Big Changes to Cisco Certification

By Michael Clark | 30 January 2020

With the upcoming changes to the entire certification program at Cisco, our Product Manager, Michael Clark explains a little more about the changes to CCNA that come into effect on 24 February 2020.

What you need to know

While Cisco have overhauled their certification program, I thought we’d spend today discussing the most notable change which is the shortening of CCNA. To earn your CCNA certification, you now only pass one exam that covers a broad range of fundamentals for IT careers, based on the latest networking technologies, software development skills, and job roles.

The new CCNA program prepares you for today’s associate-level job roles in IT technologies. CCNA now includes security and automation and programmability. The program has one certification that covers a broad range of fundamentals of IT careers, with one exam and one training course to help you prepare.

Newly retooled for the latest technologies and job roles, the CCNA training course and exam give you the foundation you need to take your career in any direction. CCNA certification covers a breadth of topics, including:

Network fundamentals
Network access
IP connectivity
IP services
Security fundamentals
Automation and programmability

Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for CCNA certification, but you should have an understanding of the exam topics before taking the exam.

CCNA candidates often also have:

One or more years of experience implementing and administering Cisco solutions
Knowledge of basic IP addressing
A good understand of network fundamentals

Here is what you need to know:

Students who have a current CCNA will automatically receive the new version and be valid for three years from the date they first receive their old CCNA. E.g. Student passes old CCNA on February 23rd 2020, they will get the new certification and won’t be required to re-sit their exam until 23rd 2023
Students who have passed the ICND1 (CCENT) or are working towards their CCNA exam need to complete this before February 23rd 2020. If you miss the cut-off date of February 23rd 2020, you will be required to extend your learning to include the new content.

Got more questions?