CCENT stands for Cisco Certified Entry level Network Technician.  Cisco launched the CCENT is 2008 to help make gaining a networking certification easier.  Before the CCENT existed the CCNA was Cisco’s entry level qualification.

As a networking student, you now have two routes to gaining the popular CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification.  You can either take one exam or take two exams (ICND1 and ICND2).  When you pass the ICND1 you get the CCENT certification, then when you pass the second exam (ICND2) you will be CCNA certified.

Each ICND exam is approximately half the CCNA syllabus giving you the time and flexibility to gain a certification (CCENT) and learn the subject matter in more depth while working towards your CCNA.

If you are fairly new to networking it would be preferable to take earn the CCENT certification first (by taking the ICND1 exam) rather than trying to learn all the knowledge required to pass the CCNA in one go.    On the other hand if you have been working in IT for some time and already have a good understanding of networking you may prefer to take the CCNA exam straight away.  Take a look at the pros and cons of obtaining your CCNA via the CCENT route below.

Pros and Cons for CCENT

We get a lot of emails asking how much it costs to sit the CCNA exam in India and how to locate a test center.  Well as of October 2010 the price is $250 USD.  You can check the latest price on the Pearson VUE price list, just look for the 640-802 exam code.

Locate a Cisco Test Center in India

Cisco CCNA exams delivered by a company called Pearson VUE.  Go to this page to find a CCNA test center in India.  Choose India from the drop down menu and then select your region.

Here are some tips for helping to cram for the CCNA exam.

1. Restrict your revision to the exam topics on the CCNA syllabus
2. Concentrate on the subjects where your knowledge is weak
3. Buy a good CCNA certification book such as Todd Lammle's CCNA Study Guide
4. Buy a CCNA exam simulator or use our free CCNA test engine
5. Create a single page of revision notes per topic, you may want to use our CCNA cheat sheet as a starting point
6. Book your exam in advance to give you some motivation
7. Review your revision notes and start to memorise the information
8. Condense your notes, add sketches, diagrams, mnemonics to aid your memory

Unfortunately Cisco CCNA exam questions are not all multiple choice like our CCNA Test.  They vary from question-to-question and can include the following types of question.

• Multiple Choice – Select the best answer from a choice of answers.
• True/False – Identify the true statement from a selection of statements.
• Select Multiple Correct Answers – Select all the answers that apply. You are told how many answer options you need to choose.
• Select All That Apply – Select all the answers that apply. You are NOT told how many answer options you need to choose.
• Freeform Response – No answer choices are provided, you are required to input your response.
• Exhibit – You are given a diagram or configuration and asked questions relating to it.
• Scenarios – Asks a question that you might face in the real world.
• Simulations – Tests your ability to fix and configure Cisco devices.

Cisco does not publish the pass mark required to gain the CCNA qualification.  Cisco’s exam policies state that the CCNA “passing scores are set using statistical analysis and are subject to change.” “Cisco does not publish exam passing scores because exam questions and passing scores are subject to change without notice.”

However the general consensus on CCNA forums and websites is that an average pass mark of around 85% (850/1000) is required to pass the CCNA exam.

To find out how much the Cisco CCNA exam will cost in your country you can look at the Cisco price list on the Pearson VUE website. Find your country in the list and look for the correct CCNA exam code, currently 640-802.

CCNA 640-802 refers to the current version of the Cisco Certified Network Associate exam.  The CCNA exam is 90 minutes long and contains between 45-55 questions.  It is available in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Korean, French, Portuguese languages.

The 640-802 exam tests your knowledge of networking, in particular it covers the following topics:

1. Network media
2. TCP/IP and OSI models
3. IP addressing
4. Switching and routing fundamentals
5. Access Control Lists (ACL)
6. Virtual LANs (VLAN)
7. Wide Area Networks (WAN)
8. Operating and configuring IOS devices

Click here to locate a test center.

Alternatively you could choose to earn your CCNA via the Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT™) pathway, which divides the CCNA course into two exams making it easier to study.