The CCNP certification is offered by Cisco for the intermediate level which constitutes the Cisco Certified Professional Program which instructs students to plan, implement and troubleshoot the Local Area Networks and Wide Area Network at the intermediate level.

There are seven CCNP courses offered by Cisco under the Cisco Certified Network Professional program. The course has been designed as per the IT industry requirements.

Courses:

CCNP Cloud
CCNP Security
CCNP Collaboration
CCNP Service Provider
CCNP Data Center
CCNP Wireless
CCNP Routing and Switching

The exam is a routing and switching educational module and is a gateway to entry-level systems administration. The CCNP comprises of four 70 hours as enlisted below:

Introduction to Networks
Routing and Switching Essential
Scaling Networks
Connecting Network
Let’s look at the top 5 hardest topics on the CCNP Switch Exam.

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)

The thing about studying a spanning tree is that it depends on how deep you are looking to understand it. A good number of STP topics are covered by most exams and can also be learned without doing a large amount of STP testing on live equipment.

This involves a good understanding of what STP brings to the table and shows how it is applied in terms of root switches and forwarding and blocking links. A true understanding of how STP works is needed for those looking to get into a position where the configuration of a switched network is the main part of their duties.

Virtual LAN (VLAN)

While the concept of a Virtual LAN is not that hard to understand once a person sees it in action, it can be a hard concept to visualize without any reference. Similar to STP, VLANs are also reinforced on switches like the 2950s and can be set up in a number of various scenarios.

What can’t be achieved by these switches is the routing between VLANs, for which either a routing device is required (connected via an 802.1q trunk) or a multilayer switch like a 3550 or greater.

VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP)

The VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) provides a method of configuring VLANs across several different connected switches. Each of the switches is connected by a trunking protocol (usually the 802.1q).

By these trunks, the different switches can communicate with a single database of the VLANs. For example, consider a switch A, which is connected to switch B and VTP has been already configured, a user on switch A could easily create a VLAN 50 which could then be propagated to switch B, and a related action would occur if a VLAN was deleted.

If you’re new to VTP, you can benefit from various free videos on VTP basics, VTP pruning and how to authenticate VTP updates.

Switch Virtual Interfaces (SVI)

The concept behind an SVI is that each VLAN can be configured as an interface and those switch ports that are inserted into that VLAN are treated as a physical LAN segment. This way the device can route traffic between VLANs at layer 3 with the switch itself both switching and routing.

This feature is not at all hard to understand if the candidate is already experienced in routing interfaces, but practice on live equipment always helps in a way better understanding of what can be possible.

Port Security

Security takes the top stop for any modern switched infrastructure. It is one of the distinguishing features which can be configured on switches easily is port security. Port security offers the network designer the ability to limit who and how many devices are allowed on specific switch ports. Port security is also supported on 2950 switches and can be tested with only them if needed.

After the completion of CCNP Training, the candidate should be able to plan, implement, verify, troubleshoot and automate local and wide-area enterprise of Cisco networks.

Undertaking a CCNP certification at Koenig Solutions would help you get a better IT job in roles like systems engineer, network engineer, network support specialist, system integrator, and also the network consultant.

The CCNP certification cost from Koenig is 93,256.03 INR. Koenig offers top-quality training through world-class learning modules which are delivered by industry experts themselves.