How to Pass: CCNA Practice Test

There’s been a lot of chatter surrounding the CCNA exam. More specifically, which test format is best to guarantee you’ll pass. While that answer is entirely dependent on the individual, the CCNA Practice Test can be a valuable resource in helping you to evaluate where your knowledge lies and choosing the format that coincides best.

Confidence is Key

So today I passed the 200-125 (the composite CCNA exam). I was a little too nervous at the start of the exam.

To give some background, I’m just over 3 years (and 3 jobs) into my professional IT career, and this will be the first IT certification I hold. My third job (a Fortune 100 company that I guarantee everybody has heard of) placed a very heavy emphasis on obtaining my CCNA.

At the start I felt (Oh, it’s not as easy as I thought). Then there was that section with simulations where you answer a few questions. It first gives you instructions on how to use it then you’re supposed to click on the questions tab and so… I clicked on NEXT thinking it would bring up the questions, but what happened was it took empty answers for all of them and went to the next section and you cannot go back. At this point I felt really really really frustrated! I lost all those points without even going through the questions.

Then I told myself “It’s a silly little easy exam! I don’t need those missed points anyway.” Went ahead, finished the remaining questions and had about 10 minutes left I think at the end. I got 830 and the pass was 810. Not sure how many questions accounted for those 20 points.

It’s all about knowing the basics really. For example, you need to know two routers interfaces must be setup in the same area to establish OSPF.

Mostly I liked the simulations where you need to run show commands for troubleshooting! That part was awesome! It was so fluid tapping into the routers and navigating and running those lovely show commands. I found it easier to use than even packet tracer!

All in all, I think the advice about taking the exams separately still holds true if you’re brand new to networking. As I said before, I have three years of professional experience to work with; not all of that was networking-based, but coming into my studies, I already knew what a MAC address and IP address was, the basics of subnetting, the roles of a router and switch, and so on. If you’re thinking about pursuing a CCNA and have similar experience, then the composite exam will provide a decent challenge; otherwise, I would advise you stick with the separate exams.

• John Driscoll, Network Administrator

Lessons learned from John’s experience include determining which testing format is right for you; taking the exam in two parts or as one comprehensive tests. Practice tests can help determine which will be best.

Similarly, you’ll experience what it’s like to go through the testing questions before it really counts so nuances such as a ‘next’ button won’t hinder you on the real exam. Chances are, when taking the exam for the first time, you’ll fluctuate between whether or not you think the exam is easy. Stay confident and trust in your preparation. After all, no one knows how you study best except you. Use every tool at your disposal.

What is a Practice Test?

With the A+ practice test, you gain 6-month access to a world of information that can help you succeed on the exam, including analytics on your strengths and weaknesses.  This Practice Test has a few options available to enhance your learning experience:

1. Customize your testing experience by configuring your practice test to suit your specific study needs. Select items by test objective, set study preferences and control how your answers are accessed.
2. Select preset tests. These tests are made to provide a testing experience similar to a real testing environment. They are timed and filter questions like the certification exam. This option will help you determine your readiness for the certification exam.
3. Flashcard review allows you to review concepts in a self-graded and unlimited environment. With hundreds of questions, these premade flashcards will help you understand concepts covered on the actual certification exam.

How Will it Help Me Pass?

If used correctly, the practice test will help you pass because it will ultimately give you a simulated exam in the same format with the same timing as a real exam. Often, we’re not used to taking an exam in this manner, so it helps us feel comfortable that the material, not the environment, is the focus. It all goes back to confidence.

Similarly, you get feedback specific to topic areas that need improvement so you can spend time reviewing what you don’t know rather than wasting time going over all the content.

We recommend first going through the exam in assessment mode (option 2, as listed above) to see what you know and don’t know going into the exam. Then, use options 1 and 3 to hone in on specific topics that need improvement. Lastly, go through option 2 as many times as needed until you feel comfortable going into the real test.

Transcender A+ Practice Test Reviews

I use TranscenderCert exam simulations exclusively as a result of repeated success on Cisco certification exams. I have used every major exam preparation tool during my thirteen years in the IT industry and have found Transcender to be the most accurate and up-to-date product on the market. I recommend Transcender products to all of my colleagues and have seen the same exam success rate in their careers as a result. With a complete line of training tools including TranscenderCert, TranscenderFlash, and TransTrainer, Transcender gives the IT professional the long-term knowledge necessary to excel in the IT industry, not just the information needed to pass an exam.

• T.W.

I’m delighted to see that you guys will actually act upon feedback from the field. It’s not as common a phenomenon as I would like it to be. I’ve been using the Transcender products for a little over 10 years now, and this sort of thing is one of the reasons why.

• R.R.

*Note: These are real testimonials taken from the Transcender website. For more information, please visit their page.

Where Can I Get Mine?

The CCNA practice tests are available for 100-105, 200-105, and 200-125 in the new Cybrary marketplace. You can find additional study materials for these exams and a variety of others there as well.

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Olivia Lynch (@Cybrary_Olivia) is the Marketing Manager at Cybrary. Like many of you, she is just getting her toes wet in the field of cyber security. A firm believer that the pen is mightier than the sword, Olivia considers corny puns and an honest voice essential to any worthwhile blog.