Icons Used in This Book

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Token

Ring

Line: Ethernet

Token Ring

FDDI

Line: Serial

FDDI

Line: Switched Serial

Network Cloud

Command Syntax Conventions

The conventions used to present command syntax in this book are the same conventions used in the IOS Command Reference. The Command Reference describes these conventions as follows:

■Vertical bars ( | ) separate alternative, mutually exclusive elements.

■Square brackets ([ ]) indicate an optional element.

■Braces ({ }) indicate a required choice.

■Braces within brackets ([{ }]) indicate a required choice within an optional element.

■Bold indicates commands and keywords that are entered literally as shown. In actual configuration examples and output (not general command syntax), bold indicates commands that are manually input by the user (such as a show command).

■Italic indicates arguments for which you supply actual values.

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Introduction: Overview of Certification and How to Succeed

Congratulations! If you’re reading this Introduction, you’ve probably decided to go for your Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification. Cisco Systems’ entry-level certification, CCNA, has a reputation as one of the most valuable entry-level certifications in the computing industry. Although getting your CCNA does not guarantee you your first networking job, or a new job, it will certainly help convince others that you know what you’re talking about!

Cisco’s CCNA certification proves that you have a firm foundation in the most important components of the Cisco product line—routers and switches. It also proves that you have broad knowledge of protocols and networking technologies. CCNA is not an easy certification to get, but it is well worth the effort. In a booming economy, CCNA is the first step toward getting a higher salary than your noncertified peers. In a difficult economy, it could determine whether a prospective employer even looks at your resume. Regardless of your local economy, CCNA improves how people in the marketplace view your skill level!

People occasionally ask me for career advice, and my answer is typically the same: If you want to be in the networking industry, you need to know Cisco. Cisco has some amazing market shares in the router and switch industry, with more than 80% market share in some markets. In many markets, networking equals Cisco. If you want to be taken seriously as a network engineer, you need a CCNA certification. Frankly, you probably also need to work toward a more advanced Cisco certification—but first things first! CCNA requires some time and effort.

Cisco’s Motivation: Certifying Partners

Cisco’s primary motivation for creating CCNA and most of the other Cisco certifications is to help determine the skill levels of their partners. Cisco fulfills only a small portion of its orders through direct sales; most often, a Cisco reseller is involved. (Cisco calls resellers channel partners.) Also, Cisco encourages partners to perform most consulting and implementation services relating to Cisco products. While working heavily with partners,

Cisco needed to know which partners truly had the right skills. So it created many certifications, including CCNA.

Cisco measures the technical readiness of channel partners (resellers) and professional services partners in part by requiring specific numbers of Cisco certified employees. For instance, Premier, Silver, and Gold Channel Partners are required to have either two or four CCNAs on staff, along with Cisco professional and expert-level certified individuals.

So what does this mean to you? Well, if you already have some Cisco certifications on your resume, you are more valuable to Cisco partners. In today’s competitive environment, every

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edge counts, so having the right Cisco certifications can help you get that next job! In particular, the CCNA certification is a prerequisite for almost every Cisco certification, so this is the right place to start!

The CCNA Certification Exams (What? There’s More Than One Exam?)

For the first time since Cisco announced CCNA in 1998, the CCNA certification has an option for multiple exams. Before Cisco announced these latest changes in 2003, to get your CCNA certification, you passed a single “CCNA exam.” With this latest generation of

the CCNA, you can take a single exam to get your CCNA, or you can take two exams—with each of these exams covering a subset of the CCNA exam topics. Table I-1 lists the exams.

Table I-1 CCNA Exam Names and Numbers

So you either take the CCNA exam, or you take both the INTRO and the ICND exams, to pass CCNA.

Like most Cisco certification exams, the names of the INTRO and ICND exams come from two Cisco Authorized courses. Cisco’s INTRO course covers a broad range of topics, from Ethernet cabling to virtual private networks (VPNs). The Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (ICND) course delves more deeply into core Cisco technology and protocols—in particular, switching and routing. The INTRO course covers a broader range of topics in less depth, and the ICND course covers fewer topics in more depth. Like their namesakes, the

INTRO and ICND exams cover similar depth and breadth.

The CCNA exam covers everything on both the INTRO and ICND exams. So if you want to save some cash, and you are confident that you are ready to answer questions across the whole range of topics for CCNA, you can take just the CCNA exam. Alternatively, you can focus on the INTRO exam first, master those topics, pass the exam, and then move on to the ICND exam.