background image
14
Chapter 1: All About the Cisco Certified Network Professional and Design Professional Certification
One Final Word of Advice
The "Foundation Summary" section and your notes are your "crib note" knowledge of Remote
Access. These pieces of paper are valuable when you are studying for the CCIE or Cisco
recertification exam. You should take the time to organize them so that they become part of your
paper "long term memory."
Reviewing information that you actually wrote in your own handwriting is the easiest data to
put back into your brain RAM. Gaining a certification but losing the knowledge is of no value.
For most people, maintaining the knowledge is as simple as writing it down.
You Have Passed Other CCNP Exams and Are Preparing
for the Remote Access Exam
Scenario 1: You Have Taken the BCRAN Course
Because you have taken other Cisco exams and have taken the BCRAN course, you know what
you are up against. The Remote Access exam is like all the others. The questions are
"Sylvanish" and the answers are sometimes confusing if you read too much into them.
The best approach with this book is to take each chapter "Do I Know This Already?" quiz and
focus on the parts that draw a blank. It is best not to jump to the final exam until you have given
yourself a chance to review the entire book. You should save it to test your knowledge after you
have mentally checked each section to see that you have an idea of what the whole test could
be. Remember that the CD testing engine spools out a sampling of questions and might not give
you a good picture the first time you use it; the test engine could spool a test that is easy for you,
or it could spool one that is very difficult.
Before the test, make your own notes using the "Foundation Summary" sections and your own
handwritten notes. Writing something down, even if you are copying it, makes it easier to
remember. Once you have your bank of notes, study them, and then take the final exam three or
four times. Each time you take the test, force yourself to read each question and each answer,
even if you have seen them before. Again, repetition is a super memory aid.
Scenario 2: You Have NOT Taken the BCRAN Course
Because you have taken other Cisco exams, you know what you are up against in the test
experience. The Remote Access exam is like all the others. The questions are "Sylvanish," and
the answers are sometimes confusing if you read too much into them.
The best approach with this book, because you have not taken the class, is to take each chapter's
"Do I Know This Already?" quiz as an aid for what to look for as you read the chapter. Once
you have completed a chapter, take the end-of-chapter test to see how well you have assimilated