Networks Analyzed @ Netralized

When I start or finish a CCNA course I ask my students what they would like to know about the CCNA exam. Always there is some information that they would like to know but never thought to ask. So giving you all the necessary guidelines about the exam from the questions that the attendants of my courses had during my lectures about CCNA, would be a great idea!

First you can schedule to take the CCNA exam in every cisco certified learning center in your area. For more information, check the “Link” and then click “Academy and Class Search”. The exam has 50 to 60 questions and the participants have 90 minutes to answer them. All the examination process takes place in front of a Computer using a web interface. This might be a little bit tricky especially if this is your first time taking the exam. Getting familiarized with the interface will help a lot; some exam simulators can help you achieve that. Be careful because when you answer a question, the button that takes you to the next question becomes active; if you left click it will take you to the next question but you can’t go back to the previous one, so you have to be sure about your answer before moving forward to the next one.

The 50 to 60 questions are divided to five different categories:

1. Multiple choice questions.
2. Multiple choice questions with more than one right answer.
3. Drag and drop questions.
4. Simlets (Simlets are 3 or 4 questions based in one Graphical Diagram. CCNA count this 3 or 4 questions as 1).
5. LABS (The exam has 2 or 3 Labs). From my experience if you fail in one of the labs you unfortunately loose the exam. The passing score is 85% which is actually a bit high I thing, so loosing a lab question can reduce your score significantly up to a point that even a few multiple choice errors can take you below 85%.
   Pay extra attention to labs about: Basic configuration: console, enable, enable secret, vty passwords and host name of your machines also OSPF, NAT configuration, RIP and ACL.

One of my next articles in the future will be to write in depth about the CCNA labs. I have scheduled to take the new certifications just to inform you about the new labs. (and to be able to teach them of course :))

Don’t forget that having devices such as cellular phones, calculators, laptops or even books in the examination room is forbidden.

Don’t look at the CCNA exam as something extremely hard or difficult to take. It needs systematic reading, determination and clear mind when taking it. After all, if you really want to pass it, the option of failing even once is an option. No one was born ready to pass every exam on the first try.

Good luck to it, and don’t forget to inform us about the process.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 6:07 pm, by Jim Skenderlis and is filed under Cisco. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.