What Are CCNP Specialist Certifications and Why Do I Need One?

After Cisco announced that the exam for its entire certification line would change in 2020, you may have heard of the discussion of migration and the term Cisco certification expert. So, what is a Cisco certified expert certificate? How did you get one? Why do you need one? To put it simply, the Cisco Certified expert Certificate certifies that you have passed the so-called centralized Cisco exam. A centralized exam is a Cisco exam that focuses only on specific Cisco topics or technologies that are relevant to Cisco but have not yet completed core certification.

For example, after February 24, 2020, if you take and pass the Cisco Enterprise Network Design (300 ENSLD) exam, you will receive a Cisco certified expert-Enterprise Design Certificate. However, you have not yet obtained (CCNP) enterprise vouchers for Cisco certified network professionals. To obtain a core certificate, you also need to take and pass the CCNP ENCOR (300 / 401) exam. Interestingly, if you only pass the core exam, you will also receive an expert certificate: Cisco Certified expert-Enterprise Core. However, this expert certificate is different from CCNP Enterprise certification. To obtain full certification on the CCNP Enterprise track, you will obtain an expert enterprise core certificate and an expert centralized certificate. Together, these credentials will constitute your core CCNP Enterprise certification

As mentioned in my previous post on the new CCNP Enterprise Edition, the Cisco Certified Professional Certificate is also useful, as you can get them by taking and passing the exam on the current Cisco exam track. This means that even if you do not complete the CCNP credentials that are working on the current track, you can also use the existing test track to achieve core certification on the new track. For example, if you accept and pass the CCNP TSHOT (300-135) on an existing track but do not complete the authentication tracking, you will get the Cisco Certified Professional-Enterprise Advanced Infrastructure Implementation Certificate. Once you have obtained this certificate, you only need to take part in the CCNP ENCOR test on or after February 24, 2020, to add the Cisco Certified Professional-Enterprise Core Certificate to complete the CCNP Enterprise Tracking.

However, Cisco’s recommendation to any current CCNP candidate for the deadline for the new exam is to continue to work on the current track to obtain full CCNP credentials. A useful aspect of completing CCNP credentials by February 24, 2020, is that you can obtain both core credentials and multiple Cisco certified expert certificates in the process. For example, if you complete CCNP security credentials by February 24, 2020, you can obtain core credentials and no less than five Cisco certified expert certificates. On the other hand, if you pass the professional exam now, and then wait until February 24, 2020, take the CCNP Security Core exam (300 / 701 SCOR),) you will receive the core certificate of the track and two Cisco certified expert certificates: Cisco certified expert-Security Core and Cisco Certified expert Certificate for your focus.

To adhere to the CCNP Security Example, to obtain the CCNP Security Certification after 24 February 2020, you need to pass the core exam (300-701 SCOR) and one of the following six focused tests for specific Cisco security technologies:

300-710 Security Networks with Cisco Firepower (SNCF)

300-715 Implementing and Configuring Cisco Identity Services Engine (SISE)

300-720 Securing Email with Cisco Email Security Appliance (SESA)

300-725 Securing the Web with Cisco Web Security Appliance (SWSA)

300-730 Implementing Secure Solutions with Virtual Private Networks (SVPN)

300-735 Automating and Programming Cisco Security Solutions (SAUTO)

Candidates who pass the core exam and one of the above exams will receive core certification and two Cisco certified expert certifications, but if you fail the professional exam, you will not be able to obtain the core certification. In other words, after February 24, if you pass the 300 / 701 SCOR exam, such as the 300 / 730 SVPN exam, you will receive CCNP security core tracking certification, Cisco certified expert-security core certification, and Cisco certified expert-network security VPN implementation certification. Similarly, if you pass the core exam and 300 SESA, you will receive track certification, Cisco certification expert-security core certification, and Cisco certification expert-email content security certification.

So, what if you’ve already started the CCNP security path? Should you abandon everything you’ve learned before and work hard and wait for the deadline to pass? Cisco says no again, you shouldn’t abandon all your efforts. You should keep working. If you are already trying to obtain any type of professional certification, Cisco has created a migration path to adapt and reward what you have done.

To access the CCNP Security Certification with the current track, you need four exams:300-206 to implement the Cisco Edge Network Security Solution (SENSS),300-208 to implement the Cisco Secure Access Solution (SISAS),300-209 to implement the Cisco Secure Mobility Solution (SIMOOS) and 300-210 to implement the Cisco Threat Control Solution (SITCS). It’s a lot of things to throw away. Instead, if you complete all four current CCNP Security Tracking exams by February 24, 2020, you will automatically obtain the CCNP Security Certification and the five Cisco authentication expert certificates after that date: the security core, the Web content security, the network security VPN implementation, Secure identity management implementation and network security Firepower.

On the other hand, if you try to complete one or more of the currently required exams by February 24, you will receive a Cisco certified expert certificate after February 24. Even if you try to pass only one of the exams, you will receive a Cisco certified expert certificate for the exam. By February 24, 2020, this means that you only need to pass the core exam to get the full CCNP security certificate. For example, if you have taken and passed the 300 / 206 SENSS exam by February 24, 2020, but have not passed any other CCNP Security exams before then, you will receive the Web content Security Certification. 24. Then, you only need to pass the SCOR 300 / 701 exam to get the CCNP security tracking certificate and the CCNP certified expert-security core certificate.

The same policy and information apply to every level of professional certification that Cisco is moving to a new track. ccnp enterprise replaced ccnp routing and switching, ccnp cloud and ccnp wireless, on and after February 24, 2020.

However, Cisco will still provide a separate professional CCNP certificate image containing all of the following:

CCNP Data Center

CCNP Security

CCNP Service Provider

CCNP Collaboration

CCNP Certified DevNet Professional

Similar to the CCNP Enterprise migration path and CCNP security migration path that we have explored, other professional-level credentials also have migration paths.

The only certificate without a migration path is DevNet Professional, which is a completely new track. You can find all of the following migration tools on the Cisco website:

CCNP Enterprise from CCNP Routing and Switching

CCNP Collaboration from CCNP Collaboration

CCNP Data Center from CCNP Data Center

CCDP to CCNP Enterprise

CCNP Security from CCNP Security

CCNP Service Provider from CCNP Service Provider

CCNP Wireless to CCNP Enterprise

Note: if you want to know more CCNP exam information, and you can contact SPOTO.