General review of Cisco CCNA certifications

Vendor: Cisco

The CCNA certification is now the status symbol of IT networking and is believed to retain its significance and value more than any certification that is available in the industry right now. The best thing about this certification which attracts the organizations and employers in the industry is the procedure and critical testing an individual is asked to go through. After passing through such tough procedure, the attaining of certification is a proof of the candidate's ability to understand and implement the Cisco products and services. Other than that, the certification is constantly being updated and revised with the latest advancements and changes in the industry. Among the three levels of certifications, CCNA exam is the associate level exam. The candidates opting for this certification are tested for their skills at operating, implementing and troubleshooting of Cisco products and services.

CCNA certification exam is highly regarded in the industry which sets high standards for the certified professionals in the industry. Most industry across the globe are today in demand of Cisco professionals. It has become a set standard for hiring new employees. CCNA exam verifies the skills and understanding of individuals at a level which sets a foundation for them. The power of this certification can be based upon the fact that most industries today working under Cisco network services have had this certification as a must requirement for several job positions in the industry.

The CCNA exam gives the candidates an opportunity to secure their career with good and recognized job opportunities in the Industry. The exam is a promise of good salary, promotion and other valuable increments. Among the list of job roles for which a CCNA professional can opt for, following are the most globally available job positions candidates can opt for through this certification exam:

• Network engineers
• Security administrators
• Network support engineers
• Network administrators
• Routing and switching specialists
• Network professionals
• Network technician
• Network Designer/expert

The main of this certification was to provide individuals with the skills and knowledge required to understand the subjects and concepts of networking technologies. This exam enhances the ability of individuals to install, operate, configure and troubleshoot small to medium sized network industries. These candidates are able to work and explore different technologies and understand the issues involved with them. Among a wide range of subjects and topics this exam covers, following are the most important skill covered:

• Selection of the right network devices
• Identification, recognition and operation of different IP networks and network protocols
• verification and configuration of DHCP,ACL, EIGRP, OSPF and dynamic and static routing
• verification and configuration of VLANs
• configuration, identification and verification of WAN technologies
• Resolving the network errors
• operation and configuration of IPv6 and IPv4 scheme

CCNA exam is based on eight different pathways. While preparing for CCNA exam you can chose between different specializations of your interest. It covers a vast range of topics and opens up a wide area of knowledge for the candidates who opt for this exam with the same CCNA certification cost. Following are the pathways you can select:

• CCNA Security
• CCNA Data Centre
• CCNA Service Provider
• CCNA switching and routing
• CCNA Service Provider Operations
• CCNA Voice
• CCNA wireless
• CCNA Video

The Cisco CCNA exam requires no pre requisites and the candidates need not to file for any other exam before the CCNA. Any candidate can apply for this exam. Though, the experts recommend signing for some practical experience before that, as it is challenging and tough to pass without having any previous experience.

Required exams: As there are no pre requisites of this exam, there are no exams required as well. The candidates will sit for only the one written exam of CCNA. However, the candidates with no job and previous experience in the field may find it difficult to do without taking related courses.

Required courses: There are no necessary courses that an individual should opt for before taking this exam. However, it is recommended that the candidates should go for the hands on lab practice session designed by Cisco or take the ICND part 1 and 2 training sessions.

Study materials: Cisco has designed several learning platforms for the individuals who are interested. For the CCNA exam, you can find various books, articles, practice tests and training materials available by Cisco. Cisco also provides E learning and training video sessions for better learning experience. There are practice labs designed so that the candidate may practice all the procedures practically for better understanding and clarity of concepts. Other than that, there are topic wise books and articles available online.