Cisco CCNA (200-301)

You're watching ITPro TV. [MUSIC] >> Thank you so much for joining us. I'm your host Lauren Deal and I'll be your learner advocate throughout this course but Ronnie Wong is gonna be joining us and he is on our subject matter expert for all things CCN A. Welcome in Ronnie. >> Well thank you Lauren as we get started here we are actually taking a look at of course the CCNA. Now I've been teaching the CCNA for a long time probably beginning around 2007 coming all the way now to 2022 as we go, it started here with our particular course so I know the ins and outs of this and I've actually taken the certification as well as even the advanced certifications in Cisco going up to the CCMP enterprise infrastructure as well so all this is actually good foundation and knowledge that you have to have as actually moved forward and I'm glad to actually be here with Lauren and you as we get started. >> Well I'm excited because see Sienna is kind of a foreign being for me and so I'm excited to jump in and ask the questions that you might be thinking at home and so that's gonna be my role but Ronnie, what can they expect or who would be the perfect learner for this course? >> Yeah, as far as who this course is really designed around is for any IT Professional that already has some experience but hasn't really worked in the realm of these Cisco equipment before. So you already have a good networking background but you now want to of course, make sure that you specialize and you can configure Cisco routers and switches. This is at least the beginning for USD is their introductory level course here at the associate level. So you'll be working directly with routers and switches and learning the basic configurations of them now if you're brand new to the realm of IT. You may find yourself a little bit in over your head but it doesn't mean you can't catch up, it just means that it will take you probably a little bit longer to do so. So I do recommend that you take the time to actually do a little bit more explore in the networking background such as using the comp tia a plus or even the compton network plus to get yourself up to the speed that you need to. A lot of the basic networking concepts that we'll be covering right here in the CCNA will really be for review rather than going into a super in depth explanation of them because this exam is really that big and it assumes that you already have that knowledge even though Cisco considers considers it an entry level or even associate level certification. >> Well I think this is so great because you can actually go on to our our web page and see the different pathways that can lead you where you want to go and maybe see Sienna is the perfect one for you but let's talk about the structure of the course and what are the course goals, what do we want to walk away with? >> So when it comes down to it, the overall goal is relatively simple, which is to help you to prepare for the exam, but the overall goal is to make you at least a technician that considers more than what you've actually just been taught. We'll be taking a look at different scenarios as well as real world configurations that you can use to help you to practice and of course even the practice labs environment that we're actually on. We'll be using real Cisco equipment to do so and you'll have access to that as long as you have access to our premium subscription right here at I t pro t v. The course itself is really based around the exam objectives themselves and so why should be taking that structure mainly because it does build in that same way that I would normally take you through. So let's take a look at that very briefly here and quickly to show you kind of the high level overview of that. So directly from Cisco's learning network, if you go ahead and use whatever your favorite search engine is, you type in Cisco CCN a exam, it'll probably lead you to a link where you can get to their learn network and here are the basic exam topics that will be covering networking fundamentals network access here. IP connectivity service, make sure you actually have a good solid understanding of layer three services and adhere the network access layer to services and working with switches. And of course basic network fundamentals will also be taking a look at the different IP services that are available out there that you generally need to know of course to work inside of network security fundamentals. And this last one is actually the major change from the previous iteration of the exam, which is automation and program ability. You're not gonna become an expert in terms of automation and program ability. This will get you more familiar with the terminology and the concepts as well but those are the overall basic goals. My recommendation of course is that you come to this link here and you download this pdf and make sure that your study program also involves this as well as you actually go through. So we're actually going to be shooting for those two main goals help you to prepare for the C C N A. And with your additional study you'll actually be able to do that along with this course as well as actually get you ready for the field in working with Cisco routers and switches at the beginning. >> Well you mentioned the PDF and you mentioned that we'll be using practice labs. What other tools would be helpful for them to get themselves ready and have all the tools in front of them to prepare for this exam, Well when it comes down to exam d details right once you actually have all those and you have access to everything in our subscription here, it just takes the time for you to go over these commands. >> So using the practice labs environment and actually making sure that you go over them is also gonna be helpful too, even though I've used practice labs is not exactly the same as the lab guide that's actually built into the practice labs environment, that's directly off of our website. So you end up really with two different ways that you approach those different topics that will actually be covering. Now the other thing of course is getting ready for that exam. You'll sign up through Pearson Vue is what you actually have to do there. And you if you haven't created an account, once you actually select Cisco systems as part of the options to actually get there, we'll take a look at my screen, you'll end up with this particular area as well. And if you haven't actually created account first, you actually create account. If you already have, you'll sign in here and then you have to look for that exam number, which exam 200-301 and that will get to that link and actually be able to see the details behind that and how you actually scheduled that along as well to make sure you read carefully here and as you decide that you go ahead and pay for this exam too. And if I remember right, the exam is similar between 3 to $400 US Dollars at this point. So make sure you save up and you're actually ready for the exam before you go ahead and sign up for it. >> Well, great information Ronnie and I like that we have the visual to see what we need to do to get into the exam and set it up. Also cost knowing how to budget. But what does the exam look like? How many questions should we be prepared for and how long is it? >> When it comes down to the exam, we can go back to the actual web page itself on the Cisco exam details and it actually does tell us that the exam itself is 100 and 20 minute exam. So you actually see that as well but it doesn't actually tell you how many questions it is going to be. It is as many as they choose to ask you, I would actually budget my time during the entire exam about a minute per question. Make sure you actually take a look at, use that exam guide or that exam list topic here to ensure that you're actually studying the right things and that will help you along as well. >> That's great, okay. I'd like to know what I'm walking into and you know what Ronnie, I found really helpful is our show notes, everything that Ronnie does on screen, he has notes for, so you can go back and watch the episode and follow along with the labs and so that's also a great tool. But Ronnie, what makes you so excited about the CCNA course we're about to do. >> So this is one of the premier certifications that's out there, that's really highly recognized and I hope that by actually watching the actual videos that will be producing as well as doing labs that you'll end up earning this certification and be very excited about your career in networking. This is one of the very first steps that I ended up taking. That really got me to actually say that I want to learn more and more about it and even proceed on to actually gain more advanced certifications using the Cisco systems that are actually out there. >> Well, Ronnie, I'm excited because Ronnie and I are friends off screen and so now I get to learn from him and ask questions that you might be asking as well at home. So we're excited to launch CCNA. So don't waste any more time. Let's start the first episode. >> Thank you for watching ITPro TV. [MUSIC]