Cisco Certified Network Professional

Vendor: Cisco

Certification overview

The CCNP certifications are categorized as the professional level certification by Cisco. With the appropriate Cisco CCNP training the candidates acquire skills and knowledge that are fundamental in most of the technological environment. This in turn has resulted into employers preferring individuals who have attained the Cisco CCNP certification. The CCNP voice certification is a domain of the CCNP certifications and it ensures that the professionals acquire knowledge that is required in the mastering of the changes that rapidly occur in the voice technology. The certification requires the candidates to use their expertise to correctly configure all the networking protocols preferably in a single system.

The Cisco CCNP certification is also important because they lay down the appropriate platform for advancing to the expert level of the Cisco certification. The Cisco CCNP certification also gives the individuals an opportunity of receiving salaries that are worth it and opportunity to rise up the job ladder once the certification has been attained. The significance of the Cisco CCNP switch is that the candidates get the opportunity of correctly implementing the Cisco switches in the appropriate networking systems. Moreover, the Cisco CCNP route gives them the opportunity of designing different pathways to be followed by a single system in the networking sector. The advantage of the Cisco CCNP training is that candidates get the opportunity of exploring different options that are available in order to select the best path of acquiring knowledge and expertise.

In order to attain the Cisco CCNP certification it is paramount to have certain prior requirements; candidates who specialize in the CCNP service provider certification for instance are required to have the following:

• Cisco CCNA service provider certification that is valid
• Cisco CCNA Routing and switching certification that is valid
• Cisco CCIP certification that is valid
• Any of the CCIE certifications

The significance of the prior requirements is that the candidates get the opportunity of easily understanding the complex contents of the CCNP syllabus and other related areas.

With the correct requirements, the candidates get the chance of going through the Cisco CCNP training that equips them with the correct skills and knowledge required to tackle the Cisco CCNP exam. The Cisco CCNP exams tests on different knowledge areas and the candidates are therefore required to have an in depth understanding of all the contents of the syllabus.

The main objective of the Cisco CCNP exam is to ensure that the candidates acquire skills required to correctly install and operate the networking systems. The candidates who opt for the Cisco CCNP service provider operation certification are required to attempt four exams. Some of the core topics that they are required to understand in the 642-772 OFCN exams includes;

• Performing tasks in IP NOC environment
• Troubleshooting of the IP NOC environment
• Operations and configuration of the IP NOC environment
• Management of the changing processes in the IP NOC Environments

On acquisition of the Cisco CCNP certification they are able to perform certain tasks like:

• Network engineers
• System engineers

Required exams

In order to enroll for the Cisco CCNP certification the candidates are required to sit for the appropriate exam within the domains. Moreover when undertaking the certification, the candidates are also required to sit for a number of exams and pass well in order to be CCNP Accreditated. The CCNP Cisco data center certification requires the candidates to take the following CCNP exams:

• 642-999 DCUCI v5
• 642-997 DCUFI v5
• 642-998 DCUDC v5
• 642-996 DCUFD v5

The Cisco CCNP security candidates also get the opportunity of attempting one of these exams:

• 642-035 DCUCT v5
• 642-980DCUFT v5

Required courses

There are no required courses that the candidates are required to undertake in order to qualify for the CCNP certifications. The candidates are recommended to have experience in the field as a means of facilitating quick understanding of the actual syllabus. The candidates are therefore recommended to undertake any Cisco CCNP course that is available especially through the internet.

Study materials

The advantage of the Cisco CCNP certification is that the candidates have the privilege of using high tech study materials that are usually offered by Cisco prior to training. Some of these study materials can be obtained online while others are available from varied places.

The Cisco CCNP Security certification requires the following study materials:

• The CCNP security seminars
• CCNP security BYOD and the ISE guide book
• Cisco Introduction to network security
• CCNP security training videos

The importance of the above study materials is they ensure that candidates understand all the requirements of the Cisco CCNP before opting for the Cisco CCNP certification.