CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is an entry-level

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

(IT) certification offered by

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...

. CCNA certification is widely recognized in the IT industry as the foundational step for careers in IT positions and networking roles. Cisco exams routinely change in response to evolving IT trends. In 2020,

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

announced an update to its certification program that "Consolidated and updated associate-level training and certification." Cisco has consolidated the previous different types of Cisco-certified Network Associate with a general CCNA certification. The exams content covers proprietary technology such as

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and its associated

command-line interface A command-line interface (CLI) is a means of interacting with software via command (computing), commands each formatted as a line of text. Command-line interfaces emerged in the mid-1960s, on computer terminals, as an interactive and more user ...

commands. Cisco along with third-party learning partners offer multiple training methods to achieve certification. Training methods include

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, in-person classroom, and book-based learning. Free alternatives are also available, such as community sourced practice exams and YouTube video lectures.

Exam

To achieve a CCNA certification, candidates must achieve a passing score on a proctored Cisco exam No. 200-301. After completion of the exam, candidates receive a score report along with a score breakdown by exam section and the score for the given exam. The exam tests a candidate's knowledge and skills required to install, operate, and troubleshoot a small to medium size enterprise branch network devices. The exam covers a broad range of fundamentals, including network fundamentals, network access, IP connectivity, IP services, security fundamentals, automation, and programmability.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to take the CCNA certification exam. However, if the learning curve is too steep, another starting point of Cisco networking qualifications is the CCST ( Cisco Certified Support Technician) in Networking, IT Support, or Cybersecurity.

Expiry

The CCNA Certification expires after three years. Renewal requires certification holders to register for and pass the same or higher level Cisco re-certification exam(s) every three years.

References

External links

CCNA Certification
Information technology qualifications Computer security qualifications Cisco Systems {{Engineering-stub

Exam

Prerequisites

Expiry

See also

References

External links