Changes in Cisco's Data Center

Data center technologies are constantly evolving. IT pros who work with data center infrastructure are expected to have the skills and knowledge that enable the data center to use IT as a service agile infrastructure (ITaaS).

This year, Cisco is making some major changes to how you can get certified to work in a data center. The networking giant is making significant changes to both its Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Data Center exam and its Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Data Center exam at different points this year, and it's time to get in the know about what has already happened, as well as what's about to happen.

CCNA Data Center

If you haven't already heard, the CCNA Data Center exams and training on Cisco's site have been revised to version 6.0. April 11, 2017 was the last day to take the 640-911 DCICN v1.0 and 640-916 DCICT v1.0 exams.

The course names and acronyms have remained the same, but each of the exam numbers has been updated.

200-150 DCICN: Introducing Cisco Data Center Networking

The 640-911 DCICN exam was replaced by the 200-150 DCICN exam and has updated exam domain categories that serve as a prerequisite for and align with CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center and other Cisco certifications.

In this new exam, Cisco removed product-specific elements, ethernet low-level functionality, and Cisco IOS router topics, among others. There is an increased focus on data center networking concepts, high-availability switching concepts, data center storage concepts, and Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE).

200-155 DCICT: Introducing Cisco Data Center Technologies

The 640-916 DCICT exam was replaced by the 200-155 DCICT exam and has updated exam domain categories that serve as a prerequisite for and align with CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center and other Cisco certifications.

In this new exam, Cisco removed Data Center Fundamentals topics including SAN, network design models, and network services topics, among others. There is an increased focus on virtualization of compute and network, cloud computing, automation and orchestration of data center infrastructure, and Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI).

CCNP Data Center

The CCNP Data Center exams and training on Cisco's site changed on January 17, 2017. Through July 3, 2017, you can choose to take either the v5 exams or the new v6 exams, depending on your individual goals.

Course names, acronyms, and exam numbers changed to better reflect the expanded job roles and tasks required in jobs typically held by data center-focused IT professionals.

300-175 DCUCI: Implementing Cisco Data Center Unified Computing

The 642-999 DCUCI exam will be replaced by the 300-175 DCUCI exam and has updated exam domain categories that serve as a prerequisite for and align with Cisco CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center, and other Cisco certifications.

In this new exam, Cisco removed product-specific knowledge for B-Series and C-Series UCS Servers and UCS Server Virtualization Features, replacing it with an overarching exam domain of "Implement Integration of Centralized Management." There is an increased emphasis on automation, data center security, and data center storage connectivity, including FCoE.

300-165 DCII: Implementing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure

The 642-997 DCUFI exam will be replaced by the 300-165 DCII exam and has updated exam domain categories that serve as a prerequisite for and align with Cisco CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center, and other Cisco certifications.

In this new exam, Cisco removed product-specific knowledge for Cisco Nexus switches and Cisco NX-OS Software and reduced focus on network virtualization. There is an increased focus on new technologies, VXLAM, routing, and broader topic coverage on data center infrastructure security.

300-170 DCVAI: Implementing Cisco Data Center Virtualization and Automation

The 300-170 DCVAI exam is new and tests skills that are applicable to streamlining data center operations and establishing policy-driven infrastructure across physical and virtual data center resources. The new exam domain categories serve as a prerequisite for and align with Cisco CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center, and other Cisco certifications.

On this exam, there is a focus on implementation for infrastructure automation, Application Centric Infrastructure, Application Centric infrastructure network resources, and Application Centric Infrastructure management and monitoring.

300-160 DCID: Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure

The 642-998 DCUCD and 642-996 DCUFD exams will be replaced by the 300-160 DCID exam which has updated exam domain categories that serve as a prerequisite for and align with Cisco CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center, and other Cisco certifications.

In this new exam, Cisco removed design methodology, data center structure, troubleshooting topics, and security design. The concepts of Data center unified fabric and unified computing design topics were combined into one exam, reflecting the combined skills expected of a data center IT pro.

300-180 DCIT: Troubleshooting Cisco Data Center Infrastructure

The 642-998 DCUCD exam and 642-996 DCUFD exam will be replaced by the 300-180 DCIT exam and has updated exam domain categories that serve as a prerequisite for and align with Cisco CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center, and other Cisco certifications.

In this new exam, Cisco removed product-specific knowledge for B-Series and C-Series UCS Servers, allowing the remaining content to be concentrated into one domain, "Troubleshooting Data Center Compute Platforms." There is an increased focus on troubleshooting routing protocols, virtual switching technologies, Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and data center LAN and SAN security, and compute security.

To guide you further in the upcoming CCNP Data Center changes, Cisco developed a CCNP Data Center Exam Migration Tool that you can use to figure out what exams you need to take next.

All of these exams are evolving to give you the latest training to configure and operate the most essential data center solutions and technologies, including networking; server, network, and storage virtualization; storage concepts and protocols; unified computing; and policy-driven infrastructure, all in real time.

CBT Nuggets does not yet have training for these new exams, but we wanted you to hear about the latest happenings in the Cisco universe first. And don't worry, we'll be updating our training soon enough to include all of these new components.

In the meantime, get started training on other technologies. Not a CBT Nuggets subscriber? Start your free week now.