CCNA CCNP Training In Nagpur

New comers in any field usually have many unanswered questions on their minds. Those just entering or transitioning into the networking field want to know where to start, how to progress, and which certifications (if any) to acquire.

In this article, we will explore one of the industry’s most recognized networking certifications, the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification. We will consider topics such as the target audience of the certification, the experience needed, whether it’s still worth acquiring, and the ways to train for the exam.

What Is the CCNA Routing and Switching Certification?

People are probably more familiar with the “CCNA” certification than even the “Cisco” name itself. The CCNA Routing and Switching certification is a Cisco entry-level certification for the networking field. While the certification is provided by Cisco and can be Cisco-focused in some areas, it covers general networking fundamentals, routing and switching technologies, wide area networks (WAN), security, and other networking topics.

Note: This certification used to simply be called “CCNA.” However, as more entry-level certifications became available for other fields such as the CCNA Security and CCNA Wireless, Cisco decided to call it CCNA Routing and Switching. Therefore, when we say “CCNA,” we mean the CCNA Routing and Switching certification.

As is evident from the name, the CCNA certification is administered by Cisco. In simple terms, Cisco is a networking equipment vendor that manufactures devices such as routers, switches, and even firewalls. They have been at this for a while (since 1984), have built a strong brand, and are the market leader in areas such as enterprise routing and switching.

Who Should Earn the CCNA?

According to Cisco, the CCNA certification is targeted at people who want to go into job roles such as network support engineers and network administrators. Basically, if you want a career in networking, especially enterprise networking, getting CCNA certified may be a good move for you because Cisco is still the dominant leader in that industry.

However, CCNA certification is not only for those in the networking field. There are examples of system administrators who are CCNA-certified because they wanted to understand more about the networks that their servers will be running on.

Side note: One may argue that the CompTIA Network+ certification is a better fit for those non-network people since it is more vendor-neutral; however, the CCNA certification also covers networking fundamentals properly.

What Experience Is Needed to Take the Exam?

There are actually no prerequisites for taking the CCNA certification exam. Basically, anyone in any field can take the exam. For example, I became CCNA-certified when I was still an undergraduate.

Note: There are age restrictions for Cisco certification exams. Kids under the age of 13 years cannot take the exam. Teenagers (13-17) can take the exam with parental consent. There are no restrictions for 18+ years.

That being said, it is maybe helpful to have one to two years of work experience in networking before going for the certification. However, if you don’t have networking experience and you are more interested in the knowledge from the certification than in the certification itself, as you should be, then you need to put in more work than someone who already has networking work/field experience. Thankfully, tools like GNS3 and Packet Tracer reduce the barrier to entry in the networking field, allowing you to gain practical experience even without a networking job.

How Does the CCNA Compare to Other Networking Certs?

Over the years, Cisco has built a solid brand and is seen in the eyes of many as the de-facto networking product company. This brand allows the CCNA certification to be viewed more as a certification for generic networking, even though the exam is hugely Cisco-focused in some areas. For this reason, there are not many entry-level networking certifications that can stand beside the CCNA certification for comparison.

However, for the sake of completeness, let us mention a few other entry-level networking certifications. The first on the list is the CompTIA Network+ certification, which benefits from being vendor-neutral. However, the general consensus is that the CCNA is a better and more advanced certification to have than the Network+ even for those who don’t work with Cisco products. Even the CompTIA site does not compare the Network+ to the CCNA certification (scroll down to “How Does CompTIA Network+ Compare?”).

Another entry-level networking certification is the Juniper Networks Certified Associate Junos (JNCIA-Junos). In terms of exam topics and difficulty, this is more similar to the Cisco Certified Entry Networking (CCENT) certification, i.e., ICND1. The next level after the JNCIA-Junos certification is the Juniper Networks Certified Specialist Enterprise Routing and Switching (JNCIS-ENT), which is more advanced than the CCNA (i.e., CCNA plus parts of CCNP).

From my experience and research, the CCNA is more widely recognized than these other certifications, at least for entry-level and generic networking. However, there are other certifications that may be more valuable for specific industries. For example, the AWS certifications may be more valuable for an organization that is big on the cloud.

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