Comparison
Lab-Based Courses vs Video Courses for CCNP Security
What each is actually for, and the one difference you can check before you pay anything.
What video is good at
Meeting a concept for the first time. Someone who knows it explains it and does it on screen, and you see the shape of the thing before you have to build it. For a first pass through a domain, that is often the fastest way in.
Where it runs out
The exam and the job both test whether you can configure it and tell when it is wrong. Watching someone else's configuration work does not tell you whether yours does. That gap is where most study time goes, and it is the part a video cannot grade.
What a lab-based course adds
- 237 labs planned, 5 built so far — every built lab ships with a topology, start configs and a validator that grades your own work. You build it on your own CML or EVE-NG and the validator checks your work, not a reference answer.
- Every command run on real gear, published with its real output, so what you see is what the device printed.
- Coverage you can check before paying: every exam objective mapped on a public page, lesson by lesson.
How to choose
If you learn best by watching first, use video for the first pass and a lab course for the part that is graded. If you already understand the concepts and keep failing on configuration, go straight to the labs. Either way, check two things before paying: whether each lab grades your own work, and whether the course maps every objective somewhere you can read.
What we charge, and what we promise
$489 a year for every track, every lab and every update. The Next Year Promise: finish your track, score 90% or better on three full-length mocks, sit the exam inside your membership year, and if you do not pass, your next year is free.
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Common questions
Are video courses bad for CCNP Security?
No. Video is a good way to meet a concept for the first time: someone explains it, you watch it done. Where it runs out is the part the exam and the job both test hardest — building the configuration yourself and knowing whether it is right.
What does a lab-based course give me that a video does not?
237 labs planned, 5 built so far — every built lab ships with a topology, start configs and a validator that grades your own work. You build it, run the check, and see which part is wrong; every hands-on lesson is planned with one.
Can I check the coverage before paying?
Yes. Every exam objective is mapped on a public page, lesson by lesson, and a full lesson in every course is free to read with no account.