The CCNA might be intimidating at first, especially since Cisco has expanded the scope of the exam to include more advanced topics such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing which is traditionally only tested in the CCNP and other professional level exams.  Time management during the exam is the number 1 most important thing to do well.  This means scoring easy points when possible and to spend more time focusing on those questions which are harder.  To maximize the chance of passing the CCNA exam, here are 2 most important (in my opinion) topics to focus on for the CCNA:

Subnetting

Learning how to subnet effectively is the most important thing for the CCNA.  It’s also important to be able to size subnets quickly in the real world for network planning and troubleshooting purposes.  Because the CCNA (and any other certification exam) is a test of your time management skills during the test, and subnetting can be done quickly (and 100% correctly) if you know the right technique, it’s a quick way to score easy points.

Common subnetting questions include calculating the number of hosts in a subnet, finding if 2 hosts are in the same subnet, and deciding on the correct hostmasks, among others.  Being able so solve such questions quickly means that you will be able to free up valuable exam time to solve other questions.  Answering such calculation questions are a matter of simple calculations and it’s hard to get them wrong once you know how.  Again, the key is speed and you will definitely want to get subnetting questions out of the way as quickly as possible.  You might want to take a look at our recommended CCNA books and CCNA notes if you want to be able to learn how to do subnetting well.

Simulation Questions

Simulation questions (commonly now referred to as “sims”) are designed by Cisco to test the practical aspect of Cisco networking.  A simulation of a real Cisco IOS command-line is provided to you and you are expected to troubleshoot or otherwise configure the network to the required specification.

These questions are more time consuming but very important.  Only Cisco knows for sure how these are actually scored but it’s very likely that you won’t get enough points to pass the CCNA if you cannot answer all the simulation questions to a satisfactory level.  The CCNA passing score gets higher all the time, which makes scoring high on the simulation questions a priority.

One good thing about using simulation questions is that you’ll be able to gauge roughly how well you’ve done by showing the running configuration and running other tests such as ping and using other show commands.  A good way to prepare for the exam is to use a Cisco router simulator.

I hope this post has helped you prepare for the CCNA more effectively.  Till next time!

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Cheers,
Francis (@savvynetcert)

Technorati Tags: ccna notes, ccna tips, ccna virtual lab, cisco router simulator

You’ve already studied hard, and know the CCNA material inside and out, and can subnet with your eyes closed.  You feel ready for the exam, before you go, here are 3 killer CCNA exam tips for you to ace the exam.

1. Time management – The CCNA exam is as much a time game as it is a knowledge game.  Many candidates fail because they cannot complete the exam in time, or are running out of time and panic.  Don’t be one of them.  Keep a close eye on the clock and don’t spend too much time on one question.
2. Not all questions have the same weight – Note that not all the questions carry the same number of points.  Only Cisco knows for certain, but it is accepted that the lab/simulation type questions carry many points and should not be skipped.  In fact – take extra care when doing these questions, it is likely you will not pass the CCNA exam if these are not done well.
3. Make use of your resources – By this I mean the erasable board and marker provided to you at every exam.  I find it useful to write some handy subnet lookup tables on the erasable board as well as some simple HEX to binary to decimal conversions.  This can be much quicker than doing them in your head.  If you do this before you start the exam, this time will not be counted towards the total exam time.  I usually do this before I take the Cisco survey at the start of every Cisco exam.

Hope this helps.
Francis (SavvyNetCert.Com)

Technorati Tags: CCNA Exam Tips, ccna tips, ccna tips and tricks