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Cisco declared on March 26, 2013, that it was planning to update or redesign the associate-level certification programs. This includes the CCNA and Cisco CCENT certifications. Cisco works on restructuring these courses to ensure that the course material is aligned with the changes in the technology in the routing and switching industry. The course material for these courses also includes advanced switching and routing technologies, including security, remote, and voice. This certification was previously called the CCNA Certification and has now been broken down into multiple segments, and one segment is the routing and switching certification.

Additionally, most associate-level examinations, including the CCNA Voice, CCNA SP Operations, CCNA Security, and CCNA Wireless examinations, consider the CCENT Certification as a prerequisite. You should visit the Cisco Learning Network to learn more about these associate-level certifications. This network will also help you learn more about the numerous changes that are made to the syllabus.

Are there changes being made to the CCNA Routing and Switching Exam?

Cisco has split the CCNA certification into the ICND1 and ICND2 examinations. Cisco has included the following topics in the syllabus for the certification: IPv6, investigating, and the most recent Cisco routing and switching technology and software. Cisco, as mentioned earlier, always includes newer concepts in the syllabus since improvements and advancements are being made in this industry. The exams 640-816 ICND2, 640-822, and 640-802 will now be replaced by the 200-101 ICND2, 100-101 ICND1, and 200-120 CCNA respectively.

Why have so many new topics been included in the CCNA and CCENT Routing and Switching exams?

Numerous Cisco clients across the globe have affirmed that they require every employee with a Cisco certification, especially a CCNA certification, to have better abilities and knowledge. To accommodate this request, Cisco has moved a few subjects from the ICND2 certification to the ICND1 certification examination. If you pass the ICND1 test now, you will undoubtedly have better skills and more knowledge when compared to a student who passed the previous ICND1 examination. The new syllabus will now help you learn more about the different topics covered in this examination. Ensure that you clear this examination before you appear for the ICND2 examination. This addition made to the syllabus is indeed slightly difficult for most students to comprehend, but it is always a good idea to clear these examinations if you want to have the edge over your competition.

If I want to obtain the CCNA Routing and Switching Certification, what are the necessary requirements that I need to adhere to?

If you want to obtain the CCNA Routing and Switching Certification, you must clear the following exams:

Is there a formal training course that I will need to attend to obtain the certification?

There is no necessity to attend any formal training if you want to appear for these examinations. That being said, it is always a good idea for you just take up a few instructor-led sessions while you are preparing for the examination. These sessions will give you the chance to learn more about the subject.

Where should I register to take up an instructor-led training course?

It is imperative to keep in mind that only those Learning Partners who are authorized by Cisco are allowed to provide instructor-led sessions. These sessions will always be given by those instructors who have been certified by Cisco. You should visit the Learning Partner Locator on the Cisco site to identify the centers that are the closest to you.

Should I meet any prerequisites before I appear for the CCNA Routing and Switching certification examination?

Cisco has not laid out any prerequisites for the CCNA Routing and Switching examination. It is always a good idea to have some experience in this field before you appear for the examination.

What job roles can I apply for once I obtain the CCNA Routing and Switching Certification?

You can apply for the following jobs or roles when you obtain the certification:

How soon must I recertify my certification?

As with every other certification offered by Cisco, the CCNA routing and switching certification are valid only for a specific period, which is three years. You must recertify yourself once the period is over. To learn more about the recertification process, read through chapter six.

Is there any self-study material that I can use to prepare for the certification?

You can use different self-study material available on the Cisco website to prepare for the examination. Some of these options are:

An issue with the Internet is that it gives some people the power to spread incorrect information about anything. The Internet also allows rumors and incorrect information to spread quickly. The fact is that the story is always exaggerated as it moves from one platform to the next, and the CCNA examinations are no exception to this. There are a few myths about the CCNA and CCNP examinations that have been covered in this section.

The questions you are asked in the exam are based on the survey that you fill out at the start of the exam.

Every student is required to complete a survey before he or she begins the test. This survey will ask the candidates about the different topics they are comfortable with and also talks about some technologies that they are comfortable with. It is difficult to rate yourself ISDN, Frame Relay, and other technologies since you are about to take an examination that covers those topics. Therefore, it is possible that you may worry about how the questions will impact your examination. The truth is that your answers to the questions in the survey do not matter. There are some forums and posts on the Internet, which will tell you that you must always rate yourself excellent on any topic that is being asked. This is because they believe that the questions asked from that topic will be easy for one to cover. If you lower the rating, the difficulty of the questions asked from that topic will increase. Cisco has debunked this myth, and you mustn't read too much into the questions asked in the survey. You should not worry too much when you are filling out the survey.

When you answer a question incorrectly, the exam will ask you questions from that topic until you get one answer right.

Cisco does not follow the pattern of adaptive testing in any of the certification examinations that it conducts. All the questions asked during the examination will be taken from a large question base. If you have appeared for the Novell examination or the GMAT, you will understand what I mean by adaptive testing. Therefore, CCNA examinations are not nerve-wracking.

Your answer will be marked wrong for the simulator questions if you include an extra command.

Both the CCNA and CCNP examinations use the simulator engine. This engine will only act like a router or a switch. Therefore, you can use some extra commands during the examination. You will be given instructions and information about the engine that you are using before the exam. Remember to relax and try to configure the switch the same way you did when you were practicing your labs.

Once you walk into the examination room with a combination of the required knowledge, the troubleshooting skills, theoretical and practical knowledge, and hands-on experience, you can pass your exam. Do not let what some people believe about the examination deter you from applying.

Regardless of which CCNA certification you appear for, you will notice that the questions are spread across the different topics covered in the syllabus. You will see that the questions are not only based on TCP/IP topics but also cover questions on how routing protocols can be used to span trees. There is a lot to cover in the CCNA examination, and it is for this reason that the exam is deemed to be difficult. Instructors and experts state that every candidate should always focus on the ICND subjects if they wish to create a foundation for themselves. This means that you will need to understand everything in the material for those exams.

The CCNA examination is very quick in the sense that you only have ninety minutes to answer sixty questions. It is very difficult for anybody to answer those many questions in a short period, but if you are well prepared, you can zoom past the questions in no time. You must remember to focus on your training and experience. Most of the questions in the examination will focus on real-world problems.

The CCNA Routing and Switching Certifications will teach you about the different fundamentals of Cisco networking if you are looking to work in that field. This certification focuses on foundational IP networking skills. It also teaches individuals how to troubleshoot any issues. A CCNA certification will help you learn more about designing and configuring LAN switches, identify basic threats, configure IP routers, install and verify the basic IPv4 and IPv6 network, understand topologies, configure EIGRP, connect to a WAN, configure OSPF in IPv4 and IPv6, understand network issues and wide area of the technologies, understand device management and Cisco licensing. You will learn more about the course and some skills that will help you in your job. Your career will also improve once you obtain CCNA certification since this examination will ensure that you develop the necessary skills to perform effectively in your company. Numerous organizations accept this certificate since it will help you learn more about networking.

This is the first module that is covered in the syllabus, and it includes fundamental topics like TCP/IP protocols, firewalls, etc. and others related to networks. Ipv4, Ipv6 address details are also included. Let us look at some of the topics covered in this module:

● Compare and contrast OSI and TCP/IP models

● Compare and contrast TCP and UDP protocols

● Describe the impact of infrastructure components in an enterprise network

● Describe the effects of cloud resources on enterprise network architecture

● Traffic path to internal and external cloud services

● Virtual services

● Compare and contrast collapsed core and three-tier architectures

● Configure and verify IPv6 address types

● Selection of the appropriate cabling type based on implementation requirements

● Compare and contrast Ipv4 address types

● Comparison and contrast of network topologies

● Configuration verification and troubleshooting Ipv6 addressing

● Compare and contrast of Ipv6 address types

● Identifying the appropriate addressing scheme for IPv4 using summarization and VLSM to satisfy any addressing requirements in the WAN or LAN environment

● Describe the necessity and operation of using both public and private IP addresses for IPv4 addressing

● Describe the requirements to run IPv6 and IPv4 together as a dual-stack network

● Describe IPv6 addresses

● Configure and verify ACLs in a network environment

● Configure and verify NAT for given network requirements

● Configure and verify NTP as a client

● Configure and Verify Syslog

● Describe the types, features, and applications of ACLs

● Recognize high availability (FHRP)

● Identify the basic operation of NAT

● Describe SNMP v2 and v3

● Verify the ACLs to limit the SSH and telnet access for a machine to a router

● Verify and configure the security features for a switch port

● Verify and configure the ACLs to filter any network

● Configure and verify initial switch configuration including remote access management

● Determine the technology and media access control method for Ethernet networks

● Verify network status and switch operation using basic utilities such as PING, TELNET, and SSH

● Identify the basic switching concepts and operation of Cisco switches

● Identify enhanced switching technologies

● Configure and verify VLANs

● Configure and verify trunking on Cisco switches

● Configure and verify PVSTP operation

● Describe how VLANs create logically separate networks and the need for routing between them

● Troubleshoot interface and cable issues (collisions, errors, duplex, speed)

● Describe and verify switching concepts

● Configure and verify troubleshoot VLANs (normal/extended range) spanning multiple switches

● Describe the benefits of switch stacking and chassis aggregation

This module covers the basics of routing technology and also includes concepts about routing and the routing table. This module provides information on the types of routing like static and dynamic, routing protocols both interior and exterior, and some others like OSPFv2 for Ipv4. Some of the topics included in this topic are:

● Describe the basic routing concepts

● Describe the boot process of Cisco IOS routers

● Differentiate methods of routing and routing protocols

● Configure and verify operation status of a device interface, both serial and Ethernet

● Configure and verify utilizing the CLI to set basic router configuration

● Configure and verify routing configuration for a static or default route given specific routing requirements

● Configure and verify OSPF (single area)

● Configure and verify EIGRP (single AS)

● Configure and verify interVLAN routing (Router on a stick)

● Configure SVI interfaces

● Manage Cisco IOS FILES

● Verify router configuration and network connectivity

● Interpret the components of a routing table

● Troubleshoot basic layer3 end to end connectivity issues

This module includes a detailed study of the PPP and MLPPP configuration and verification on WAN interfaces. It also talks about the PPPoE client-side interfaces that use local authentication. Options for WAN connectivity and basic QoS concepts are also included. Some of the topics included in this module are:

● Identify different WAN technologies

● Configuration and verification of PPP and MLPPP using local authentication on WAN interfaces

● ·Describe WAN connectivity options

● Configure and verify a basic WAN serial connection

● Implement and troubleshoot PPPoE

● Configure and verify frame relay on Cisco routers

● Configure and Verify PPP connection between Cisco routers

● Describe WAN topology options

● Describe the basic QoS concepts

● Congestion Management

● Description of DNS lookup operation

● Troubleshooting client connectivity issues involving DNS

● Configuration and verification of DHCP on router

● Troubleshooting client and router-based DHCP connection issues

● Configuration verification and troubleshooting basic HSRP

● Configuration verification and troubleshooting inside source NAT

● Configuration and verification of NTP operating in client or server mode

The topics that are covered in this module include port security, mitigation techniques for common access layer threats, traffic filtering, etc. This module also covers some information on the configuration, verification, and troubleshooting of issues that may arise during device hardening. The topics included in this module are:

● Configuration, verification and troubleshooting port-security

● Description of common access layer threat mitigation techniques

● Configuration, verification, and troubleshooting of Ipv4 and Ipv6 access list for filtering traffic

● Verification of ACLS using APIC-EM Path Trace Analysis Tool

● Configuration, verification, and troubleshooting of basic device hardening

● Local authentication

● Access to device

● Description of device security using AAA with TACAS+ and RADIUS

This module covers the management of devices that are present in the network system. The module also covers the configuration and verification of the device monitoring protocols. It also provides information on how one can maintain the performance of the device. Some topics covered in this module are: