The CCNA Certification

The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is one of Cisco’s entry-level (Associate) networking certification. A qualified CCNA is certified to deploy, configure and support a small-sized Cisco network and is highly sought after by employers everywhere. Currently, the certification consists of 1 exam (640-802 CCNA) or 2 exams (640-822 ICND 1 and 640-816 ICND2). The 640-802 exam contains approximately 75-80 questions and lasts approximately 2 hours.

There are several ways to prepare for the CCNA exam including attending the Cisco academy and doing classroom-based learning at a Cisco Learning Partner, but the cost of these options typically run into a couple of thousand dollars. For many of us, these are not options due to the cost. Certainly, the most cost-effective way to study for and pass the CCNA exams is to purchase a good CCNA book and studying the material therein.

Purchasing the Right CCNA Book

Purchasing the right CCNA book can mean the difference between passing the exam easily and having to retake the exam over and over again, which can be immensely frustrating, not to mention expensive. A good CCNA book should cover the current Cisco syllabus and should not be based on an older exam version. It is important to purchase a book that is based on the current exam because Cisco does change the exams (sometimes rather drastically) between revisions. As of this writing this is 640-802 CCNA.

Another important factor is the technical ability of the author and whether the CCNA book is written in clear and concise language. There are also several kinds of books, each targeted at different audiences. Generally speaking, there are CCNA books that cover comprehensively the whole CCNA syllabus at a very detailed level and also some CCNA books that provide a quick summary of the material, which are more suitable for last-minute revision before the exam.

In buying CCNA books, it is really important that you must do a research first before buying it, just like buying a herbal medicine. You won’t buy tongkat ali immediately without knowing it’s purpose and how it is beneficial to your health. You need to compare prices from different bookstores so you will know whether you need to take a personal loan or not.

Our Recommended CCNA Book

For a comprehensive study guide for the CCNA exam, the book Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-802 (Sybex) by Todd Lammle, is highly recommended.  Why?

• This book is up-to-date with the current version of the CCNA exam.
• Rated 4.5 stars at Amazon
• Written by popular CCNA author Todd Lammle
• Complete coverage of all CCNA Exam objectives
• Comes with 4 practice exams
• Searchable PDF included
• Available in Paperback – This means that this CCNA Book is cheaper than the equivalent Cisco Press titles which only come in hardcover.

Click here to get Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-802 from Amazon.com now!

With the right CCNA book, and adequate preparation, passing the CCNA exam will be a breeze. With these tips, here’s hoping you pass CCNA exam the first time without breaking the bank or getting a personal loan.

NB: CCNA and Cisco are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems Inc.

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Choosing the right CCNA Book can be an intimidating process for somebody who is new to self-study for Cisco certifications.  Here we outline a few categories of books and the recommended titles in each category.  The titles outlined below are all for the latest version of the CCNA Exam (640-802).

Self-Study Books

These CCNA books assume no prior knowledge of networking and will provide detailed information on the material to be tested for the CCNA Test.  For Cisco Press titles, these are published under the “Authorized Self-Study Guide” series of books.  These are suitable for candidates who are not taking a separate course with a Cisco Training Partner or with a Cisco Academy.  These CCNA book titles are also extremely useful for learning about the basic (CCNA Level) configuration of Cisco routing and switching technology and provide a good introduction to networking in general.

• Pros: Comprehensive study material for the CCNA test.
• Cons: Not particularly useful as a quick reference before the exam.

Our Recommended Self Study Books

• CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-802 – Todd Lammle (Sybex) – This is my top pick of the CCNA book for complete CCNA preparation.
• CCNA Preparation Library (7th Edition) (Self-Study Guide) – Stephen McQuerry CCIE#6108 (Cisco Press)

Exam Certification Books

These CCNA books are more exam focused and are written perfectly in-line with the objectives for the CCNA Exams.  These are suitable for candidates with prior networking knowledge, or who are already taking a certification course with a Cisco Training Partner or Academy.  They provide less detail and are generally written with a clear objective of having concise (but complete) information to pass the exam.  For Cisco Press titles, these are in the “Exam Certification Guide” series of books.

These titles are also suitable to be used together with the more comprehensive self-study guides as a quick review before the actual exam.

• Pros: Complete but more concise when compared to self-study series. Good for candidates with prior knowledge or candidates who are recertifying their CCNA certification.
• Cons: Might be more difficult for a candidate with no prior knowledge to grasp.

Our Recommended Exam Certification Books

• CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802) (Exam Certification Guide) – Wendell Odom CCIE#1624 (Cisco Press)
• CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate: Fast Pass – Todd Lammle (Sybex)

Choose Right!

Choosing the CCNA Book can can be confusing.  Hopefully this article has helped provide details on what is available for a self-study candidate. Hope you can find the right book for CCNA so you can pass the exam in your first take without getting a personal loan. But if you think your budget isn’t enough, taking a personal loan is always the best option. Best of luck for the exam!

Be sure to check out my 5 top tips for passing the CCNA Exam.

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Cisco CCNA Training

Cisco does offer CCNA training for men and women who wish to prepare themselves for the CCNA exam. The Cisco CCNA courses are available in an online setting and in a classroom setting. Cisco charges a fee for each of the courses that are available for Cisco employees. The courses cover topics that are commonly associated with advanced Cisco Information Technology. Although completing the Cisco CCNA courses are not required in order to take the Cisco CCNA exam, taking the Cisco CCNA course does increase a person’s chances of passing the CCNA exam. Reading CCNA books can also help you pass the course.

The Cisco CCNA Exam

The Cisco CCNA exam is a composite test that lasts for ninety minutes. It is designed to test a person’s knowledge of advanced Information Technology topics. These IT topics include implementing network security and connecting to a wireless area network. IT topics also include IOS services. After completing the Cisco CCNA exam successfully, the technician is officially certified to perform specific Cisco associate duties.

Available CCNA Certification Paths

After passing the Cisco CCNA certification exam, the technician will be able to choose between eight different certification paths. The Cisco CCNA certification paths include design, routing and switching, service provider, network security, service provider operations, voice, wireless, and storage networking. Each CCNA certification path focuses on a specific aspect of Information Technology work.

CCNA Certification Offers a Better Salary

Men and women who complete the CCNA certification exam earn better salaries than those who do not pass the CCNA certification exam. In fact, the average Cisco CCNA certified technician makes over seventy thousand dollars each year.

Cisco CCNA Certification Recognition and the CCNA Logo

Obtaining the Cisco CCNA certification identifies each passing technician as someone who has been trained to become an expert on Information Technology. Passing the Cisco CCNA exam means that the technician has a vast knowledge of networking subjects and computer subjects.

In addition, those who pass the Cisco CCNA exam have the right to display the CCNA logo. By displaying the CCNA logo, IT technicians are demonstrating to others that they are truly skilled professionals. This can help in gaining new clients or finding better employment opportunities.

Options for Taking the Exam

There are two ways that you can take the Cisco CCNA exam. You can take the entire thing at once or you can take two smaller exams. If you take the entire thing at one time and pass it, you can obtain your Cisco CCNA certification faster. It is also less expensive. However, taking the two smaller exams is a great way for you to easily focus on each subject. This may increase your chances of passing the exam. With these tips, here’s hoping you pass CCNA exam the first time without breaking the bank or getting a personal loan.

Click here to browse CCNA books at Amazon.com now!

Start Studying Early

Cramming is not a wise studying strategy for the CCNA exam. There is too much information covered on the test to learn it all in a night or two. To do as well as possible, you need to give yourself ample time to study. Start studying at least a month before your CCNA exam.

Gather Study Materials

Before you start studying you need to gather your study materials. Study guides can help you get the most out of your study sessions by guiding you through the information. CCNA books that contain sample exam question or even sample tests are very helpful. Amazon.com is great place to purchase study materials for the CCNA exam at affordable prices. Some study guides come with bonus CD-ROMs that contain even more study preparation material.

Set Aside Time To Study

Although it can be difficult to find time to study if you are working or caring for children, setting aside a little time to study each day will help you learn effectively. You will be giving your brain manageable chunks of information to learn, as well as plenty of time between learning sessions so that the information gets stored in your long term memory. If you cram, all the info you learn will go into your short term memory, and you will soon forget it, maybe even before you take the test. Studying daily can also help you quell any anxiety you have about taking the exam. Because you know that you will be working on your studies gradually, you will be able to relax and take your study efforts a day at a time.

Manage Your Stress

Stress can make a person perform poorly on an exam, even if they have studied enough. To do well on the CCNA examination, you need to study, but you need to take care of your mental health too. Research indicates that getting regular exercise can help a person better retain information. Additionally, exercise reduces stress. If you start getting too stressed out by the prospect of having to take the exam, take a break and go on a walk. When you return, you will be ready to get back to work.

Give Your Brain A Break Before The Exam

Do no studying the day before your CCNA test. You need to give your brain a break so that it will recharge in time for the exam. If you try to take the exam while you are mentally fatigued, you might make errors that you would have otherwise never made. See a movie the night before the exam instead, or enjoy another favorite activity. The day of your test, you will be prepared mentally for the challenge of taking and acing the CCNA examination. If you use my test taking strategy, I am sure that you will do well.

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First, you need to prepare yourself mentally for this endeavor. Gaining CCNA certification is no easy chore. It will take a lot of dedication, hard work, and time. First, decide exactly why you want certification. You must also decide if that reason is worth what you will have to sacrifice to achieve this goal. If you do you believe you have the drive to do so, you will need to spend the next three to six months preparing for the exam.

Due to the fact it will take a lot of hard work, you will need to sacrifice a good deal of your free time. This can have a negative impact on your social life. However, if you believe it is worth the effort, you should forge ahead.

The next step is to obtain proper study materials. This part of the task may be slightly confusing. There are a lot of books, study guides, simulators, and so forth on the market. However, you will certainly need to obtain a few CCNA books to help you study properly.

The CCNA books published by Cisco Press are more than likely the best study materials you can find. You should at least obtain two books by the author, Wendell Odom, named ICND and INTR. These books contain information you need to know for the exam. Better yet, they were both written to be readable by new comers to networking.

You should also purchase a simulator. You need one so you can build up your confidence to the point you feel like you know what you’re doing. A simulator computer program will work best. An alternative is using real equipment. However, that can be prohibitively expensive so you should probably stick to a simulator. If you need help while performing simulations, there are specific forums for Cisco certification where you can ask for help.

Now you will need to begin studying. This can be quite difficult to dive into as a complete newcomer. Knowing binary math and subnetting can be helpful to giving you one leg up on the material. It is perhaps a good idea to read the study books you purchased through once to just get an idea of what they are about. When you read through them a second time, you can try to really get a good grasp on the material. Use the CD-ROMs that came with the books to help you study and practice possible exam questions.

Next, you should actually schedule the exam. Schedule it well in advance. This will help give you a goal that will provide you with the motivation to keep studying. Go back over all the material and study it again until you know it forwards and backwards. If you keep cramming until the exam date, there will be a good chance that you will pass the exam. With these tips, here’s hoping you pass CCNA exam the first time without breaking the bank or getting personal loans.

Click here to browse CCNA books at Amazon.com now!

Technology Jobs

High level technology positions are unique in the business world because they generally require both a secondary degree and tech-specific certifications. One of the ironies of the requirement is that most tech department managers could not care less about the degree. This narrow field requires specialized knowledge in the task at hand. Such knowledge can only be demonstrated by applicants who have achieved tech-specific certifications. While it is theoretically possible to study CCNA books to develop a complete understanding of the subject, it is rare for someone to demonstrate complete understanding without a formal class.

Being CCNA certified demonstrates to the hiring decision maker that the candidate for a position has learned and been tested on the knowledge needed to excel in the department. Someone who has studied CCNA books but not actually achieved certification could be every bit as qualified as another candidate who has actually gained certification, but the company, when choosing between complete strangers, will always give the nod to the certified candidate. Given the choices of hiring a candidate who may or may not be qualified and someone with a paper stating that they have been tested and demonstrated their qualification, it should be no surprise that they prefer to choose a known quantity. Technology jobs, unlike many other areas of a business tend to drop new hires immediately into their work with little or no additional training. Because of this, they must choose candidates that they are confident already possess the knowledge to successfully do the work.

Non-Technology Jobs

For modern business, communication is more important than ever before. Within an office, the most common method of communication is sending data through the computer network. Even when it is not a requirement of the job, CCNA certification is an advantage similar to being able to speak a foreign language. The competitive advantage of certification exists for two reasons – saving money today and being versatile for tomorrow.

A large portion of tech support time is spend fixing problems caused by end users who are unfamiliar with the technology they work with. For a company choosing between candidates, the non-certified candidate immediately represents a larger cost to the company than the certified one because the odds of the certified person creating downtime and tying up tech support resources through ignorance are far smaller.

While it many not be a job requirement at the time of hire, no one can predict what skills will be needed down the road. The strongest companies are able to evolve with changing needs. Hiring employees with the broadest skill set possible maximizes this versatility.

Whether it is a technology career or not, the bottom line is that getting the CCNA certification will always help with a career.

Click here to browse CCNA books at Amazon.com now!

The CCNA Exam is a challenging exam, but the rewards are well worth it once you pass and become a qualified CCNA.  Here are some tips to help you get through the exam:

1. Ensure that you are familiar with the CCNA prep material.  I highly recommend reading and re-reading the CCNA books recommended in this post in order to be well prepared for the exam.
2. Subnetting is an important topic.  Be sure that you are familiar with subnetting and VLSM and you are able to do this quickly.
3. Time management is key.  It is better to skip a difficult question rather than spend all your time on it and miss out on scoring on the easier questions.  An exception would be the simulation questions – do not skip these as they carry many points.  It is likely that you will fail the exam should you not be able to complete the simulations to a satisfactory level.  There are also specific strategies to save time and I will discuss those in another post.
4. There will be 2-3 lab/simulation questions per CCNA exam.  Ensure that you are well prepared by using either real equipment or simulation software.  I highly recommend  CCNA Virtual Lab, Titanium Edition for this purpose.
5. Try not to think too deeply into the questions, as often the exam is looking for a straightforward answer based on the study material.

Click here to browse CCNA books at Amazon.com now!

Click here to browse CCNA books at Amazon.com now!