CCNP Certification Exams | Cisco CCNP Route, Switch & Tshoot exams

Exam Details/Syllabus of CCNP

To earn this Cisco certification you must possess knowledge about the associate level certification for the relative CCNP track. Having a certification is necessary but one must have basic knowledge about the associate level technologies. To clear the CCNP R&S online exam aspirants are required to give three exams that is ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT. CCNP R&S certification is split in three modules out of which ROUTE is related with routing technologies, SWITCH comprises of switching technologies and TSHOOT combines troubleshooting problems using both the technologies in Routing and Switching modules.

Note: The above mentioned exams namely ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT can be taken in any order preference.

Things to remember: ROUTE (642-902)

ROUTE is one of the modules of CCNP R&S online certification exam. In total 50 questions are presented to the aspirant on the test screen including 4 questions based on simulations. Simulations carry more marks as compared to other questions in the test. Each simulation is of 80 to 100 marks each which is similar to CCNA online exam that is four questions of 80 to 100marks each. Rest of the questions are MCQs i.e. 46 questions of type MCQs. The ROUTE CCNP online exam is total of 90 minutes for aspirants whose native language is English. Thirty minutes of time extension added to 90 minutes of the CCNP online examination is officially given by Cisco Systems to non-English speaking candidates. Aspirants should keep one thing in mind while taking the CCNP online exam that one cannot re-answer the question post submission i.e. once an option/answer for the question asked has been selected and submitted (submit button has been clicked), answer gets locked and cannot be reattempted.

Now let’s focus on another important aspect of the CCNP R&S certification which is the percentage required to clear the CCNP R&S’s ROUTE exam and fee required to be submitted before appearing for it. Aspirants often get confused regarding these two questions as they are usually left unanswered leaving them uninformed. So the percent marks required to pass the ROUTE exam is 79% which is least of 790 marks out of 1000 are a must for passing the CCNP ROUTE exam. The fee for the ROUTE exam is $250 which must be submitted online by the aspirant using his/her credit card. However some centers of ROUTE online exam even allow this cost to be paid in cash with an extra cost of dollar conversion rate.

It is a good practice for aspirants to not take more than 15 minutes to solve each simulation that has been put across i.e. 60 minutes in total for solving all the 4 simulations asked. The time left i.e. 30 minutes should be properly utilized to answer the multiple choice and drag & drop questions. A plus point for students with non-English native language is that they can spend 20 minutes instead of 15 minutes to solve each of the simulations one by one. Also to note that 320 to 400 points for only 4 simulations will help aspirants to easily clear their CCNP online exam whereas answering no simulation at all will lead them towards not passing at all. One may choose not to answer 1 simulation that too if he/she is confident enough that the MCQ part of the test has been answered correctly. Under no circumstances one can pass the exam by only answering all the MCQs perfectly i.e. aspirants will surely not pass the exam if simulations are ignored by them. Quoting precisely one has no chances of passing any module of the CCNP R&S online exam if he/she cannot answer least of 3 simulations perfectly. Also to be noted that in situations like one simulation consumed more time in get solved and aspirants are still left with two or more simulations to be attempted then chances of clearing the exam are null. However chances of passing the exam are still brighter if one chooses to risk by not attempting a single simulation or answering the simulation wrong mistakenly.

The simulations asked are usually based on new topics like Policy Based routing sim, EIGRP stub sim, EIGRP OSPF Redistribution sim, OSPF sim. Aspirants must notice that the IP addresses, names of the router may be different (also for Drag & Drop questions). In the newly updated syllabus for the ROUTE exam of the CCNP certification topics like IS-IS, DHCP, Multicast are no longer included or asked in the CCNP certification online exam. These topics however might be very useful for other Cisco certified exams. Another important factor that must be kept in mind while preparing for the CCNP online exam is the usage of the short commands. Using short forms for the commands one might get full marks at times while at other times their marks might get deducted. So it is highly recommended to learn full commands instead of cramming their short abbreviations.

Tip: Use the Tab button to save time and get full commands on screen without typing the full command spellings. Let’s not save time by using short commands use Tab instead to get full command displayed on screen and save time but not by writing half commands as shortcuts might cause you to obtain less marks.

Despite numerous options available in the market, the books which arehighly recommended for preparation of the ROUTE exam of the CCNP R&S certification by Cisco are as follows:

• CCNP ROUTE 642-902 Official Certification Guide
• ROUTE 642-902 Student Guide
• CCNP ROUTE Portable Command Guide
• CCNP Route Quick Reference Sheet

Things to Remember: SWITCH (642-813)

SWITCH is the second module of the CCNP R&S Certification. Unlike the ROUTE exam, the SWITCH exam for the CCNP R&S certification consists of 43 questions instead of 50 – 3 out of which are based on simulations and the rest of multiple choice and drag & drop type. 90 minutes of online SWITCH exam for CCNP R&S certification by Cisco and 30 minutes extra for aspirants who do not speak English (their native language is other than English). Just like CCNA R&S exam each sim for SWITCH exam is also for 80 to 100 marks i.e. 240 to 300 marks for 3 sims altogether. A question once attempted, answered and submitted cannot be changed post its submission (after clicking the next button). Aspirants must acquire minimum of 790 marks out of 1000 to successfully clear this SWITCH exam of CCNP R&S certification i.e. 79% marks essential for successful completion of the SWITCH online exam.

The cost for this exam is similar to that of ROUTE exam of CCNP R&S certification i.e. $250. The topics on which simulations are based on are LACP with STP Sim, MLS and EIGRP Sim, and AAAdot1x Lab Sim. Also not to forget the IP addresses, switch names might differ which is also the case in drag and drop questions.

Despite numerous options available in the market, the books which arehighly recommended for preparation of the SWITCH exam of the CCNP R&S certification by Cisco are as follows:

• CCNP SWITCH 642-813 Official Certification Guide
• CCNP SWITCH Portable Command Guide
• SWITCH 642-813 Student Guide (Volume 1 & 2)
• SWITCH 642-813 Quick Reference

Video Training by following companies are highly recommended:

• CCNP SWITCH 642-813 CBT Nuggets
• SWITCH 642-813 Cisco Video Mentor

Things to remember: TSHOOT

TSHOOT exam of the CCNP R&S certification has been designed to validate one’s ability to solve the problem raised. This exam consists of three set of questions: Multiple choice, drag and drop and troubleshooting tickets. 3 multiple choice type questions plus 13 troubleshooting tickets or two multiple choice type plus 1 drag & drop type plus 13 troubleshooting tickets. The troubleshooting ticket is nothing but problem scenarios about specific technologies used in Cisco’s routers and switches.

135 minutes of TSHOOT exam for English speaking candidates and 165 minutes of exam for non-English speaking candidates (30 minutes of extension to aspirants having native language other than English). This exam of CCNP R&S certification will test aspirants’ knowledge and understanding about the ROUTE & SWITCH technologies learned in the earlier modules in addition to troubleshooting skills as well. The topologies that appear in the TSHOOT online exam of CCNP R&S have solely been included in the online test to validate candidate’s ability to test and rectify the issues which occur while handling Cisco routers and switches. These topologies are also available online so that aspirants become familiar with various trouble tickets used in topologies so that more time is not wasted in the exam understanding them.

People often get confused about the ticket names that appear on the screen during the TSHOOT online exam. The reality is that when these tickets are displayed on the screen they are referred to as ticket 1, ticket 2 only. Usually one needs to use the “show running-config” command to find out the wrong configuration specified. Also each configuration issue has to be identified without making the correct configuration. But certain types of questions are necessary to be answered before the issues can be known. Those questions are as follows:

• Which device causes problem
• Which technology is used
• How to fix the problem occurred

Each ticket of troubleshooting consists of a set of questions that can be re- answered in the same ticket only. A benefit of re-attempting the question once it has been submitted is provided in this module of CCNP R&S certification which is not the case in the other modules of CCNP R&S certification. One can click “previous question” button to go back to the previous question in the same ticket but if “done” button is clicked then the re-attempting procedure cannot be performed. Also these tickets can be solved in any order according to aspirants wish but it must be kept in mind this all is valid till done button is kept untouched. There is an Abort button displayed on the screen which when pressed can be used to re-visit the specific ticket at any time later.

Download PDF CCNP Certification Exams | Cisco CCNP Route, Switch & Tshoot exams

Some important facts to remember about ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT Exams

Though simulators and practical videos are good for practice but experts highly recommend not using them much as aspirants will not get the required industrial practice on real Cisco routers and switches. Practicing on simulators will only make students familiar with the virtual scenarios of technologies which is not at all sufficient or appropriate while acquiring a good salaried job in various companies. On the other hand if one is practicing thoroughly on real Cisco devices then they get an opportunity to know about why’s and how’s of actual working of these devices. They get to learn about how real Cisco routers work, how Cisco switches operate, and everything related to the working of these devices. True knowledge is gained only by live training and not by practicing scenarios on simulators. Classroom and live training has always been beyond comparison for aspirants seeking an opportunity to make their career with CCNP R&S certification.

Note: Post completion of the ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT exam of the CCNP R&S certification, aspirants won’t get separate certification for each of the modules mentioned above. Also the aspirants will get only one certificate i.e. after completing all the three exams of the CCNP certification.Once students are done with their ROUTE, SWITCH and TSHOOT exam of the CCNP R&S certification they will get their respective score cards printed irrespective of whether they have cleared or failed the exam with following details of the exam :

• A small image of the aspirant.
• Date at which the exam has been taken, name of the candidate, candidate’s id, Cisco id of the candidate.
• Registration id, Validation id, Testing Site, Exam Number, Passing Score required to clear CCNA exam.
• Candidate’s Score and grade of the individual.
• It also shows the performance rate in each area of the subject highlighting the areas where one is strong and where one needs more concentration.

Difference between a Simulation and Simlet

For simulations and simlets, a simulated IOS interface is required for the purpose of completing a series of tasks. In case of simlets, show commands are used to extract data required to answer the multiple-choice question series. Whereas in case of simulations configuration and show commands are used to carry out configuration and troubleshooting tasks in series. Also that complete IOS is not at all available during the ongoing simulations or simlets. That is if aspirants use a command which is not required while correctly answering the simlet/simulation then an error message saying that “this command is not supported” will be displayed on screen. Help is also provided to some extent by using “?”, “TAB” and shorthand commands which are available in IOS devices. Simlet comprises of chain of multiple type questions which are verified as wrong or right once the question has been answered and left to proceed further in the ongoing CCNP online exam but in case one has not answered all or even a single question in simlet then he/she is notified to return to the simlet and complete it.

We hope this article solved the following questions:

• Exam details of CCNP R&S certification.
• Detailed information about 642-902 ROUTE exam of CCNP R&S certification.
• Detailed information about 642-813SWITCH exam of CCNP R&S certification.
• Detailed summary about642 – 832TSHOOT exam of CCNP R&S certification.
• Duration of exams for each module of CCNP certification.
• Best books recommended for CCNP ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT.
• Number and type of questions that come in all the three modules of CCNP certification.
• Duration of the CCNP online examination.
• Topics covered in simulations.
• Simulation and simlets.
• Difference between simulation and simlets.
• How to answer questions in CCNP online exam.
• Score card and details on it, post completion of exam.
• Whether to use short hand commands or not.

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