CCNP tests....more difficult then previous tests?

Are the new tests more difficult?

I took the CCNA a few weeks ago after the passing the CCNA almost 7 years ago. I thought the test was more difficult and required the exam taker to use more analysis instead of just memorizing commands.

What are your feelings about the new CCNP tests?

Muchas Gracias

-Ciscopimpenator

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Comments

NetworkGod

I don't know about harder part or easier part, i heard that Cisco exams get harder and harder each time they release a new one because there's more material to study for, i have books for both, old CCNP and new CCNP. Honestly, there isn't THAT much difference, so i read both in parallel, fun times!

mcox1232000

Read them both vertically too, LOL !!!! Just joking !

malweth

I personally thought the CCNA was harder than the CCNP... primarily because there was less room for error (I find a number of cisco questions to be ambiguously worded). I took the CCNA two years ago... CCNP about month ago.

Paul Boz

The CCNA is really only hard because it's such a wide area of knowledge to cover on only one or two tests, versus very specific information broken up over four tests. The CCNP is more dense but easier to prepare for I think.

NightShade1

I actually think CCNA is a way more easy...
CCNP you need to have full understanding of the concepts... actually CCNA is like really basic....

malweth

CCNP you definitely have more information to learn, but it's spread out over four tests, each with a lower pass/fail score than CCNA.

CCNA is less information, but just as wide-spread (Routing, Switching, and Remote Access). It's on a single test and the test has a fairly high pass/fail mark.

I think both CCNA and CCNP require the same amount of content understanding. The only difference is in the amount of content.

NightShade1

dunno i have found ccnp harder... well might be because im over analizing many stuff

and i didnt when i was studying for CCNA

Ferret999

I am with NightShade I only recently recertified my CCNA and I think so far the CCNP seems a lot harder much more to remember if you ask me. I would say so far each exam seems like even more studying per exam than I did for the CCNA.

markzab

For those of you who think the NA is easier than the NP...

Imagine if they combined all four tests into 1 for the NP. You might be singing a different tune. Could you imagine having to know all of that material in one 200 question test? Sheesh.

malweth

Imagine if they combined all four tests into 1 for the NP. You might be singing a different tune. Could you imagine having to know all of that material in one 200 question test? Sheesh.

Ah, but that's exactly my point!

I don't think anyone's saying that the CCNP has less work or less information versus the CCNA... just that each individual CCNP test is easier than the CCNA test (I took the combined CCNA).

Certainly, if you were to combine the entire CCNP to mimic the CCNA single test, it would be harder! (Though maybe they'd get rid of some of the sales-driven CCNP questions

mikej412

markzab wrote:

Could you imagine having to know all of that material in one 200 question test?

How about 100 questions? Would that count?

NightShade1

I still think CCNA is a way more easy...

markzab

mikej412 wrote:

markzab wrote:

Could you imagine having to know all of that material in one 200 question test?

How about 100 questions? Would that count?

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Turgon

I did the CCNA in 1999 and completed the CCNP in 2001. Unless things have changed the level of the CCNP should be harder than CCNA. You will be covering more detail and advanced topics in the dedicated CCNP level tests than in CCNA. It should build on CCNA level stuff. It used to when I did the CCNP. I covered the CCNP track in about 9 months over 2000-2001. I recall there was a composite exam for the CCNP some years ago that put switching/routing and remote access together. It was a long test. You could take that on and do CIT to get your CCNP.

It all seems a long time ago reading about SAINT and EARL

EdTheLad

The CCNP is definitely more difficult than the CCNA even on a per exam basis, BSCI alone is far tougher.Now to pass the exam might be easier because its possible to pass the BSCI with an overview of the topics rather than a real understanding, at CCNP level you should know why the protocol is behaving as it does and now what happens when links fail etc. Remember the ccnp is designed as a build up to the ccie, after it you should be pretty competent.
Then take the BCMSN, all i have to mention is STP and all its variations. After the exam you should know 802.1d,pvst+,rpvst+,mstp, how they all work together and what happens if a link fails, how will mstp send TCN to pvst+, how will pvst+ tunnel through 802.1d, what happens when you throw etherchannel in the mix, which link will the bpdus take across the etherchannel? And you are trying to say ccna is easier??
But then again some people just want the cert so maybe i'm wrong!

malweth

Perhaps you're right...

It could be that I found the CCNP to be easier than the CCNA because I already had a good deal of routing experience. If you understand the concepts, the CCNP has less "fluff" (e.g. "useless memorization" than the CCNA (though there's certainly some - the SDM alone can account for that).

I'm simply talking about the wording of CCNA questions (harder to untwist if you have experience actually using it) and higher pass mark (at least it was when I took it).

On both tests, most of the mistakes I made were from misreading questions and answers.

keenon

i think CCNA is hard as the info is new to most that study it.

However, CCNP is not a punk its very hard to the level of detail required to learn on each test and all the sections within each.