CCNA FAQs & Tips
CCNA is a long topic to talk about and there are many tips that can help you save much time when sitting in the exam hall. From the comments here and information from other places, this article tries to summarize all the CCNA frequently asked questions to save you some time. Please feel free to ask anything that you are unclear about CCNA so that all of us can help you. I will update this article frequently to bring you newest information about this exam.
1. Please tell me how many questions in the real CCNA exam, and how much time to answer them?
Until now, you have 90 minutes to answer 50 questions in the real CCNA exam but if your native language is not English, Cisco allows you a 30-minute exam time extension. But there are a few requirements to get this extension, so the best way is asking your teacher or mentor before taking the exam.
2. How much does the CCNA Exam 640-802 cost? And how many points I need to pass the exam?
It now costs $295 (big money, right?) :)
The passing score is 825/1000.
3. How many ways can I get the CCNA certification?
There are 2 ways to achieve this certification:
- By taking two exams ICND-1 100-101 and ICND-2 200-101
- By taking only one CCNA 200-120 exam
4. I got the CCNA certification, will this certification expire?
CCNA certification is valid for three years. To recertify, pass the ICND2 exam, or pass the current CCNA exam, or pass a CCNA Concentration exam (wireless, security, voice), or pass the current CCDA exam, or pass any 642 – XXX professional level or Cisco Specialist exam (excluding Sales Specialist exams), or pass a current CCIE or CCDE written exam.
5. After completing the INTRO exam (ICND 1), students currently have a three-year window in which to complete the ICND exam (ICND 2) to earn CCNA certification. Will this option still exist?
Yes, students will still be able to take and pass the first exam (INTRO or ICND1) and have a three-year window to pass the second exam (ICND2), before the first exam expires.
6. If students fulfill the exam requirements for the CCNA certification, will they also receive CCENT certification?
No, students who certify at the CCNA level will not earn CCENT certification. The purpose of the CCENT certification is to provide an option for those who aren’t ready for CCNA.
(Information from http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le9/learning_certification_type_home.html)
7. Which sims will I see in the CCNA exam?
The popular sims now are EIGRP, Access-list 1 and Access-list 2 sims but no one can guarantee you will not see other sims in your exam. So the best way is practicing all sims on this site.
8. How many points will I get for one sim?
Well, Cisco doesn’t tell how many points you will get for each correctly solved sim but from my experience, you will get from 80 to 100 points for each sim. Cisco maybe is a bit rude for sims because you will just get a few points if you can’t solve the sim completely. So be careful with the sims and try to write all the commands on paper many times before taking this exam.
9. In the real exam, I clicked “Next” after choosing the answer, can I go back for reviewing?
No, this is a very important thing about CCNA exam. You can just go forward! You can visit http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/wwtraining/certprog/training/cert_exam_tutorial.html to be familiar with the exam interface.
10. What is the key to pass CCNA?
The CCNA exam covers many aspects of networking and most of the topics will be asked. But the most important topic is subnetting so make sure you understand how to subnet. Of course other topics are important too so you shouldn’t bypass them.
11. Can I use short commands, for example “conf t” instead of “configure terminal”? Will I get full mark for short commands?
It is another big question in the CCNA exam. Some reports said that you can use the “Tab” and short commands but some said they didn’t work. Sometimes the simulator in the exam doesn’t accept short commands and marks as “incomplete command”. Besides, no one can guarantee it will cost points or not if you use short commands so my recommendation is you should learn the full commands.
12. What are your recommended materials for CCNA?
There are many options you can choose, but below are materials used and recommended by many candidates:
Books:
- Sybex CCNA 6th edition by Todd Lammle
- Cisco Press ICND1 & ICND2 Certification Guide
- CCNA Networking Academy 1-4 (used in Cisco Academy so there is no link)
- Cisco 640-802 CCNA Portable Command Guide
- Cisco Discovery and Cisco Exploration study guide (used in Cisco Academy so there is no link)
The difference between CCNA Discovery and CCNA Exploration is “CCNA Discovery is designed for students with basic PC skills and can be delivered as an independent curriculum or integrated into broader courses of study at secondary schools, technical schools, colleges, and universities. CCNA Exploration is designed for students with advanced problem solving and analytical skills, such as those who are pursuing degrees in engineering, math, or science”. (Reference from “new CCNA faq”).
Video Training:
- CBT Nuggets
- Train Signal
- Testout
From my point of view, these video are just optional materials and they cost much, you can definitely pass the CCNA exam without buying them. If you have strong budget and want to learn in a more comfortable way then buy them! (but it is difficult to pass if just listening to them without reading books, believe me!)
Simulators (luckily, they’re the best and free):
- Packet Tracer (and you can get real exam labs on my site here)
- GNS 3
GNS 3 is really good and it uses real IOS so all the commands are available but these IOS are copyrighted so it is hard to get. Besides, GNS 3 needs much RAM to run so from my experience you should use the Router c2600 with 64MB RAM to run if your labs are simple (like assign IP addresses, hostname, RIP…). If you need to configure OSPF or EIGRP, use higher router. These two simulators are enough to practice labs for CCNA but if you want to learn about other simulators, check out my Free Router Simulators article. Packet Tracer is light, quick and convenient for common tasks but sometimes it doesn’t act like real devices. A good point of Packet Tracer is that Cisco has many good labs (.pkt files) to practice with.
Websites & Forums:
- Cisco website
- certcollection.org/forum
- examcollection.com
- sadikhov.com/forum
- networking-forum.com
- certforums.co.uk/forums
- mcmcse.com/forums
- proprofs.com/forums
- 9tut.com, 9tut.net of course :)
About Dumps…
If you use dumps like pass4sure, Testking or ActualTest… make sure you understand the concept behind each question. It’s a very big mistake if you just learn which answer is correct without understanding the concept. Notice that in the real CCNA exam, you will be given different IP addresses, subnets and more options to choose; so it is easier to understand them than to learn them by heart. Finally, my advice is you just should use dumps as a final review after finishing the CCNA course.
13. How much time should I spend on each sim?
You should not spend more than 15 minutes for each sim. Recall that you only have 90 minutes so if you spend 15 minutes for each sim x 4 sims = 60 minutes (now the sims have been reduced to 3 but we calculate 4 sims for safe). The 30 minutes left is for solving 40 multiple choice questions. If you are not a native English speaker and have 30-minute expansion (ask your teacher or testing center to confirm) than you can spend 20 minutes for each sim.
14. Can I pass without doing sims?
As mentioned above, each sim will cost you from 80 to 100 points. In the real exam you will have to solve 4 sims that give from 320 to 400 points. Suppose you answer all other questions perfectly then you will get 600 to 680 points but the passing score is 825. It means that you surely fail if ignore them.
From the calculation above, if you miss only one sim the chance to pass is average but if you miss two, the chance to pass is very, very low.
15. I need to know if the exam questions are the same in all the geographical locations?
Yes, the exam questions are the same in all geographical locations. But notice that Cisco has a pool of questions and each time you take the exam, a number of random questions will show up so you will not see all the same questions as the previous exam.
16. I am going to take the exam in a few days and I wonder can we have a pen and paper for IP calculations or calculator itself?
You are not allowed to bring a calculator or anything else to the exam room. You can’t use the virtual calculator in Windows, too. You will receive a rough paper or a small board to write everything you need during the exam. However, you should bring a pen or a pencil because sometimes the exam hall doesn’t have one (yes, some exam centers are not good) and maybe it will make you more comfortable.
17. I failed the exam. Will I see the same questions and sims in my next try?
Cisco has a pool of questions and sims so you will see some same (but surely not all) questions in your next exam. Luckily, the sims are the same (read question 7 for popular sims in the exam).
18. In the exam, how can I access to the routers in the simulator?
As you can see in the exam, there is always one PC connected to the router you need configure. Just click on this PC to be taken to the CLI of the router (no need to type telnet … or do anything else). Of course it is not true in real life but maybe Cisco did it that way to save you some time!
19. I am going to take the exam in a couple of days. Where can I get newest information from candidates who have just passed the exam?
You can visit the Share your experience section in this site, scroll down to the bottom of that page to read newest information about CCNA exam.I really want to say thanks to all candidates who are willing to share experience after taking the exam. It is an invaluable gift for CCNA candidates.
20. I passed CCNA. Do you have any site similar to 9tut.com for CCNP?
We have digitaltut.com for ROUTE, certprepare.com for SWITCH and networktut.com for TSHOOT, voicetut.com for CCNA Voice, securitytut.com for CCNA Security and dstut.com for CCDA. We always try our best to bring you newest information about these exams, hope you enjoy these sites too!
21. I am going to get my CCNA exam and I have a question: in the drag and drop questions are the answers must be arranged?
It depends on the questions. If the question clearly states that you have to arrange the answers in a given order (for example, from smallest to greatest; from lowest to highest; step 1,2,3…) then you have to arrange them correctly. In most cases, you don’t need to arrange them so don’t worry and don’t try to learn the order shown in the materials you use before taking the exam.
22. Hi all, I want to ask if out of 5 questions in the sim 1 or 2 questions are answered wrongly, do we get 0 marks for that sim or get something for other correct answers?
You still get points for the parts you answered correctly so try to answer as much as possible for that sim.
Is there anything you want to ask, just ask! All of us will help you.
(Please don’t ask for copyright materials here)
I know some basic about networking but want to learn and be certified. Is CCNA the first certification that I should have before anything else?
Also, do I need to apply for a review center in our local universities or can I learn by myself through the Internet?
What is the difference between a CCNA bootcamp and the 4 modules of CCNA?
Hi Xallax,
Thank you alot for the great info. Those guides and tips will realy help me alot in preparing for my ccna exam soon, i planned it on the end of May 2012. And this is my first day of my review.
Takecare and God bless you.
Can anyone help me here? Thanks.
hi people,
can anyone send me the latest dumps of CCNA(640-802)? I’ll try to take my CCNA exam in next ten days and I’m worrying really much today…
many thanks in advance!
ssd@inbox.lv
If anybody wish to get .VCE file Full version, Please contact me @
Avinash.kamilla@gmail.com
Where is everyone here? Why isn’t anyone helping each other?
SaLaM,
pour la réduction de 640-802, est ce qu’il expire dans une année aprés le passage de CCNA académique ? dés que j’ai activer la réduction , j’ai reçu un message de la part de cisco-exam-promotion@cisco.com –> la Date d’expiration est 08/2012 sachant que j’ai passer ccna 1,2,3et 4 le 10/05/2011 .(déja ccna1 et 2 disparues de mon compte cisco.netacad….)
J’adresse ma question au gens qui on déja passer par ce cas la (réduction …)
merci d’avance
Reduction 640-802, is it expires in one year after the passage of academic CCNA? as soon as I activate the discount, I received a message from cisco-exam-promotion@cisco.com -> the expiry date is 08/2012 knowing that I pass CCNA 1.2 , 3 and 4 on 10/05/2011. (already ccna1 and two missing from my account …. cisco.netacad)
@Kevin: CCNA should be the first certification, you don’t need to learn anything before it. Bootcamp is often a short-time training while learning 4 modules of CCNA often takes much time. But I recommend the latter.
Hi guys, i’ve got my CCNA booked in a couple of weeks time. Couple of questions about what to expect from the exam if anyone knows the answers:
- How is the test laid out i.e. Do you answer all of the sims first and then the questions after or are they mixed in any order?
- Has anybody ever seen other sims in there like ipv6 or frame relay or NAT/PAT
- Can you mark questions for review at the end like in microsoft/comptia tests, so that you can go back to them afterwards?
I’m finding it hard to prepare for a test I’m not familiar with.
Cheers!
Dan
Can anyone tell me ccna exam question come as per geographical location? Because I am going to attend ccna exam on 10th may in Bahrain-Asia. I did preparation through (Todd Lammle Book, CBT, Collisio-486, Jericho-632 Dumps and 9tut Sims).
Please tell me it is sufficient for the CCNA.
Thanks in advance.
Hi guys
I thought the ccna exam was 90 minutes for 50 questions including 3 sims but when i registered in a test centre i was told its 110 minutes withup to 64 questions including 3 sims.
Can someone please confirm which it is
Can I use the “?” command wile configuring in the SIM
In the SIMs do you get points knocked off if you have to correct your configs ? eg. I make an error in an ACL config, test it and find it doesnt work, and then correct it and retest.
Can u use the ? and the tab key in the simulators in the exam
hi,,,,,,,,
i passed today with 986 marks……… this was my second attempt……………….
believe me you need to understand concepts verywell…………
jerico, collisio dumps are valid……. 3 to 4 questions new………….. but thats ok,, as long as you have solved similar kind of questions in dumps,,,,,,,,,,,,
And last but not the least,,,,,,,, thanks to entire team of 9TUT that they are doing such a wonderful job !!!!!!!!!!
without 9tut,,,,,,,, it wont have been possible …………………thanks again…………
IF U WANNA PASS,,,,,,,
(1)UNDERSTAND,,,,,,,,
(2)GO THRU ALL DUMPS (jericho and collisio and bruce)
(3)UNDERSTAND AND REMEMBER HOW concepts are applied in each question……..
(4) THEN REVISE AND REVISE AND REVISE and revise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and you are done………………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Took the exam today and made it with 841 points :) Thanks for all the wonderful info!
Thanks 9tut
It’s a PASS with 907 of 1000
I will buy you a beer asap you guys deserve it
I study for 2 months (and came from 0 experience nothing nada only basic ip not even good sub-netting) 1 month reading the 2 books and 2 -3 weeks practicing from cbtnuggets
BUT! what gave me the last push the last 300 points was this page and all the simlets examples I work them all in 2 days and memorized all the commands
In the exam my sims were EIGRP, VTP and Access-list 2 sims with variations but like I said I new nat and the other.
Wile in the Sim I was able to use the help command “?” and the tab I tried no to use it but I wanted to verify if it was possible and it’s.
Wops forgot to mention pass4shure 7 days working all dose 631 questions and learning from my mistakes and the most important thing of all its ATTENTION TO DETAIL!.
I have got question about answer to q no 4 from here: http://dc390.4shared.com/doc/WacjIw1F/preview.html
Why answer A is preffered to C. It is obvious for me that when there is no mac address in mac-address-table switch will flood ARP, not the Data. When ARP is done, Data would be sent directly to destination.
Correct me if i`m wrong. thx in advance
Has anyone seen any questions on Frame Relay in your exams?? Just wondered if it was worth spending much time on configuring ready for SIMS and questions. I have my exam on 17th May and preparing at the moment. Cheers, Dan
i m applying for the extra 30 minutes because English is not my first language but are the questions and the labs will be the same?
@ccnaguy: Yes, the lab are still the same.
Hi guys, in the VTP lab sim has anyone had to any configurations or is it mainly using the show commands to find out information like mac addresses, root bridge, etc…?? Cheers, Dan
can i schedule and write ccna exam in same day
is this true
Cisco Networking Academy: The only question type in Cisco certification exams that you can earn partial points for is the simulation type. All other questions are ‘all or nothing’, that is, no partial score. However, you do not know how many points each question is worth, just that the total is 1000.
Passed today. Used “collisio.487q” dump and this site for practice questions. Highly recommended. Obviously there are a few differences in the real exam but nothing too tough. Time pressure is the biggest enemy. SIMs were 90% the same as on this site, just IP and MAC address differences mainly. Good luck to those planning to take the exam – use this site and practice on as many SIMs as you can. And of course Todd Lammle’s book is very good resource.
@Ian
congrats! What sims did you get?
@Nick
Thanks, that’s helpful info!
There is also another very good study resource, that I came across. The Ultimate CCNA & CCENT Study Package from Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933 http://www.thebryantadvantage.com. I went thru Cisco Academy and this guy is really good also, and very reasonable to get his CCNA study package, hundreds of pages, and cheap as a lunch at Subway. Suprised me, thought it would be a dud, but excellent. Just one of many ways to learn networking, for sure. Todd Lammle book also good certainly.
how many questions have people been getting recently
is it approx 3 sims at 10 minutes each and then 60 minutes for approx 50 questions
Hi every one this coming monday 14/5/12 i am going to take ccna exam, i want know how many quastion in exam
Hello I’m back here because I wasent unable to buy yo you guys a beer because i would like to send the pay to an email (your paypal account email) can you guys post that email on the Donate section.
The reason its I would like to log to paypal.com directly and send the money for the beer using your email. I will feel more safe that way.
Thanks
and about the exam CCNA something else I can say its that I finish with 47:47 minutes.
so I thanks God I didnt experience time pressure. they gave me the extra 30 min because my main language its not English ( don’t know if you can notice ) for example I remember seeing the word stud 2 times in the exam and i was like wtf its that, I had no idea and therefore I don’t think I answered dose correctly :(.
2 things that i dind mentioned
When I enter to take the test before I hit the start button I wrote 9 commands in the plastic they gave me, Dose commands are for the VTP with dose and if you know were to use them you will kick dose 100 points I believe.
when i was around the 44 question i knew i had pass the test and i start stretching smiling
and dose last question i was like bam next bam next, the last one i even did not new question dint have to read it because the answer was cdp run because of obviously the other commands were bad and erroneous
I like the way Cisco made the test either you know what you are doing or you don’t and if you don’t the time will catch you, Good Luck guys and relax.
I have a question
who says:
I hope this have been informative to you and I will like to thank you for viewing.
@9tut
Have a question. My native language is not English? When I’m applying for this extra 30 mins does it means that I will get more questions and different sims on the exam? Or standard set?
If you have any info, let me know please
Regards,
Do you see topology diagram and question on same page in ccna exam?
Passed today :) Sims were ACL, EIGRP, VTP. thanks 9tut! very current information to pass CCNA
ACL was the following:
Only allow Host C to to access the financial server access-list 100 permit ip host 192.168.33.3 host 172.22.242.23
Not allow anyone else in any way communicate with the financial server access-list 100 deny ip any host 172.22.242.23
Allow all other traffic permit ip any any
hi everyone….i pass CCNA exam yesterday and i received an email from Cisco regarding account activation for Cisco website …when i try to login with csco id and account authorization code however i am not able to login. So will somebody tell me how to resolve this issue…
thanks…..
Hi guys, passed my CCNA exam this morning with a mark of 894/1000. Sims were ACL2, EIGRP and VTP.
EIGRP – correct AS numbers on Regional 2 router, correct the network address on Regional 1 router (took me ages to find it that network address hiding away)
VTP – Introduce the SWX router and revision number is lower, so nothing changes on vlan’s. usual stuff like find mac address, default gateway etc..
ACL2 – permit host A to finance server, permit all others access to the other server, but deny all others access to finance server. don’t think i added permit ip any any at the end, cos from the question didnt sound like it needed it?!? then applied it going out on the interface.
Pretty much all the questions are EXACTLY the same as the dumps and on here, so loads were dead easy! Just do the questions, any you get wrong keep repeating and repeating until you know the concepts behind it.
Only had a bit of subnetting really, but still important and had a mixture of DHCP, DNS, Wireless, Frame relay. EIGRP lab made me use more time as i had to redo it to spot that bloody network number before it had adjacency, but otherwise finished with 10 mins to go!
Thanks @9tut excellent website and I will be donating soon!
Dan
@Mike questions are random and the amount also I got 48 questions and there were 3 sim
Leather conditioner
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@NICK
Thanks Nick. So you didn’t get any additional sims and q&a? As usual between 45~55 and 3 sims.
hi all,
2 days back i claered my ccna xam!!! score 940…
thnx to 9tut…
all questions were from here only.. jst practice n practice n know d concept behind it…
thnx 9tut!!
Hi all, I am taking CCNA 640-802 exam first time on 30/05/2012. Could anyone please send me latest dumps which are valid for UK? My e-mail address is puneet_gill84@yahoo.co.uk. Many thanks.
hmmm, 80 to 100 points to each lab. I was first CCNA certified in 2002 and decided early last year to recertify. I purchased CiscoPress books, read both twice, practiced with my home lab and took the exam in June 2011. The EIGRP lab was missing the pc consol connection to the core router so I couldn’t complete this lab. The ACL lab was also missing the pc consol connection so I could not do anything on this lab at all but I still managed to get 812/1000 which is a fail but if these labs were working I would have passed easily.
I tried again in August and Nov 2011 with the exact same results and issues.
Cisco have since given me a free retry so hopefully the labs are now working correctly.
Hey Cisco Community
If CCNA 640-802 exams cost $295 converted to Namibian dollers is N$2,449.25
Why is it that some test centers price N$ 6,578.00 for CCNA 640-802 exams p/p?
We want to know is the set price of the exams fixed or it veries from country to country.
please advice us on some of this price looming and puting students like I down for not going for cisco exams or as a career.
And the funny thing is in SA (south Africa) 640-802 cost me R2,110.00
Yours
Maginalized community and disadvantaged group in Namibia
how dose one get certified to give CCNA Lessons in the form of a CCNA Boot camp?
Guys have a q
What is the difference between CSU/DSU and modem?
Need a right Unswer :) Not from dump.
Cheers
9tut:
I have a question regarding simulator provided in the cisco examination center …Heard that there will be a basic calculator attached on the right top??? Is that correct???
@rajini
incorrect. there are no calculators allowed on the test and you won’t be needing one either. just simple math involved
Hai guys next month june 7th i’m going to take the ccna exam. Just a few days before see the question format for ccna exam. Few Question are different. and one more what is the difference between simlet & simulations. anyone help… the question format are:
1. Testlet
2. Simlet