Examen Cisco Certified Support Technician IT Support

Cisco, wereldwijd marktleider op het gebied van internettechnologie, werkt samen met Certiport aan het certificeringsprogramma Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST).

Dit programma omvat drie certificeringsexamens die zijn ontworpen om werkgerede vaardigheden en kennis te valideren, zodat cursisten een baan kunnen vinden op het gebied van eindgebruikersondersteuning, netwerken en cyberbeveiliging. Het behalen van de Cisco Certified Support Technician-certificering laat de vaardigheden van de cursist zien aan werkgevers en laat zien dat de cursist klaar is om vanaf de eerste dag de mouwen op te stropen.

De CCST IT Support, CCST Networking en CCST Cybersecurity examens zijn ontwikkeld door een team van materiedeskundigen uit verschillende carrières en industrieën (waaronder Cisco medewerkers, netwerk- en cybersecurity professionals, hiring managers, professoren, docenten en de experts van Certiport) om ervoor te zorgen dat deze certificeringen effectief de kloof overbruggen tussen onderwijs en de vaardigheden en kennis die nodig zijn om te slagen op de werkvloer. Het helpt leerlingen voor te bereiden op veelgevraagde functies in technische ondersteuning, netwerken en cyberbeveiliging, waaronder analisten, auditors, ondersteuningsspecialisten en technici.

Van cursisten die de Cisco Certified Support Technician certificering hebben behaald, wordt verwacht dat ze beschikken over de vereiste kennis en werkklare vaardigheden om een carrière te starten in IT-ondersteuning, netwerken en cyberbeveiliging, door middel van ten minste 150 uur instructie. Het Cisco Certified Support Technician programma omvat de volgende certificeringen: Cisco Certified Support Technician IT Support, Cisco Certified Support Technician Networking en Cisco Certified Support Technician Cybersecurity.

Interpersonal skills

Although not specifically tested as discrete objectives, this certification expects candidates to
perform their jobs using the following interpersonal best practices:

• Demonstrate professional communication skills when interacting with users.
• Demonstrate active listening.
• Express technical concepts to a non-technical audience.
• Communicate effectively using vocabulary appropriate to the situation.

Some scenarios on the test require understanding these best practices.

Objectives: CCST IT Support

1. Job Tasks

1.1 Define key help desk concepts.
   • Queue management, time management, ticketing systems

1.2 Prepare documentation to summarize a customer interaction.
    • Creating a clear, concise, factual, and comprehensive description of the problem, the troubleshooting steps, and the results obtained.
   • Documenting in such a way that the documentation is useful for future interactions

1.3 Using Cisco’s troubleshooting model, perform basic troubleshooting steps to resolve a problem.
   • Define the problem.
   • Gather detailed information.
   • Consider probable cause for the failure.
   • Devise a plan to solve the problem.
   • Implement the plan.
   • Observe the results of the implementation.
   • Repeat the process if the plan does not resolve the problem.
   • Document the changes made to solve the problem.

2. Troubleshooting Hardware Issues

2.1 Demonstrate how to follow basic safety procedures.
   • Electrical shock, ESD, fire, personal safety

2.2 Assist end users in using tools to locate information about their device.
   • Information: Host name, Hardware (processor, memory, disk space), operating system version, IPv4 address, IPv6 address, MAC address
   • Windows tools: Task Manager, System Information, Event Viewer, ipconfig
   • MacOS tools: Activity Monitor, About This Mac, System Settings, Console, ifconfig

2.3 Assist end users in locating and identifying various ports and cables.
   • Video ports: HDMI, USB-C, DVI, DisplayPort, VGA
   • USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, Micro USB
   • Serial ports
   • RJ-45, UTP
   • Common types of power cables (desktop, laptop, mobile)
   • Converters

2.4 Identify, install and upgrade various components in a desktop computer.
   • Identifying the processor and motherboard
   • Identifying, installing, and upgrading RAM, peripherals, and internal storage devices
   • Interfaces and expansion card compatibility
   • Using Device Manager to manage drivers

2.5 Troubleshoot commonly encountered hardware issues.
   • Basic troubleshooting: plug in, connected to power, powered on
   • Application compatibility requirements: Processor architecture, RAM requirements, GPU requirements, disk space
   • Using Device Manager to identify issues with hardware
   • Device status indicators

3. Troubleshooting Connectivity and Resource Access Issues

3.1 Assist users in troubleshooting access to network-based resources.
   • Basic knowledge of common directory services: Active Directory, Cloudbased access management (Entra ID and AWS IAM)
   • Mapping a shared drive, including SMB and cloud drive (S3 bucket, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, Dropbox, Box, etc.)
   • Using Gpupdate/adgpupdate to force a group policy update
   • Resetting passwords
   • Checking membership in security and distribution groups to determine whether there is an issue.
   • Verifying permissions

3.2 Troubleshoot commonly encountered connectivity issues with peripherals.
   • Printers: Connectivity to printer, assisting a user in using a multifunction device, loading paper, fixing a paper jam, clearing print queue, swapping toner
   • Fax
   • Headphones
   • Microphones
   • External drives
   • Scanners
   • Webcams
   • Keyboard, mouse, pointing devices (wired and wireless)
   • Tactile/interactive input devices (flat panels)
   • Teleconferencing devices (Cisco DX series screens)

3.3 Troubleshoot basic end-device connectivity to the network.
   • LAN (wired) access vs. WLAN
   • Purpose of DNS
   • Purpose of DHCP
   • IP address ranges (is it in the right subnet, public and private, self-assigned IP addresses (APIPA)
   • Using the following commands to verify connectivity
          ◊ Ipconfig/Ifconfig/ip add
          ◊ Traceroute/tracert
          ◊ Ping
          ◊ Nslookup
   • Purpose of a firewall and how it might impact connectivity

4. Troubleshooting Operating System and Application Issues

4.1 Assist users in resolving Windows operating system issues.
   • Display settings, multiple displays, brightness
   • BitLocker codes
   • Windows and application updates
   • Clearing the browser cache
   • Terminating processes with Task Manager
   • Assisting the customer in backing up and restoring personal data with cloudbased tools (OneDrive)

4.2 Assist users in resolving MacOS operating system issues.
   • Display settings, multiple displays, brightness
   • Allowing applications the necessary permissions
   • Mounting external drives
   • Clearing the browser cache
   • AirDrop
   • Terminating processes with Activity Monitor
   • Assisting the customer in backing up and restoring personal data with cloudbased tools (iCloud and Time Machine)

4.3 Assist users in resolving mobile device issues.
   • Restarting the phone, phone not charging, connectivity, email setup, mobile apps, collaboration software, basic understanding of MDM, MFA (authenticator apps and other methods)

4.4 Describe virtualization and cloud terminology.
   • Cloud providers (AWS and Azure)
   • Virtual machines and hypervisors
   • Recognizing cloud models in order to direct the incident to the right team

4.5 Assist users in resolving common application issues.
   • Marketplace or approved application installation
          ◊ Untrusted/unknown sources
   • Email, collaboration, productivity applications

5. Common Threats and Preventions

5.1 Identify threats to the end user, perform basic troubleshooting, and escalate to the appropriate team.
   • Threats: Phishing, malware, spam, unauthorized access attempts, spoofing
   • Helping the user run a malware scan

5.2 Recognize how to avoid becoming a victim of social engineering attacks.
   • Awareness that a help desk technician is a prime target for social engineering attacks
   • Phishing, impersonation

5.3 Adhere to company policies and confidentiality guidelines that protect user data.
   • Identifying confidential, propriety, and personally identifiable information (PII) data

6. Job Tools

6.1 Use remote access software to connect to end user devices and perform remote support tasks.
   • Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance, Cisco WebEx, Remote Management

6.2 Use appropriate troubleshooting tools to research an issue and update internal documentation with findings.
   • AI: Generating an AI prompt to research an issue, limitations of AI, ethical considerations for AI
   • Using search engine results
   • Technical forums
   • Knowledge base articles (industry and internal)

6.3 Use communication tools to communicate with end users, teammates, and members of other teams.
   • Email and chat: Proper email and chat etiquette
   • Collaboration tools: Video conferencing tools, chat tools
   • Actions: Open a room, share your screen, share an invite, file sharing
   • Keeping users up-to-date about ticket progress