The Cisco CCNP Enterprise is the industry standard certification that allows candidates to prove their skills with enterprise networking solutions. The candidates who are interested in pursuing their careers in enterprise technologies within the IT sector should definitely go for this designation.

Eligibility Criteria

The CCNP Enterprise certification requires candidates to have 3-5 years of experience in enterprise networking solutions and their implementation. Plus, the applicants should have a solid knowledge of network technologies if they are applying for this certification. Finally, the vendor recommends that candidates going for such validation should know the exam topics well before they basically opt for the tests that this certificate requires them to pass.

What Is CCNP Enterprise Designation?

This certificate is designed to aid the candidates in proving their skills in enterprise technologies and the ever-changing IT landscape. All in all, it will help you get a successful career in IT by passing two certification exams and will help you recognize your knowledge and accomplish a lot along your way in the IT field. Thus, the core exam that you have to pass for such a designation is the 350-401 ENCOR. As for the concentration exams, you can choose any of the following: 300-410, 300-415, 300-420, 300-425, 300-430, 300-435. Note that passing each of the concentration certification exams will lead you to a Cisco Specialist certification, and for you to understand what the CCNP Enterprise entails as a whole, let us look into the core exam details and one concentration test facts, which we have chosen to be 300-430.

CCNP Enterprise Certification Process

Cisco 350-401 Exam

This core test is 120 minutes long and consists of variously formatted questions. The candidates who apply for such an exam will have to pay $400 as a registration fee. To add more, the actual exam is presented in Japanese and English only and is proctored by Pearson VUE so you can take it online or in-person at the test center.

What Are Domains Covered by 350-401 Evaluation?

All in all, you have to understand the following domains if you are taking the Cisco 350-401 exam:

• Architecture 15%;
• Security 20%;
• Automation 15%;
• Infrastructure 30%;
• Network Assurance 10%;
• Virtualization 10%.

The first domain discusses the architecture and it includes the designing principles used in enterprise networks, examining the principles of design used for a WLAN deployment, explaining workable principles of the solution for Cisco SD-Access, and reviewing notions of wireless & wired QoS. Furthermore, here, you will also be tested on differentiating hardware and software switching mechanisms.

The second area focuses on security. In more detail, it involves configuring and verifying device access control, describing REST API security, configuring infrastructure security features including the security wireless ones, and describing the components of network security design.

The third part emphasizes automation. Thus, the candidate's knowledge of core Python aspects alongside scripts, describing advanced-level principles & benefits of data modeling, and comparing agent vs. agentless orchestration tools such as SaltStack, Puppet, Chef, and Ansible are looked at by this scope. Moreover, you will come across REST API response codes together with results in payload taking advantage of Cisco DNA Center and constructing a valid JSON encoded file in this exam domain.

The fourth section describes infrastructure. In particular, under such a topic, the candidates should have knowledge about Layer 2, Layer 3, wireless, and IP services. The subtopics that are included in Layer 2 are troubleshooting static & dynamic 802.1q trunking protocols and configuring common Spanning Tree Protocols. Layer 3, on the other hand, consists of concepts like comparing routing terms of OSPF and EIGRP as well as verifying simple OSPF environments. In the wireless part, you will be tested on describing Layer 1 concepts, AP modes, and antenna types as well as troubleshooting WLAN configuration. Lastly, the IP services objective defines the network time protocol (NTP), describing multicast protocols such as IGMP and PIM, and verifying PAT/NAT.

The fifth objective talks about network assurance. It includes the subtopics like configuring NetFlow & Flexible NetFlow, describing Cisco DNA Center workflows, and verifying device monitoring utilizing Syslog for remote logging.

The last tested domain of the 350-401 exam is virtualization. Particularly, it focuses on describing device virtualization technologies, outlining network virtualization concepts, and setting up as well as validating data path virtualization technologies.

Cisco 300-430 Test

Like many other Cisco exams, 300-430 also consists of various types of questions that you have to attempt in 90 minutes. Besides, the candidates have to pay $300 for the registration for such an exam that comes in Japanese and English.

Topics Covered by 300-430 Exam

The candidates have to master the concepts of the following topics below in order to get a pass in the official test:

• FlexConnect 15%;
• Location Services 10%;
• QoS on a Wireless Network 10%;
• Security for Wireless Client Connectivity 20%;
• Monitoring 15%;
• Device Hardening 10%;
• Multicast 10%;
• Advanced Location Services 10%.

The first area discusses FlexConnect and includes the information about deploying FlexConnect components, deploying FlexConnect capabilities, and implementing Office Extend.

The second domain focuses on various location services. In particular, it involves the concepts of topics like deploying MSE and CMX on a wireless network and implementing location services like client tracking.

The third section describes QoS on a wireless network. Therefore, the candidate's knowledge of implementing QoS schemes based on wired to wireless mapping, devising QoS for wireless clients, and implementing AVC only on WLC will be touched on under this category.

The fourth topic puts emphasis on security for wireless client connectivity. Thus, the applicants should have knowledge of configuring client profiling on WLC and ISE, implementing identity-based networking on various wireless architectures, and executing BYOD alongside the guest.

The fifth part measures your skills in monitoring. It includes utilizing reports on the PI and Cisco DNA Center, managing alarms & rogues, solving issues with client connectivity, and controlling RF interferers.

The sixth objectives include device hardening. In more detail, it allows the candidates to demonstrate their knowledge of implementing device access controls, access point authentication and putting into operation CPU ACLs on the controller.

The seventh scope tests the individual's expertise and skills in multicast. In a nutshell, it comprises executing multicast elements, Multicast Direct, and multicast on the WLAN. Moreover, such a portion focuses on describing how multicast can affect wireless networks.

The last topic defines advanced location services. So, the examinees’ knowledge of implementing CMX components, troubleshooting location accuracy, and implementing wIPS utilizing MSE will be tested here. Furthermore, you should have acumen in troubleshooting the CMX high availability to ace the actual 300-430 exam.

What Are Career Opportunities for CCNP Enterprise Certified Professionals?

Once certified, the CCNP Enterprise professionals will get many opportunities in the IT sector. Thus, they can work as network engineers, network architects, network security engineers, and so on with an annual salary of $96,479 as revealed by Payscale.com.

Certification Path

After achieving the CCNP Enterprise designation, you can expand your knowledge by getting the expert-level CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure or the CCIE Enterprise Wireless issued by Cisco.