CCNA Certification All-In-One

Vendor: Cisco

Certification Overview

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certifications are special certifications launched by Cisco in order to train the candidates in various aspects of network management and maintenance. These certifications tend to equip the candidates with all the necessary skills and knowledge required to work with Cisco devices and systems. There are a number of certifications which come under the category of CCNA. These certifications are quite important for all those who wish to pursue their career in the field of networking and work with Cisco devices. It cannot be argued that loads of organizations all over the world make use of Cisco systems and devices. The CCNA certification will provide you an amazing opportunity to stand out of the crowd and secure respectable jobs in these prestigious institutions.

These certifications cover a broad range of topics and each of these certifications allow you to enter into a totally different profession related to networking. In fact, the amazing jobs which you get in return are nothing as compared to the small CCNA exam fees which you have to pay. Those who are equipped with a valid CCNA certification can get entitled to the following job positions:

• Data Center Manager
• Network Security manager
• Network support engineer
• Service provider
• Network administrator

These CCNA certifications cater to a broad range of topics which will be tested in various exams associated with them. The primary aim of the CCNA certifications is to ensure that the candidate is skilled enough to incorporate whole of his knowledge in practical situations. The candidate will be expected to figure out issues in the networks on his own and to devise effective ways in order to alleviate the problem and troubleshoot it. Following are the main skills which will be tested during the course of these CCNA certifications.

• Data Center network design and implementation
• Configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting of routers and switches.
• Configurations and maintenance of Voice over IPs
• Devising solutions for various networks
• Maintenance of wireless networks
• Fault configuration and performance management
• Implementation of cisco devices

There are a number of CCNA certifications which cater to various topics pertaining to networking. Each of the certifications in this path come along with an exam which you need to clear. The cisco CCNA exam fees vary from exam to exam. However, you should make sure that you follow the pathway in the correct order since many of the topics in these certifications are inter-related and require some previously held skills. Following are the pathways which you are supposed to follow for Cisco certifications.

• CCNA Data Center
• CCNA Security
• CCNA Routing and Switching
• CCNA Service Provider Operations
• CCNA Service Provider
• CCNA Video
• CCNA Wireless
• CCNA Voice

Most of the CCNA certifications do not require a prerequisite since these certifications cater to a very basic level. However, it is still recommended to have some basic level knowledge regarding networking and its usage. The candidates should also be aware of network centric programming, since that will be useful during the course of these certifications as well.

Required Exams

Each certification which come under the category of CCNA, comes along with at least one exam which needs to be cleared in order to acquire the certification. This means that you will have to register for the associated exam, pay the CCNA exam feesand then take the written exam. However, note that you do not need to clear any exam prior to opting for a CCNA certification, since it is a very basic level certification.

Required Courses

It is a quite good idea to take a course for the preparation of the CCNA certifications. This is because the course will equip you with the necessary skills required to ace the exams. You just need to pay the required CCNA course fees to the register for the course and then take the courses accordingly. Some of the courses which you might find valuable include Introducing Cisco Data Center Technologies (DCICT), Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Networking Essentials (IUWNE) and Supporting Cisco Service Provider IP NGN Operations (SSPO). However, make sure that you get training with a certified Cisco trainer.

Study materials

There are loads of study materials available online from which you could choose the one which suits you the best. In fact, you will find study materials pertaining to each certification on Cisco's official website. You can get these study materials for free or maybe by paying small CCNA fees. Make sure to do some sample exams as well so you get an idea of what type of questions you will get in the exams.