Benefits Of CCNA

The CCNA certification has been devised by CISCO and stands for Cisco Certified Network Associate. The certificate validates a professional’s ability to understand, configure, operate, configure and troubleshoot medium-level switched and routed networks and also includes the verification and implementation of connections via remote sites using WAN.

Although the CCNA certification is only a beginner-level certification, it still attracts a series of benefits for the certification holder: validates one's specific technical skills, considerably increasing the possessor's professional credibility - persons who have obtained the CCNA certification have better prospects of occupying stable job positions inside renowned, reputed IT companies; is an indicator of expertise in working with networks that have fewer than 100 nodes - validates one's ability to work in small and medium sized businesses and organizations that use less extensive networks; represents a prerequisite for obtaining higher level Cisco certifications - individuals who are interested in obtaining a professional or expert level in the Cisco Career Certification tracks need to obtain the CCNA certification first.

Individuals who have obtained the CCNA certification have proved good skills and experience in installing, configuring and operating LAN, WAN and dial access services for networks that have fewer than 100 nodes; using IP, IGRP, Serial, Frame Relay, VLANs, RIP, IP RIP, Access Lists and Ethernet network protocols; installing and configuring various Cisco switches and routers in internetworks which use multiple protocols and have LAN and WAN interfaces; ensuring network performance and security; providing beginner level network troubleshooting services.

CCNA Job Prospects

The CCNA makes you a solid, well-rounded network engineer. Completing the certification process not only gives you a certificate, it trains you in multiple levels and areas regarding the ability to work with routed and switched networks.

The broad sets of topics covered under CCNA certification include:

• WAN and LAN design
• OSI models
• IP addressing
• VLAN and WLAN
• Routers / routing protocols (includes EIGRP, RIP and OSPF)
• Network security and management (ACL included)

Having a CCNA certification highly improves the chances of getting promotions and being placed in further responsible and high paying positions. The moment you achieve the certification, you will start moving up the team hierarchy.