My CCNA Sob Story (And Why You Need to Hear This)
Picture this: It’s 7:45 AM on a Tuesday. I’m sitting in my car outside a Pearson VUE testing center, chugging my third coffee and frantically reviewing subnetting charts I’d scribbled on index cards. I’d studied for four months using free YouTube videos, borrowed OCG books, and enough PacketTracer labs to make my eyes bleed.
I walked out of that testing center three hours later with a 792.
The passing score? 825.
That failure email hit different. It wasn’t just the $300 down the drain (though that stung—that’s like, what, 60 burritos?). It was the crushing realization that I’d studied all the wrong things in all the wrong ways. I knew the concepts, sure, but I had no idea how to handle Cisco’s particularly sadistic way of asking questions.
Fast forward two weeks of moping, and my buddy who’d just passed his CCNP said something that changed everything: “Dude, just get BOSON. Stop being cheap. It’s literally the cheat code for Cisco exams.”
Three months later, I walked out of that same testing center with an 875. The difference? BOSON ExamSim. And I’m about to tell you exactly why this software is worth its weight in Cisco-certified gold.
What Even Is BOSON ExamSim? (Besides My New Best Friend)
Let me paint you a picture of what BOSON actually is, because I was confused at first too. It’s not a video course. It’s not a book. It’s not even really a study guide.
BOSON ExamSim is basically like having a sadistic-but-loving Cisco mentor who makes you take practice exams over and over, but then sits down with you afterward and explains every single thing you got wrong in excruciating, wonderful detail. It’s like if the actual CCNA exam and a really good teacher had a baby, and that baby was raised by someone who really wants you to succeed but also believes in tough love.
The software itself is a downloadable program (yeah, old school, I know) that contains:
- 3 full practice exams with 102 questions each
- An additional pool of 150+ questions for custom exams
- Network simulation labs through NetSim that will make you question your life choices
- More detailed explanations than your mom gives when she’s disappointed in you
But here’s the thing—describing BOSON’s features is like describing pizza as “bread with cheese.” Technically accurate, but you’re missing the whole experience.
The First Time I Opened BOSON (And Immediately Wanted to Cry)
I’m not going to lie to you. My first BOSON practice exam was brutal. I scored a 542. Five. Four. Two.
I remember staring at the screen thinking, “How is this possible? I’ve been studying for months!” But here’s what I didn’t understand yet: BOSON isn’t trying to make you feel good about yourself. It’s trying to prepare you for war. And the CCNA, my friends, is war.
The questions were nothing like the straightforward ones I’d practiced with free online tests. They were multi-layered, interconnected, and required you to think three steps ahead. Like this one question about OSPF that still haunts my dreams:
“A network administrator notices that Router A is not forming an adjacency with Router B. Router A is configured as a DR, Router B is configured as a BDR. Both routers can ping each other. The network type is broadcast. What are the three most likely causes?”
Then it lists six possible answers, and three of them sound absolutely identical unless you REALLY understand OSPF states, timers, and authentication. Oh, and two of the “wrong” answers would actually be right in a different scenario that sounds almost exactly like this one.
This is what BOSON does. It doesn’t just test if you know what OSPF stands for. It tests if you could troubleshoot OSPF at 3 AM after your boss calls you screaming about the network being down.
The Explanation That Changed Everything
But here’s where BOSON earned my undying loyalty. After that demoralizing first exam, I clicked on the explanation for that OSPF question. What I got wasn’t just “The answer is B, D, and F.”
I got three pages. THREE PAGES of explanation that included:
- A breakdown of the OSPF adjacency formation process
- Why each wrong answer would cause different symptoms
- A diagram showing packet flow during adjacency formation
- Commands to troubleshoot this exact scenario in real life
- Links to Cisco’s official documentation
- A note about a similar question type that might appear on the exam
I spent 45 minutes on that one explanation. And suddenly, OSPF made sense. Not just memorization sense, but deep, intuitive, “I could explain this to my grandmother” sense.
This happened over and over. EIGRP metrics? There’s an explanation that actually shows the math. VLAN troubleshooting? Here’s a story about why this configuration breaks everything. STP port states? Let me tell you about every single transition and why it matters.
For anyone struggling with these concepts, I also found the CCNA training guides super helpful as a companion resource—they break down complex topics in ways that complement BOSON’s explanations perfectly.
The Features That Actually Saved My Certification
Study Mode: Your Patient Teacher
Study mode became my morning ritual. Coffee, breakfast, and 25 BOSON questions with immediate explanations. What makes study mode special isn’t just that it shows you the right answer—it’s that it lets you explore why wrong answers are wrong.
I’d deliberately pick wrong answers sometimes just to read why they didn’t work. This backward learning approach was incredible for those sneaky Cisco questions where they list the “second-best” answer alongside the correct one.
One morning, I spent two hours on just five questions about access lists. By the end, I could write ACLs in my sleep. More importantly, I understood the logic behind Cisco’s ACL processing order, something that had never fully clicked despite watching dozens of videos on it.
Simulation Mode: Welcome to the Pressure Cooker
Simulation mode is where boys become men. Or in my case, where overconfident network admins become humbled students again.
You get 90-120 minutes (depending on settings) to complete 102 questions. No going back. No checking answers. Just you, the timer ticking down, and questions that seem specifically designed to make you second-guess everything you’ve ever learned.
My first simulation mode exam took me the full 120 minutes, and I still had to guess on the last ten questions. The real CCNA 200-301 exam gives you 120 minutes too, but somehow BOSON’s timer feels faster, like it’s judging you for taking too long on subnetting questions.
Custom Exams: Your Weak Spot Assassin
This feature is what separates BOSON from every other practice exam out there. Failed IPv6 questions? Create a custom exam with just IPv6. Can’t remember which routing protocol does what? Make a 50-question exam comparing them all.
I had a notebook where I tracked every topic I scored below 70% on. Every evening, I’d create a custom 20-question exam targeting my weakest area from that day. It’s like having a personal trainer who knows exactly which exercises you hate but need the most.
My custom exam history by the end was embarrassing:
- “VLAN and Trunking – Attempt 7”
- “Why Do I Suck at STP – Attempt 4”
- “IPv6 Addressing AGAIN – Attempt 11”
- “OSPF Will Be The Death of Me – Attempt 15”
But you know what? By attempt 15, I could configure OSPF in my sleep.
The Network Simulator Labs: Where Theory Meets “Oh Crap, It’s Broken”
The NetSim labs deserve their own review, honestly. These aren’t your friendly “follow these 10 steps to configure a router” labs. These are “Here’s a broken network with 8 devices, 3 VLANs, 2 routing protocols, and your CEO needs it fixed in 20 minutes” scenarios.
I remember one lab where I had to troubleshoot why certain VLANs couldn’t communicate. I spent 45 minutes checking and rechecking configurations before realizing I’d forgotten to configure the trunk port to allow those specific VLANs. The lab didn’t tell me this directly—it made me figure it out through systematic troubleshooting. (If you need a refresher on VLANs and trunking, Cisco’s official documentation is actually pretty solid once you know what you’re looking for.)
That’s when it hit me: BOSON wasn’t teaching me to pass a test. It was teaching me to be a network engineer.
The Hidden Psychological Warfare (That Actually Helps)
Here’s something nobody tells you about BOSON: it’s intentionally harder than the real exam. And I mean INTENTIONALLY. This isn’t a bug; it’s a feature.
The questions are more complex. The simulations have more variables. The answer choices are more similar. It’s like training for a marathon by running uphill with a weighted vest. When you finally run the actual marathon on flat ground, you feel like you’re flying.
I went from scoring 540s to consistently hitting 850+ on BOSON exams. But here’s the beautiful part: I never scored above 900 on BOSON. Not once. And that kept me hungry, kept me studying, kept me from getting overconfident.
When I sat for the real CCNA the second time, I finished with 20 minutes to spare. Questions that would have stumped me before felt almost… easy? Not because they were easy, but because BOSON had prepared me for worse.
The Learning Curve From Hell (And Why It’s Worth It)
Let me be real about the first month with BOSON. It’s rough. You’ll feel dumber than when you started. You’ll question if you know anything about networking at all. I had a sticky note on my monitor that said “Trust the process” because I needed daily reminders not to give up.
Week 1: Scored between 540-600, wanted to quit IT entirely Week 2: Scored between 580-650, started understanding the question patterns Week 3: Broke 700 for the first time, actually cried a little (don’t judge) Week 4: Consistently scoring 720-750, finally feeling hope Week 5-8: Grinding from 750 to 850+, where real learning happened Week 9-12: Fine-tuning, targeting weak areas, building confidence
The journey from 540 to 850 wasn’t just about learning more facts. It was about learning how to think like Cisco thinks. And that’s what BOSON teaches you.
Real Stories From The Trenches
The VLAN Question That Nearly Broke Me
There was this one question about VLAN configuration that I got wrong eight times. EIGHT TIMES. It was about native VLAN mismatches, and every time I thought I understood it, I’d miss some subtle detail.
The ninth time, I didn’t just read the BOSON explanation. I labbed it out in NetSim, broke it on purpose, fixed it, broke it differently, fixed it again. I created my own diagram. I wrote a silly song about native VLANs (to the tune of “Native New Yorker” – don’t ask).
On the real exam, I got a nearly identical question. I smiled, selected the answer in 30 seconds, and moved on. That’s the BOSON effect.
The Day I Finally “Got” Subnetting
I know, I know. Everyone says subnetting is easy once you get it. But for me, it was like trying to learn calculus in Mandarin while juggling. BOSON has this way of presenting subnetting questions that forces you to really understand it, not just memorize a chart. (Though if you need extra subnetting practice, SubnettingPractice.com is a great free resource to supplement BOSON.)
One question asked me to find the 437th usable host in a /19 network. Who asks that?! BOSON does. And after working through their explanation, which broke down the binary math step by step, something clicked. Now I can subnet in my head faster than most people can type.
The Simulation That Made Me a Believer
Three weeks before my exam, I hit a simulation in BOSON about troubleshooting a multi-site network with EIGRP, OSPF redistribution, and multiple VLANs. It took me two hours to complete. TWO HOURS.
But when I finished, successfully fixing all the issues, I had this moment of clarity: “Holy crap, I actually know this stuff.” Not memorization knowing, but deep, practical, “I could do this job” knowing.
The Stuff Nobody Mentions But Should
The BOSON Community Is Small But Mighty
There’s a forum on BOSON’s site that’s like a secret club for serious certification seekers. It’s not huge—maybe a few hundred active members—but these people are hardcore. They discuss specific questions (without violating NDAs), share study strategies, and generally support each other through the certification struggle.
I posted once about struggling with spanning-tree questions, and got three detailed responses with hand-drawn diagrams and memory tricks. One guy even offered to do a Zoom call to explain it. These aren’t BOSON employees—just fellow students who’ve been there. You can also find good discussions on r/ccna where BOSON users share their experiences.
The Updates Are Actually Meaningful
During my study period, BOSON pushed two updates. Not just bug fixes—actual new questions based on recent exam changes. One update added 30 new questions about automation and network programmability, topics that had just been emphasized in Cisco’s latest exam update.
Compare that to my physical books that were already outdated when I bought them.
You Can Install It On Two Computers
This saved my life. I had it on my desktop at home and my laptop for studying at coffee shops. Your progress syncs between them. Small feature, huge convenience. Try explaining to a barista why you’re crying over a subnet calculation at 7 AM without this flexibility.
The Investment Conversation We Need to Have
Okay, let’s talk money, because I know that’s what you’re thinking about. BOSON ExamSim costs $99. The NetSim bundle is $149. That’s not nothing. That’s a nice dinner out, a couple months of streaming services, or about 1/3 of what you’ll pay to retake the CCNA if you fail.
Here’s how I justified it to my wife (who was already annoyed about the first $300 exam fee):
“Honey, I can either spend $99 now on something that basically guarantees I’ll pass, or risk another $300 failing again. Plus, if I pass, I get that raise we talked about.”
She literally said, “Why didn’t you buy this the first time, dummy?”
Good question, wife. Good question.
But beyond the math, consider the time investment. I spent roughly 200 hours studying for my first attempt. Failed. Then spent another 150 hours with BOSON. But those 150 hours were so much more effective that they were worth probably 400 hours of unfocused studying. (You can calculate your own ROI on certification if you’re into that kind of thing.)
The Brutal Honesty Section
What BOSON Won’t Do
- It won’t teach you networking from scratch. You need a foundation first.
- It won’t make studying fun. It’s work. Hard work.
- It won’t let you skip the hands-on lab practice. You still need real experience.
- It won’t pass the exam for you. You still have to put in the hours.
When BOSON Frustrates Me
The interface looks like it was designed in 2005 and nobody told them it’s 2024. It works fine, but coming from modern web apps, it’s jarring.
Sometimes the explanations are TOO detailed. Like, I just wanted to know why B was correct, not a dissertation on the entire history of Ethernet.
The activation process is weirdly complicated. You have to create an account, buy it, download it, activate it with a key, then activate it online. It’s like they’re trying to make sure you really, really want it.
Who Shouldn’t Buy BOSON
If you’re just starting your CCNA journey, don’t buy this yet. You’ll waste it. It’s like buying a Ferrari before you know how to drive. Get your fundamentals down first with videos, books, and basic labs. Come to BOSON when you’re ready for the final push. (Start with free resources like Professor Messer’s Network+ if you’re completely new to networking, then move up to CCNA-level content.)
If you have less than a month to study, this might actually make things worse. BOSON will show you how much you don’t know, and that can be demoralizing if you don’t have time to fix it.
My Exact Study Strategy (Steal This)
Phase 1: Foundation (Before BOSON)
- Watch a complete video course (I used David Bombal’s course)
- Read at least one CCNA book (Official Cert Guide or Todd Lammle)
- Do basic labs in Packet Tracer
- Take free practice tests until you score 70%+
- Review fundamentals on CCNATraining.com’s free resources (seriously underrated resource)
Phase 2: BOSON Bootcamp (Weeks 1-4)
- Monday-Friday: 25 questions in study mode each morning (1.5 hours)
- Saturday: Full simulation exam (3 hours)
- Sunday: Review wrong answers from the week (2 hours)
- Track weak areas in a spreadsheet (yes, I’m that guy)
Phase 3: Targeted Destruction (Weeks 5-8)
- Daily: Custom 20-question exam on weakest topic (1 hour)
- Every other day: Mixed 50-question practice (2 hours)
- Weekends: Full simulation exams until scoring 850+ (3 hours each)
- Lab every single concept you don’t understand
Phase 4: Final Push (Last 2 weeks)
- Daily: One full simulation exam (scoring 850+ consistently)
- Evenings: Custom exams on any topic below 80%
- Final weekend: Review all previously wrong questions
- Day before exam: Light review only, no new exams
The Mental Game
- Celebrate breaking 700, 750, 800, 850
- Don’t study more than 3 hours straight
- Take a day off if you bomb an exam badly
- Remember: BOSON is harder than the real thing
The Features I Didn’t Expect to Love
The Detailed Score Reports
After each exam, you get this breakdown that’s like a report card on steroids. It shows:
- Time spent per question (I learned I was rushing through subnetting)
- Which topics you’re improving vs. declining on
- Your progress over time with pretty graphs
- Specific exam objectives you need to study
I printed these out and put them on my wall. My study space looked like some kind of Beautiful Mind situation, but it kept me focused on exactly what needed work.
The “Show Answer” Hesitation
In study mode, there’s this moment after you select your answer but before you click “Show Answer” where you can change your mind. That pause trained me to double-check my work, something that saved me multiple times on the real exam.
I developed this ritual: Select answer → Take a breath → Reread the question → Confirm or change → Show answer. This simple pattern probably added 30 points to my final score.
The Reference Links That Actually Work
When BOSON links to external documentation, it’s not just random Cisco docs. It’s the EXACT section that explains the concept. I built a bookmark folder called “BOSON Deep Dives” with all these links. It became my personalized CCNA reference guide.
The Unexpected Benefits
I Became a Better Network Admin at Work
This wasn’t just about passing a test. The deep understanding BOSON forced upon me made me better at my actual job. I started solving problems faster, understanding issues more deeply, and speaking more confidently in meetings.
My boss noticed. She asked what changed. I told her about my CCNA studies with BOSON. She bought licenses for three other team members the next week.
The Confidence Transfer
The discipline and study methods I learned from BOSON carried over into other areas. I used the same approach for my CCNP (yes, with BOSON again), and even for non-IT learning. Turns out, the “struggle with hard questions → deep dive explanations → targeted practice” method works for almost anything.
The Network (Not That Kind) I Built
Through the BOSON forums and study groups, I connected with people who are now actual friends. We have a Discord server where we help each other with real work problems, share job opportunities, and occasionally complain about spanning-tree protocol.
The Day of Redemption
Let me take you back to my second attempt. Same testing center, same parking spot (I’m superstitious, sue me). But this time, no index cards. No frantic reviewing. I sat in my car listening to music, calm as could be.
Why? Because I’d taken 30+ BOSON exams. I’d seen every type of question Cisco could throw at me. I’d failed so many practice exams and learned from each failure that I wasn’t afraid of hard questions anymore.
The first question was about VLAN trunking. I smiled. BOSON had tortured me with VLAN questions for three months. This was child’s play.
By question 50, I knew I was passing. Not hoping—knowing. That’s the confidence BOSON builds.
When I hit submit and saw “Congratulations!” I didn’t even feel relief. I felt inevitability. Of course I passed. BOSON had made sure of it.
The Ultimate Verdict: Just Buy It Already
Look, I’ve written nearly 4000 words about practice exam software. That should tell you something. BOSON ExamSim isn’t just good—it’s transformative. It’s the difference between memorizing facts and understanding networking. It’s the difference between hoping to pass and knowing you will.
Is it perfect? No. The interface needs updating, it’s pricey, and it will absolutely humble you at first.
But does it work? Absolutely, unequivocally, yes.
I’ve recommended BOSON to twelve people. All twelve passed their CCNA. That’s not a coincidence.
Final Thoughts: A Love Letter to Struggle
BOSON taught me something valuable: the struggle is the point. Those questions you get wrong six times? That’s where learning happens. Those explanations that make your brain hurt? That’s growth. Those practice exams where you score 650 when you need 825? That’s motivation.
If you want something that makes you feel smart and ready, BOSON isn’t it. If you want something that makes you ACTUALLY smart and ready, BOSON is exactly it.
The CCNA is not an easy certification. Cisco doesn’t want it to be. But with BOSON, it becomes achievable. Not easy, but achievable. And the difference between those two words is everything.
So here’s my advice: Stop reading reviews (after this one). Stop comparing different practice exams. Stop trying to find the perfect study resource. Just get BOSON, embrace the pain, and in three months, you’ll be writing your own review about how it changed everything.
Your future certified self will thank you. Mine certainly does.
Final Rating: 9.5/10 (Minus 0.5 for making me cry during week one)
Price: $99 for ExamSim, $149 for ExamSim + NetSim bundle Where to buy: BOSON.com – Wait for sales if you can (usually 15-20% off during holidays) Study time needed: 150-200 hours to see full benefit Minimum foundation: 70%+ on free practice tests before starting Best feature: Those beautiful, painful, life-changing explanations Worst feature: The UI that time forgot Would buy again: In a heartbeat Recommended for: Anyone serious about passing, not just taking, the CCNA
P.S. – BOSON, if you’re reading this, please update your interface. And maybe send me that hoodie I mentioned. I’ve earned it after all this free marketing. Size Large. Thanks.
P.P.S. – To my fellow CCNA strugglers: You got this. Trust the process. Embrace the suck. And get BOSON. Seriously. And if you’re looking for additional study resources, check out the study plans on CCNATraining.com—they pair perfectly with BOSON’s practice exams.
