HOW TO get your CCNP in 2020 (no CCNA required)

About this video

Chuck explains Cisco’s February 2020 certification overhaul — the changeover date he gives as February 23, 2020 — and why the redesigned CCNP excites him, with input from Cisco certification staff and guests. The headline change is that no CCNA is required anymore: anyone can go straight to any CCNP track, though he advises against skipping the CCNA knowledge. There are five technology tracks — enterprise, service provider, data center, security and collaboration — and certification now takes just two exams: a mandatory technology core exam for the track plus one concentration exam of your choice, instead of at least three exams before. For CCNP Enterprise the core is ENCOR and there are six concentrations, so two people can both be CCNP Enterprise yet specialise differently, for example advanced routing versus SD-WAN. Each concentration exam also stands alone as a specialist certification, so someone can certify in, say, Firepower or ACI without completing a full CCNP. Automation is now unavoidable: automation is 15% of the ENCOR exam, covering interpreting basic Python, JSON, YANG, DNA Center and tools such as Chef, Puppet and Ansible, and programmability also appears in the security core. He urges viewers watching in 2019 to finish the old CCNP first: a completed CCNP Routing and Switching converts to the new CCNP Enterprise plus an advanced routing specialisation — three credentials in effect — while passing only the ROUTE exam converts to nothing, and ROUTE plus SWITCH earns credit for the new core. Recertification also changes, with continuing education credits and other concentrations able to renew a CCNP.

Key takeaways

• From February 2020 the CCNA is no longer a prerequisite — you can go straight to any CCNP track, though Chuck does not recommend skipping its knowledge
• The new CCNP has five tracks (enterprise, service provider, data center, security, collaboration) and needs only two exams: a core exam plus one chosen concentration
• Every concentration exam is also a standalone specialist certification, so you can certify in one technology without completing a full CCNP
• Automation is built into every track: it is 15% of the ENCOR core exam, including interpreting basic Python plus JSON and YANG
• Finishing the old CCNP Routing and Switching before the change converts to CCNP Enterprise plus an advanced routing specialisation; passing only ROUTE converts to nothing

Episode details: published July 9, 2019 · 34:47 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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