The CCNA Routing and Switching certification is one of the renowned certifications that has become the starting point for many of the Cisco certificates for decades and ever since March 2013, there have been changes made in the venerable certification that has changed the role of CCNA R&S certs. The thing that has not changed about this CCNA 200-125 certification is that it has remained to be an early important step that demonstrates all mastering core networking skills required for LAN switches and IP routing. The certification owes its own importance is developing right career domains for professionals and enabling them to acquire in-depth knowledge of networking core and routing basics. Relying on its importance all over the world, many professionals try to get this certification exam cleared and enhance their knowledge on networking switching and routing.

Importance of the CCNA Routing and Switching Certification

With the increased norm of enterprises towards controlled architectures, the key roles of networking engineers are doomed as the demanding professional traits of this era. Setting a right infrastructure of networking is really a critical job but that what this certification is aimed for professionals. This networking transition is prepared mainly with the core grip over the networking foundational technologies and enables a professional to seek all the relevant skills that are crucially required by a networking engineer of an enterprise. Being a CCNA certified professional for routing and switching really expands the career horizon specifically in today’s world where our globe has been compacted to a global village. Getting right skills and expertise could really be a future fruitful deem for a person and of course refreshing your knowledge with the latest and advanced skills could really polish the skill set as well. The key is just to keep the certification valid and updated with advanced certifications in order to pursue the networking career in any organization.

Test Options

            To acquire the CCNA Routing and Switching certification, Cisco provides two of the most important testing options which include:

• Passing one exam of CCNA 200-125
• Passing two exams of ICND1: 110-101 and ICND2: 200-101

Both of these tests provide pathway to the CCNA Routing and Switching certification that covers the similar topics but, however,a particular examination is given to the CCNA 200-125 exam on the specific basis. The required Prepaway CCNA 200-125 exam also includes a number of other wide range of topics which mostly covers and tracks two of the most significant week-long Cisco authorized courses. These include the ICND1 and ICND 2 courses as thus the CCNA exam includes:

• TCP/IP
• Routing IP v4 and IP v6
• LAN Switching
• IP Addressing
• Cisco router and switch Command Line Interface (CLI)
• Network Address Translation (NAT)
• Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
• WANs (point to point and Frame Relay)
• VLANs and VLAN trucking
• Routing Protocols (OSPF and EIGRP)
• First Hope Redundancy Protocols

Exam Details

            The individuals are also concerned about the exam format which they would be required to undertake in order to prepare well for the exams. Some of the important raw details which the test takers should know before preparing or taking the test include the following:

1. Number of Questions asked: 50 to 60 in total count
2. Type of Questions asked: Drag and Drop, Multiple Choice questions, Simlets, Simulations and Testlets.
3. Time Limit: 90 minutes is the required time limit for the test that needs to be strictly followed
4. Passing Score: Cisco may also have the control to change this at any given time but on the current basis, it is 800 to 850 out of 1000 possible maximum points.

Top 5 of Study Materials

            Students are concerned about the idea that they need to be well acknowledged about the material they can use to study and prepare for the exams. No doubt, the Cisco CCNA exam is one of the most challenging tests because it is seen as an initiation rite for many networking expertsaround the entire globe. If an individual is able to obtain the CCNA certification, then he/she will be aware of a successful career in the field of networking which can goes up to the salary of 40,000 pounds. Here are the top 5 books which the test takers can use to seek help for their test preparation:

1. Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching 200-125 Official Cert Guide Library (2016)
   • This book is the latest edition of Wendell Odom’s Official Cert Guide Library. This is the most comprehensive form of resource that is available for the students who choose self-study and self-preparation.Currently at Amazon, this book is rated with 5 stars and 22 customer reviews. It has gained popularity thanks to well-organized content and rich and detailed information it provides on subject.

2.      101 Labs for the Cisco CCNA Exam: Exam – 200-125 and 100-105

v  This guide will help the test takers quickly create the practical skills needed to pass the CCNA and CCENT exams as well for the first time. This resource has also been successfully updated for the new form of Cisco curriculum and exam.

3.      CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide

v  The last update made on this book was in 2016 which covers the wide range of new CCNA curriculum. It mentions the content related to the ICND1 and ICND2 exams. The book has knowledgeable approach to engage the readers and includes topics like route summarization and sub-netting.

4.      CCNA Routing and Switching Portable Command Guide

v  The best part of this book is that it comprisesthe entire CCNA certification Cisco IOS Software commands and relatedprompts.

5.      31 Days Before Your CCNA Routing & Switching Exam

v  This book is designed toprovide information about all the topics related to scheduling the CCNA Routing and Switching exam.