How To Become A True CCNA And To Get A CCNA job

The CCNA is an exciting beginning to your Cisco career, but just having the certification simply isn't enough. A recruiter or interviewer isn't going to be impressed just with the cert; you've got to have some real-world knowledge to back it up.

I've been down that road myself, and sat on both sides of the CCNA job interview table. With that in mind, I'd like to offer to you some tips on becoming a truly valuable and employable CCNA.

Get some hands-on experience. I know the trap well; you can't get experience until you get a CCNA, and you can't get a CCNA without real experience. Well, actually, you can, but do you want to? Working on simulators is fine to a certain extent, but don't make the classic mistake of depending on them. I've seen plenty of CCNAs who were put in front of a set of routers and really didn't know what to do or how to put together a simple configuration, and had NO idea how to begin troubleshooting.

There are CCNA classes that offer you the chance to work with industry experts on real Cisco equipment. Beyond that, you can put together your own CCNA rack for less than $1000 by buying used routers. Some people think that's a lot of money, but this is the foundation of your career. Treat it that way. The work you do now is the most important work you'll ever do. Do it on real Cisco equipment. The skills I learned as a CCNA helped me all the way up to the CCIE.

Besides, after you get your CCNA (and after that, hopefully you'll choose to pursue the CCNP), you can always get some of your money back by selling the equipment. The hands-on experience you gain this way is invaluable.

Know binary math. Do NOT go the easy route of memorizing a subnet mask chart for the CCNA exam. I know some people brag about being able to pass the CCNA exam without really understanding binary math. I've seen those people on the other side of the interview table, and they're not laughing when I ask them to do a subnetting question. They're not laughing when they can't explain or create a VLSM scheme. That chart does nothing to help you understand what's going on.

If you can add and know the difference between a one and a zero, you can do binary math. Don't let the name intimidate you. Become a REAL CCNA -- learn binary math !

Run "show" and "debug" commands. No commands help you truly understand how things work in a Cisco network than show and debug commands. As you progress through the Cisco certification ranks, you'll be glad you started using these at the CCNA level.

Do you need to know these commands for the exam? Probably not. Do you need them to be successul in the real world? Absolutely.

The Cisco certification track has been great to me, and it can boost your career as well, whether you stop at the CCNA, CCNP, or go all the way to the CCIE. It's the skills you develop today that will truly make you a networking engineer. Don't take shortcuts or get the attitude of "just passing the exam".

It's what you achieve after the exam that counts, and it's the work you put in before passing the exam that makes those achievements possible.

Router Memory - Important for beginners

An important part of your Cisco CCENT and CCNA certification studies is learning the differences between RAM, ROM, NVRAM, and Flash memory. You better know the differences when it comes to working in real-life networks as well, because vital Cisco files are found in these memory types - and since some of these files are lost on a router reload and some are not, we better know which is which!
The memory types and functions discussed in this section are the same for routers and switches, but to keep from saying "routers and switches" 500 times, I'll just say "routers". :)
Configuring the routers is a lot of fun, but we've got to know what's going on inside the router, too! Cisco routers have four different kinds of memory, and while some of the names are similar, their purpose is totally different.
The contents of some of these memory types is kept when the router is reloaded, and others are lost on a reload. We better know which is which!
It's a fair bet that these topics will come up on your CCENT and CCNA exams, and this is also information you've got to know to be a real network admin. Let's examine these four memory types closely and see what each one does!
ROM: Read-Only Memory. ROM stores the router’s bootstrap startup program, operating system software, and power-on diagnostic test programs (POST).
Flash Memory: Generally referred to simply as “flash”, the IOS images are held here. Flash is erasable and reprogrammable ROM. Flash memory content is retained by the router on reload.
RAM: Random-Access Memory. Stores operational information such as routing tables and the running configuration file. RAM contents are lost when the router is powered down or reloaded. By default, routers look here first for an Internetwork Operating System (IOS) file during boot.
NVRAM: Non-volatile RAM. NVRAM holds the router’s startup configuration file. NVRAM contents are not lost when the router is powered down or reloaded.
Some important comparisons:
RAM contents are lost on reload, where NVRAM and Flash contents are not.
NVRAM holds the startup configuration file, where RAM holds the running configuration file.
Let's take a look at the boot process of a Cisco router, and then talk about the dreaded Setup Mode!
The Router Boot Process
When a Cisco router powers up, it first runs a series of POSTs (Power-On Self Test). A POST is a series of diagnostic tests designed to verify the basic operation of the network interfaces, memory, and the CPU.
Depending on the model or router of switch you're using, you can actually see some of these tests being passed. Here, I've reloaded a Cisco 2950 switch, and you can see some of the POSTs being run and passed at the very beginning of the bootup process.
Initializing flashfs...
flashfs[1]: 79 files, 3 directories
flashfs[1]: 0 orphaned files, 0 orphaned directori
flashfs[1]: Total bytes: 7741440
flashfs[1]: Bytes used: 5980672
flashfs[1]: Bytes available: 1760768
flashfs[1]: flashfs fsck took 7 seconds.
flashfs[1]: Initialization complete.
Done initializing flashfs.
POST: System Board Test : Passed
POST: Ethernet Controller Test : Passed
ASIC Initialization Passed
POST: FRONT-END LOOPBACK TEST : Passed
POSTs are particularly effective at detecting major problems early in the boot process, such as a broken fan. If the POST detects such a problem (usually called an "environmental factor") that would cause the router or switch to overheat after booting, the POST will fail, give you a clear message as to why the POST failed, and will then stop the boot process.
But let's speak positively here!
After the router passes the POST, it looks for a source from which to load a valid Internetwork Operating System (IOS). The router has three sources from which it can load an IOS image, and it's a good idea to know these sources and the order in which the router will look in each for the IOS image:
1. Flash memory (the default).
2. A TFTP server. (Trivial File Transfer Protocol)
3. Read-Only Memory (ROM)
To change that order, a change must be made to the configuration register, and we'll talk about that later in the course. It's similar to the Microsoft Registry in that you should never change this value unless you are sure of the result.
Once the IOS is found, the router looks for a valid startup configuration file. By default, the router will look for the startup configuration file in Non-volatile RAM (NVRAM).
If no valid startup configuration file is found, the router enters setup mode, where the router runs the system configuration dialogue, a series of questions involving basic router setup. We'll take a look at Setup Mode in the next installment of my exclusive 640-802 CCNA and CCENT certification exam tutorial series!