Cisco^® Certification Practice Test Index

What is Cisco Certification

Cisco career certification is a digital networking certification provided by the company Cisco Systems . Cisco is one of the pioneers in providing networking devices such as routers, switches, modems, and gateway devices. The company is also specialized in providing networking solutions to Internet, and corporate intra/internets. 

A Cisco career certification readily recognizes your expertise in relevant technology areas, and makes you more marketable in the job world. Employers feel confident knowing that they have an IT employee with standardized and up-to-date training concerning their network infrastructure. If you already have a job, a Cisco career certification enables you in developing your career to next level.

Types of Cisco Certification:

Cisco career certifications can be broadly categorized in to six separate categories. These are:

1. Routing and Switching

2. Voice

3. Network Security

4. Storage Networking

5. Design

6. Service Provider

Levels of Cisco Certifications:

 

 

Cisco offers three levels of certification depending upon the depth of knowledge required in each stream. This something like a diploma, graduate, and post graduate courses. The levels, represented here in order of lowest to highest achievement, are as follows:

Entry Level

CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician): This is the basic certification applicable to all seven functional areas.

Associate

Two widely known associate certifications include CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate), CCDA (Cisco Certified Design Associate). Other streams are CCNA Voice, CCNA Wireless, and  CCNA Security.

Overview of Associate Certifications:

CCNA

1. CCNA 640-802
2. CCNA ICND1 640-822 ICND1
3. CCNA ICND2 640-816 ICND2

CCNA Security       

1. Valid CCNA, and
2. 640-553 IINS

CCNA Voice

1. Valid CCNA, and
2. 640-460 IIUC

CCNA Wireless

1. Valid CCNA, and
2. 640-721 IUWNE

CCDA

1. Valid CCNA, and
2. 640-863 DESGN

 

Professional

Two widely known professional certifications include CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional), and CCDP (Cisco Certified Design Professional). Other streams available are CCIP, CCSP, and CCVP.

Overview of professional Certifications:

CCNP

1. Valid CCNA
2. 642-901 BSCI
3. 642-812 BCMSN
4. 642-825 ISCW
5. 642-845 ONT

Or,  the following:

1. 642-892 Composite
2. 642-825 ICSW
3. 642-845 ONT

CCDP

CCSP

To obtain CCSA, one requires valid CCNA Security certification along with the following:

1. 642-504 SNRS
2. 642-524 SNAF
3. 642-533 IPS, and one of the following:
4. 642-591 CANAC or
5. 642-545 MARS or
6. 642-515 SNAA

CCIP

Valid CCNA certification along with the following are required.

1. 642-902 BSCI or 642-892 Composite
2. 642-642 QoS
3. 642-661 BGP
4. 642-611 MPLS
5. One can also take 642-691 BGP+MPLS in lieu of 642-661 and 642-611 exams.

CCVP

1. To obtain CCVP certification, one needs to have valid CCNA Voice certification along with the following:
2. 842-438 CVOICE
3. 642-446 CIPTI
4. 642-642 QoS
5. 642-456 CIPT2
6. 642-426 TUC

 

Expert

CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert) is the most widely known expert level certification. Another stream available is CCDE (Cisco Certified Design Expert).

Expert level Certifications are:

1. CCIE Routing & Switching
2. CCDE
3. CCIE Security
4. CCIE Service Provider
5. CCIE Storage Networking
6. CCIE Voice
7. CCIE Wireless

                   Apart from the above, Cisco also offers the "Specialist" certification. The 'Specialist' is a certification focused on a specific technology, solution, or job role. Specialist certifications are useful for those who are interested in a job specific specialization such as Wireless, Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, and security.

Cisco updates the certification paths from time to time to keep up with the current technologies and innovations. Cisco certifications are usually valid for a period of 3 years. The candidates need to renew their certifications on or before the expiry of validity.