- Why There Is No Single SRA Passing Score
- What Nokia Has Established (and What It Hasn't)
- The 2026 Route: Five Written Exams Plus the Lab
- Preparing for Each Written Exam Without a Published Cut Score
- How the Practical Lab Is Different
- The 4A0-C02 Composite and What It Replaces
- Setting Your Own Readiness Bar
- A Domain-by-Domain Sequencing Plan
- Frequently Asked Questions
- SRA is a multi-exam route, so no single passing score covers the whole Nokia Service Routing Architect certification.
- From September 8, 2026, the route is written exams 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106, 4A0-107 and 4A0-115, then the 7-hour ASRA4A0 lab.
- The six study groups are unweighted preparation groups, so don't budget study time using invented domain percentages.
- The practical lab has two independent 3.5-hour sections and is graded on configured, verified work, not multiple-choice items.
Why There Is No Single SRA Passing Score
Search for the Nokia Service Routing Architect passing score and you will find confident-sounding numbers on forums and aggregator sites. Most of them are guesses, recycled claims from other vendors' credentials, or folklore from older program versions. The honest answer starts with the structure of the certification itself: SRA is not one exam. It is a multi-exam route, distinct from NRS I and NRS II, made up of several written exams and a hands-on practical lab.
That structure means "the SRA passing score" is a category error. There is no single question count, duration, or percentage that describes the whole certification. A candidate working toward SRA faces separate assessments with different formats, and the written exams and the lab are fundamentally different kinds of evaluation. If you want the broader picture of how the pieces fit, our SRA requirements guide covering eligibility and prerequisites walks through the qualification path in detail.
What Nokia Has Established (and What It Hasn't)
Based on the Nokia certification and program-update pages reviewed on October 11, 2026, here is a clear separation of what is established and what is not.
| Question | What the issuer materials support |
|---|---|
| Is there one SRA written-exam length or question count? | No. The route spans several written exams plus a practical lab, so one number cannot describe it. |
| Is a pass rate published? | Not established in the reviewed sources. |
| Is there a published scored/unscored item split? | Not established in the reviewed sources. |
| Is there a single overall exam fee? | Not established here; costs depend on the individual components you sit. |
| Are domain weightings published as a single blueprint? | No. The six groups are unweighted preparation groups, with no topic percentages established. |
| Is the lab a multiple-choice test? | No. It is a practical assessment with configure-and-verify tasks. |
This matters for how you prepare. When a cut score isn't published for a given component, the sensible strategy is not to hunt for a magic percentage but to aim for mastery of every listed topic and to confirm the current details on Nokia's official pages before you book. For cost questions specifically, see our SRA certification cost breakdown, and for what the data says about outcomes, read what is and isn't known about the SRA pass rate.
The 2026 Route: Five Written Exams Plus the Lab
Effective September 8, 2026, the current route requires these written exams, followed by the practical lab:
- 4A0-102 - BGP for Internet Routing
- 4A0-105 - Virtual Private LAN Services
- 4A0-106 - Virtual Private Routed Networks
- 4A0-107 - Quality of Service
- 4A0-115 - Ethernet VPN Services
- ASRA4A0 - the 7-hour SRA Practical Lab
Two points about this route trip people up. First, the separate IS-IS/OSPF, MPLS and Services Architecture exams are no longer required under the current route, even though that knowledge still supports your preparation. Second, multicast exam 4A0-108 is retired and is not a current SRA requirement. The lab page on Nokia's site still displays superseded prerequisite exams, so for current eligibility rely on the dated September 8, 2026 program update and the current certification table rather than the lab page alone. Candidates who were previously lab-eligible retain that eligibility under the announced transition.
Course prerequisites attached to Nokia training are preparation recommendations, not additional SRA examination requirements, and training is not mandatory to attempt the exams. If you are weighing formal instruction, our overview of SRA training options covers what's available.
Preparing for Each Written Exam Without a Published Cut Score
Because the six groups are unweighted preparation groups rather than a single weighted blueprint, the best proxy for "passing" is depth across every listed topic. Here is what each written exam expects you to command.
Domain 1: BGP for Internet Routing (4A0-102)
This exam is about service-provider BGP as run on SR OS routers, not generic BGP trivia.
- Internet inter-domain architecture and service-provider BGP roles
- BGP mechanisms, attributes and IGP interaction
- SR OS peer-network design, configuration, monitoring and fault diagnosis
- Routing-policy configuration, verification and troubleshooting
- iBGP scalability using confederations and route reflectors
- Advertise-external, add-paths and fast-reroute operation, configuration and verification
Domain 2: Virtual Private LAN Services (4A0-105)
Expect to reason about Ethernet/MPLS foundations through to large-scale VPLS design.
- Ethernet/MPLS foundations, SAPs and SDPs; basic VPLS creation and configuration
- Distributed-service MTU implications and FDB maintenance
- Operations, misconfiguration diagnosis, repair and policy-based forwarding
- RSTP loop prevention and M-VPLS with STP for redundancy and load distribution
- LAG, MC-LAG and active/standby pseudowire resilience
- Deployment scale, H-VPLS hierarchy and PBB control of excessive MAC learning
Domain 3: Virtual Private Routed Networks (4A0-106)
This is MPLS Layer-3 VPN territory, from basic PE behavior to carrier-grade interconnect.
- VPRN architecture, MPLS Layer-3 VPN configuration and PE route distribution through MP-BGP
- BGP loop causes and prevention
- Full-mesh, hub/spoke and extranet arrangements and Internet access options
- Inter-AS models A, B and C: operation, configuration, verification and diagnosis
- Carrier-supporting-carrier VPN architecture, route exchanges and forwarding paths
Domain 4: Quality of Service (4A0-107)
QoS is the broadest of the written topics in terms of mechanism count, and it rewards precision about where each construct applies.
- IntServ/DiffServ models, customer rate limits and 7750SR processing
- Classification at SAP and network ingress/egress, match precedence and default network policy
- Token-bucket metering; queue shaping versus policing; default scheduling and fair-information-rate priorities
- SAP-ingress, SAP-egress and network queues; priority/profile modes; hardware versus service queues
- Policers, profile-capped operation, and access/network/hybrid buffer allocation
- WRED congestion avoidance and slope-policy configuration
- Queue groups, CFHP, hierarchical scheduling and egress-port scheduling
- Customer-header versus encapsulation-header marking and remarking across Layer-2, VPRN and IES services
Domain 5: Ethernet VPN Services (4A0-115)
EVPN is the newest-feeling component and ties together data-center and WAN thinking.
- EVPN concepts, operation, benefits and data-plane choices across Layer-2, Layer-3 and data-center services
- ELAN route types: IMET flooding, MAC-route FDB learning and proxy-ARP
- MPLS and VXLAN configuration and interconnection
- IRB architecture: asymmetric, symmetric interface-less, and numbered/unnumbered interface-ful forwarding
- Ethernet segments, multihoming routes and designated-forwarder election (default or preference methods)
- BUM split-horizon protection, aliasing/all-active load distribution and single-active behavior
- ELINE VPWS: route types, single-homed and all-active/single-active operation
- Connectivity spanning EVPN and traditional MPLS networks; Layer-2/Layer-3 verification
For a deeper walkthrough of these areas and how they relate, see our complete guide to all six SRA content areas.
How the Practical Lab Is Different
The ASRA4A0 lab is where the "score" question changes character entirely. It is a practical assessment: you design and implement live 7750SR service networks, interoperate, diagnose performance and resolve faults using either classic CLI or MD-CLI. It is not a multiple-choice item count, so concepts like "number of questions you can miss" simply don't apply the same way.
Per the issuer's materials, the lab is 7 hours, structured as two independent 3.5-hour sections, excluding a 1-hour lunch. Topics must be configured and verified, though not every topic necessarily appears in a given sitting. The issuer states the lab content is unchanged by the 2026 update. Because the sections are independent, a rough patch in one does not automatically contaminate the other, but you should plan stamina and pacing for the full day.
Domain 6: SRA Practical Lab (ASRA4A0)
The published practical scope spans four technical areas you should be able to configure and verify under time pressure.
- BGP: AS peering, messages and attributes, reflectors and confederations, advertisement and redistribution, selection and policy including regular expressions, advertise-external, add-paths and FRR
- QoS: classification, queues and buffers, policing and shaping, scheduling and rate limits, hierarchical and egress scheduling, CFHP, and marking applied to Layer-2 and Layer-3 services
- VPLS: SAP encapsulation and forwarding, MTU, FDB size and alarms, MAC aging/learning/discard, protection and OAM, BGP autodiscovery, BGP VPLS and LDP VPLS, STP/M-VPLS-RSTP, MC-LAG, pseudowire resilience, ring and full-mesh designs, H-VPLS and PBB scale
- VPRN: MPLS/MP-BGP label signaling, RD/RT, VRF import/export, route selection, full-mesh, hub-spoke, extranet and Internet topologies, static/OSPF/BGP PE-CE routing, and inter-AS A/B/C
Key Takeaway
For the lab, "passing" is about delivering working, verified configurations across the topics presented, not about hitting a numeric threshold you can calculate in advance. Practice by building and verifying, then breaking and repairing, rather than by memorizing facts.
If you're trying to gauge how demanding this is relative to the written side, our difficulty guide for the SRA exam discusses where candidates typically feel the pressure.
The 4A0-C02 Composite and What It Replaces
Nokia offers an optional composite exam, 4A0-C02, that substitutes for only 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106 and 4A0-107. It does not replace 4A0-115, and it does not replace the practical lab. Candidates sometimes assume the composite shortens the whole route more than it does. If you take it, you still owe the EVPN written exam and the 7-hour lab.
| Component | Covered by 4A0-C02? |
|---|---|
| 4A0-102 (BGP) | Yes |
| 4A0-105 (VPLS) | Yes |
| 4A0-106 (VPRN) | Yes |
| 4A0-107 (QoS) | Yes |
| 4A0-115 (EVPN) | No - still required separately |
| ASRA4A0 practical lab | No - still required separately |
Because the composite folds four topic areas into one sitting, the preparation burden is concentrated rather than reduced. Whether it suits you depends on whether you prefer to prove knowledge in one broad assessment or in separate focused exams. Confirm the current composite details on Nokia's official composite page before committing.
Setting Your Own Readiness Bar
With no confirmed cut scores to chase, you need an internal standard that is stricter than a guessed threshold. A practical approach is to define readiness per domain using criteria you can actually test yourself against:
- Explain, don't recite. Can you explain why a route reflector hierarchy scales iBGP, or why a hub/spoke VPRN needs specific import/export policy, without notes?
- Configure from a blank slate. For lab-relevant areas (BGP, QoS, VPLS, VPRN), can you build the service and then verify it with the right show and OAM commands?
- Diagnose misconfigurations. VPLS and VPRN topics explicitly include diagnosis and repair, so practice finding seeded faults, not just building clean configs.
- Distinguish look-alike concepts. Shaping versus policing, asymmetric versus symmetric IRB, single-active versus all-active multihoming, inter-AS option A versus B versus C. These contrasts are where partial knowledge breaks down.
Original practice questions that mirror these skills are a useful supplement. You can try practice questions for SRA preparation to test recall and reasoning on each domain, and our main practice test site is built to be used alongside, not instead of, official Nokia materials. Practice content here is original supplemental study material without issuer endorsement and does not reproduce real exam questions or guarantee results.
A Domain-by-Domain Sequencing Plan
If you apply any structured schedule, tie it to dependencies between the SRA topics rather than to a generic calendar. BGP concepts underpin VPRN's MP-BGP behavior and EVPN's route-based control plane, so it pays to learn them first. QoS is largely independent and can be slotted wherever you need a change of pace. A sample ordering:
BGP foundations (4A0-102)
- Attributes, policy, route reflectors, confederations
- Advertise-external, add-paths, FRR in SR OS
VPRN (4A0-106)
- MP-BGP VPN route distribution, RD/RT, import/export
- Hub/spoke, extranet, inter-AS A/B/C, CSC
VPLS (4A0-105)
- SAP/SDP, FDB, MTU, M-VPLS, MC-LAG
- H-VPLS and PBB scale controls
QoS (4A0-107)
- Classification, queues, policers, WRED, scheduling
- Marking and remarking across Layer-2, VPRN and IES
EVPN (4A0-115)
- Route types, IRB models, multihoming and DF election
- VPWS/ELINE and interworking with MPLS services
Lab integration (ASRA4A0)
- Timed configure-and-verify drills across BGP, QoS, VPLS, VPRN
- Fault-injection practice and CLI/MD-CLI fluency
This is one possible ordering, not a Nokia-mandated sequence. Adjust it to your background: someone fresh from running production VPRNs may compress the early weeks, while a data-center engineer may move EVPN earlier. For a fuller preparation framework, see our SRA study guide for first-attempt success.
Key Takeaway
Because Nokia describes the six areas as unweighted preparation groups, don't skip a "low-value" domain on the assumption it carries less weight. Spread effort according to your weakest areas, not an invented percentage table.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. SRA is a multi-exam route consisting of written exams 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106, 4A0-107 and 4A0-115, followed by the 7-hour ASRA4A0 practical lab. No single score, question count or duration describes the whole certification, and any site claiming one is oversimplifying.
A numeric cut score is not established in the materials reviewed. The lab is a practical assessment, not a multiple-choice test, with two independent 3.5-hour sections where topics must be configured and verified. Focus on delivering working, verified configurations.
No. It substitutes only for 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106 and 4A0-107. You still need the EVPN written exam (4A0-115) and the practical lab. Confirm current details on Nokia's official composite page.
No. The six groups are unweighted preparation groups rather than a single weighted blueprint, and no topic percentages are established. Prepare across all areas and prioritize based on your own weak spots, as discussed in our domains guide.
Use Nokia's official SRA certification page and the dated September 8, 2026 program update rather than third-party summaries. The lab page may still list superseded prerequisites, so the program update and current certification table take precedence. For scheduling logistics, see our notes on SRA exam dates and scheduling.