CISCO is changing their CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE certifications, and is introducing completely new certification pathways and exams. All of the changes will come into effect on February 24th, 2020, and the cutoff to take any of the current CISCO exams are February 23rd, 2020. If you are currently pursuing a CISCO certification, you should keep going and try hard to certify before the cutoff date. If you successfully certify before the cutoff date, you will receive the new CCNA certification and a training badge for the corresponding area. CISCO also announced 4 new certification tracks and introduced a new DevNet certification track which is aimed at developers who wish to learn how to use their skills in networks. In this post, we will go over the major changes to all CISCO certifications, and how these changes will affect you.
Main Changes
- Most CCNA Certifications are being combined into a single foundational CCNA certification.
- All Certification tracks have been changed or adjusted.
- Entry-level CCENT certification will be retired.
- The recertification period for all CISCO certification will be 3 years.
- The last day to exam for current CISCO certifications will be February 23rd, 2020. The new program will begin on February 24th, 2020.
CCNA
The CCNA certification pathway will be combining over 10 different certifications such as CCNA Routing & Switching, CCNA Security, CCNA wireless, and many more into one single CCNA certification with one exam which will cover the fundamental topics for all network technologies. Having over 10 certifications under a CCNA pathway can be confusing for candidates to choose the right certification for their field and having one complete certification can help candidates save time and money by just preparing for one single certification.
The new CCNA certification will be a 120-minute exam that will test a candidate’s knowledge related to network fundamentals, network access, IP connectivity, IP services, automation and programmability, and security fundamentals. If you are currently studying for a CCNA certification, you should keep going. The cut-off date to take the current CCNA exam is February 23, 2020, and if you certify before you will receive the new CCNA and a training badge for the corresponding area. More information on the new CCNA exam can be found here - https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/certifications/associate/ccna.html#~stickynav=3.
CCNA Certifications before February 24, 2020:
- CCNA Routing and Switching
- CCNA Security
- CCNA Wireless
- CCNA Collaboration
- CCNA Data Center
- CCNA Industrial
- CCNA Security
- CCNA Service Provider
- CCDA Design
New CCNA Certifications after February 24, 2020:
- CCNA
- Cisco Certified DevNet Associate
CCNP
The CCNP certification tracks will be transitioning into CISCOs new certification pathway which are CCNP Enterprise, CCNP Data Center, CCNP Security, CCNP Service Provider, CCNP Collaboration, and the new Cisco Certified Dev-Net professional. With each of these new certification tracks, each CCNP track will now only require two exams. The exams will be composed of one core exam, and then you will have to choose a concentration exam to accompany the core exam to earn a new CCNP certification. Like the CCNA exam, if you are currently preparing for a CCNP certification you should keep going. CISCO will still give you credit for the certification you will earn, equivalent to the new CCNP certification track. Please use this migration tool to determine what credit you will receive in the new program - https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/certifications/professional/ccnp-migration-tools.html.
CCNP Certifications before February 24, 2020:
- CCNP Routing and Switching
- CCNP Cloud
- CCNP Collaboration
- CCNP Data Center
- CCNP Security
- CCNP Service Provider
- CCNP Wireless
- CCNP Design
New CCNP Certifications after: February 24, 2020:
- CCNP Enterprise
- CCNP Data Center
- CCNP Security
- CCNP Service Provider
- CCNP Collaboration
- Cisco Certified DevNet Professional
CCIE
The CCIE certification track has also changed and will follow the same pathway as the CCNP certification. The new certification pathways for CCIE are CCIE, Data Center, CCIE Security, CCIE Service Provider, CCIE Collaboration, and a new CISCO certified DevNet Expert. Currently, to certify for a CCIE certification you must complete a written and lab exam for each certification. The exam process will be using the CCNP core exam and then complete a lab exam regarding the specific area in which you want to certify. In the new program which will begin after February 24, 2020, each candidate must successfully pass a technology core exam, and a lab exam that will cover design, deployment, operations, and optimization.
New CCIE Certifications after February 24, 2020:
- CCIE Data Center
- CCIE Security
- CCIE Service Provider
- CCIE Collaboration
- Cisco Certified DevNet Expert
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Sources
https://www.flackbox.com/cisco-ccna-ccnp-ccie-certification-update-2020
https://www.boson.com/Cisco-Certification-Update-2020-Information#ccna-migration