IT Certification and Career Paths

The 642-770 Operational Foundations for Cisco Service Provider Core Networks (OFCN) exam is the exam associated with the CCNP SP Operations certification. This exam tests a candidate's knowledge of the SP network operations environment, focusing on mid to upper-level processes management, NMS tools, and troubleshooting skills associated with Tier II and Tier III Network Operations. Candidates can prepare for this exam by taking the OFCN Operational Foundations for Cisco Service Provider Core Networks course.

Exam Topics

The following information provides general guidelines for the content likely to be included on the exam. However, other related topics may also appear on any specific delivery of the exam. In order to better reflect the contents of the exam and for clarity purposes the guidelines below may change at any time without notice.

Perform operations tasks in an IP NOC environment

• Describe release, configuration, change, incident and performance management processes, as related to network operations
• Perform periodic reactive trouble ticket reviews
• Open vendor tickets and escalate as appropriate based on Service Level Agreements
• Resolve escalated incidents or problems by creating RFCs or implementing workarounds
• Document steps that should be taken to resolve particular network problems
• Define proactive problem management and root cause analysis tools and methods
• Plan, coordinate, and support network upgrades and changes
• Identify the methods used to perform proactive network maintenance
• Interpret performance and incident reports and recommend actions for problem avoidance

Troubleshoot an IP NOC environment

• Describe network troubleshooting methodologies
• Identify information needed to troubleshoot problems
• Identify and categorize network incidents based on the OSI model
• Troubleshoot complex core network faults
• Troubleshoot transport layer and network access technologies to the aggregation edge
• Isolate problems using standard TCP/IP IPv4 and IPv6 tools
• Identify the most probable cause of a problem based on troubleshooting test output
• Troubleshoot network service issues and its interoperability with OSS platforms within the core network
• Use protocol analysis and packet decode tools to diagnose and troubleshoot network issues
• Interpret XML messages and protocol without the use of NMS

Operate network equipment in an IP NOC environment using Cisco IOS XR

• Describe differences between Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XR Software
• Identify standard XR CLI commands
• Identify Cisco IOS XR software architecture and features
• Interpret and deploy basic XR configurations
• Describe process of downloading and installing new software and Software Maintenance Upgrades (SMU) for Cisco IOS XR Software

Manage network configurations in an IP NOC environment

• Identify global configuration templates
• Ensure that device configurations comply with global configuration templates
• Create device specific configuration templates
• Interpret and edit scripts that support process automation
• Identify daily preventative maintenance tasks for network operations

Manage the change process an IP NOC environment using Change Management procedures

• Identify the planning elements of a core network RFC
• Identify and update logical and physical documentation impacted by change management RFCs
• Review and approve network related changes to the network
• Identify network improvement opportunities from periodic change metrics
• Identify RFC MOP elements that support a managed network change
• Identify methods used to perform Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XR software and hardware upgrades, downgrades, or replacements
• Implement planned Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XR software and hardware configuration changes to a core network
• Verify implementation of Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XR software and hardware changes
• Identify impacts of network changes to related processes and systems

Manage IP network performance in core and aggregation components in an IP NOC environment

• Identify network faults and capacity planning utilizing performance data
• Identify network capacity and performance using key performance indicator (KPI) data
• Identify key performance indicators at the network, device and service levels
• Identify baselining and its value in capacity and performance management
• Identify improvement opportunities and issues in traffic patterns and thresholds using alarms and network data
• Determine appropriate actions to resolve performance or capacity issues
• Identify causes of threshold crossing alerts
• Identify methods and tools used to predict network capacity issues

The following course is the recommended training for this exam.

• Operational Foundations for Cisco Service Provider Core Networks (OFCN)

Courses listed are offered by Cisco Learning Partners-the only authorized source for Cisco IT training delivered exclusively by Certified Cisco Instructors. Check the List of Learning Partners for a Cisco Learning Partner nearest you

A variety of Cisco Press titles may be available for this exam. These titles can be purchased through the Cisco Marketplace Bookstore, directly from Cisco Press.