SAN JOSE, Calif., July 26, 2005 - Cisco Systems® today announced the availability of the Cisco Certification Multi-Player Challenge: CCNA, a new game available at the CCNA Prep Center designed for networking professionals pursuing CCNA certification.

Open to anyone with a Cisco.com login, the Cisco Certification Multi-Player Challenge: CCNA allows certification candidates to compete with peers as they answer CCNA practice questions individually or in teams. Its "first-to-the-buzzer" format enables players to compete in 20-question rounds and the overall top 20 scores are posted.

Over 60,000 individuals have signed up and use the CCNA Prep Center, which is a Cisco Internet portal designed to assist networking professionals preparing for the CCNA certification. As a component of the Cisco Career Certifications program, the CCNA Prep Center (www.cisco.com/go/prepcenter) offers a wide variety of resources, including practice questions, labs, simulations, games, tips, expert advice and peer discussion forums for CCNA certification candidates.

Recent enhancements and additions to the CCNA Prep Center include:

• Revised set of practice questions for "Introduction to Cisco Networking Technologies (INTRO)"
• Live experts from Cisco Learning Solutions Partners answer questions about CCNA training and exam topics
• New must-read articles with tips on how to take the CCNA exam and on the value of certification

"The Certification Multi-Player Challenge: CCNA is a dynamic, challenging and fun addition to the CCNA Prep Center," said Don Field, director of certifications at Cisco. "The new game and other training supplements provide CCNA candidates with a growing array of resources designed for networking professionals to successfully achieve their certification goals."

Though the site provides useful practice and training resources for CCNA, candidates are encouraged to contact a Cisco Learning Partner for an array of CCNA authorized training offerings, including instructor-led and e-learning courses.

CCNA certifications validate the foundation and apprentice knowledge of networking professionals. CCNA certified professionals can install, configure and operate LAN, WAN and dial access services for small networks (100 nodes or fewer), including but not limited to use of these protocols: IP, IGRP, Serial, Frame Relay, IP RIP, VLANs, RIP, Ethernet and Access Lists.

About Cisco Career Certifications

The widely respected Cisco Career Certifications bring valuable, measurable rewards to network professionals, their managers and the organizations that employ them. Cisco offers three levels of general certification: Associate, Professional and Expert. Each is available in various tracks such as Routing and Switching, Network Security and Service Provider. A variety of Cisco Qualified Specialist focused certifications are also available to show knowledge in specific technologies, solutions or job roles. For Cisco Career Certifications information, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/learning.

To access the CCNA Prep Center, visit www.cisco.com/go/prepcenter.

For additional information on the CCNA certification visit www.cisco.com/go/ccna

If you have questions regarding the CCNA certification or other Cisco certifications visit the Certifications Online Support tool at www.cisco.com/go/certsupport.