CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Professional

The CCNA credential serves as proof of the IT professional's real-world, practical knowledge of Cisco networking.

Examination

Competencies:

This exam is used to determine the competencies of the IT professional regarding Internetworking and Cisco networking. Examinees must thoroughly understand fundamental networking, which includes:

• Network identification
• Resource sharing
• Installation
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• Security

There are eight main competencies tested in the exam:

1. OSI model
2. Bridging/switching: VLANs, Spanning Tree Protocol
3. Network protocols: TCP/IP, SPX/IPX
4. Routing: RIPv2, EIGRP
5. WAN protocols: ISDN, frame relay, ATM, HDLC
6. Network Maintenance: DNS, Telnet
7. LAN design: Ethernet, Token Ring, and others
8. Cisco Internetworking operating system (IOS) and Networking basics

Structure:

For CCNA certification, examinees take a single 90-minute exam consisting of 55-65 questions, including questions based on hands-on simulations.

Prep courses:

The following courses are used in preparing students for this exam:

• IS 284 Routers and Switches I
• IS 286 Routers and Switches II
• IS 289 Applied Routers and Switches

Certification

Upon receiving the CCNA designation, the professional is qualified in Routing and Switching. The CCNA is valid for three years.

View CCNA career paths