer to this question is yes! Again there are many sites which will not only provide you with lab exercises but will also provide you with networking equipment which you can rent and access over the Internet. The sites, which I know of, are listed below. In case you know of a site that should be listed here, please e-mail at faq@groupstudy.com and I shall add it here.

  1. http://www.ccieprep.com This is an excellent site, which has great lab exercises dealing with CCIE.
  2. http://www.cciebootcamp.com This site provides you with labs that are designed for the CCIE Routing and Switching Lab Exam. They provide you access to routers and switches over the Internet and lab scenarios that are helpful for the CCIE Lab Exam.
  3. http://www.virtualrack.com Another site by help of which you can eliminate 100% practice equipment Cost of Ownership and get the benefit of CCIE scenarios based on the exam objectives. You get assistance from a CCIE who is also an active member of the mailing list. You can access the labs over the Internet
  4. http://www.mentorlabs.com/vlab/access Another site offering Virtual Labs which compromise of skills-based lab exercises focused around real business scenarios. Anytime, anywhere access via the Internet or corporate Intranet.
  5. http://www.engr.twsu.edu/cisco/ WSU CCIE preparation Lab which is sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc. These preparation labs are available in Sydney, Australia too apart from USA.
  6. http://www.ciscocertified.com A site that offers sample labs related with CCNA certification.
  7. http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/practice_labs.html A few question and answers regarding practice labs and the places where you can avail these facilities. The sites listed here are ones, which are funded by Cisco Systems, Inc.
  8. http://www.globalknowledge.com.au/courses/cisco/CCIE.htm Global Knowledge, Australia provides CCIE related training.
  9. http://diamond.mantras.com/programmes/ccie.htm A CCIE training provider in England.
  10. http://www.groupstudy.com/notes/index.html A few scenarios, which have been submitted by members of the mailing list.
Question 4.3. Can I get any CBTs that would assist me in my Cisco Certification?

There are two resources, which I know of.

  1. http://www.ffg.com At present they offer Cisco&rsquo;s ICRC and ACRC courses. All source material and product training for these courses were supplied, reviewed and approved by Cisco Systems, Inc. You can download a demo from their web site.
  2. http://www.cbtsys.com They offer only Cisco&rsquo;s ICRC course at present. They are planning to bring in CBTs related with CCIE, CCNA Wan Switching, ACRC, CLSC, CMTD, CIT and CCNP.
Question 4.4. Are there any personal sites, which can be of assistance in my certification?

Here are a few of the sites that I know of. If you know of any more sites that can be of assistance in Cisco certification please send e-mail to faq@groupstudy.com

  1. http://www.clark.net/pub/rbenn/cisco.html This a very well maintained site by Randall S Benn. More than 90% of the links take you to Cisco&rsquo;s site. You can find links to documentation and other technical help on this
  2. http://www.itprc.com This is another site where you will find plethora of information related with Internetworking in general. Irwin Lazar maintains this site. This site is under the process of shifting to http://www.networkingpage.com.
  3. http://www.lovegrove.co.uk/bgl/cisco.htm A few links related with Cisco Certification. Ben Lovegrove maintains this site. Ben is currently working to enhance this site.
  4. http://www.hojmark.org/networking.html A site with tons of link related with Internetworking.
  5. http://www.vstream.com/login/CISCOCID/CISCOCID_login.vhtm Here you can attend an online course related with CID. This is not a personal site.

Section 5 Cisco Corporate Sites
 
 

Question 5.1. What is the URL of the official site from where I can get Certification objectives and guidelines?

http://www.cisco.com/public/10/wwtraining/certprog or alternatively you can use http://www.cisco.com/certification The home of Cisco Career Certification and the site from where you can find links to other Certification related pages on the Cisco web site.
 

Question 5.2. Where can I get the objectives of various Cisco Certifications?

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/certprog/testing/exam_objective.htm This site lists all the exam objectives of various Cisco Certifications apart from CCIE.
 

Question 5.3. Is there a FAQ on Cisco's web site regarding Certifications?

Yes, the FAQ can be found at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/certprog/faq1.html We have not added the questions that have been answered in the FAQ at the Cisco's web site so please do have a look at the same.
 

Question 5.4. I have heard that Cisco offers beta exams. Where can I find information about the same?

You can get information regarding these examinations at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/certprog/testing/beta_exams.htm
 

Question 5.5. I am confused regarding exam numbers. Is there any listing for the same?

Yes. Check out http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/certprog/testing/exam_list.htm This page contains all the exam numbers apart from CCIE.
 

Question 5.6. From where can I find CCIE related information at Cisco's web site?

The main page for all CCIE related information at Cisco's web site is http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/ Here you will find all the information that you will need for giving the written test, lab and the re-certification details.

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/331/1.shtml is the site where you get the overview of the CCIE Program. This site also has a recommended reading list and other information. There is a FAQ on CCIE on this page as well. To go directly to the FAQ use this URL: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/331/1.shtml#Faq

CCIE WAN Switching Expert information is available at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/cciwa_ds.htm

CCIE ISP information is available at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/isp_dial.html

CCIE Routing and Switching information is available at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/routing.html

The main page for all CCIE related information at Cisco's web site is http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/ Here you will find all the information that you will need for giving the written test, lab and the re-certification details.
 

Question 5.7. Where can I find information related to training partners, self study material and class locator?

Information regarding all the three can be found at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/cust/
 

Question 5.8. Is there a list of Worldwide Cisco training partners?

http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/front.x/wwtraining/listAllTP.pl is the web page where you can this information.
 

Question 5.9. Where can I find more information about Cisco Networking Academies?

Information dealing not only with Cisco Networking Academies as well as Cisco Education Network can be found at http://www.cisco.com/edu/. Here you will find a link to Cisco Networking Academies.
 
 

Section 6 Acknowledgements

Question 6.1. Contributors

Listed in ascending order, the following people have contributed to this FAQ. Thanks to all for their help.