F5 Networks F5CAB1 Exam - Need Help Regarding Prep

williammarlin​ - First, I want to mention that starting with F5CAB1 is not a requirement.   I know they are numbered, but they aren't in any particular order.  As such, the first thing I'd do is look at the blueprint (which is now a "certification" blueprint, rather than an exam blueprint - https://support.education.f5.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/44571045437467).  Me?  I'm a "eat the peas first to get them off the plate" kind of guy, so I might start with the area/exam I am least knowledgeable about knowing that anything I learn will likely help me with the others ... and they'll be even easier.   Others like to knock out the "easy" ones first.  Your call, but you don't have to do them in numerical "order".

Second, I'd check out as much of the FREE content on the education services portal (ESP: https://education.f5.com/) as you can.  Sure, it won't go into much depth and doesn't include labs (in most cases), but It will definitely help orient where you are and what topics are going to be more difficult.

Third, you may not be aware, but we did recently release the F5-CA, BIG-IP "Accelerator" course on the ESP.   This course is designed to align with the certification exams (i.e., there are sections for each of the exams), includes hands-on labs, and is available for a year from time of purchase to give you time to dig in. Earlier this year, we drastically reduced the price of our self-direct training (SDT - "online", "self-paced", whatever ...) to make it more accessible ($550); and, we occasionally run "specials" (like the recent Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal with up to 25% off).   I know this is an investment, and there are plenty of other free resources out there, but I'd like to think that the training from F5, built by F5 experts, is worth that investment.  Of course, there is other content available, but the Accelerator is relevant to your specific situation.

Which leads me to the final piece ... caveat emptor ... while there are plenty of reputable options out there for "training", you want to be very careful when that "training" borders on "exam dumps" for a couple of reasons.   First, the redesign of the exams was done to make it more efficient and easier to "update" the exams with new questions; i.e., the "dumps" you get might not be as accurate as you think as we cycle new items into the exams.  Second, per our candidate agreement, if our team discovers that you purchased/consumed/utilized "exam dumps" of F5 material ... your certification will be revoked and you will be banned from ever having an F5 certification.   It's harsh, but I am fully committed to this .... and it has been done.     I don't care where you get your knowledge ... but I want you to have actual knowledge about our systems, not a regurgitation of answers.

I hope that helps ...

Hi williammarlin​! I took the exams while they where still in beta. I prepared by going trough the exam outlines and focussing on the topics I was unsure about. I asked ChatGPT to create practice questions and practiced with those (verifying the answers in the documentation). I also checked commands against my lab F5 to make sure they worked. 

The most basic step is to get the blueprint for the exam.

You can find the up-to-date blueprint here: F5 Certification blueprint : K29900360

For each topic, refer to F5's Knowledge Articles. They offer in-depth knowledge, but they can be a bit hard to learn from.

What I would recommend is getting a trial license from F5 to gain hands-on experience.

Lastly, I'm not sure if I can post it here, but I created a website dedicated to learning F5. You can easily find articles on it with a quick Google search for "F5CAB1." Most of the articles are free and tend to be easier to follow than the Knowledge Articles (I hope :) ).

I recently prepared for the F5CAB1 Exam. My main focus was the official F5 documentation to understand core concepts. Practicing with scenario-based questions was very helpful in identifying weak areas. I would also recommend using timed practice exams from P2PExams, as they help you manage time effectively during the exam, become comfortable with exam pressure, and identify areas that require more focused revision.