Too often we get asked by our readers "What is the easiest/fastest/best/simplest way to pass the Cisco CCNA or CCNP exam". Too many people want a quick answer or a quick fix. We live in a fast paced society where everything needs to be done quickly so we can get on to "other" things.
Pass the CCNA/CCNP Using Practice Exams
Many people will swear by practice exams or by using practice questions. For the most part this can be a good way to learn, as this is somewhat akin to using flash cards to study.... provided your not just memorizing stolen questions from the test itself.
There are companies that make a good profit from selling the real test questions to aspiring engineers. Companies like Pass4Sure and TestKing both offer products that contain, word-for-word the exact test question you will see on the exam.
Companies like these have people over seas that will sit and copy the questions or screen scrap the test and sell it to you so that you will pass the exam. That's how they are able to say that you are 100% guaranteed to pass. It is basically cheating and does not help you as an engineer. And does not help the rest of us who do study our ass off to pass the exam.
Don't get me wrong. There are GOOD companies that do offer practice exams and practice questions that will help you study. These questions are designed to test your knowledge and make you think to ensure you understand the technology. Transcender and Boson both have been in business for a long time and both offer great product. CBT Nuggets is also another great company that offers Video study courses for most any certification exam.
Pass the CCNA/CCNP by Studying
But no matter what product you buy, nothing can substitute for good ole' fashioned STUDY! If you want to be a great engineer and truly learn the technology, then start by sitting down and opening up a book. It is the only way you are going to really learn the material.
Pass the CCNA/CCNP with Experience
Some people have a real hard time studying. Trust me, reading a Cisco manual is not the most exciting thing I've read. Many people have to get their hands on the equipment and dig into the commands and see for themselves how things are setup and how they work.
And Cisco knows this. Having hands on experience beats book smarts any day. This is the main reason Cisco has router simulations on the tests themselves. This is practical knowledge is what is needed to be a great engineer. That you can't get from a book.
Pass the CCNA/CCNP exams with a little bit of both
In the end you are going to need to both study the book facts and understand the "Cisco Way" of networking by applying what you have learned. But to do so, you will also need to solidify that knowledge by putting it to practical use and configuring a router or switch.
What's your favorite way to study
What helps you in your study? Which practice exams do the best job of re-enforcing what you've read without giving away the exact questions and answers? Leave a comment below and let us know how you pass the Cisco CCNA or CCNP exams.
Related posts:
Joe,
Being a carpenter with no prior experience in networking, I enrolled in DeVry to get my ANSA. To study for the CCNA, I bought Skill-saver. It is a good company, the questions are good,and I have actually purchased a video from them as well, that explains a lot of TCP/IP and OSI stuff. I'm fixing to try my CCNA again and the practice test from Cisco for $80 is almost the same as the actual exam experience wise. You can take it as many times as you want and it tells you where to study.
I will steer clear of PASS4sure.
Thanks,
Mike Seden
I use CBT Nuggets, Cisco Press books, Boson, and real equipment. I passed my CCENT no problem, but ran out of time and failed ICND2 recently. I need to retry very soon.
I personally believe that you don't have to capture the subject 100% to be certified, 70% will do. Therefore I always use P4S after I have do my study!!!!
Now I'm CCNP, CCDP and soon will be an CCIP as well,,,, Thanks to Pass4sure
I got my CCNA in Feb. this year and I read Cisco press books by Wendell Odom and they are incredible books for ICND1 and ICND2. Hats off to the writer who has done a wonderful job by explaining things in such a good way. I passed my ICDN1 in my first attempt without any prep tests. But with ICND2 I took it without any prep tests and just on the basis of reading the book and practicing some sample test question that came on the CD with the book and I flunked the test by a question or so. I bought Boson prep tests which were very good to practice simulation questions and otherwise too and took the test again and flunked again by narrow margin.
Then I bought test king and even though the quality of test question and the exam engine was not even close to Boson but I passed the exam with 930 out of 1000.
So my experience is that even though Boson is great but test king has been a great help.
One more thing that I wanted to add to my first post was that timing is very important. First time when I flunked ICND2, I ran out of time as I spent too much time solving a simulation question. So keeping track of time is very very important when taking test. My lesson from that fist attempt was that if I get stuck on a question then rather than trying too hard to solve it, just move on to the next one.
For me, and someone who is studying for the CCNA, I've been studying for the past six months (I've had a LOT of personal things go on in my life, and studying had to go on the back burner till I got things back in order), and I have been studying OSPF for the past couple of days; I will admit that OSPF is definitely one tough protocol.
For me, taking my time and breaking it down helps me the BEST. I know that we are in the hurry-up business, we are hurried up to get certified; when something happens at work, you don't hear your boss say "Access to the e-mail server is unaccessible, but take your time doing it." We don't hear that; they want it done not now, but right now.
When I was studying for the A+ exam back in 2004, I made some fatal mistakes on my part; I didn't take my time, and I didn't break down the material that was presented before me. I have TONS of hands-on practice with PC repair (even some Apple stuff), and I fell in love with networking, and eventually network security.
I don't care for people who study test questions and answers; they are known the world over as "paper CCNA/CCNP", and for me, they see IT as a get-rich quick career. It's not. IT is a make or break career; one mistake can cost you your job, it's thankless, and sometimes it does not love you back.
For me, IT is a career that I LOVE; everything technology (especially Information Security) makes my heart skip a beat; my fiancee doesn't understand how everything works, as long as it works, she is happy.
I am going to take the CCNA 2-exam path within the next couple of months. Wish me luck!
should i ignore the below email?!
''
Do NOT BUY PASS4SURE products!!
We have in the past promoted PASS4Sure products and have had
success with their products in the past. But it seems the
company is taking a turn for the worse. And we can not promote
this unethical practice.
Again – Please Do NOT BUY PASS4SURE products.
We encourage everyone to visit our website and leave your
comments on your experiences with any testing products that you
run across.
We would love to know which product you have had success with
and which companies are ripping you off.
Go to the Forum or comment on our website
Thanks for your time and we wish you the best of luck in your
career advancement.
Regards
Joe Wilson
RouterFreak.com
"
Best regards. Tuserr
No please don't ignore this email. From what we've heard from our readers is that Pass4sure offers 100% money back guarantees that they are not honoring.
Many people love Pass4Sure and have had great results using their exams. Personally I can attest to their effectiveness. But know this too, Pass4Sure and TestKing both sell practice exams that are brain dumps of the REAL exams. Many people feel this is a cheat.
Either way, the email we sent out was to warn people that if you buy a Pass4sure product and fail the test, you will not receive your money back.
(But if you fail the test after essentially buying the answers to the REAL test, you have bigger problems that just getting your money back.)
One final note and disclosure: Many of the links on this website, including links to Pass4Sure and TestKing are affiliate links. What this means is that if you click on these links, and buy a product, this website may be compensated for the referral. We do our best to objectively offer reviews and feedback on products or services based on our own experience as well as the experience of our colleges and readers. Only you the reader can decide if any given product is right for you.
Anyone here heard of or used actualtests? http://www.actualtests.com/
I'm thinking about using actualtests to prepare for my CCNA.
I was a CCNA years ago but never renewed it since I was working mainly with a few routers and checkpoint stuff.
I'm not big on certifications, but I'm in an area where most employers are requiring it or won't consider you unless you list that on paper.
Seems 10 years of engineering experience and a M.S. degree doesn't get me any looks…
For the record, I used testking for the Checkpoint CCSA and my real world experience it was got me through it. I didn't feel as if testking Q&A was helpful for me and the exam I had to take on that day. Just my .002, not to say TK isn't worth it.
Thanks in advance,
LL
Thanks LL,
If you do use actualtests, please let us know what you think. If you are interested and want to write a full review we will publish it and pay for it. Either way good luck on the test!
Sounds good, I may try my luck haven't decided yet.
Although testking & pass4sure are way too sloppy, have broken simulations & incorrect answers, there is nothing wrong with using either of them, AS LONG as you read the book(s), did the chapter assessment tests and thousands of practice questions from other sources and UNDERSTAND why you are getting questions right/wrong.
In my experience, after reading multiple CCNA books, and studying the assessment questions and labs in each multiple times for 2 years, I can say that the questions testking or pass4sure provide are FAR harder than hard-copy print books available at your local book store.
The test is $300 per attempt, with a very small margin for error. I don't know about you but I don't have $300 to shell out multiple times. This all being said, however, I agree that memorizing the ANSWERS without understanding the concept is cheating. Know your stuff FIRST, then pick one of those up pre-test.
I am, about to study for the CCNA exam. Do you think i should write ICND1 and ICND2 or write one full exam.
I am planning on using P4S. which is the best route
I cleared CCNA, CCNP with reading CISCO press books. and scored good………………..
I passed my CCNA this morning on the second try – got 815 first time, and 881 today.
I used Todd Lammle's book, which I probably wouldn't use again, I'd probably go for Cisco Press.
I also used the Boson exam simulator, which I can really recommend. It's not cheap, but the questions were very similar to what is in the exam, and they give very detailed explanations of the answers. The Boson lab questions were probably a bit easier than in the exam, but still very good practice
Great article, although I do find it ironic that there is an advertisement on your page for "test king" which is a known dump site as well.