Cisco Career Certifications are IT Professional certifications for Cisco Systems products. The tests are administered by Pearson VUE. The five levels of certification are: Entry, Associate, Professional, Expert, and Architect along with targeted certifications for Specialist and Technician. These are available in seven different subject areas: Routing & Switching, Design, Network Security, Service Provider, Storage Networking, Voice and Wireless.
Training
The traditional educational institution that teaches Cisco skills is called the “Cisco Networking Academy”.[1] Cisco Networking Academy students can request exam vouchers that allow them to take a required exam over an extended period of time.Cisco courses are also offered at collegiate institutions, and training is available from Cisco Learning Partners, such as the Cisco 360 Learning Program for CCIE and the Cisco Learning Network.
Certification
The table below shows the different paths and levels for CISCO certifications. To actually take CISCO cert exams, you must find a test center who works with Pearson-Vue. Cisco says there are no prerequisites for CCIE exams, but they are written exams and they recommend lots of experience. There is also a hands-on lab test. Both the written and lab tests are USD. Please note that “Senior Associate” is not an official CISCO level, but the Network Security, Voice, and Wireless paths all use CCNA as a prerequisite. CISCO lists them at the same ‘associate’ level as a CCNA.
CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) is a certification from Cisco.
CCNA certification is a first-level Cisco Career certification. CCNA certification validates the ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-size routed and switched networks, including implementation and verification of connections to remote sites in a WAN.
To achieve CCNA certification, one must earn a passing score on Cisco exam #640-802, or combined passing scores on both the ICND1 #640-822 and ICND2 #640-816 exams. Passing the ICND1 grants one the Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) certification. Passing scores are set by using statistical analysis and are subject to change. At the completion of the exam, candidates receive a score report along with a score breakout by exam section and the passing score for the given exam. Cisco does not publish exam passing scores because exam questions and passing scores are subject to change without notice.
The use of IP, EIGRP, Frame Relay, RIPv2, VLANs, Ethernet, and access control lists is all included within the curriculum. Cisco produces a breakdown of the CCNA objectives on their website. The exams themselves include a mixture of question types. Multiple choice, drag and drop, testlets, and simulations are the most common.