The CCNA EXAM

The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®) Certification is a sought after qualification for many people working in the Networking arena. It is a certification that validates you to do a number of things. Namely, you will be able to install and configure a medium sized  network. You will also be able to operate as well as troubleshoot the network.

These networks are usually routed and switch type network infrastructures. As part of your CCNA skills you will be able to implement and verify network connections to remote sites in a Wide Area  Network (WAN). The curriculum of the CCNA will have you studying the possible threats to security and how to prevent such attacks.

Further to your studies touch on the concepts and  terminology of wireless networking. You will get a grounding in popular protocols in use  today such as Internet Protocol (IP), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Serial Line Interface Protocol Frame Relay, Routing Information Protocol Version 2 
(RIPv2),VLANs, Ethernet, access control lists (ACLs).

There are a number of CCNA Certification and Paths to attain to the level of installing, configuring, operating and troubleshooting medium size switch networks for 2012 and beyond.

There are no actual prerequisites for the CCNA but there are recommended exams and training
that will help you as you develop in the arena of the Cisco networking:

640-802 CCNA
This exam consists of 45 - 55 questions with a duration of 90 minutes to complete it. The recommended hands on training courses for the Cisco CCNA 640-802 exam is the Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1) v1.1 and Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2) v1.1 as per below.

640-822 ICND1
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1 (ICND1) v1.1

640-816 ICND2
Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2 (ICND2) v1.1

As well as the above for the Associate Level, there are also CCNA Security, CCNA Service
Provider Operations, CCNA Voice and CCNA Wireless options to take your learning to a whole
new level in networking.

The Associate Level: CCDA is the Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA®) which validates your knowledge as a prerequisite to designing Cisco converged networks.

So the CCNA Associate paths includes CCNA, CCENT, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CCNA Wireless and CCNA Service Provider Operations.

The CCNA 640-802 in particular has a number of specific exam topics which are:

Describe how a network works so you can for example Interpret network diagrams and differentiate between LAN/WAN operation and features. Be able to use the OSI and TCP/IP 
models and their associated protocols to explain how data flows in a network among other 
things.

In your training you will come across how to configure, verify and troubleshoot a switch with

 
VLANs and interswitch communications which will involve verifying network status and switch 
operation using basic utilities (including: ping, traceroute, telnet, SSH, arp, ipconfig), 
SHOW & DEBUG commands.

As you progress through your training in the 640-802 CCNA material you will experience how to implement an IP addressing scheme and IP Services to meet network requirements in a medium-size Enterprise branch office network. This will certainly help you to become much more proficient at describing IPv6 addresses and be able to undertake the Calculation and application of an addressing scheme including VLSM IP addressing design to a network.

Hands-on activity will have you configuring, verifying, and troubleshooting basic router operation and routing on Cisco devices such as OSPF and EIGRP. Not forgetting RIPv2 protocol as well as introduction to the SDM workings.

Explanation and selecting the appropriate administrative tasks required for a WLAN is an important activity for the budding CCNA Associate. You will learn about wireless technology such as SSID, BSS and ESS as well as standards such as IEEE WI-FI Alliance, ITU/FCC.

Security has become a big issue today and who will gain important knowledge about identifying security threats to a network and describe general methods to mitigate those threats. Different security appliances will be looked at including recommended practices including initial steps to secure network devices.

Highly related to security is the implementation, verification of network address translation (NAT) and Access control lists (ACL)s. This will all be carried out in a medium-size Enterprise branch office network. Troubleshooting NAT and ACLs is a pivotal part of this security practice.

Further practice in implementing and the verification of WAN links for Describing different methods for connecting to a WAN and configuring and verifying a PPP connection between Cisco routers. As the world is becoming more global the necessity for connecting overseas has seen an increase in demand for understanding in this area.