Is the Routing & Switching Associate certificate verifiable?

Yes. Every issued Hootix Academy certificate carries a unique credential code that anyone can verify online.

How is the Routing & Switching Associate exam structured?

It is a 100-minute proctored multiple-choice exam of 72 questions; you need 72% to pass.

Do I need to buy the course to take the exam?

You can purchase the certification exam on its own, or bundle it with the full study course at a reduced price.

How long does the Routing & Switching Associate course take?

About 28 hours of self-paced study.

Routing & Switching Associate Certification

Build, route and troubleshoot enterprise LANs and the paths between them

Key facts

Level: Associate
Field: Networking & Infrastructure
Estimated study time: about 28 hours
Credential price: $79
Exam: 72 questions · 100 minutes · pass mark 72%

About the Routing & Switching Associate certification

The Routing & Switching Associate certification validates that you can design, configure, secure and troubleshoot the switched and routed networks that form the backbone of every enterprise. You will reason from Layer 2 up: VLANs and 802.1Q trunking, the spanning tree family (STP/RSTP), EtherChannel link aggregation, the MAC address table, port security, and inter-VLAN routing with switched virtual interfaces. Climbing to Layer 3, the exam covers the routing table and longest-prefix-match forwarding, static versus dynamic routing, administrative distance and metrics, and the interior gateway protocols — RIP, OSPF (areas, LSAs, DR/BDR election) and EIGRP concepts — plus the fundamentals of BGP. You will perform VLSM and subnetting by hand, design route summarization, write and order ACLs, configure NAT/PAT, and operate DHCP, DNS and first-hop redundancy (HSRP/VRRP). The blueprint also includes IPv6 routing basics, an introduction to QoS, and a structured troubleshooting methodology that localizes faults by OSI layer. It is vendor-neutral: the concepts and CLI/config patterns transfer across Cisco, Juniper, Arista and open platforms. Candidates should already hold the Networking Foundations credential or possess equivalent hands-on experience with the OSI model, IP addressing and basic device configuration.

What you will learn

The official Routing & Switching Associate study course covers:

Switching, VLANs & Trunking — How switches forward frames, how VLANs segment a LAN, how 802.1Q trunks carry many VLANs, and how to route between them.
Spanning Tree & Link Aggregation — Preventing Layer 2 loops with STP/RSTP, electing the root, protecting the edge, and bundling links with EtherChannel.
IP Routing Fundamentals — The routing table, longest-prefix match, static vs dynamic routing, administrative distance and metrics.
IGPs and BGP — RIP, OSPF (areas, LSAs, DR/BDR), EIGRP concepts, and the basics of BGP between autonomous systems.
Subnetting, VLSM & Summarization — IPv4 subnetting by hand, VLSM for efficient design, route summarization, and IPv6 addressing basics.
Services, Security & Troubleshooting — ACLs, NAT/PAT, DHCP and DNS operations, FHRP (HSRP/VRRP), QoS basics and a structured troubleshooting method.

Prerequisites

Networking Foundations

Frequently asked questions

Is the Routing & Switching Associate certificate verifiable?: Yes. Every issued Hootix Academy certificate carries a unique credential code that anyone can verify online.
How is the Routing & Switching Associate exam structured?: It is a 100-minute proctored multiple-choice exam of 72 questions; you need 72% to pass.
Do I need to buy the course to take the exam?: You can purchase the certification exam on its own, or bundle it with the full study course at a reduced price.
How long does the Routing & Switching Associate course take?: About 28 hours of self-paced study.