What is CCNA? Entry-level networking certification
CCNA is an entry-level networking certification that will help you find employment as an IT network specialist, network administrator, or network engineer. Women seeking CCNA certification at home.
What is the CCNA certification?
CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is an entry-level IT (Information Technology) certification issued by Cisco, a manufacturer of networking equipment. CCNA verifies knowledge of basic networking concepts that are often required when working in IT networking The CCNA certification in Dubai is designed to help you become certified in the basic concepts of networking.
Here is a brief overview of the basics.
To become certified as a CCNA, you must pass one exam, the 200-301 CCNA.
As of June 2021, the CCNA exam fee is $300, including fees.
There are no prerequisites for taking the exam, but it is recommended that you have some study and experience in computer networking.
The CCNA is a commonly sought certification in the IT field; as of June 2021, the certification is listed on more than 6,000 job postings in the United States, according to Glassdoor and Indeed.
How much is the CCNA exam fee?
The fee to take the CCNA exam is US$300 plus fees. You may also purchase the exam using Cisco Study Credits. This is a prepaid credit purchased by the company that allows employees to customize how they use their credit on the Cisco platform.
Want to cut costs? If you think a CCNA certification in Dallas would be beneficial to your employer, ask your manager if the company will cover the cost of the exam or training (or both).
How much will I pay for my CCNA certification?
The CCNA certification is useful for both entry-level and advanced networking positions; here are some of the positions that may require a CCNA certification and the average annual salary in the U.S. Salary data is from Glassdoor and is current as of June 2021.
CCNA and CompTIA Network+
Like the CCNA, the CompTIA Network+ is a networking knowledge certification and is often use by professionals who want to improve their networking skills. There are several important differences.
Unlike the CCNA, CompTIA Network+ is a vendor-independent certification. That is, it prepares you to work with any networking device or system, regardless of the manufacturer; the CCNA only tests Cisco products and tools.
Many people think that the Network+ certification is more important than the CCNA. Of course, the CCNA covers more topics and provides a deeper understanding of networking than Network+.
Which one to choose? Despite being solely owned by Cisco, many people choose the CCNA because Cisco products dominate the network technology market.” Cisco had a 47% share of the Ethernet switch market and 33% of the overall SP and enterprise router market [1]. Cisco products are widely use and useful to know. Many students also believe that the knowledge gained from exposure to Cisco products can transfer to networking products from other manufacturers.
Cisco offers an online course called Implementing and Administering Solutions that is design to help you pass the CCNA exam. The course costs $800 as of June 2021 [2].
You can take the Computer Communications specialization on Coursera for a full introduction to the world of networking, or take individual courses if you want to focus on specific skills, like TCP/IP, or packet switching networks. Though the specialization won’t explicitly prepare you for the CCNA, you’ll learn much of the fundamentals of computer networks.
If you need a quick refresher on networks, or are still deciding if networking is for you, you might consider completing the Introduction to Networks and Cisco Devices guided project on Coursera. The project can complete in under three hours.
Since Network+ focuses on the basics, it may be useful for those who have no prior networking experience or who find CCNA too difficult or too broad for their needs. It is entirely possible to take Network+ and then do CCNA when you have more experience.
What other Cisco networking certifications are there?
The Cisco Certification Technician (CCT) is another entry-level Cisco certification. The goal of the CCT is to give you the skills to maintain and service network equipment in the field. However, it does not address networking concepts, which is probably one of the reasons why it is not as sought after as the CCNA, even for entry-level IT positions.
The Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) is the next level up from CCNA. The CCNP also offers several specializations to choose from depending on the career path you want to take
6 network certifications for your IT career.
What is the content of the CCNA exam?
The CCNA 200-301 exam is 120 minutes long and is administer in English and Japanese.
The CCNA exam is divide as follows:
Network Basics (20%): network components such as routers, switches, and access points, network topology architecture, physical interfaces, cable types, IPv4 and IPv6 configuration, IP parameters, wireless network basics, virtualization, and switching.
Network Access (20%): VLAN configuration and verification, inter-switch connectivity, Layer 2 and EtherChannel discovery protocols, Rapid Spanning Tree protocols, Cisco wireless architectures, AP modes, physical WLAN components, AP and WLC management links, and wireless LAN access.
IP Connectivity (25%): routing tables, router decisions, configuring and verifying IPv4 and IPv6 static routing and OSPFv2 per area, first-hop redundancy protocols.
IP Services (10%): configuration and verification of NAT and NTP; description of DHCP, DNS, SNMP, and Syslog; per-hop behavior; use of SSH; description of TFTP/FTP.
Security Basics (15%): security concepts such as threats and mitigation, physical access control, password policy, access control lists, Layer 2 security features, and wireless security protocols.
Automation and programmability (10%): comparison of traditional networks with control-based networks, automation concepts, JSON data interpretation.
How to become CCNA certified
To become CCNA certified, you must pass the CCNA 200-301 exam offered by Cisco. There are no prerequisites for the exam, but Cisco reports that CCNA candidates typically have the following experience before taking the exam:
At least one year of experience using and deploying Cisco products and solutions.
Basic knowledge of IP addressing
Knowledge of network fundamentals
CCNA Courses and Training
There are many online courses to prepare you for the CCNA exam. There may also be on-site courses at your local university that offer the same thing.
