A Look at the NEW 640-801 CCNA Exam

For many years the CCNA certification has been the foundation required for those who work with Cisco routers and other equipment. Cisco has long been the industry standard for routers and related equipment, including perhaps most importantly those pieces of equipment that power the Internet. The new 640-801 CCNA exam provides yet another update to this cornerstone of Cisco certification, and it is important for students and IT professionals to be prepared for the changes Cisco has made.

The new exam for the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification includes of course the traditional multiple choice questions so familiar to test takers, but also a number of router simulator questions, as well as a number of drag and drop questions. It is important for students to be prepared for these type of questions, and for the adaptive nature of the test itself.

It is also important for certification students to be aware that the exam engine will slow down when it is time to switch between the simulator based questions and the traditional multiple choice variety. It is important for test takers to exercise patience and wait for the questions to fully load before proceeding.

Simulator type questions provide test takers with a specific network scenario, require the student to configure or troubleshoot routers and verify the work. The simulator is designed to behave much the same way as the real thing, and it includes limited support for editing and help commands.

Since the successful completion of the CCNA exam is the key to all further certifications, it is vital for students to prepare for it properly. When determining which type of study guides and preparation tools to use, it is important to keep in mind that the objectives of the exam have been reorganized, even though the knowledge being tested has not changed all that much from the previous 640-607 exam.

For that reason, those students who have already begun to study for the 640-607 may be able to continue with the existing 607 study guides and preparation materials. In addition, it is a good idea for students to get a good router simulator, or even a real router, in order to properly prepare for the router simulation questions. Cisco of course uses a router simulator in their exams, and that router simulator has been designed specifically by the Cisco Networking Academy program. Picking up a router, or at least a good simulator, is a great way to prepare for the new CCNA exam.

In addition to the importance of having a router on hand, it is also a good idea to look at the CCNA CBT (computer based training) guides, study guides, training videos and CCNA boot camps. Each of these training methods has a great deal to recommend it, and students who take advantage of the wide variety of training materials available may find themselves passing the exam faster than they ever imagined.