Practical laboratory exercises are an important component in computer networking education. They provide practical experience necessary for understanding and mastering the subject, and help with building important skills like problem-solving and troubleshooting. Two primary methods used in higher education for practical exercises in the field of computer networking are hands-on labs and simulation environments. Both can be valuable tools in learning and practicing computer networks. By analyzing practical final exams of the last few generations in our Computer Networks course, and comparing our results and conclusions with other authors' findings and conclusions in relevant literature, this paper tries to find an answer to what extent the selected practical teaching method impacts the final results of students. Although many related works find that both methods have their differences and each method offers several advantages and disadvantages compared to the other, our finding is that, in the overall success in practical final exam, other factors can play a greater role.

Keywords: Computer networks, hands-on, networking skills, simulation.