About CCDA

CISCO ANNOUNCES NEW EXAMS

On March 26, 2013, Cisco announced updates to their associate-level certifications. CCENT is now the only prerequisite certification for the newly-created CCNA Routing & Switching certification (formerly CCNA) as well as the CCNA Voice, CCNA Wireless, CCNA Security, and CCDA certifications. The changes reflect the evolving job market and the latest Cisco technology, including IOS v15, IPv6 Support, IOS licensing, and a simplified 802.1x security implementation. For full details, visit ciscopress.com/ccna.

The Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) is an associate- or foundation-level Cisco certification. Credential holders possess the skills required to design a Cisco converged network, including network infrastructures involving LANs and WANs. CCDA professionals perform basic functions required to design Cisco converged networks, including basic campus, data center, security, voice, and wireless networks.

Prerequisite Certification: CCDA currently has no prerequisites. Effective October 1, 2013, CCDA will require prerequisites of CCENT, CCNA Routing and Switching, or CCIE/CCDE Certification.

Required Exam: DESGN 640-864.

Recommended Years of Experience/Knowledge: 4 years

Test Track

640-864 Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESGN)

Exam cost: $150 USD (or worldwide equivalent)—register at PearsonVUE.com
Exam topics from cisco.com
Exam Profile from Pearson IT Certification

CCDA Self-Study Resources from Cisco Press

Cisco Press provides the only official line of self-study resources to help you learn, practice, and practice to successfully pass the Cisco CCDA certifications. Our learning options include print books, eBook, special bundles and libraries, video training, network simulation, practice tests and flash cards.

Cisco Press eBooks are designed for access via personal computers, tablets, and mobile devices and are available for purchase directly from Cisco Press as well as available via the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and the Apple iTunes Book store. and designed for tablets and other mobile devices.

Only available from Cisco Press, the Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test is a digital-only certification preparation product combining an eBook with enhanced Pearson IT Certification Practice Test.

Learn the Topics
These early-stage learning products give you the foundational knowledge covering all aspects of the CCDA exam. These are ideal products for someone new to the topics on the CCNA exam.
• Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESGN) Foundation Learning Guide: (CCDA DESGN 640-864), Third Edition

Prepare for the Exam
These products not only help you learn the topics, but also include tools for knowledge review and exam preparation.
• CCDA 640-864 Official Cert Guide, Fourth Edition
• CCDA 640-864 Official Cert Guide, Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test, Fourth Edition

About the Cisco Press Book Series

Foundation Learning Guides, which are based on Cisco courses for the related exams, provide essential foundation learning and thoroughly cover topics addressed in those courses. These books assume no prior knowledge of the subject matter and take a detailed approach to tutorial-based learning. Book elements within the Foundation Learning Guide Series feature real-world case studies, configuration examples, and chapter-ending review questions, making them useful on the job, in addition to exam preparation.

Official Cert Guides help prepare candidates for Cisco certification exams. These books assume readers have attained the necessary learning foundation and experience for a certification test and are reviewing material before exam time. They include summary information that details critical information on key exam topics and a companion CD-ROM which includes the powerful Pearson IT Certification Practice Test engine that enables you to focus on individual topic areas or take a complete, timed exam. The assessment engine also tracks your performance and provides feedback on a module-by-module basis, laying out a complete assessment of your knowledge to help you focus your study where it is needed most.

Which book is right for me?

Foundation Learning Guides and Official Cert Guides are intended to complement one another. Though they will cover similar content, they do so in a very different manner. Choosing one book over another depends where you are in the study cycle. If you are familiar with the base concepts, but need to assess your knowledge and review/practice for the exam, we recommend the Official Cert Guides. If you are new to a topic area and need more detailed discussions of the foundation concepts, we recommend you start with the Foundation Learning Guides.

• Register at PearsonVUE.com

The Cisco Learning Network is an online community for Cisco-certified customers that helps customers and partners interact, collaborate, learn, mentor peers, and prepare for certification exams via discussion forums, blogs, video interviews, wikis, and other interactive Web 2.0 technologies.

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