The picture on the left illustrates the Cisco Certification Pyramid. If you are familiar with the pyramids of Egypt, you must know by now that they have stood the test of time, withstanding harsh climate conditions for thousands of years. When we are looking at a pyramid, instinctively we look at the tip first, and then our eyes move down to the base. The same happens with the Cisco certification pyramid. The Architect and Expert certifications are looked at with amazement, and every network engineer’s wish is to obtain one of these prestigious qualifications. However, the base of the pyramid is what makes it strong and robust. Therefore, in my opinion the most important Cisco certifications are the ones you see on the base, that is the entry level and associate level (I.e CCNA) certifications.

So, if you really want to be a successful CCIE or Architect, you must become a successful CCNA and CCNP first. If you become master in CCNA and CCNP certifications, it is a sure fire way to become a successful CCIE, and hence a successful high-level professional.

Indeed, the reasons that the pyramids of Egypt are so strong and the reason they have lasted for thousands of years, is that their foundation (base) is so strong. The same analogy can be drawn for Cisco career certifications. If you built a strong foundation (CCNA, CCNP), then the skills that you will acquire from these levels will follow you and support your whole future career. Therefore, becoming a CCIE depends on how strong your knowledge base is. Indeed, your CCNA studies are the most important studies of your career as a network engineer. If you don’t master basic concepts, such as subnetting, IP addressing, basic routing and switching functionality, binary math, routing protocols functionality and so on, how do you think you will become a successful CCIE? So, keep this in mind: When you’re studying for your CCNA, you’re not just studying for a certification exam – you’re building the foundation for the rest of your Cisco certifications and the rest of your career.

So, take your CCNA studies seriously, learn as much material and theory as you can absorb, and you will not be disappointed. My 15 years in the field of networking have taught me that .

Last week I took the Securing Networks with ASA Foundation (642-524) exam and passed with a score of 954/1000. It has been 3 years since the last time I took a Cisco exam because I had to renew my CCNA/CCNP/CCSP certifications which were going to expire this coming March. The good thing about recertification is that you can pass any current 642-XXX professional level exam in order to renew ALL of your Professional Level certifications, no matter if the exam is related with security or routing and switching. Therefore by passing the 642-524 exam I have renewed both my CCNP and CCSP for 3 more years. This particular exam will be offered up to 4/8/11 and then will be replaced by the new 642-617 FIREWALL v1.0 exam.

I have noticed that the exam was more difficult from the past and that Cisco has taken measures for more accurate evaluation of the knowledge possessed by the exam takers. There were some “real world” scenarios in the exam which showed an ASDM Graphical User Interface which you could click on it and navigate inside the ASDM just like a real one. There were several questions related with each ASDM scenario, so you had to go inside the ASDM and see all the configuration screens and settings in order to answer that group of questions. You had to be very careful with that type of questions because there were tricks. You had to verify if some traffic flows were being inspected by an embedded AIP-SSM or CSC-SSM modules or if they were being limited by service policies. You also had to check the policy rules, NAT rules, security levels etc in order to accurately answer each question. Anyhow, it was time consuming but if you were focused and careful it was ok.

Anyway, I’m glad that my next Cisco exam recertification is after 3 years!!!

Preparing for a Cisco Certification solely with Practice exams is a method that many candidates follow, however I do not recommend this study method at all. My intention in this article is not to slam practice exams. I just want to address the phenomenon among Cisco certification candidates who use practice exams solely as an attempt to pass their exams with the least possible effort. Practice exams should be used in your study strategy as a complimentary option together with other study resources such as books, video trainings, practice labs etc. When you are in the field in front of a rack of routers and switches trying to implement a network design, there is no A, B, C, or D choice like the practice exams. You’ve got to know what you are doing.

The current Cisco certification exams are designed in such a way as to weed out those candidates who just memorized hundreds of possible exam questions in their attempt to pass the exam. If those candidates used only practice tests for preparation, they will just be disappointed on exam day. The certification exams will not only test if you possess the requited knowledge, but also if you have the ability to apply that knowledge in real world cases. Thats why the current Cisco exams are full of practical scenario questions. By taking one practice exam after the other will certainly not develop this skill.

Practice simulators are also fine up to a certain extent, but also do not depend very heavily on them. The most common network simulators I’ve seen do not let you make any mistakes on the router or switch configuration, so you do not actually learn from your mistakes. Remember that making mistakes on a Cisco configuration, observing them and then fixing them is what really helps to actually learn what you are doing.

When preparing for a Cisco Certification (especially for an entry level certification such as CCENT and CCNA) you are not just studying for an exam. Rather, you are building and fortifying your base and foundation for the upper layer certifications and for your career as well. Try to make your study efforts as effective as possible by building a solid foundation. You will achieve this by learning all possible networking theory and fundamental concepts, rather than memorizing hundreds of exam questions. Especially when studying for CCNA, the knowledge that you will acquire will be the most important from all and will be the corner stone for future certifications such as the CCNP and CCIE.

The best preparation for Cisco certifications is to stick to a well-rounded study plan which includes books, lab networking equipment (real or virtual) and practice exams. A recommended training package for Cisco certification exams is this computer based training here. If you combine it with a relative book from CiscoPress then you will have a complete well-rounded study package for passing your Cisco exam.

The following is a very good article I have read over at Buzzle.com. It talks about the various opportunities that a professional will acquire after passing the Cisco CCNA exam and obtaining this entry level certification.

Software industries are desperately in need of information technology professionals certified in the aspect of networking. You are almost guaranteed a job provided you possess an excellent working knowledge of protocols such as IP, IGRP, Serial, Frame Relay, IP RIP, and VLAN’s as well as installing, configuring, operating, maintaining, and trouble shooting LAN, WAN and other networks. One way to be sure you have such proper networking experience and knowledge is through obtaining your Cisco Certified Network Associate certification.

This CCNA certification is an entry level certification for all certified IT professionals who specialize in computer networking. This certification is just the first step towards even higher levels of training, such as Cisco Certified Network Professional or Cisco Certified Internet work Expert certification.

A CCNA certification is often the best option for field technicians, IT helps desk engineers, and other professionals of information technology based on overseeing the computer networking process. It is considered to be the basic qualification for installing, operating, configuring and troubleshooting a mid-sized switched and routed network. A professional with CCNA training is trusted to work with a networking environment which would include a group of switched networks. They can manage a host of computer routed networks connected through switches with the greatest of ease.

There is an ever increasing demand for networking specialists as businesses reliance on computers grow and with that the value of a CCNA certification is also finding itself to be a hot commodity among the information technology industry’s job market. It is a benchmark for discovering who are the best and the most efficient technicians are who aren’t in network management. Think of it as a way to filter out the cream of the crop from the rest.

The certification examination is structured around a set of questions with drag and drop options, multiple choice single answers, multiple choice multiple answers, simulations and fill in the blank type of questions. While at first glance, that may sound to be quite easy, to be truly successful and pass this test professional training is required. The examination is built so that your technical and special knowledge of computer networking environments and solutions are pushed to the limits. Basically, not everyone can pass this test.

In today’s ultra-competitive job market, you need every advantage you can to market yourself. You need something to make yourself more attractive to a business compared to another IT professional. A CCNA certification, accepted and recognized all over the world, is the perfect tool to do just that. The CCNA examination is used as a tool for sorting out the best networking professionals who would be responsible for the management and maintenance of the networking environments.

I recommend this CCNA Training to help you pass this useful exam guaranteed.

Article Source: Buzzle.com