background image
C
H
A
P
T
E
R
1
All About the Cisco Certified
Network Associate Certification
Congratulations! You have made your first step in beginning your journey to joining the
Cisco Career Certifications group of certified professionals. CCNA is the first step into your
journey.
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is the most popular
certification among all Cisco certifications. CCNA certification is a prerequisite for several
other Cisco Certifications, which of course adds to its popularity.
The exam itself is a computer-based exam, with multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and drag-
and-drop style questions. The CCNA exam is delivered by our testing vendor, Sylvan
Prometric, which you can reach at 1-800-829-NETS, or you may register online at
www.2test.com. As we continually update the exams, the duration and number of questions
per exam will vary. When you register for your exam, the registrar will reserve the
appropriate time. You should check with Sylvan Prometric for the exact length of the exam.
NOTE
Be aware that when you register for the exam, you might be notified of a specific length of
time, and when you actually log in to the testing software at the testing center, you might
find that the testing time is 15 minutes shorter; that's because Sylvan Prometric expects
some time to be required for getting settled and taking the tutorial on the testing engine.
The CCNA exam is not an easy, read the book and you pass kind of exam. It is surprisingly
hard, but Cisco's philosophy is that by passing the exam, you fully understand the concepts.
More importantly, Cisco wants to be sure that passing the exam proves that you have the
skills to actually implement the features, not just talk about them. For instance, you can
expect questions that ask for the name of a router command that displays a particular piece
of information--most of us don't memorize all the types of things displayed by every
show
command! So, the difficulty helps enhance the value of the CCNA certification, which
ultimately is better for those of us who are getting certified.
Also, in order to ensure the exam proves that you know your stuff, the exam does NOT
allow you to go back and change an answer, as many other exams allow, and as the original
version of the CCNA exam allowed.
ch01.fm Page 3 Monday, March 20, 2000 4:56 PM