By now I'm sure that you would have heard of the sweeping changes Cisco is making to their certification tracks, which was announced at Cisco Live. Before we pursue the preparation of New CCNP, it is necessary to know the changes which are going to be in the CCNP Program. Firstly, if you've already started working toward any current CCNP certification – you should keep going! You should also check out the courses, offered at the SPOTO Club, to make your study easy. You have until February 24, 2023, to complete your certification, and in the new program, you would be receiving credit for work you've already completed.
Let's start by looking at the current list of CCNP certifications, which would be expiring next February:
1. CCNP Routing and Switching
2. CCNP Collaboration
3. CCNP Wireless
4. CCNP Data Center
5. CCNP Security
6. CCNP Service Provider
7. CCDP
Now, here are the new CCNP certifications that will be rolling out:
1. CCNP Enterprise
2. CCNP Collaboration
3. CCNP Data Center
4. CCNP Security
5. CCNP Service Provider
6. Cisco Certified DevNet Professional
You may notice the absence of CCNP Routing and Switching, CCNP Wireless, and CCDP. These would all be retiring, and instead, they would be offering multiple paths to achieving the new CCNP Enterprise certification, along with new Specialist Certifications which would be based on the three tracks that you choose to go down. For further clarification, Cisco has provided a migration tool for their professional exam tracks, which you could access on their website.
The important thing to make clear is that if you pass the full exam path for any CCNP track before the February deadline, you will be granted the equivalent certification under the new program. For example, if you pass the current CCNP SWITCH, CCNP ROUTE, and CCNP TSHOOT before February 24, you will receive the new CCNP Enterprise certification, plus the appropriate Specialist certifications, you could check out the migration tool for more info on those, as outlined by Cisco.
Now, if you would be beginning the fresh under the new CCNP program, each CCNP certification would be requiring only two exams: one core exam and one concentration exam of your choice. To see what this would be looking like for your particular concentration, you need to visit Cisco's Professional Level certification page
One last interesting thing of note it down is that the core exams in each technology track would also be serving as qualifying exams for CCIE lab exams. This means there would be no more written CCIE exams necessary before making the lab attempt. So for example, let's say you have a current CCNP in Routing and Switching. After the February deadline, you would be allotted the CCNP Enterprise certification, with the CCNP Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core certification. The CCNP Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core (300-401) is a prerequisite for the new CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure, in place of a written lab exam.
It's a lot to get your head around, but all of these changes look like a step in the right direction. Cisco's goal was to streamline the certification process and make things more accessible with fewer tests necessary for completing specific concentrations, and it certainly seems like they've done that. Stay tuned for more about this big announcement.
Now, if you are looking for how to prepare them, my answer to this question would be the SPOTO Club. When it comes to IT Certification, SPOTO Club’s Training program for Cisco Certifications is considered to be imperial. Along with their expert guidance, which they have of 16 years in this field, you could ensure your success in achieving this certification in a single attempt.
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