A prominent multinational technology conglomerate Cisco offers a wide range of IT (information technology) certifications to professionals who want to enhance their skill set and knowledge base. They are one of the largest and most successful companies in the world right now and receiving a certification from them can prove to be extremely beneficial for any individual who wants to establish a career in the IT industry. Cisco certifications are not a luxury, but a necessity nowadays, as they open a wide range of benefits for you, such as an excellent career, a broad range of job opportunities, high salary, respect of colleagues, and many more. Cisco offers certifications of different levels: from beginners to professionals, that means from entry and associate to architect, that makes its career paths so attractive to candidates.

As for CCNA Routing and Switching certification offered by Cisco, it is designed to professionals who want to gain associate-level knowledge. This particular certification can give a candidate an edge to one’s career by helping him or her gain a solid grasp on the fundamentals of networking.

Before taking CCNA R&S certification exam, one can pass an optional one 100-105, to get CCENT certification. This credential serves as a first stage to getting most Cisco certifications afterward.

Being a globally recognized and valued vendor, Cisco offers a wide array of comprehensive training and study materials for the people who wish to take certification exams. At the end of the course completion, a person is required to clear the chosen exam to be able to receive the certification.

As for Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching exams, they include composite programs, however, these are subject to change. To get proper and updated knowledge regarding the date, training period and fee structure, one can visit their official website. However, if you want to know about the basic facts about CCNA Routing and Switching exams, then do read on. As here we have discussed a few key facts about these exams and also stated the reasons why it can prove to be of great help to IT professionals.

What is Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching Certification?

The Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching certification is an information technology certification that is extremely popular among computer network engineers who wish to have a solid grasp of different networking concepts. Here CCNA stands for Cisco Certified Network Associate. This is an associate-level certification that is awarded by Cisco, a prominent worldwide leader in IT and networking in today’s time.

Beneficial for a wide range of IT professionals such as this certification exam is designed in a way to test the fundamentals of routing and switching of an individual. In order to acquire this certification, a person needs to prove his or her knowledge of IP networking skills that are essential to carry out tasks such as installation, operation and troubleshooting of network layers. It is believed that this certification can prove to be a stepping stone to establishing a successful and rewarding career in networking.

What are the key topics included in this certification?

A wide variety of important topics get covered in the CCNA Routing and Switching certification exam. These topics are related to WAN (Wide Area Network) and LAN (Land Area Network) design, OSI models, IP addressing, routers knowledge, protocols and configuration, network security and management, VLAN and WLAN, programmable network, IP addressing and managing traffic, knowledge of QoS concepts and few other networking-related concepts. Thorough knowledge of all these concepts is essential to clear this beneficial certification exam.

What are the prerequisites?

In general, there are no prerequisites for taking this certification exam. However, to be able to take this exam, one must possess basic computer knowledge like network fundamentals, operating system navigation skills and IP address knowledge.

It’s not an obligatory requirement, but on can get CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) certification, which serves as the first stage where candidates get the core skills required in networking. This credential leads to getting the certification of higher CCNA level.

How to earn CCNA R&S certification?

The CCNA Routing and Switching certification can be earned by passing either 1 exam – 200-125 CCNA or the combination of two exams which are 100-105 ICND1 and 200-105 ICND2.

What is the validity of this certification?

The Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching certification stay valid for good 3 years. After this time period, an individual can either take the same exam to renew their credentials or go for a higher-level Cisco certification exam to further enhance their knowledge and skill set. The validity of CCNA Routing and Switching certification is just for 3 years because, in order to stay up-to-date with the constant technological advancements, it is essential to keep updating one’s skill set.

What is the importance of CCNA Routing and Switching certification?

The globally recognized CCNA Routing and Switching certification from Cisco can prove to be enormously beneficial for any IT (Information Technology) professional.

This certification is ideal for Network Engineers, Networking Specialists, Networking Administrators, System Integrators, Network Consultants and many more. An individual who wishes to build and enhance their networking career should consider going for this certification because of its innumerable benefits. Some of these benefits are listed below:

Gain Networking Knowledge

Anyone who possesses this certification proves that he or she knows about routing and switching medium-sized branch networks. And, also, they have the required skill set to carry out the tasks of installing, operating and troubleshooting of network layers. With today’s increased business demands, it is crucial to go for certifications such as CCNA Routing and Switching to enhance their knowledge base that can help a person build a rewarding career in the ever-so-competitive IT industry.

Enhance Career Options

By successfully clearing this certification exam, a person will be able to enhance his or her career options not just in terms of the job profile but also in terms of their paycheck. This certification will open the doors to new opportunities and help a person advance further in their career. Moreover, possessing such highly valued certifications can also make a person stand out from the other professionals in this line of work.

Receive Recognition from Cisco

It is no secret that Cisco is a leading multinational company in the IT industry. And, as one can imagine receiving a certification from this company can help a person not just hone their networking skills but also attract employers. Many IT companies all over the word place a lot of value on Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching Certification. Gaining this certification can undeniably help an IT professional advance in their field and build a career that is monetarily rewarding. That’s why one needs to pay more attention to preparation for Cisco exams and choose the most relialble and updated prep materials, for example, such as PrepAway.net website which contains a wide range of exam dumps and video tutorials to make you succeed in the exam.

What’s new?

Since Cisco offers various certifications, having Cisco CCNA Practice Test 200-125 credential in your pocket, one can opt for CCNA certifications in Design, IoT, Wireless or Security . If one chooses CCNA Security field, then

If one decides to bind his or her career with Cloud, Collaboration, Cybersecurity Operations,Service Provider or Data Center, there’s no need to gain CCENT certification.

For example, to get CCNA Data Center credential one should take only one exam- 200-150 exam.

As you see, Cisco offers a number of certifications to choose from. Grab this chance, build your career now.

Conclusion

The Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching certification is a valuable credential that can give a networking professional an edge in his or her career in the fiercely competitive world of information technology. With this certification, a person will be able to prove that he or she has the skill set and the knowledge base required for carrying out a variety of tasks related to network layers.