Cisco, the worldwide leader in technology that powers the Internet, has partnered with Certiport to create the Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) certification program.
This program includes three certification exams designed to validate work-ready skills and knowledge to help learners find a job in the field of end user support, networking, and cybersecurity. Earning a Cisco Certified Support Technician certification showcases the learner’s skillset to employers, telling them they are ready to roll up their sleeves on day one.
The CCST IT Support, CCST Networking, and CCST Cybersecurity exams were created by a team of subject-matter experts from diverse careers and industries (including Cisco employees, networking and cybersecurity professionals, hiring managers, professors, teachers, and the experts at Certiport) to ensure these certifications effectively bridge the gap between education and the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the workplace. It helps prepare learners for high-demand roles in tech support, networking, and cybersecurity, including analysts, auditors, support specialists, and technicians.
Learners that earn the Cisco Certified Support Technician certifications are expected to have the required knowledge and work-ready skills necessary to launch a career in IT support, networking, and cybersecurity, through at least 150 hours of instruction. The Cisco Certified Support Technician program comprises these certifications: Cisco Certified Support Technician IT Support, Cisco Certified Support Technician Networking and Cisco Certified Support Technician Cybersecurity.
1.1 Identify the fundamental conceptual building blocks of networks.
• TCP/IP model, OSI model, frames and packets, addressing
1.2 Differentiate between bandwidth and throughput.
• Latency, delay, speed test vs. Iperf
1.3 Differentiate between LAN, WAN, MAN, CAN, PAN, and WLAN.
• Identify and illustrate common physical and logical network topologies.
1.4 Compare and contrast cloud and on-premises applications and services.
• Public, private, hybrid, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, remote work/hybrid work
1.5 Describe common network applications and protocols.
• TCP vs. UDP (connection-oriented vs. connectionless), FTP, SFTP, TFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, DHCP, DNS ICMP, NTP
2.1 Compare and contrast private addresses and public addresses.
• Address classes, NAT concepts
2.2 Identify IPv4 addresses and subnet formats.
• Subnet concepts, Subnet Calculator, slash notation, subnet mask, broadcast domain
2.3 Identify IPv6 addresses and prefix formats.
• Types of addresses, prefix concepts
3.1 Identify cables and connectors commonly used in local area networks.
• Cable types: fiber, copper, twisted pair; Connector types: coax, RJ-45, RJ-11, fiber connector types
3.2 Differentiate between Wi-Fi, cellular, and wired network technologies.
• Copper, including sources of interference; fiber; wireless, including 802.11 (unlicensed, 2.4GHz, 5 GHz, 6GHz); cellular (licensed), sources of interference
3.3 Describe endpoint devices.
• Internet of Things (IoT) devices, computers, mobile devices, IP Phone, printer, server
3.4 Demonstrate how to set up and check network connectivity on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android, and Apple iOS.
• Networking utilities on Windows, Linux, Android, and Apple operating systems; how to run troubleshooting commands; wireless client settings (SSID, authentication, WPA mode)
4.1 Identify the status lights on a Cisco device when given instruction by an engineer.
• Link light color and status (blinking or solid)
4.2 Use a network diagram provided by an engineer to attach the appropriate cables.
• Patch cables, switches and routers, small topologies, power, rack layout
4.3 Identify the various ports on network devices.
• Console port, serial port, fiber port, Ethernet ports, SFPs, USB port, PoE
4.4 Explain basic routing concepts.
• Default gateway, layer 2 vs. layer 3 switches, local network vs. remote network)
4.5 Explain basic switching concepts.
• MAC address tables, MAC address filtering, VLAN
5.1 Demonstrate effective troubleshooting methodologies and help desk best practices, including ticketing, documentation, and information gathering.
• Policies and procedures, accurate and complete documentation, prioritization
5.2 Perform a packet capture with Wireshark and save it to a file.
• Purpose of using a packet analyzer, saving and opening a .pcap file
5.3 Run basic diagnostic commands and interpret the results.
• ping, ipconfig/ifconfig/ip, tracert/traceroute, nslookup; recognize how firewalls can influence the result
5.4 Differentiate between different ways to access and collect data about network devices.
• Remote access (RDP, SSH, telnet), VPN, terminal emulators, Console, Network Manageme Systems, cloud-managed network (Meraki), scripts
5.5 Run basic show commands on a Cisco network device.
• show run, show cdp neighbors, show ip interface brief, show ip route, show version, show inventory, show switch, show mac address-table, show interface, show interface x, show interface status; privilege levels; command help and auto-complete
6.1 Describe how firewalls operate to filter traffic.
• Firewalls (blocked ports and protocols); rules deny or permit access
6.2 Describe foundational security concepts.
• Confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA); authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA); Multifactor Authentication (MFA); encryption, certificates, and password complexity; identity stores/databases (Active Directory); threats and vulnerabilities; spam, phishing, malware, and denial of service
6.3 Configure basic wireless security on a home router (WPAx).
• WPA, WPA2, WPA3; choosing between Personal and Enterprise; wireless security concepts
