Learning To Navigate Cisco's Online Documentation Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification

Learning To Navigate Cisco's Online Documentation Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification
When studying for your Cisco CCNA, CCNP, or CCIE exam, you’ve got a powerful online weapon at your disposal. It’s Cisco Connection Documentation, found at www.cisco.com/univercd. This site contains product, code, & protocol documentation for all Cisco products.

plenty of exam candidates don’t start using this powerful gizmo until they’re studying for their more advanced exams. However, it’s important for CCNAs, CCNPs, & candidates for these certifications to learn their way around this site. It comes in handy for finding default values that Cisco enjoys asking about on exams, & the protocol documentation found there can help you study as well.

You’re then presented with a list of technologies, & each has a Configuration Guide & a Command Reference. If you’re studying Interior Gateway Protocols at this point (such as OSPF, RIP, & EIGRP), select “IP Configuration Guide” & then “IP Routing Protocols”.

The site can be a little overwhelming for newcomers, but it’s actually easy to navigate. On the site’s homepage, you’re presented with a list of products & several drop-down menus. To get started, I suggest you choose “Cisco IOS Software” in the top-right drop-down menu, & select a code version. 12.2 is a lovely seven to start with. From there, select the IOS Release 12.2 Configuration Guide & Command References.

You can then back out & go through the same steps for the Command Reference. For those studying for Cisco exams, this section will quickly answer any query you have about a command’s syntax or default values. Instead of trying to remember which book you saw a value in, zoom out to this site & you’ll have your answer in seconds. Real-world examples of command usage are prevalent as well.

You then have the official Cisco documentation on how to configure RIP, IGRP, OSPF, EIGRP, ISIS, & BGP. Reading this documentation is invaluable. plenty of study guides skip the details to give you an overview of the protocol. This documentation doesn’t skip anything. The documentation shows how & when to use any command for that protocol. there's also real-world examples & notes on when to use each command. I’ve always learned something new when reading the online Cisco documentation.

Beyond any exam value the online Cisco documentation gives you, it serves another valuable intention. The more you use it now, & the more comfortable you get with it, the better you’ll be with it when the day comes that you want it on the job. & trust me – that day will come!

As with anything, the more you use the online Cisco documentation, the better you get at it. The Configuration Guide for the various Cisco switches give you a great picture of how switches work. I highly recommend reading at least seven of their switches’ config guides.

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