Cisco certifications

'Cisco Career Certifications' are IT professional certifications for Cisco products. The tests are administered by Prometric and Pearson VUE

There are three levels of certification: Associate, Professional, and Expert.

Associate-level certifications

The first stage of Cisco's certification system is the "Associate" level and comprises the CCNA and CCDA certifications.

Cisco Certified Network Associate

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Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) is the most commonly-held Cisco certification and indicates apprentice knowledge of networking. CCNA certifies users to install, configure, and operate Cisco products.

A CCNA candidate must prove familiarity and expertise with, among other subjects, Cisco's IOS, TCP/IP, LAN and WAN technologies and management, switching and routing protocols, the OSI model, LAN troubleshooting, and be familiar with a variety of communication protocols, some Cisco-specific and some not.

The test presents between 50 & 60 questions within a 90 minute period; The test includes multiple choice questions (including many multiple-answer questions, e.g. 'which three of these five options'), matching questions, and simulated 'lab' questions that provide a virtual network consisting of several routers and switches to test troubleshooting skills. The test is scored from 300 to 1000 marks, with 300 being the minimum marks that everyone is granted. A grade of 84.9% (849 out of 1000) is required to pass. Pass or fail grade is indicated immediately on completion of test.

There is also a two-test option using the INTRO and ICND tests. This allows the candidate to focus on certain subjects. INTRO covers modules 1 & 2 of the CCNA curiculum and ICND covers 3 & 4.

The certification is valid for three years; at that time a CCNA holder must either re-take the certification exam or take an exam for one of the Professional or Specialist level certifications, such as CCNP. At one point, the CCNA re-certification exam was different from the CCNA exam, but this is no longer the case.

• Internationally there is also the Cisco Academy Programme, which brings the CCNA to learners in all nations and all communities.

Cisco Certified Design Associate

The CCDA is an exam designed for those wishing to attain Cisco certification in the design track.

As of August 2006, to qualify as a CCDA, you need to sit the DESGN exam by studying topics including VoIP, routing, IPv6, and IPv4, as well as various campus network design methodologies and concepts. The DESGN exam has a duration of 75 minutes and covers between 55 and 65 questions.

Professional-level certifications

Cisco Certified Network Professional

The Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) is the middle ground of Cisco technical certifications. The CCNP is considered proof of having the ability to work with medium-sized networks (between 100 and 500 end devices) and with technology such as QoS, broadband, VPNs, and security-minded features. To acquire a CCNP, one must pass four tests, and either re-certify or upgrade to a CCIE every three years. (The CCNA is a prerequisite.)

Cisco Certified Design Professional

Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) is an advanced network design certification provided by Cisco Systems, Inc. Candidates for the certification are tested for advanced knowledge of Cisco devices and the way to interconnect them. This certification is considered a professional level certificate by Cisco Systems. (The CCNA and CCDA are prerequisites.)

Cisco Certified Security Professional

Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) is an advanced network security certification. Candidates for the certification are tested for advanced knowledge of various Cisco security products.

To attain this certification several tests must be passed in the areas of VPN, IDS, PIX firewall, Secure IOS, the Cisco SAFE, as well as having a CCNA or equivalent (CCNP or CCIE).

Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional

Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional (CCIP) is a professional certification covering the end-to-end protocols used in large scale networks.

To attain this certification tests must be passed in the areas of routing, BGP, MPLS and Quality of service.

Cisco Certified Voice Professional

Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP) is a certification covering all aspects of IP Telephony/VOIP networks and applications.

To attain this certification, five tests must be passed in the areas of Quality of service, Cisco VoIP, IP Telephony Troubleshooting, Cisco IP Telephony, and Gateway Gatekeeper. As VoIP demand increases, so does demand for CCVPs.

Recertification

To recertify any Professional level certification, pass any 642 exam that is part of the professional level curriculum after August 18 2006, or pass a current CCIE written exam.

Expert-level certifications: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert

The expert-level certification is the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE). It is the highest level of professional certification that Cisco provides. There are 5 active CCIE tracks, as below. As of September 1, 2006 there are 13,756 people with active CCIE certifications. The CCIE certification was deemed the most prestigious IT certification in the year 2005, providing those certified with the highest paying jobs in the IT industry.

The CCIE is comprised of a written exam and a "lab" exam (each in the specific area of the chosen track). The written exam is required to take the lab exam, and has a cost of $300 USD per attempt. Upon successful completion of the written exam, the candidate then qualifies to register for the lab portion. The CCIE Lab is currently $1,250 USD per attempt. CCIE Labs are offered only at Cisco locations. There are currently 10 locations to take the "lab" exam worldwide. The locations are Bangalore, Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, Research Triangle Park, NC, San Jose, CA, Sao Paulo, Sydney and Tokyo.

The Lab is an 8-hour hands-on exam designed to demonstrate that the candidate not only knows the theory, but is also able to practice it. Many prospective CCIEs need multiple attempts to pass the lab exam.

There are no formal prerequisites for the CCIE exam, but Cisco recommends one has at least 3 - 5 years experience in networking before attempting to become a CCIE. CCIE was the first Cisco Certified qualification, and as such there were no other certifications that could be taken prior. The development of the associate and professional certifications was due to recognition of the fact that a CCIE is overkill for many networking personnel, and also for the vast majority of businesses who employ such people, and that certifications needed to be offered at lower levels. Despite the development of the lower certifications, Cisco has chosen not to make them formal requirements for the CCIE certification.

It is possible to hold multiple CCIE certifications. This is done by passing both the written and the lab exam in a particular track. As of August 1, 2006 there are 898 individuals who hold multiple CCIE certifications. Of those, 147 hold three or more CCIE certifications. Currently, Adeel Ashraf, Usman Abbas, Donnie Carlo, Raymond Nicolich, and Drew Bailey are the only five people who hold all 5 CCIE certifications.

CCIE

Regarded as the highest level of Cisco certification on the hierarchy of Cisco networking solutions and implementing professional training, CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) certifications are highly desired by IT professionals. Prestigious and extremely popular worldwide, Cisco CCIE certifications are also very difficult to achieve. In present, Cisco CCIE certifications are the trademark for remarkable skills and experience regarding Cisco networking solutions and design. Cisco Certified Experts hold a complete set of specific theoretical and practical abilities required for designing, installing, configuring, troubleshooting and implementing security, as well as operating with LAN, WAN and dial access services for companies and organizations that work with complex networks.

There are five major Cisco CCIE world-renowned certifications, structured in the following areas: Routing and Switching, Service Provider, Security, Voice and Storage. Persons who have obtained one of these Cisco CCIE accreditations can easily find great job opportunities inside the best IT companies worldwide. Cisco CCIE certifications are the key to building solid, stable and financially rewarding careers.

CCIE Routing & Switching

Routing and Switching is by far the most popular track, and covers a wide range of subjects, such as: LAN, WAN, Ethernet, TCP/IP, OSPF and BGP and many more.

CCIE Security

The Security track concentrates on network security and covers subjects such as Cisco PIX firewall, IOS security, Wireless LAN, security and many others.

CCIE Service Provider

The Service Provider track focuses on networking in the service provider industry. Subjects include Optical networks, DSL, WAN switching, Voice over IP, Content Networking, Broadband Cable and Metro Ethernet.

CCIE Voice

The Voice track concentrates on voice solutions for the enterprise and includes subjects such as QoS, MGCP, Call Manager (Cisco's VoIP PABX) and Unity, Cisco's Unified Messaging platform.

CCIE Storage Networking

The latest addition to the CCIE certification tracks is the CCIE Storage Networking track. As the name suggests, the Storage Networking track concentrates on storage networking topics, such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCIP and FICON.

Tools For Study

Previously, certification exams consisted of only objective type questions such as true/false or multiple choice questions. However, recently more and more certification vendors, including Cisco, are using simulated labs for examining a candidate's expertise in a given situation. For this reason, it is essential that those aspiring for Cisco certifications have sufficient hands-on experience. For this purpose, router simulators are available from a few vendors that simulate an actual router network, but with limited amount of functionality built in. Typically, the commands supported by a router simulator are a sub-set of the full command-set of an actual router. However, simulators are relatively cheap (compared to purchase of physical routers) and cover the command-set required for respective exam objectives.

External links

• Cisco Systems official website
• Cisco Career Certifications & Paths official website
• Cisco Networking Academy Program