CCNA – Cisco Certified Network Associate

CCNA certification is a second (associate) 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.

The Cisco exams have changed several times; for example, in 2013, Cisco announced an update to its certification program that “aligns certification and training curricula with evolving industry job roles.” There are now several different types of Cisco-Certified Network Associate, with the original CCNA certification being re-designated as “CCNA Routing and Switching.”

The content of the exams is proprietary. Cisco and its learning partners offer a variety of different training methods, including books published by Cisco Press, and online and classroom courses available under the title “Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices.”

To achieve CCNA Routing and Switching certification, one must earn a passing score on Cisco exam #200-120, or combined passing scores on both the “Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices” ICND1 #100-101 and ICND2 #200-101 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 200-120 CCNA is the composite exam associated with the Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing & Switching certification. This exam tests a candidate’s knowledge and skills required to install, operate, and troubleshoot a small to medium size enterprise branch network. The topics include connecting to a WAN; implementing network security; network types; network media; routing and switching fundamentals; the TCP/IP and OSI models; IP addressing; WAN technologies; operating and configuring IOS devices; extending switched networks with VLANs; determining IP routes; managing IP traffic with access lists; establishing point-to-point connections; and establishing Frame Relay connections.

Key Learning Points:

Module 1: Networking Fundamentals

• Chapter 1: The TCP/IP and OSI Networking Models
• Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Ethernet LANs
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of WANs
• Chapter 4: Fundamentals of IPv4 Addressing and Routing
• Chapter 5: Fundamentals of TCP/IP Transport and Applications

Module 2: Ethernet LANs and Switches

• Chapter 6: Building Ethernet LANs with Switches
• Chapter 7: Installing and Operating Cisco LAN Switches
• Chapter 8: Configuring Ethernet Switching
• Chapter 9: Implementing Ethernet Virtual LANs
• Chapter 10: Troubleshooting Ethernet LANs

Module 3: IP Version 4 Addressing and Subnetting

• Chapter 11: Perspectives on IPv4 Subnetting
• Chapter 12: Analyzing Classful IPv4 Networks
• Chapter 13: Analyzing Subnet Masks
• Chapter 14: Analyzing Existing Subnets

Module 4: Implementing IP Version 4

• Chapter 15: Operating Cisco Routers
• Chapter 16: Configuring IPv4 Addresses and Routes
• Chapter 17: Learning IPv4 Routes with OSPFv2
• Chapter 18: Configuring and Verifying Host Connectivity

Module 5: Advanced IPv4 Addressing Concepts

• Chapter 19: Subnet Design
• Chapter 20: Variable-Length Subnet Masks
• Chapter 21: Route Summarization

Module 6: IPv4 Services

• Chapter 22: Basic IPv4 Access Control Lists
• Chapter 23: Advanced IPv4 ACLs and Device Security
• Chapter 24: Network Address Translation

Module 7: IP Version 6

• Chapter 25: Fundamentals of IP Version 6
• Chapter 26: IPv6 Addressing and Subnetting
• Chapter 27: Implementing IPv6 Addressing on Routers
• Chapter 28: Implementing IPv6 Addressing on Hosts
• Chapter 29: Implementing IPv6 Routing