Steve's Blog

So I have decided to get my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Certification. To help prepare for this I have went on a little shopping spree on Ebay. I managed to find older equipment but still very usable and running in production environments all over the world.

Cisco 3620 Router with a NM-1E2W and a WIC-156K CSU/DSU.
Cisco 2610 Router with a WIC-1DSU-56K, 1 10BaseT, 2 Serial Connections and 1 empty module slot.
Cisco Catalyst 2924M-XL-EN with 24 10/100BaseTX ports.

I also got the official certification books and exam guides from the Cisco Press for half off on Amazon! Can’t beat that deal…

I have learned a lot over the past week or so since I have had the equipment. I still have a lot to learn though. I plan on taking the certification exam within the next 6-12 weeks, depending on how much of a pain in the ass subnetting is going to continue to be. Cisco wants us to be able to figure out the math for those problems in 15-30 seconds in our head. IN OUR HEAD! WTF, who the hell ever needs to do subnetting that quickly in the real world. Oh, that’s right, NO ONE!

Ah well, enough of my ranting about the exam. I am very happy with the equipment I have got. I hope to be able to get a WIC-1ADSL card for my 3620 router so that I can hook this bad boy up at home and continue to use this equipment beyond getting my certifications.