The Cisco company is famous not only for its networking products but also for its varied certification exams. These exams are created for candidates who which to improve their IT knowledge and receive validation of their specialized technical skills. One of such exams is Cisco 200-125.
Passing Cisco 200-125 Design exam will certify the IT professional’s ability to not only design routing and switching for enterprise networks but also create design objectives and methodologies, routing and addressing protocols, and considerations for network expansion within data center, campus, voice, wireless and security networks.
The certification associated with 200-125 is CCNA (Cisco Certified Design Associate), and it is one of the most coveted certifications for Cisco professionals. Acquiring it will certainly make you stand out immediately. Entry level is also a necessary stepping stone for network administrators to advance their careers.
Certifications related to CCNA
Since this credential is intended for advanced network administrators, it is often recommended for takers of this exam to obtain the basic CCNA Routing and Switching certification first. Other related credentials you can consider getting are CCENT (entry level) and CCIE (expert level).
However, these are just recommended prerequisites. If you are still a student but already have a solid experience portfolio in network administration, then do not hesitate to take 200-125 exam to prove how well you have developed your skills in network design and management.
What to expect from Cisco 200-125 exam?
The number of exam questions ranges from 55 to 65, and the examinee will be given a total of 75 minutes to answer them. There is no lab exam involved in CCNA, and you only need to take a single written test that will be composed of questions related to Cisco Design. The test will cost you 300 USD. Once you pass the test, you will be given the CCNA certification which has a validity of 3 years, after which you will be required to undergo recertification.
Should you focus on certain topics?
Not really. It is recommended to gain a firm grasp of the topics involved in 200-125 exam, so you should definitely place equal importance into each objective. Below are the primary topics that you should expect the questions to be based on. But note that the questions may not solely revolve around these topics. There may be other related topics that would appear in the exam, so do not hesitate to brush up on network design subjects in general.
· Considerations for Expanding an Existing Network
According to the official Cisco website, this is the topic that has the biggest weight in the exam (25%). This section tests your ability to put forward design concepts for wireless network infrastructures, for example. How well you are familiar with traffic flow, bandwidth consumption, Firewall and IPS placement, APIs, and controllers? How good is your grasp of virtualization with regards to general network design? These are just a few questions you should expect to answer.
· Enterprise Network Design
Since CCNA is essentially a Design certification, it is a no-brainer for you to dive into designing networks on an enterprise level. This topic is concerned with fundamental skills like designing basic campuses, branch networks, and enterprise networks. Expect to encounter questions revolving around WAN, Layer 3 protocols, data center connections, connectivity, hardware and more.
· Addressing and Routing Protocols in an Existing Network
You should be able to provide descriptions to scalable addressing and IP addressing schemes. This topic also covers network scalability, identification of routing protocols, creation of routing protocol expansion, and more.
· Design Objectives
You should be able to correctly describe and apply hierarchy, resiliency, modularity, the concept of fault domains, and scalability in an enterprise-level network.
· Design Methodologies
This part of the test assesses your knowledge of the common life cycle of Cisco design based on their “plan, build, manage” approach. You will also be tasked to describe advantages brought about by tools such as NBAR, NetFlow, and SNMP. Also, you will be asked to compare various kinds of design approaches.
Benefits of passing Cisco 200-125 exam
Getting the CCNA certification will assert your expertise in network administration and bring you a lot of benefits. And the fact that CCNA is one of the Cisco credentials that are at the top in terms of salary only proves this. Senior Network Engineers who have the CCNA certification enjoy earning an average salary of up to $106,000.
Of course, your CCNA credential would also serve as proof of just how much technical skills you have acquired. It demonstrates that you are a competent Network Engineer who will not find it hard to attract companies looking for Cisco-certified specialists.
200-125 exam tips: let PrepAway give you the tools to make this exam a piece of cake
The wisest route to take when taking 200-125 is to use exclusive study materials offered by the PrepAway website, which are specifically developed for candidates looking to pass their Cisco 200-125 exam on the first try. And yes, we mean that phrase “on the first try” because that is how confident we are in the materials you will be getting.
PrepAway provides materials created by no less than the best professionals who are well familiar with CCNA certification materials and wish to assist their fellow IT professionals to pass this test. They provide a comprehensive study guide, video courses, and practice questions and answers in a single study bundle. By getting this bundle, you can be sure that you have everything you need to prepare for an upcoming test.
The content is ultimately what gives the bundle utter value because all the materials in the bundle are consistently checked for accuracy, especially the answers to each question. Besides the insight you will gain from Cisco experts, you will also learn a lot of technical knowledge that will certainly be invaluable to you after you pass the test, especially when you are required to apply what you have learned in a real-world situation.
Conclusion
If the CCNA certification is your current primary professional goal, then you should certainly go an extra mile when preparing yourself for 200-125 exam. Do not underestimate it, as this is almost always the first mistake exam takers make. Get a good grasp of all the main topics and do not have second thoughts about relying on study platforms like PrepAway. This organization really provides high-quality study materials that stand apart from others of their kind simply because of the passion for helping IT exam candidates. Good luck with your200-125 test!