What is Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) Certification?

The Certified Novell Administrator or CNA Certification is an IT credential that proves that you have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide administrative support for Novell products. The CNA Certification can be your foundation for a variety of careers in a range of work settings in the ever expanding IT sector.

Once you have obtained your CNA certification, you are certified by Novell to provide on-site administrative support for software users. CNAs work in a variety of work environments ranging from the small business setting to large corporate information services (IS). A Certified Novell Administrator is equipped to handle a variety of tasks including the setting up of a user workstation, customizing and optimizing the desktop, managing users and resources in the network environment, as well as the setting up and management of network printing by correctly installing and configuring print servers. CNAs also monitor network performance and troubleshoot software problems when they arise.

The CNA Certification has a number of advantages, not least its worldwide recognition and the fact that it distinguishes you from other, non-certified networking professionals. Another plus point is the fact that Novell includes the technology and product information of other companies, not just its own. This means that you have greater flexibility to work with different networks and operating environments. This enhances both the transferability of the CNA Certification and obviously opens up a wider range of job opportunities. In this way, CNA Certification enables you to take the greatest possible advantage of the huge global demand for computer networking professionals.

To become CNA Certified, you need to pass a single exam covering a range of subjects such as Novell directory services, network connectivity, file systems, security, and installation. Currently, there is a choice of two exams depending on whether you opt to go for the Netware 5 or NetWare 6 track leading to Netware 5 Certified Novell Administrator and NetWare 6 Novell Administrator Certification respectively.

There are no pre-requisites for either the Netware 5 or Netware 6 CNA exam. However, Novell do state that CNA Certification is suitable for entry-level IT professionals and recommend that candidates should have a fundamental knowledge of networking (i.e. network implementation, support, media, topologies, protocols, and standards) before proceeding to learn more about the Novell networking environment. In particular, Novell recommends that CompTIA Network+ certification is gained by candidates before taking on the CNA certification.

As well as providing a direct path to becoming a Certified Novell Network Administrator, CNA Certification can be your stepping stone to a number of related careers. The CNA certification is particularly suited to those individuals who are looking for entry-level positions as desk support analysts, systems analysts or desktop support specialists. In addition, CNA Certification can be your first step to obtaining the more advanced Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) certification and so further your networking career.

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