Cisco Career Certifications
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cisco Career Certifications are IT professional certifications for Cisco products. The tests are administered by Prometric and Pearson VUE
There are three levels of certification: Associate, Professional, and Expert.
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[edit] Associate-level certifications
The first stage of Cisco's certification system is the "Associate" level and comprises the CCNA and CCDA certifications.
[edit] Cisco Certified Network Associate
Authorized training is provided globally by Cisco Learning Partners. Also available are self-study guide by Cisco Press. Additional resources and tools to aid in preparing for the certification are available on the CCNA Prep Center.[1]
The test presents between 50 & 60 questions within a 90 minute period; The test includes multiple choice questions (including many multiple-answer questions, e.g. 'which three of these five options'), matching questions, and simulated 'lab' questions that provide a virtual network consisting of several routers and switches to test troubleshooting skills. The test is scored from 300 to 1000 marks, with 300 being the minimum marks that everyone is granted. A grade of 84.9% (849 out of 1000) is required to pass. Pass or fail grade is indicated immediately on completion of test.
There is also a two-test option using the INTRO and ICND tests. This allows the candidate to focus on certain subjects. INTRO covers modules 1 & 2 of the CCNA curiculum and ICND covers 3 & 4.
The certification is valid for three years; at that time a CCNA holder must either re-take the CCNA or ICND exam or take an exam for one of the Professional or Specialist level certifications, such as CCNP.
- Internationally there is also the Cisco Academy Programme, which brings the CCNA to learners in all nations and all communities.[2]
[edit] Cisco Certified Design Associate
Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) is the Cisco certification which indicates apprentice knowledge of Cisco network design. Individuals who have earned a CCDA are capable of designing switched or routed networks consisting of LANs, WANs, and various dial services. While a CCNA is not required to take the CCDA, CCNA-level knowledge is needed.
[edit] Professional-level certifications
[edit] Cisco Certified Network Professional
The Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) is the middle ground of Cisco technical certifications. The CCNP is considered proof of having the ability to work with medium-sized networks (between 100 and 500 end devices) and with technology such as QoS, broadband, VPNs, and security-minded features. To acquire a CCNP, one must pass four tests, and either re-certify or upgrade to a CCIE every three years. (The CCNA is a prerequisite for CCNP, CCIE does not have any prerequisites.) Additional resources and tools to aid in preparing for the certification are available on the CCNP Prep Center.[3]
[edit] Cisco Certified Design Professional
Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) is an advanced network design certification provided by Cisco Systems, Inc. Candidates for the certification are tested for advanced knowledge of Cisco devices and the way to interconnect them. This certification is considered a professional level certificate by Cisco Systems. (The CCNA and CCDA are prerequisites.)
[edit] Cisco Certified Security Professional
Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) is an advanced network security certification. Candidates for the certification are tested for advanced knowledge of various Cisco security products.
To attain this certification several tests must be passed in the areas of VPN, IDS, PIX firewall, Secure IOS, the Cisco SAFE, as well as having a CCNA or equivalent (CCNP or CCIP).
[edit] Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional
Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional (CCIP) is a professional certification covering the end-to-end protocols used in large scale networks.
To attain this certification tests must be passed in the areas of routing, BGP, MPLS and Quality of service.
[edit] Cisco Certified Voice Professional
Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP) is a certification covering all aspects of IP Telephony/VOIP networks and applications.
To attain this certification, five tests must be passed in the areas of Quality of service, Cisco VoIP, IP Telephony Troubleshooting, Cisco IP Telephony, and Gateway Gatekeeper.
[edit] Recertification
To recertify any Professional level certification, pass any 642 exam that is part of the professional level curriculum after August 18, 2006, or pass a current CCIE written exam.
[edit] Expert-level certifications: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert
The expert-level certification is the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE). It is the highest level of professional certification that Cisco provides. There are 5 active CCIE tracks, as below. As of February 1, 2007 there are 14,177 people with active CCIE certifications.[4]
The CCIE is comprised of a written exam and a "lab" exam (each in the specific area of the chosen track). The written exam is required to take the lab exam, and has a cost of $300 USD per attempt. Upon successful completion of the written exam, the candidate then qualifies to register for the lab portion. The CCIE Lab is currently $1,250 USD per attempt. CCIE Labs are offered only at Cisco locations. There are currently 10 locations to take the "lab" exam worldwide. The locations are Bangalore; Beijing; Brussels; Dubai; Hong Kong; Research Triangle Park, NC; San Jose, CA; São Paulo; Sydney; and Tokyo.
The Lab is an 8-hour hands-on exam designed to demonstrate that the candidate not only knows the theory, but is also able to practice it. Many prospective CCIEs need multiple attempts to pass the lab exam.
There are no formal prerequisites for the CCIE exam, but Cisco recommends one has at least 3 - 5 years experience in networking before attempting to become a CCIE. CCIE was the first Cisco Certified qualification, and as such there were no other certifications that could be taken prior. The development of the associate and professional certifications was due to recognition of the fact that a CCIE is overkill for many networking personnel, and also for the vast majority of businesses who employ such people, and that certifications needed to be offered at lower levels. Despite the development of the lower certifications, Cisco has chosen not to make them formal requirements for the CCIE certification.
It is possible to hold multiple CCIE certifications. This is done by passing both the written and the lab exam in a particular track. As of February 1, 2007 there are 1,069 individuals who hold multiple CCIE certifications. Of those, 158 hold three or more CCIE certifications.[5]
[edit] CCIE Routing & Switching
Routing and Switching is by far the most popular track, and covers a wide range of subjects, such as: LAN, WAN, Ethernet, TCP/IP, OSPF and BGP, IS-IS, IPv6 and many more.
[edit] CCIE Security
The Security track concentrates on network security and covers subjects such as ASA, IDS, IOS security, security and many others.
[edit] CCIE Service Provider
The Service Provider track focuses on networking in the service provider industry. Subjects include Optical networks, DSL, WAN switching, Voice over IP, Content Networking, Broadband Cable and Metro Ethernet.
[edit] CCIE Voice
The Voice track concentrates on voice solutions for the enterprise and includes subjects such as QoS, MGCP, Call Manager (Cisco's VoIP PABX), Cisco Unity (Cisco's Unified Messaging platform), Unity Express and IP Contact Center Express.
[edit] CCIE Storage Networking
The latest addition to the CCIE certification tracks is the CCIE Storage Networking track. As the name suggests, the Storage Networking track concentrates on storage networking topics, such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCIP and FICON.
[edit] Tools For Study
Previously, certification exams consisted of only objective type questions such as true/false or multiple choice questions. However, recently more and more certification vendors, including Cisco, are using simulated labs for examining a candidate's expertise in a given situation. For this reason, it is essential that those aspiring for Cisco certifications have sufficient hands-on experience. For this purpose, router simulators are available from a few vendors that simulate an actual router network, but with limited amount of functionality built in. Typically, the commands supported by a router simulator are a sub-set of the full command-set of an actual router. However, simulators are relatively cheap (compared to purchase of physical routers) and cover the command-set required for respective exam objectives.
[edit] Notes
- ^ CCNA Prep Center
- ^ Cisco Net Academy
- ^ CCNP Prep Center
- ^ CCIE's Worldwide - A breakdown of CCIE qualified engineers around the world
- ^ Employer Information: What CCIE certification stands for; Why you should hire a CCIE; Why you don't want to lose a CCIE from your staff.
