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In this article, I will try to summarize all the Frequently Asked Questions in the ROUTE 642-902 Exam. Hope it will save you some time searching through the Internet and asking your friends & teachers.
1. Please tell me how many questions in the real ROUTE exam, and how much time to answer them?
There are 50 questions, including 4 lab-sims. You have 90 minutes to answer them but if your native language is not English, Cisco allows you a 30-minute exam time extension.
2. How much does the ROUTE 642-902 cost? And how many points I need to pass the exam?
This exam costs $200. You need at least 790/1000 points to pass this exam.
3. I passed the ROUTE exam, will I get a certificate for it?
No, Cisco does not ship ROUTE Exam certificate, it only ships you a certificate after completing the full CCNP track of 3 exams (ROUTE, SWITCH & TSHOOT).
4. Which sims will I see in the ROUTE exam?
The popular sims now are Policy Based routing sim, EIGRP stub sim, EIGRP OSPF Redistribution sim, OSPF sim and please notice that the IP addresses, router names may be different (it is also true for Drag and Drop questions)
5. How many points will I get for one sim?
Maybe you will get about 80 to 100 points for each sim, just like the CCNA exam.
6. In the real exam, I clicked “Next” after choosing the answer, can I go back for reviewing?
No, you can’t go back so you can’t re-check your answers after clicking the “Next” button.
7. What is the difference between the old BSCI & the new ROUTE exam?
In the new ROUTE exam, there are no IS-IS, DHCP, Multicast questions so you can ignore them if you are reading old BSCI books. In fact, DHCP & Multicast are good topics and maybe you will have a chance to learn about them in other Cisco exams.
8. Can I use short commands, for example “conf t” instead of “configure terminal”? Will I get full mark for short commands?
From the comments on this site, maybe you will get full mark for short commands. But sometimes short commands don’t work so please be careful with them. We highly recommend you should learn the full commands.
9. What are your recommended materials for ROUTE?
There are many materials for learning ROUTE but below are popular materials that many candidates recommend.
Books
CCNP ROUTE 642-902 Official Certification Guide
ROUTE 642-902 Student Guide
CCNP ROUTE Portable Command Guide
CCNP Route Quick Reference Sheet
Video training
CBT Nuggets
Simulator (all are free)
GNS3 – the best simulator for learning ROUTE
Packet Tracer
10. How much time should I spend on each sim?
You should not spend more than 15 minutes for each sim. Recall that you only have 90 minutes so if you spend 15 minutes for each sim x 4 sims = 60 minutes. The 30 minutes left is for solving 46 multiple choice & drag-and-drop questions. If you are not a native English speaker and have 30-minute expansion (ask the mentor to confirm) than you can spend 20 minutes for each sim.
11. Can I pass without doing sims?
As mentioned above, each sim will cost you from 80 to 100 points. In the real exam you will have to solve 4 sims that give from 320 to 400 points. Suppose you answer all other questions perfectly then you will get 600 to 680 points but the passing score is 790. It means that you surely fail if ignore them.
From the calculation above, if you miss only one sim the chance to pass is average but if you miss two, the chance to pass is very, very low.
12. Are the exam questions the same in all the geographical locations?
Yes, the exam questions are the same in all geographical locations. But notice that Cisco has a pool of questions and each time you take the exam, a number of random questions will show up so you will not see all the same questions as the previous exam.
13. I don’t want to lose points so should I use the “copy running-config startup-config” after finishing each lab-sim?
In the ROUTE exam, we can’t use that command so surely you will not lose any points if not using that command.
1. Please tell me how many questions in the real ROUTE exam, and how much time to answer them?
There are 50 questions, including 4 lab-sims. You have 90 minutes to answer them but if your native language is not English, Cisco allows you a 30-minute exam time extension.
2. How much does the ROUTE 642-902 cost? And how many points I need to pass the exam?
This exam costs $200. You need at least 790/1000 points to pass this exam.
3. I passed the ROUTE exam, will I get a certificate for it?
No, Cisco does not ship ROUTE Exam certificate, it only ships you a certificate after completing the full CCNP track of 3 exams (ROUTE, SWITCH & TSHOOT).
4. Which sims will I see in the ROUTE exam?
The popular sims now are Policy Based routing sim, EIGRP stub sim, EIGRP OSPF Redistribution sim, OSPF sim and please notice that the IP addresses, router names may be different (it is also true for Drag and Drop questions)
5. How many points will I get for one sim?
Maybe you will get about 80 to 100 points for each sim, just like the CCNA exam.
6. In the real exam, I clicked “Next” after choosing the answer, can I go back for reviewing?
No, you can’t go back so you can’t re-check your answers after clicking the “Next” button.
7. What is the difference between the old BSCI & the new ROUTE exam?
In the new ROUTE exam, there are no IS-IS, DHCP, Multicast questions so you can ignore them if you are reading old BSCI books. In fact, DHCP & Multicast are good topics and maybe you will have a chance to learn about them in other Cisco exams.
8. Can I use short commands, for example “conf t” instead of “configure terminal”? Will I get full mark for short commands?
From the comments on this site, maybe you will get full mark for short commands. But sometimes short commands don’t work so please be careful with them. We highly recommend you should learn the full commands.
9. What are your recommended materials for ROUTE?
There are many materials for learning ROUTE but below are popular materials that many candidates recommend.
Books
CCNP ROUTE 642-902 Official Certification Guide
ROUTE 642-902 Student Guide
CCNP ROUTE Portable Command Guide
CCNP Route Quick Reference Sheet
Video training
CBT Nuggets
Simulator (all are free)
GNS3 – the best simulator for learning ROUTE
Packet Tracer
10. How much time should I spend on each sim?
You should not spend more than 15 minutes for each sim. Recall that you only have 90 minutes so if you spend 15 minutes for each sim x 4 sims = 60 minutes. The 30 minutes left is for solving 46 multiple choice & drag-and-drop questions. If you are not a native English speaker and have 30-minute expansion (ask the mentor to confirm) than you can spend 20 minutes for each sim.
11. Can I pass without doing sims?
As mentioned above, each sim will cost you from 80 to 100 points. In the real exam you will have to solve 4 sims that give from 320 to 400 points. Suppose you answer all other questions perfectly then you will get 600 to 680 points but the passing score is 790. It means that you surely fail if ignore them.
From the calculation above, if you miss only one sim the chance to pass is average but if you miss two, the chance to pass is very, very low.
12. Are the exam questions the same in all the geographical locations?
Yes, the exam questions are the same in all geographical locations. But notice that Cisco has a pool of questions and each time you take the exam, a number of random questions will show up so you will not see all the same questions as the previous exam.
13. I don’t want to lose points so should I use the “copy running-config startup-config” after finishing each lab-sim?
In the ROUTE exam, we can’t use that command so surely you will not lose any points if not using that command.