On 16 August 2006, the Academy program announced the development of a new CCNP curriculum that will align with the updated CCNP certification announced on 15 August 2006. The new curriculum will give students access to the knowledge and skills necessary to implement and support an end-to-end IP network infrastructure with integrated advanced technology solutions including security, wireless LANs, quality of service (QoS), and VoIP.
The purpose of this update is to provide a summary of the changes and information regarding the equipment requirements for teaching the new courses, instructor training, and certification.
Summary of Changes
CCNP 1 Approximately 25 percent of the content will change so the course will align with the new Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks (BSCI) 642-901 exam. This course teaches advanced skills required to implement and support enterprise-class IP routing networks. The update will add multicast routing, and expanded coverage of IPv6. It will also leverage the latest IOS software.
CCNP 2 This will become an entirely new course aligning with the Implementing Secure Converged WANs (ISCW) 642-825 exam. This course will teach advanced skills required to secure and enhance services in enterprise networks for teleworkers and remote sites. It will focus on securing remote access and VPN client configuration.
CCNP 3 Approximately 25 percent of the current course content will change so the course will align with the new Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Network (BCMSN) 642-812 exam. This course teaches advanced skills required for building enterprise-class switched networks with integrated VoIP and wireless applications. The update will add wireless LANs, basic QoS to support voice, high-availability features, and enhanced security for switches.
CCNP 4 This will become an entirely new course aligning with the Optimizing Converged Cisco Networks (ONT) 642-845 exam. This course will teach the advanced skills required to optimize QoS in converged networks supporting voice, wireless, and security applications.
The updated CCNP 1 and 3 courses will be available in early January 2007 and the CCNP 2 and 4 replacement courses will be available in June 2007. The new course titles will be changing to reflect the content updates and will be announced at a later date.
Instructors have the flexibility to offer all four of the new CCNP courses in any order but the recommended teaching strategy is for students to complete CCNP 3 before CCNP 4.
Equipment Requirements
In order to teach the advanced technologies in the new CCNP courses, some additional equipment and software will be required for the wireless and VoIP content. The latest equipment list is now available and defines the equipment and software that will be required to present the new courses. Since equipment availability, prices and discounts vary by theater and region, equipment lists will be available from your regional technical manager.
Asia Pacific Joseph Lin
Canada Snezhy Neshkova
Europe, Middle East, Africa Michael Furminger
Latin America Kevin Johnston
United States Kevin Hamilton
The new wireless equipment requirements include Ciscos latest lightweight solutions, with wireless LAN controllers and accompanying lightweight access points. Equipment lists have been prepared to differentiate between desktop and laptop classroom computers, and between an integrated solution using a 28xx wireless ISR LAN controller module or standalone WLAN controller equipment.
A document detailing what is required to upgrade equipment from the current list to teach the CCNP v5.0 courses will be available early 2007 after all new labs have been developed and tested.
Instructor Training
Instructor training for the CCNP 1 and CCNP 3 updates is optional. Instructor training materials for the updated CCNP 1 and CCNP 3 courses will be completed in late November and will consist of content and labs covering the new course material. Cisco will send another announcement when the course update training materials are available with instructions on how to access the materials. Instructors can review these materials on their own or participate in optional training events. Information about these events will be communicated by the Cisco team in each region.
Instructor training for the new CCNP 2 and CCNP 4 courses will be available in April 2007. More details regarding training options and requirements for these entirely new courses will be communicated in early 2007.
Certification
The CCNP certification will still require four exams. Candidates may take either the new or old version of BSCI and BCMSN, while any two of the following exams will satisfy the other half of the certification requirement: BCRAN, CIT, ISCW, or ONT.
The last day for the public to take the old certification exams is 31 December 2006. However, zero-discount vouchers will be available to identify Academy program students who are taking the retired exams between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007. Please contact the Academy Support Desk after 1 January 2007 to request student vouchers. To contact the Academy Support Desk, log into Academy Connection and select Help at the top of the screen. Select the appropriate language program support link then click the Contact the Support Desk tab.
More information about the new CCNP certification can be found at http://www.cisco.com/go/ccnp. You can also visit the new CCNP Prep Center. The Prep Center is open to all Cisco.com registered users and offers tools, exam questions, e-learning modules, broadcasts, and forums to help you prepare for the CCNP certification exams.
| Important Dates | |
November 2006 |
Instructor training available starting at the end of November for the updated CCNP 1 and CCNP 3 courses. Contact your regional technical manager for details. |
January 2007 |
Updates to CCNP 1 and CCNP 3 released. |
April 2007 |
Instructor training available for the new CCNP 2 and CCNP 4 courses. Details regarding training options and requirements will be communicated in early 2007. |
June 2007 |
Replacement courses for CCNP 2 and CCNP 4 released. |
31 December 2007 |
Last day for Academy program students to take current CCNP exams. |