CISCO Training and relevance to other networking kit??

[Sam_Brown]

Apologies, I didn't know where else to put this...

 

Thinking about taking the CCENT course with the plan to be CCNA.

 

A lot of the course seems to focus on the CLI for Cisco kit. How transferable are the skills for Cisco CLI to other routers and switches?

[nicholab]

Generally if you can do stuff on Cisco you can do it on anything.

[twin--turbo]

CCENT and CCNA are very much focused around the fundamentals of networking. And since many manufactures use command sets very similar to CISCO IOS you can often find your way round other vendors kit.

 

Rob

[cpjitservices]

Best way to do Cisco also is get yourself on ebay and grab yourself some bargain switches and routers.... then Have a Play!!!

 

I have done the CCNA, I still have my home lab which is now getting sold due to house move, but if it wasn't for the fact I had actual hardware to play with it'd of been difficult to do the course.

 

When you sign up for Cisco courses you also get a "Simulator" called Packet Tracer 5, but you cannot do half as much in that as you can with actual hardware, alot of the commands are missing and you dont get the full feature set.

 

So my recommendation is .... IF YOU CAN BUY SOME HARDWARE!

 

To start off with CCNA, a 2950 Switch and a 2600 Switch will be just fine! (Preferably two of each if you can get them for the right price)

[SYNACK]

Yes, ccna and ccnp are very useful even with no Cisco gear at all. They teach how networks actually fit together and work which is a skill that seems overlooked by many courses. Leaves stuff like n+ for dust in actual content.

[Sam_Brown]

Thank you guys for all your help. Been very informative.

[strawberry]

Look at the testout software, as an educator you pay about £50 for it.Even if you don't fancy the exam the training is good if a little overkill for what most people will need to know

[Destinova]

Be advised the current CCENT and CCNA tracks are being retired. You have 6 months to pass the current blueprint or will be doing the new track.

[bio]

For CCENT/CCNA you do not need to buy hardware at all. Save yourself $ by mastering GNS3. Spend $ on good books or CBT's.

 

bio

[Destinova]

If you're serious about learning networking, get some gear. Hands-on work with the CLI beats any sim 100% of the time. GNS3 only does routers, not switches so you are going to want at least a 2900 series switch and they are dirt cheap. Plan to study the same way you would be working...and you won't be working with sims.

 

With the new CCENT/CCNA make sure you get something that will run IOS 15.