Starting off 2017 the right way, Cisco fully updated and released the new training program for the CCNA and CCNP Data Center certification tracks.
The global market share of Cisco Nexus and UCS products continue to expand. Therefore, the traditional data center technologies of Cisco UCS and Nexus switches remain a predominant focus for CCNP Data Center courses. In addition, engineers of large data centers are constantly pressed to do more with less. Cisco’s answer to automation and reduction of data center networking administration is Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI). A major addition to the data center track, ACI was released in 2013 and its strong industry adoption rate has made it a logical new focus for both CCNA and CCNP.
The two CCNA Data Center courses, Introducing Cisco Data Center Networking (DCICN) and Introducing Cisco Data Center Networking Technologies (DCICT), have retained their same titles as the original 1.0 version. The new 6.0 version is now consistent with all of the updated CCNA and CCNP Data Center courses. An appropriate added emphasis on data center network virtualization has been added to align with industry trends. Data center virtualization takes another major leap by gaining more data center productivity with less hardware.
CCNA Data Center Certification Tracks
In the CCNP track, the Implementing Cisco Data Center Unified Computing (DCUCI) course was updated to version 6.0. While the UCS B server remains the focus, Cisco added the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) Supervisor, the UCS M-Series Modular Servers, as well as additional UCS security topics.
In the area of Nexus switching, the Implementing Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric (DCUFI) v5.0 has now become the Implementing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCII) v6.0 course. Data center automation and orchestration has been added to the course with the focus on Cisco ACI and UCS Director. VXLAN has also been added to the DCII course as its popularity as a data center overlay gains adoption.
New to CCNP is the Implementing Cisco Data Center Virtualization and Automation (DCVAI) v6.0 course. This course is all about ACI. The full scope of ACI data center network administration is covered, as well as all of the automation protocols of RESTful interface, python programming, along with XML and JSON. The Nexus 1000v switch has been modified into the AVS switch, which is also a part of the DCVAI course for data center micro-segmentation.
For the design courses, the Designing Cisco Data Center Unified Computing (DCUCD) v5.0 and the Designing Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric (DCUFD) v5.0 have been logically combined into one new Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCID) v6.0 course. Cisco Nexus and MDS switches remain a focus with a newly added emphasis on Cisco ACI and UCS Director.
The two troubleshooting courses, Troubleshooting Cisco Data Center Unified Computing (DCUCT) and Troubleshooting Cisco Data Center Unified Fabric (DCUFT), have also been logically combined into the one Troubleshooting Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCIT) v6.0 course. Students get in-depth troubleshooting practice in LAN and SAN switching technologies, as well as Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) and Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI).
CCNP Data Center Certification Tracks
The adoption rate of Cisco Data Center technologies of Nexus, UCS and ACI continues to expand in data centers throughout the world. Cisco’s CCNP Data Center training updates further ensure that engineers become even more fully capable to handle the impact of expansion in their data centers.