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The Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing & Switching exam, 640-802 CCNA, is available to candidates as a combined exam from the individual Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1) v1.0 and the Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2) v1.0 courses.
This article will review the CCNA certification from an overview perspective along with an outline of the exam topics as well as some training resources that are available.
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The CCNA exam is designed for candidates with at least one year of networking experience and it will test a candidate’s knowledge and ability to troubleshoot a small to medium size enterprise network installation and their ability to operate and maintain it.
The subject matter for the CCNA includes but is not limited to:
The CCNA exam is made up of two entry level exams 640-822 ICND1 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1) and 640-816 ICND2 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2).
Candidates can study for both of these entry level exams and take them separately or study for the combined 640-802 CCNA exam.
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[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] – Most of the time, training facilities and / content providers do not have singular classes for the 640-822 ICND1 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1) and 640-816 ICND2 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2) courses.
They will offer the combined 640-802 CCNA course as it encompasses the skills required from both entry level titles.
TrainSignal’s Cisco CCNA Training DVD content delivered by Chris Bryant with his 10 years of extensive experience in both the practical and theoretical sides of Cisco and Networking technologies is a good example of that combined content scenario.
The CCNA exam is 90 minutes and the total test is approximately 50 questions.
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It is presently available in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Korean, French, Portuguese
All of the Cisco Career Certification exams include the following test formats:
On the Cisco website there is a short tutorial that you can run to get yourself familiar with the exam process.
When to take and pass the combined 640-802 CCNA exam you gain the Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing & Switching certification and it will be valid for a three year period. To recertify once your three years is up you can take and pass the ICND2 exam, or retake and pass the CCNA exam again in its current form at that time.
Alternately, you can take and pass any of the CCNA Concentration exam to recertify:
You also have the option to pass the current Design (CCDA) or you can take and pass any 642 – XXX professional level or Cisco Specialist exam (excluding Sales Specialist exams), or pass a current CCIE or CCDE written exam.
The summary information on the CCNA exam topics for 640-802 are provided on the Cisco website. The topics are provided there as general guidelines regarding content that may be found on the exam but it is important to note that other related topics may also appear on the exam.
The major topic areas and some of the subtopics are:
Once you have successfully gained your CCNA there are a number of paths that you can continue on with respect to your training and deciding other certifications you might take.
At the Associate level there is the Cisco Certified Design Associate CCDA Certification.
There is also the Routing and Switching (CCNA) certification, the Security (CCNA Security) certification, the Voice (CCNA Voice) certification as well as the Wireless (CCNA Wireless) certification.
At the Professional level you have the following certification tracks:
[NOTES FROM THE FIELD] – Some of these exams are retiring this year over the summer. I have another article titled Changes in the CCNP exam that outline some of these changes
The Trainsignal family of professional computer training suites offers a number of study and training solutions for the CCNP exam and the prerequisite exams.
Below are all the links to Trainsignal’s exam preps for the current CCNA and CCNP exams
The two of these together can get you to your CCNA certification. If you’re looking to take the in one shot CCNA you could just use the CCNA total solution and to achieve your CCNP, the Train Signal CCNP Training Package is also available.
You can choose the entire suite or order the training separately via the individual components:
There are also certification tracks at the Expert level, including:
There is one exam presently at the Architect level titled Cisco Certified Architect
Additionally there are a few Specialist certifications including:
In this article we reviewed review the summary information regarding the CCNA certification from an overview perspective as well as taking a look at the common body of knowledge for the 640-802
We wrapped up with a quick look at some of the additional training and certifications you can take a look at as you progress in the field and expand your knowledge of the area of Cisco technologies.
Thanks for investing your time in my Introduction to the Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing & Switching (CCNA) certification article.
I am always looking forward to any feedback you have on this or any of the articles I have written so feel free to offer your feedback.
Additionally, I would welcome any suggestions topics of interest that you would like to see and based on demand and column space I’ll do what I can to deliver them to you.
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