CCNA: What It Means to Me, What Awaits in Cisco U.

The CCNA changed my life. This isn’t exaggeration or hyperbole. It all started back in 2001, right here in Ottawa, Canada. I was teaching high school computer science (Visual Basic!) and web design (Macromedia!) when Cisco Networking Academy approached our school board to see if we would be interested in joining their fledgling program.

I knew nothing about networking then, but the folks at Cisco Networking Academy explained that they would send me to classes to learn and earn something called the CCNA. Little did I know that this decision would start an incredible adventure with Cisco.

I was sent back to school to learn how routers and switches work, how to terminate Ethernet cables, how to subnet, and what ISDN and Frame Relay were used for. To prepare for CCNA certification, I read Cisco Press books, reviewed the Networking Academy’s CCNA content, took practice exams, and built labs on 2501 routers and 1924 switches the school had bought. (No, Packet Tracer wasn’t around back then!)

I eventually took the CCNA exam in 2002. I was nervous, but I felt ready to try my luck. Like many of you starting your CCNA journey, this was my first time taking a certification exam.

The exam had so many questions to answer in such a short amount of time—multiple-choice, lab simulations, drag-and-drops—it had it all. And there was no back button! When I finally clicked “End Exam” and saw the “Congratulations” message, I was stunned, thrilled, and so proud.

Passing the CCNA and the Networking Academy instructor training meant I would become a Cisco Certified Academy Instructor (CCAI), entitled to start teaching my high school students about Cisco networking. This was way better than teaching them Visual Basic!

That one decision back in 2001 opened so many doors for me. A few years later, I became a Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (CCSI) authorized to provide CCNA and CCNP training with a Cisco Learning Partner.

Over the last few years, I’ve presented at many Cisco conferences and achieved Distinguished Speaker status across multiple Cisco Live events in Melbourne, Amsterdam, and Las Vegas.

I’m now a Cisco Press author, I’ve helped develop Cisco course content like Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services (ENARSI) and Implementing Cisco SD-WAN Solutions (ENSDWI), and I work for Cisco as an instructor and lead content advocate in Learning & Certifications.

Cisco announces 200-301 CCNA v1.1 exam update 

In April 2024, Cisco Learning & Certifications announced a minor 200-301 CCNA exam update. This meant we needed to update the CCNA v2.0 Learning Path you see on Cisco U. (and also taught by our Learning Partners) to align with the updated CCNA v1.1 exam. Over the past few months, it’s been my privilege to lead this effort and ensure we get the update done before the new exam goes live on August 20, 2024.

I am happy to confirm that the new CCNA v2.1 Learning Path will be available in Cisco U. starting July 26, 2024.

So, what’s new in the CCNA 2.1 Learning Path?

While we were updating the content to align with the new 200-301 CCNA v1.1 exam topics, we decided to rebuild the CCNA Learning Path offered in Cisco U. The image below shows the new structure:

The CCNA 2.1 Learning Path will feature shorter, more focused tracks and three new courses.

New CCNA courses:

• Introducing Network Programmability
• Explaining Software-Defined Networking
• Introducing AI and ML in Network Operations

All of the CCNA 2.1 Learning Path courses come with newly written introductions that show which exam topics are covered in that course. For example:

As per the new CCNA exam v1.1, the CCNA v2.1 Learning Path now includes extra content on:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
• Spanning Tree
• Cisco Meraki
• Cisco Catalyst Center
• Terraform
• Cisco Modeling Labs (CML)
• Cisco WebUI

We also rewrote the Automation and Programmability content to be easier to understand and removed the content on Puppet and Chef.

Start your CCNA certification journey with the essentials

We are hosting a free CCNA v1.1 webinar on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 9–10 a.m. Pacific Time.

Whether you’re currently studying for your CCNA or interested in learning how to get started, this is your chance to get a closer look at the new CCNA v1.1 exam topics, the new CCNA v2.1 Learning Path, and the reasons the CCNA certification continues to be a vital, worthwhile certification to pursue today, more than 25 years after its launch. (I would know— I’m living proof!)

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Free Webinar: Navigating the Essentials of CCNA v1.1 

July 30, 2024, 9–10 a.m. Pacific Time | Register now for free

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*The Packet: Cisco Systems User Magazine (Vol. 6 No. 1), Cisco, 1994.

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CCNA in the Age of AI

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