640-801: The New CCNA Exam

Andy Barkl walks you through the latest incarnation of Cisco's Certified Network Associate exam.

by Andy Barkl

August 2003 — Once again, Cisco Systems has updated their popular entry-level certification exam, the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam. I recently took the updated exam and received 56 questions in 90 minutes with a passing score of 849. There were three router simulator questions, many multiple choice questions and a few drag-and-drop questions.

The exam engine itself is slow when it comes to switching between the simulator-based questions and the standard multiple-choice questions -- patience is a must! For most simulator-based questions, you are presented with a network scenario, required to configure or troubleshoot one or more routers, save and verify your work. The simulator behaves very much like the real thing and includes limited support for abbreviated, editing and help commands.

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Having taken the 407, 507 and 607 versions, I can say that while the exam objectives haven't changed significantly with this latest update, much of the content is new and improved (minus the extensive OSI topics). New networking topics include DDR and configuring register settings. You'll want to download the official exam objectives from Cisco's Web site here.

With 640-801, the objective categories have been simplified into four areas: Planning & Designing, Implementation & Operation, Troubleshooting and Technology. Following is an overview of each section plus advice on where to focus your studies.

Objective Area #1: Planning & Designing
Under this general heading you'll find these topics listed:

• Design a simple LAN using Cisco technology.
• Design an IP addressing scheme to meet design requirements.
• Select an appropriate routing protocol based on user requirements
• Design a simple internetwork using Cisco technology.
• Develop an access list to meet user specifications.
• Choose WAN services to meet customer requirements.