IT Certification and Career Paths

The 642-996 DCUFD Designing Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric exam is one of the exams associated with the CCNP DC certification and to the Cisco Unified Fabric Design Specialist certification. This exam tests a candidate's knowledge of designing Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric solutions, including reference network topologies, routing protocols, traffic design concepts, storage and storage networking architectures, scalability, availability; security and management architectures.

Exam Topics

The following topics are 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.

Describe the Design Methodology

• Describe developing business trends
• Identify business requirements driving the Data Center design
• Determine the requirements needed to create a Data Center solution
• Describe the tools/process to characterize an existing Data Center
• Describe the top down approach to network design

Describe Data Center structure and modularity

• Describe network architectures for the Data Center(LAN,SAN)
• Describe the Modular Approach in Network Design
• Describe the data center core layer
• Describe the data center aggregation layer
• Describe the data center access layer
• Identify Design Considerations for connectivity between Data Centers
• Identify the environments that use a Cisco data center virtualization solution
• Identify the migration plan from existing to new infrastructure

Describe the technologies used within the Data Center

• Describe switching protocols used in a data center network
• Describe IPv4/IPv6 Addressing
• Identify Routing Protocol Considerations in an Data Center
• Describe how various data center protocols impact the design of a data center network
• Describe data center server deployment topologies
• Describe how traffic flows may impact the design of a data center network
• Describe methods for deploying a Energy Efficient Data Center
• Describe Data Center virtualization technologies
• Determine when to use each technology within a Data Center solution
• Describe high availability design in the data center

Design the core layer of a Data Center

• Select the appropriate platforms and modules for use in the data center core layer
• Identify scalability, availability, performance and connectivity requirements in the data center core layer
• Design for traffic flows in the data center core layer
• Design for a collapsed data center core layer

Design the aggregation layer of a Data Center

• Select appropriate platforms and modules in the data center aggregation layer
• Identify scalability, availability, and performance requirements in the Data Center aggregation layer
• Design for traffic flows in the data center aggregation layer
• Design a cabling plan and topology for the Data Center access layer
• Design virtualization into the data center aggregation layer

Design the access layer of a Data Center

• Select appropriate platforms and modules in the data center access layer
• Identify scalability, availability, performance and connectivity requirements in the Data Center access layer
• Design for traffic flows in the Data Center access layer
• Design a cabling plan and topology for the Data Center access layer
• Design virtualization into the data center access layer

Design Storage and SAN Solution

• Consult with internal leading storage vendor experts for design criteria for proper LUN sizing and data protection
• Given a particular set of data center applications and servers, identify the storage requirements to create a Cisco virtualized data center solution
• Describe block vs. filer
• Describe different SAN topologies
• Describe and select SAN Services
• Describe Data replication
• Connect the SAN Unified Fabric

Design security considerations into a Data Center

• Identify Cisco technologies to mitigate security vulnerabilities
• Secure Data center network connectivity
• Secure the Data center infrastructure

Design network management considerations into a Data Center

• Describe the common industry and Cisco-specific data center network management tools
• Design a network data collection strategy for a data center

The following course is the recommended training for this exam.

• Designing Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric (DCUFD) v5.0

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.