Cisco CCNP certifications: general review

Certification: Cisco CCNP Enterprise - CCNP Enterprise

Since 1998 Cisco certification programs have been very demanding and important certification in the IT industry. It is also known as the toughest certification. Unlike other certification exams, in order to pass students need to be very well prepared before attending Cisco certification exam. Cisco CCNP certification is a professional level certification aimed towards network professionals who wants to go forward with their career in computer networking. Cisco CCNP has a core certification program called CCNP Routing and Switching. Other specialized certifications are also available. These specialized certifications include:

• CCNP Data Center Certification
• CCNP Security Certification
• CCNP Service Provider Certification
• CCNP Service Provider Operations Certification
• CCNP Voice Certification
• CCNP Wireless Certification

The Cisco CCNP Routing and Switching certification gives the candidates capability to plan, verify, implement and troubleshoot enterprise LANs and WANs. Besides giving education, this certification also provides practical experience using industry best practices. This certification is job-focused and uses lab oriented learning. This certification is ideal for network engineers having one year of job experience. This certification allows professionals to work comfortably with complicated networks.

CCNP Data center certification is also a job focused CCNP course the deals with design, installation and monitoring of data center network. The CCNP Security certification is ideal for Security Engineers who are in charge of security of various network equipments, troubleshooting Firewalls, etc. The CCNP Service Provider credential tests the candidate’s knowledge and skills on dealing with large and expandable infrastructure. The CCNP Service Provider Operations credential tests that the candidate understands the infrastructure of service provider networks. CCNP Voice certification demonstrates the expert level knowledge needed for network architectures. Having this certification, engineers can come up with expandable and controllable solutions. This certification concentrates on IP phones, gateways, voice applications, etc. The CCNP Wireless certification demonstrates the requirement for implementing, designing and operating Wireless networks.

Being a CCNP certified professional creates huge opportunities. These professionals are sought-after by employers in the following job roles:

• Network Engineer
• Support Engineer
• Systems Engineer
• Network Technician
• Security Engineer
• Service Provider Network Engineer
• Network Specialist

CCNP professionals are high in demand nowadays. This is due to the expertise these professionals gain by being CCNP certified. These professionals tend to perform well in the work place as they have very sound technical knowledge. This can be credited to the fact that the CCNP certification program is designed such that it meets the present job requirement. Professionals are offered higher salaries and promotion. They are also highly recognized in the industry.

In order to be CCNP certified, candidates need to pass CCNA certification in the corresponding fields. For example, for being CCNP security certified the candidates need to pass the CCNA security certification exam. CCIE certification on any field can also act as a prerequisite.

Required exams: The core certification of CCNP, the CCNP Routing and Switching certification needs three exams to be passed in order to be CCNP certified. These are exams 642-902, 642-813, and 642-832. For the specialty tracks of CCNP, the candidates need to pass four or five exams to be passed in order to be certified. The CCNP course fees are $250 each.Required courses: CCNP course or CCNP training is not a required field given by Cisco in order to obtain the CNP certification. It is a fact, however, that CCNP courses or CCNP training courses are necessary to be do well in the CCNP exam. CCNP courses or CCNP training courses is available for all the Cisco exams and can be taken at any time of the year. The CCNP courses or CCNP training courses provide interactive mock tests for the candidates which are very useful for them. They also provide continuous free support both online and through phone. All the CCNP courses or CCNP training courses are Cisco approved. These training centres have both classroom and online training facilities, which allows candidates to study anytime and anywhere. These CCNP courses or CCNP training courses also enhances job prospects.

Study materials: The conventional study guides and books are the best way of preparing for the CCNP certification exam. The CCNP books include all the objectives that are mentioned in the official syllabus of the exam given by Cisco. CCNP books and study guides have important tips, examples, practice exercises, etc. Various online study tools, like video tutorials, are also available now which is very useful as well.