The CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification from Cisco is a highly beneficial qualification for anyone who is interested in passing CCNA exams to begin a career in the IT sector or is looking to validate their experience with an official certification. Networking is a vital area of many IT job roles and gaining the applicable expertise and passing CCNA exams in this area will greatly enhance your employability.

Many people who are looking at CCNA study and CCNA courses have questions about the qualification itself, about passing CCNA exams that are required to gain the official Cisco Certified Network Associate certification and how long does it take to get CCNA?

What is CCNA?

The CCNA is a Cisco certification which stands for Cisco Certified Network Associate. It is an entry level qualification earned through official CCNA study, as well as passing CCNA exams, and provides the fundamental knowledge required to begin many careers in the IT industry. Cisco are world leaders in networking so it stands to reason that an official CCNA study qualification is beneficial to anyone who wants to work, or is currently working, in a networking or IT environment. This credential teaches the skills that are needed to install, configure, operate and troubleshoot small to medium sized networks. You will also build the knowledge that is necessary for passing CCNA exams. The Cisco Certified Network Associate certification is not only important for those who plan to work specifically in networking roles as it is fast becoming a prerequisite for many different types of IT positions.

How many exams do you have to take?

Passing CCNA exams is required to earn your official Cisco Certified Network Associate certification and the best way to prepare for these exams is through high quality CCNA study provided by official CCNA courses. There are two exams associated with the CCNA qualification:

100-101 ICND1 – Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 1

200-101 ICND2 – Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices Part 2

How are the CCNA exams administered?

It is only natural that once you have completed the CCNA courses for your CCNA study you will be focused on passing CCNA exams in order to earn your CCNA certification which will greatly improve your chances of securing a good position within an IT environment or advancing your current IT career.

The CCNA exam cannot be taken online and must be taken in a proctored environment provided by an authorised testing center (such as Pearson VUE). You will be required to take an appropriate form of ID with you and nothing else will be allowed inside the testing center, although it is common practice for the testing center to provide you with paper or a laminated sheet on which to work out your calculations during the exams. Contained within the exams will be a number of “beta questions” which will not count towards your final score as they are used for research purposes – passing CCNA exams will not rely on these research questions. However, you will not be told which these are so it is in your best interest to treat each and every question as though it will be scored.

Cisco is strict about ensuring that students are capable of passing CCNA exams based on only the knowledge that they have gained during their CCNA study. This means that they keep a lot of information about Cisco exams as closely guarded secrets and the exact exam format and scoring system will not be known prior to the exam taking place.

100-101 ICND1 – 90 minutes in duration with an average of 45-55 questions

200-101 ICND2 – 75 minutes in duration with an average of 50-60 questions

Although the exact exam format for passing CCNA exams will not be known in advance, Cisco does provide a list of the type of exam question formats that may be used during either of the two exams associated with the Cisco Certified Network Associate certification.

Multiple Choice (single answer)

Multiple Choice (multiple answers)

Drag and Drop

Fill in the Blank Testlet

Simlet

Router Simulations

Can CCNA be studied part-time?

Choosing high quality and comprehensive CCNA study courses will ensure that you are prepared for passing CCNA exams. The CCNA study courses can be taken online, in a classroom or a virtual classroom setting. This provides a CCNA study option to suit anyone. There are no official prerequisites for CCNA study but a basic knowledge of networking will be an advantage and make passing CCNA exams a little easier. It is possible, however, to undergo CCNA study without any former knowledge or experience and passing CCNA exams can be achieved by simply studying the Cisco Certified Network Associate courses.

The CCNA study times are relatively short considering the fact that they will be highly beneficial to your career path if you are working, or interested in working, in an IT environment.

Classroom Training

100-101 ICND1: 5 days

200-101 ICND2: 5 days

Virtual Classroom Training

100-101 ICND1: 5 days

200-101 ICND2: 5 days

Online/eLearning Training

100-101 ICND1: 30-40 hours

200-101 ICND2: 30-40 hours

Start Passing CCNA Exams

CCNA study can be undertaken on a part-time or full-time basis. Ensure that your choice of training provider is able to offer accredited Cisco CCNA study material and that it is comprehensive enough to assist you in passing CCNA exams. CCNA study is an investment in your future so it is important to make certain that you are studying a comprehensive and official CCNA courses from a reputable training provider.