CCNA or Cisco Certified Network Associate is a prominent
certification designed by Cisco systems in the field of computer networking. It
is developed with the aim of recognizing elementary skills required for
installation and supporting of mid-sized networks. The CCNA certification is
obtained by clearing single ninety minutes written examination. The examination
has no prerequisites but companies ask their employees to attend Cisco CCNA Certification Training courses which help them to prepare for the exam.
CCNA is valid only for 3 years. Post that, a professional
has to either renew it or again appear for the certification.
Besides CCNA, Cisco also provides other certifications for
networking students and professionals comprising of Cisco Certified Network
Professional or CCNP Certification
and Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert or CCIE certification.
Various routing and switching
certification programs based on experience
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Certification
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Experience
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CCENT
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Up to 2 Years
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CCNA Routing and Switching
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Between 1 and 3 Years
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CCNP
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Between 3 and 5 Years
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CCIE
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7 or Above Years
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- WAN and LAN design (including the OSI model)
- IP addressing
- Routers and routing protocols (including OSPF, EIGRP and RIP) or CCNA certification in routing
- WLAN (wireless LAN)
- VLAN (virtual LAN)
- Network security and its management (including ACLs)
Apart from these core certifications, Cisco is known to
offer separate certifications and trainings including CCNA Voice, CCNA Wireless,
CISCO- hardware networking training,
CCNA Security which are aimed to recognize different areas of elementary
computer networking.
Cisco certifications are beneficial for students,
professionals and employers. These certifications help to acquire appropriate
skills of computer networking and offers recognition in terms of networking
professionals. Students pursuing their degrees in the same field get right
skills that could be implemented in the industry and also helps them accomplish
good jobs. With the current job scenario, individuals with years of experience
in networking industry even go for CCNA certifications to get certified.
Some of the benefits of being CCNA certified for
professionals are-
Knowledge: The
CCNA certs help to increase the knowledge base, skills and builds strong
concepts. It helps the professional to stay up to date with advancements of the
networking world.
Highlight CCNA in
your CV: After being CCNA certified, professionals would be able to add the
CCNA for next 3 years in their resume. Participants also get CCNA letter, card
and certificates by Cisco to validate the achievement.
On track for other
certifications: After being certified, professionals can make right choices
about taking other professional level certifications. Participants can figure
out other certifications required for his networking career.
These are some of the benefits of getting CCNA certified.
Being one of the most prominent and respected certification across globe, it is
must for every IT professional.
