The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is among Cisco’s most covetable post-entry-level IT certifications. The examination evaluates the knowledge and skills required of a network professional to install, configure, and fix medium-sized networks.
The CCNA exam covers IP services, networking and security fundamentals, programmability, and automation. Designed to be versatile and agile, it validates the skills of a network professional required to manage today’s highly advanced networks.
The average CCNA cost ranges from Rs.22000 to Rs.25000. Since it is the foundation course of the Cisco certification paths, candidates do not require any previous certifications or give any exams before the CCNA examination. You can get further details from this source.
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However, certain restrictions do exist for candidates appearing for the examination. These are:
- The minimum age required for appearing in the examination is 13 years.
- Candidates between the ages of 13 and 17 need parental consent to appear for the exam and get the certification.
- Candidates above 18 years do not require parental consent to appear for the examination.
- The test center requires the candidate’s digital photo, signature, and two types of personal identification. Candidates must carry these documents on the day of the examination.
Apart from the above restrictions, candidates having at least a year of networking experience might get preference.
How much salary can I earn with CCNA certification?
Both entry-level and higher-level networking positions often accept CCNA certifications.
Below are some of the job titles that may request CCNA certifications and their average income in the US.
Position Salary (average US)
Network administrator $69,243
IT support specialist $53,051
Network engineer $85,822
Network specialist $64,430
Senior network engineer $116,165
So What is on the CCNA examination?
Let us take a look at the breakdown of the exam:
The total duration of the 200-301 CCNA examination is 2 hours or 120 minutes. The languages of the paper include both English and Japanese.
The breakdown of the CCNA examination is given as follows:
- Network fundamentals: This section comprises at least 20% of the entire paper. The syllabus includes network components like switches, access points and routers, networking topology and architectures, physical interfaces, and cabling types. It also includes both IPv4 and IPv6 configuration and IP parameters.
- Network access: This section also comprises at least 20% of the entire paper. The syllabus includes the configuration and verification of VLANs, inter-switch connectivity, discovery protocols of Layer 2, and EtherChannel. It also has Cisco wireless architectures, physical WLAN components, AP modes, both AP and WLC management access connections, and wireless LAN access.
- IP connectivity: This section also comprises at least 25% of the entire paper. The syllabus includes routing tables and decision-making and the configuration and verification of IPv4 and IPv6 static routing, including single area OSPFv2 and first-hop redundancy protocol.
- IP services: This section also comprises at least 10% of the entire paper. The syllabus includes the configuration and verification of NAT and NTP and describes the following terms: DHCP, DNS, and SNMP.
- Security fundamentals: This section also comprises at least 15% of the entire paper. The syllabus includes topics of threats and mitigation, physical access control and passwords, and access control lists. It also includes Layer 2 security features- wireless security protocols.
- Automation and programmability: This section also comprises at least 10% of the entire paper. It includes identifying differences between traditional networks with controller-based networks, including automation concepts and interpreting JSON data.
Candidates can prepare with the help of books and available study materials. They can also enroll in the Spot Club classes to avail their study materials.
Conclusion
The CCNA examination prepares and evaluates a network professional for the ever-changing and rapidly developing networking world.
There is no prerequisite for taking a Cisco course before appearing for the CCNA examination. A candidate can appear for the examination after applying on any day as per their choice in the nearest authorized test center. The candidate must have valid ID proof and maintain the age restrictions.
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