- [Instructor] Cisco's new 200-301 CCNA exam
became available in February.
The consensus seems to be surprised
at the level of difficulty
as well as the level of detail covered on both published
and unpublished exam topics.
This course looks at the various resources, methods,
suggestions and tips to assist you
in preparing for the exam.
Achieving the CCNA certification is the first step
in preparing for a career in IT technologies.
To earn this certification, you must pass one exam
that covers a broad range of IT fundamentals.
Although there are no formal prerequisites,
Cisco does recommend
that you have basic computer literacy knowledge,
basic PC operating system navigation skills,
basic internet usage skills and basic IP address knowledge.
Currently, the exam consists of 102 questions.
You have two hours to complete the exam.
It's important to know that you cannot go back
once you've clicked on Next.
There is no review option for this exam.
There is a timer in the upper right hand side of the screen,
indicating how much time you have left.
After you complete the last question,
you go through a couple more screens
before you find out your results.
You'll be given a score sheet with your results
from the testing center.
You must achieve an 825 out of 1000 points to pass.
If you do not pass you can wait five calendar days
before the day after the failed attempt to re-test.
I've noticed in the past
that students have a different version of the exam
after the five day waiting period.
It's a good idea to watch these tutorials on question types.
The last thing you want to do is spend time figuring out
how to answer a question during your exam.
Knowing what to expect saves all the exam time
on the exam questions.
The five question types include
Multiple-Choice Single Answer,
Multiple-Choice Multiple Answer,
Drag and Drop, Fill-in-the-Blank and Testlet.
I had no Fill-in-the-Blank or Testlets on my exam,
but that doesn't mean they won't be added
sometime in the future.
Here are the exam topics
as well as the percent each topic covers of the total exam.
You can expand each topic for a more detailed list
by clicking on the drop down arrow beside the topic.
I'd like to focus on the Cisco disclaimer in this paragraph.
It reads, "The following topics are general guidelines
for the content likely to be included on the exam.
However, other related topics may also appear
on any specific delivery of the exam.
To better reflect the content of the exam
and for clarity purposes,
the guidelines below may change at any time without notice."
I was surprised to see so many additional topics on my exam
that are not listed here.
In my opinion, I think it would be a good idea
to master all the exam topics
from the previous CCNA exam 200-125
in addition to the 200-301 exam topics.
I have provided both lists in the exercise files for you.
About 75% of the topics are the same.
In addition to the possibility of additional exam topics,
I recommend mastering all areas of a topic.
Here's an example of what I mean.
If you look under published topics
you see 3.4 Configure and verify single area OSPFv2,
3.4.a Neighbor adjacencies, 3.4.b Point-to-point,
3.4.c Broadcast (DR/BDR selection), 3.4.d Router ID.
In addition, you need to also know route redistribution,
LSA types, algorithm calculation.
Dig deep on all topics, a broad understanding is not enough.
Now that we've looked at the mechanics
and topics of the exam, let's look at scheduling your exam.
You can register your exam day and time
at HTTPS home.pearsonvue.com or just plain vue.com.
Once you get there, click on the drop down arrow
beside For test takers.
Then schedule an exam.
Scroll down a bit and type Cisco in Ready, set, test.
At this point, if you already don't have an account created,
you're going to have to create one here.
I'm going to go ahead and use my Sign In,
and click on View Exams.
From here, you want to type in the number
of your exam, 200-301
and click on 200-301 Cisco Certified Network Associate
and click Go.
You have the option of taking the test at a test center
or at home.
We're going to look at taking it at a center right now
and click Next,
and choose your language you prefer.
Click Next again.
Here is a screen just confirming you have the right exam,
and it also gives you the price of the exam.
We're going to click Next here,
and accept the exam policies.
Click Next again.
On this screen, I'm typing in my ZIP Code,
so that I can get a list of testing centers around my house.
I see T. Lab right here.
I'm going to check this box and click Next.
A calendar comes up,
and I can choose any of these available days.
And choose my time at this point.
And from here, you move to the page
where you either put in a credit card,
or if you're lucky, you might have a voucher you can use.
You can also choose to take the exam at home,
but I want to give you a warning if you choose that option.
I had a student who followed the process
and received a message stating there was a problem.
He was not able to call, email or chat with anyone
for help on the day of his exam.
I also read about other people
having the same experience on Reddit.
Let's take a look at the exam policies.
On the day of the test
you need to bring with you two types of identification.
Both must have your signature
and one must be government issued.
If you're taking the test at home,
you must have these IDs ready to upload
to the testing center.
Leave all personal items at home.
A mask is required during the exam
and you can't have food, gum, etcetera
while you're taking the exam.
Your picture will be taken as well as a digital signature
for your score sheet.
Pockets are checked and should be empty.
Your monitored by a proctor through a camera.
If you leave the exam, your exam is over.
If you're testing at a center,
you'll be given a whiteboard and marker
or scrap paper and a pencil or pen.
If you're testing at home,
you may be able to use the OnVue Whiteboard.
I've attached a how to PDF for you to review
in the exercise files for this course.
You'll also find a list of COVID policies here
on Pearson's website.
It's extremely beneficial that you know all the details
of your exam ahead of time.
It could be the difference between passing or failing,
because you thought you could go back to questions
you were unsure of, or rescheduling,
because you didn't have the appropriate identification.
There's a lot of details
that could make your testing experience
at the very least inconvenient
and at the very most a failing result.