Main things about Cisco CCNA certifications

Certification: Cisco CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate

Certification Overview

Cisco certification is creating opportunities for individuals who have the spark in them to succeed in the world of networking. The Cisco CCNA certificates are associate level certification meaning that the basic aspects related to networking are covered in this section. However, the term basic must not be underestimated because the courses demand from its students a concrete understanding and implementation of basic tools and techniques related to networking. Therefore, a professional CCNA degree can do you a world of good.

Before taking the exam, one should get himself familiar with the type of certification; he is going to sit for. This includes the question pattern, course contents, training videos, discussion forums, check lists, preparation modules. After making an outline of the plan, he should start taking necessary preparations. Cisco offers CCNA courses on the following: Data Center, Switching, Routing, Service Provider, Service Provider Operations, Network Security, Voice, Video and Wireless.

The CCNA certified professionals have occupied top positions in some of the reputed IT firms all around the world. They are also getting an attractive salary compared to normal network professionals. Hence, a professional CCNA certificate increases the value of the CV. The employers could be attracted if you have a professional certification in your CV. There are also other additional benefits you can enjoy getting a certified CCNA degree. Your skill levels, operating in challenging network infrastructure will improve drastically. You will have the capacity and the ability to devise strategies required in the functioning of the vital parts of the organization. This also leads to an increase in confidence and self-satisfaction.

Required exams

The associate level of exams is based on understanding of basic concepts and techniques related to network engineering. The entire field of network engineering can be divided into modules which are named above in the overview section. Single exam paper exists for routing and switching, security, service provider operations, voice and wireless and double exam papers exists for CCNA data center, service provider and video certifications. The questions are conceptual and technical and memorizing the key terms will not be enough to pass the exam because the questions always look into detail. The different modules are:

1. CCNA Data Center: This is more about the efficient management of data centers in a large organization.
2. CCNA Routing and Switching: The impacts router and switch have on an organization are studied in this particular section. The network issues related to the devices are also introduced in this course.
3. CCNA security: The use of network security mechanisms to neutralize any attacks to the organization is discussed in this course.
4. CCNA service provider: Makes the network professionals competent in working in service provider organization.
5. CCNA service provider operations: This certification looks into building the skills and expertise needed to handle core business infrastructure in a service provider firm.
6. CCNA Voice: Teaches mechanisms to administer a voice networks.
7. CCNA Video: Teaches mechanisms to administer a video over IP networks.
8. CCNA Wireless: Completely deals with administering wireless networks.

Required courses

The training courses for different certifications differ. According to the cisco authority, different certifications have specialized training modules. There are two kinds of training courses offered. One is the online training course offered by different online institutions. The other is provided by different institutions and requires the student to appear in the training sessions. The training courses offered online also have CCNA virtual lab which helps the candidates get insight about the mechanisms covered in a real practical lab. CCNA virtual training centers online are designed for candidates who are busy with jobs during the day and can complete their preparations online. The topics being covered in the lab are also uploaded in the CCNA virtual lab online so it is basically the same thing.

Study materials

Internet, gives the facility for CCNA certification candidates to access thousands of resource related to the CCNA exam. As discussed above, many online training centers provide quality resource materials like lecture sheets and discussion papers. They also provide videos which demonstrate any practical skills with ease. The training centers also provide its students with opportunities to sit for practice tests or mock tests. Mock tests questions are based on the real exam question and are usually set by CCNA or CCNP certified professionals. Therefore, a lot of study materials could be accessed from online.

On another note, achieving a CCNA certificate is not easy as it seems. You need to invest in hours of study and hard work to get a brilliant result.