BONUS! If you are interested in getting your CCNA certification, stay tuned to the end of this posting for a special offer for free study materials!

At the end of my life, when people get up to say (hopefully) good things about me, one thing I DON’T want them to call me is a braggart. But I have absolutely no shame in saying that on April 21, 2008, I became the smartest man alive. Why? Because I got my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. Now, a lot of techs will read this, giggle and say, “Ha! CCNA? That’s super easy! I could get that certification with no legs and a mouth full of tin foil.” Really? Well guess what? It was hard for me, so BACK OFF!

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to post my studying strategy that finally got me this headache of a certification. It’s my hope that someone will stumble on this and get the extra tip they need to pass this sucker.


CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-802
If you were to get one study guide to help you nail this test, this is the book I’d pick for you. Todd Lammle’s writing style is great - he has a real knack for breaking down complicated topics in a way that’s easy to understand. Plus, his tone is very conversational and energetic. He reminds me of that one really smart kid you meet in high school that loves math and wants to show you how much fun long division can be. You really feel like he’s pulling for you to pass the exam! The real home run for me, though, was the Lammle method of understanding subnetting (absolutely vital to passing the test). I learned it three or four crazy ways in the past, and Lammle showed me a much easier way to do it - to the point where I can now easily subnet in my head. If for no other reason, you should buy this book just to learn a great way to subnet.


CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate: Fast Pass
This little gem contains basically everything in the book above, but in a “CliffsNotes” format - all subject matter is shortened and presented at a much more accelerated pace. The book assumes you have a pretty good understanding of the CCNA requirements, and are just looking to refresh/reinforce what you already know. I found it to be a perfect companion on the treadmill or during lunch breaks to keep everything fresh in my mind.


Todd Lammle’s CCNA IOS Commands Survival Guide
When learning router IOS commands, I always got confused about what show protocols would show me versus show ip protocols and stuff like that. This book is exactly what it appears to be: an excellent resource if you quickly want to look up what an IOS command does and/or displays.


TestKing practice tests
I used the TestKing practice tests to simulate a real testing environment. The CCNA exam is an hour and a half, 52-question behemoth. There’s no skipping questions, nor can you return to past questions and change your answers. It’s full steam ahead! I did many dry runs of the test using TestKing’s materials, and I’m glad I did, since the first two or three times I ran out of time and failed the exam!

On a side note, if you read about TestKing on the Internet, you’ll find a lot of love/hate for it. See, the TestKing site offers study materials that are a little controversial, because many folks have reported that the real CCNA test questions look suspiciously similar to the questions on TestKing’s materials. I have to say that after taking the test yesterday, I found that the type of questions (meaning multiple choice, drag-and-drop, etc.) in the TestKing guide were indeed similar to that of the exam, but not the content itself.


PrepLogic audio training and study guide
Folks, please listen when I say the following to you: DON’T BUY PREPLOGIC STUFF! These are the materials I bought when I originally started studying for the CCNA, and I hate to be blunt, but they are garbage. As I mentioned before, PrepLogic material is vague, lacking in detail and good examples, and in general just not what you need to pass this exam. Particularly the audio CDs. Honestly, you could listen to a Britney Spears album and get a better score on the test than you would with this PoopLogic debris. Now, in their defense, if for some strange reason you don’t want to pass your test, then definitely scoop this stuff up (see, that was punny. I made a poop joke and then talked about scooping it up).

Special offer!
Ok, if you’re still reading this post, I want to make a special offer to BraimeeDotCom readers. If you are serious about taking the CCNA but perhaps just don’t have the funds to buy the study materials, I am willing to donate my materials - all you need to do is pay shipping! This offer is only for the Lammle books, because I burned the PrepLogic stuff in a fire and then burned the ashes too. Just contact me and we’ll figure out the details.