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Cisco CCNA Certification: Why You NEED Hands-On Practice! |
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CCNA and CCNP candidates hear it all the time: “you
have to get some hands-on experience to pass the exams”.
Candidates tend to think that’s just so they can solve
the simulator problems, but that’s only the more obvious
reason.
First, I want to make it clear that I’m not bashing
learning from books you have to learn theory before you can
really know what’s going on in the first place. The key
is that to truly understand routing and switching processes,
you’ve got to have that hands-on experience.
So if the simulator questions are the more obvious reason
to get hands-on experience, what are the less obvious reasons?
Glad you asked!
You see what happens when things don’t go according
to the script. One of the biggest problems with learning your
skills on software programs such as “router simulators”
is that with simulators, things go pretty much as planned.
I have news for you: that doesn’t always happen in the
real world. While Cisco routers and switches are highly reliable
devices, every once in a while you’re going to get an
unexpected result from a command. Maybe it didn’t work
after you typed it in maybe it has an effect on your prior
configuration that you didn’t expect. Maybe you don’t
know what happened – you just typed in that command and
the router went nuts!
Sooner or later, that’s going to happen to you in the
real world. And as I tell my students, it’s actually
a good thing to have happen to you in a lab.
You don’t learn to troubleshoot or fine-tune a configuration
when everything works perfectly. You don’t learn much
at all when things go perfectly. And you’re practicing
to learn!
I often say that great chefs don’t learn to cook on
cooking simulators they learn in the kitchen, and they burn
a lot of meals on the way to greatness. You need to screw
up some configs on the way to greatness, and you can’t
do that on a computer program. You have to be on the real
thing.
You build confidence by working with real Cisco routers and
switches. Would you want the Super Bowl to be the first football
game you ever really played in? Of course not. Then why would
you take router configuration exams and be nervous about having
to create a VLAN, or troubleshoot an OSPF configuration?
You cannot walk into the testing room a nervous wreck. You
must have the attitude that you are already a CCNA or CCNP,
and you’re just there to make it official. I can tell
you from firsthand experience with many students that the
way you develop than confidence is to work with the real deal.
You can’t buy that confidence, and you can’t simulate
your way to it. You’ve got to work with real Cisco routers
and switches. By working with the real equipment, you develop
the real skills and real confidence you need to pass the CCNA
and CCNP exams.
About the Author:
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage,
home of free CCNP and CCNA tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study
Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy
of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” and
“How To Pass The CCNP”, just visit the website!
You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day!
Pass the CCNP exam with The Bryant Advantage!
About the Author:
Article by Chris Bryant.
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Need Cisco Hardware for your Cert? |
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| Call 813.852.6400 now for more information to find the best router or switch to best help you with your certification exam. Having "real" hands-on experience is extremely beneficial not just for testing, but also ensures you are actually familiar with the device you are working on.
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