The CCDA certification (Cisco Certified Design Associate) is Cisco’s foundation-level network design certification. Candidates who successfully gain CCDA accreditation should be able to design routed and switched network infrastructures and services involving LAN, WAN, and broadband access for businesses and organizations. For individuals wishing to demonstrate knowledge of network design suitable for small and medium sized businesses, the CCDA certification is a good endorsement of those skills.
To obtain CCDA certification a candidate needs only to pass one exam, 640-863 DESGN (Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions Exam). The exam, which can be taken at any Prometric or Pearson VUE testing centre, is 90 minutes in duration and consists of approx. 65 questions.
While there are no prerequisites for taking the CCDA exam, Cisco recommends that candidates have CCNA-level and BCMSN-level knowledge before attempting the exam. The CCDA certification itself is a prerequisite (along with the CCNA) for the more advanced CCDP certification.
The CCDA certification is valid for a period of three years after which time recertification is required if an individual wishes to remain CCDA certified. To recertify, a candidate must pass the applicable current CCDA exam, or any of the ‘642’ professional level or Cisco Specialist exams. Alternatively, a CCDA candidate can opt to pass any current CCIE written exam to remain qualified.
As with other Cisco exams, candidates taking the CCDA exam are not permitted to go back through their answers during the exam. Candidates must answer each question before moving to the next question so marking questions for later review, or skipping answers with the intention to return later is not permitted (for more information on what to expect, read our section on Cisco exams).
At the end of the exam the candidate’s score will be assessed and a pass or fail report will be issued. It is important to hold on to this report for any future correspondence with Cisco that may be required.
Below, and on the following pages you’ll find plenty of links to free CCDA self study training resources around the net. Be sure though to regularly check the official CCDA certification home page to keep up with the latest exam requirements, as changes are often made. Be sure also to check out the resources listed under the other Cisco exams on this site as many subjects for the different certification tracks overlap.
General CCDA information:
General information to give you an idea into what's required to take and pass the CCDA certification:
http://www.cisco.com CCDA Certification track
http://www.certcities.com CCDA overview
http://www.tcpmag.com Magazine for Cisco experts
http://www.certmag.com Advice on how to prepare for the Cisco exams
http://ciscocert.custhelp.com FAQ's and support for the CCDA
