Certification News

Cisco Adds CCNA Concentrations

On June 24th, Cisco announced the addition of "concentrations" for CCNA certification covering security, voice, and wireless. Each one consists of a single exam added on to an existing CCNA certification. For example, to earn CCNA Security certification, candidates must first earn CCNA certification and then pass the Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security exam. The security and voice exams are already available, but the wireless concentration exam won't be released until July 25th.

The addition of these concentrations will affect other Cisco certifications as well, because many of the professional level certifications that require a CCNA as a prerequisite will begin to require one of the CCNA concentrations instead, with the rest of the requirements adjusted accordingly. For example, starting in June 2009, the Cisco Certified Security Specialist (CCSP) designation will have the CCNA Security as a prerequisite, and the number of additional exams will drop from five to four. The Cisco Certified Voice Professional will undergo a similar change, requiring CCNA Voice as a prerequisite and also dropping one redundant exam.