The learning of CCNA is useful for obtaining entry-level jobs in companies for their IT infrastructure and it prepares you for the certification exam that requires various networking roles such as network specialist, network engineer, and network administrator. Some important facts should be known to every aspirant to secure CCNA Certification. You will know about the basics of CCNA, how much for the CCNA exam, salary details, CCNA vs CompTIA Network+, CCNA exam topics, ways to get CCNA certification, and CCNA courses and training.
Basics of CCNA
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) is an entry-level IT certification offered by Cisco, the networking hardware company. It is framed for validating the knowledge on basic networking skills asked for roles of IT-related positions. CCNA Certification Exam has the following key facts.
- It is required to pass at least one exam for obtaining CCNA certification. (200-301 – CCNA)
- $300 is the exam cost for the CCNA exam excluding tax as of 2021, June.
- No prerequisites for taking the CCNA exam but some experience on computer networks is an added advantage.
- CCNA has requested IT certification for 6000+ job profiles on Glassdoor and 12000+ job profiles on Indeed as of June 2021.
Cost for CCNA Exam
The exam cost for CCNA is $300 +tax. It can be purchased with Cisco learning credits and it can be used as per the preferences of the learners on the Cisco platform. Some of the CCNA Training Institute offered discounts for the examination along with their fees structure.
Salary advantages after CCNA Certification
CCNA Certification exam helps professionals to launch their careers in entry-level and higher-level networking job profiles. Following are the average salary details for some of the popular job profiles as per the mentions of Glassdoor as of June 2021.
- IT Support Specialist – $53,051
- Network Specialist – $64,430
- Network Administrator – $69,243
- Network Engineer – $85,822
- Senior Network Engineer – $116,165
CCNA vs CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Network+ is the certification that validates your skills only on networking knowledge but CCNA is for entry-level jobs. Following are the major differences between CCNA and CompTIA N+.
- CompTIA N+ is a vendor-neutral certification that means it is framed for preparing the professionals to perform any network system or device irrespective of vendors. But CCNA is exclusively for validating skills on the products and tools of Cisco.
- CompTIA N+ is more foundational compared to CCNA and CCNA covers more topics and is very deeper into networking material.
As CCNA is vendor-specific and Cisco is leading the networking market, it creates more scope for the professionals to get jobs easily. Cisco has nearly 50% market share for Ethernet switches, 33% for combined SP and enterprise routers. CCNA is a very good choice for beginners as it is useful for them to learn complete networking concepts, while CompTIA N+ is good for experienced candidates.
Topics covered in CCNA exam
CCNA Certification Exam should be taken in 120 minutes and the code for the Exam is 200-301. CCNA Certification exam is offered only in English and Japanese. Following are the topics and the portion level asked in the examination.
- Networking fundamentals – 20% – This part covers networking components like routers, switches, access points, physical interfaces and types of cables, network topology architecture, Configuration of IPv4 and IPv6, Wireless, Virtualization, IP Parameters, and Basics of Switching.
- Network Access – 20% – This portion has VLANs Configuration and Verification, Layer 2 Protocols, Interswitch Connectivity, Ethernet Channel, Cisco Wireless Architectures, Rapid Spanning Tree Protocols, Wireless LAN access, Physical WLAN components, AP Modes, and AP and WLC management access connections.
- IP Connectivity – 25% – It includes routing tables, IPv4 and IPv6 configuring and verification along with static routing and single-area OSPFv2, router decision-making, first-hop redundancy protocol.
- IP Services – 10% – This part covers NAT and NTP configuring and verification, per-hop behavior, DHCP, DNS, SNMP, and Syslog features description, SSH utilization, and TFTP/FTP.
- Security Fundamentals – 15% – Security topics such as threats, mitigation, physical access control, access control lists, password policies, wireless security protocols, layer 2 security features will be covered in this portion.
- Automation and Programmability – 10% – It has traditional and controller-based network comparison, interpreting JSON data, and automation concepts.
Ways to obtain CCNA Certification
No prerequisites for obtaining CCNA Certification Exam which has the code 200-301 offered by Cisco. It is easy to obtain the CCNA certification in a single attempt if you have the following hands-on exposure related to networking.
- Minimum one year of experience in handling Cisco products and tools.
- Fundamental knowledge of IP Addressing
- Basic understanding of networking fundamentals
CCNA Training Courses
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Exam can be easily attended by the candidates who have accurate knowledge obtained through training courses offered by CCNA Training Institutes. It helps you to prepare for the examinations with hands-on exposure to real-time practices. Make sure the institute you choose covers the curriculum that contains everything of the CCNA exam along with practical implementations. It should equip you with job-ready skills along with required technical skills. Some of the institutes offer CCNA Training Course with lifetime career assistance that covers advanced-level certification exam courses. Choosing the best CCNA Training Center takes you to the place you are desiring for launching your career with a promising future.
Conclusion
CCNA Certification Exam is the beginner-level requirement for the certification exams like CCT and CCNP, and so on. Every certification exam offered by Cisco provides career acceleration possibilities for the aspirants of the networking and IT infrastructure field. SLA Institute is the Best CCNA Certification Training Institute in Chennai offering industry-standard coaching with an experimental-based curriculum that covers everything as per the exam requirements for the students to gain expertise for passing the CCNA Certification Exam and Jobs.