I see a lot of people talking about Boson exams but what about cisco academy test?

I'm currently going through the Cisco Academy and I'm wondering how similar the actual Cisco certification test compares to the academy test. I understand that each test from the academy is based on a single chapter, except for our final. But will the questions be similar, etc?

Find more posts tagged with

SAVE $250 on Your CISCO Boot Camp — Use Code "EXAM26"

Exclusively for TechExams members for Infosec Boot Camps starting before April 30, 2026

View CISCO Boot Camps

Comments

J_86

Well, just going by what other people are telling me who have already taken the CCNA exam, the question from the Cisco Academy are similar to what you might see on the actual test.

I'm also going through the Cisco Academy. We are just about to start our last book (accessing the WAN)!

CodeBlox

I went through Cisco Academy and did the test there. While they supplement study well, I just feel like the boson test ( for icnd1 ) really prepared me. I've went through the Boson test for ICND2 and will be taking this test next week on thursday so I'll see how they stack up for ICND2.

alan2308

It's been long enough that I can't remember how the chapter tests and the 4 final exams stacked up to the actual CCNA. But what I do remember is the practice CCNA exam that you get at the end of the 4th class. It's pretty hard compared to the real thing and gives you a very good idea of where you stand.

Roguetadhg

I don't recall the end-chapter tests to be worth much. It still gives you a review - which is great.

Alhaji265

So what do you guys consider for me to use, the Cisco Packet Tracer or the Boson software? I was also told Boson is great for ICND1.

NetworkVeteran

Alhaji265 wrote: »

So what do you guys consider for me to use, the Cisco Packet Tracer or the Boson software? I was also told Boson is great for ICND1.

From an efficiency perspective for a CCNA-only candidate I'd rate Boson Netsim above GNS or a home lab, but I'd only rate it as "good". Reason: It includes way too many labs, a whopping 92 of them.

At first, that sounds like a plus, but considering that 12-24 labs are sufficient to master the CCNA level of knowledge, it's actually a minus. Doing all the labs = wasting time, and they give no guidance as to which are the "core" 12-24 labs you must do.

(If you're certain you'll do CCNP or CCIP, it's worth learning how to use GNS3 early on.)