8
Chapter 1: All About the Cisco Certified Network Associate Certification
What's on the CCNA Exam
Every test-taker would like to know exactly what is on the CCNA exam, as well as the other
Cisco certification exams. Well, to be honest,
exactly
what is on the exam is a very closely
guarded secret. Only those who write the questions for Cisco, and who have access to the entire
question database, truly know what is really on the exam.
Cisco makes fairly general CCNA exam content available to the public at the Web site
www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/certprog/lan/course.html. In fact, two direct
quotes from this Web site sumarize the exam:
CCNA Certification skills: Install, configure, and operate simple-routed LAN, routed
WAN, and switched LAN networks.
What defines "simple" networks: IP, IGRP, IPX, Serial, AppleTalk, Frame Relay, IP RIP,
VLANs, IPX RIP, Ethernet, Access Lists.
Frankly, most people could guess more detail about the exam than what these two quotes say
about it. As Cisco's authorized external publishing company, Cisco Press provides some
additional information, part of which includes some details that are expected to be posted on
Cisco's Web site at a later date. At press time, Cisco had not finalized what other details about
the exam will be posted on the Web site, so none of those details can be discussed here.
Fortunately, you'll have easy access to what Cisco does decide to post. Be sure to check Cisco's
Web site for the latest information on the exam.
A couple of comments can be made about the exam in general:
·
If we at Cisco Press believe that a topic is definitely on the exam, it is covered in Chapters
2 through 8.
·
If we at Cisco Press believe that a topic is simply not in the Cisco CCNA question
database, then it is not covered in this book. The only exception would be a topic that is
not on the exam that must be explained in order to make a topic that is on the exam more
understandable.
CCIE-SNA-IP
Expert-level certification for Cisco products and features used for melding
SNA and IP networks. No prerequisite. Requires exam and lab.
CCNP and CCDP
specializations
Several specialized certifications are available for CCNP and CCDP
(routing/switching); see www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/
certprog/special/course.html for more details.
Table 1-2
Additional Cisco Certifications (Continued)
Certification
Purpose, Prerequisites
ch01.fm Page 8 Monday, March 20, 2000 4:56 PM