The Cisco 352-001 evaluation combines extensive technical theories with principles on network design. Candidates taking it are evaluated on internetworking theory, routing protocols, as well as design ones. Also, they are examined on network design relating to tunneling, security, and routing, among others. In particular, this exam is meant for candidates wishing to attain the Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) certificate.

More Details

In all, the CCDE designation requires passing two evaluations. Thus, the 352-001 is the qualifying test. However, this is not enough as the CCDE practical exam v2.0 is also part of the requirements and it takes eight hours to be taken. Also, note that it is a prerequisite to passing the qualifying evaluation first before registering for the lab test. As the 352-001 exam is the focus of this post, further discussion is going to be centered on it alone.

Exam Description

The 352-001 is delivered in English and takes 2 hours to come to the end. Unfortunately, Cisco has not provided an official passing score for it, and professionals who wish to take it have to register early at a cost of $450. Pearson VUE facilitates the registration and the actual exam is taken at their testing centers or online. Below are topics that are essential to better understand what such an evaluation entails, in particular.

Topics Examined in 352-001 Exam

For better preparation for 352-001, these are the domains that encompass the knowledge required to sufficiently pass the official test:

• Layer 2 control plane (24%);
• Layer 3 control plane (33%);
• Network virtualization (15%);
• Considerations on design (18%);
• Evolving technologies v1.1 (10%).

Considering the first section, participants are required to have knowledge of a wide range of subjects. Thus, they should have skills enabling them to describe techniques as well as mechanisms associated with fast convergence. The area about protocols on loop detection along with mitigation is another skill which candidates should be aware of. Then, the 352-001 exam-takers should also be able to describe available mechanisms for generating loop-free topologies. Besides, they are supposed to know about the transport mechanisms and their relationship with routing protocols across various classes of links. Multicast routing concepts are another area that such an exam evaluates. Furthermore, describing the ramification of fault isolation and adaptability on network design is another skill the candidates will be tested on.

The second domain that the test considers is very broad. In more detail, it considers knowledge on a number of areas which include describing concepts and strategies with regards to route aggregation. Also, the 352-001 exam participants are supposed to know the description of the concepts and the utilization of network topology abstraction as well as have knowledge on describing traffic flow along with adjustment based on the metric. On top of this, such a section contains know-how on practices and structures associated with fast convergence as well as the elements that influence it. Other fields highlighted in this scope are describing the consequence of the isolation of faults as well as the flexibility on network design or reliability, analyzing the cost and intricacy of operation, a description of the relationship between routing guidelines and topologies, the knowledge of comprehensive routing together with addressing concepts, outlining multicast routing theories, and lastly, a description of IPv6 notions and functionality. Finally, describing unicast routing protocol operations (EIGRP, ISIS, OSPF, BGP, and RIP) with regards to network design is the other field that is tested in this topic.

The third portion for 352-001 revolves around the virtualization of networks. The areas to concentrate on will be building on the knowledge from the previous two domains. Thus, here, participants are required to show their skills in describing tunneling technologies in Layer 2 as well as Layer 3. This includes tunneling for security, protocol integration, resiliency, network extension, and traffic optimization. The other subject area scrutinized is the analysis of tunneling execution. Particularly, this involves the selection of tunneling technology and tunneling endpoint, tunneling parameters to optimize end-user applications, the influence of tunneling on routing, and finally, the selection of routing protocols and adjusting for tunneling.

The field touching on considerations about design also comes in as the fourth topic for the 352-001 evaluation. This will require candidates to be aware of the analysis of a variety of QoS performance metrics as well as describe the various types of QoS techniques. Also, applicants should be able to identify QoS strategies according to customer needs, point out requirements for network management, and recognize reporting of network applications. The other subject areas that are part of such a category are the description of network management tools, technologies, and protocols, defining reference models together with processes such as FCAPS for network management, and the outline of best operations for the protection of network infrastructure as well as network services. In addition to all these, participants should be able to describe the tools including technologies that are necessary for identity management, the deploying of IEEE 802.11 wireless, optical execution, and lastly, SAN fabric setup.

The fifth chapter, which is also the last one for the Cisco 352-001 evaluation, is touching on emerging technologies that are currently being adopted. In particular, a domain like this is called evolving technologies and it outlines matters concerning a variety of fields such as the cloud. Under this field, the exam-takers are supposed to know the similarities and differences of various design considerations, which are multi-cloud, private, public, and hybrid. There, a definition of cloud infrastructure, as well as operations, is also necessary. The second subject is centered on the programmability of networks (SDN). Thus, it looks at considerations related to the architecture and operation of programmable networks. The final scope tested is IoT or the Internet of Things. Through it, participants should be able to provide a description of the architectural structure and execution considerations aimed at IoT.

Career Prospects

Passing 352-001 validates the skills needed to design networks. Thus, the CCDE certificate associated with it is an indication of one’s skills to design networks that are efficient, effective, and secure. In a nutshell, this validation is appropriate for network architects and as stipulated by PayScale.com, these experts earn an average of $121,224 per year.

What Next after Passing This Test?

The Cisco 352-001 exam is a gateway to the most prestigious certification from Cisco. It showcases a professional’s expert-level skills in the design of networks. At this point, there is no higher designation from this vendor that you can go for. However, you can settle on one of the CCIE certificates by Cisco if you’d like to focus on a particular technology. Still, you can also try out qualifications from other vendors such as Microsoft, CompTIA, EC-Council, etc. if you wish to progress further in the IT space.