Exam Overview

Cisco offers three levels of certification, each with an increasing level of proficiency: Associate, Professional, and Expert. These are commonly known by their acronyms CCNA/CCDA (Cisco Certified Network/Design Associate), CCNP/CCDP (Cisco Certified Network/Design Professional), and CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert). There are others as well, but this book focuses on the certifications for enterprise networks.

For the CCNP certification, you must pass a series of four core exams or pass a longer foundations exam plus one support exam. The BCMSN exam or its content is included and required for either path. For most exams, Cisco does not publish the scores needed for passing. You need to take the exam to find that out for yourself.

To see the most current requirements for the CCNP or CCDP certifications, go to cisco.com; then click Learning and Events, followed by Career Certifications and Paths.

The BCMSN exam itself is composed of 60 to 70 questions, presented in a variety of formats. You can expect to find multiple-choice, single-answer; multiple-choice, multiple-answer; drag-and-drop; fill-in-the-blank; and simulation questions. To find more specific information about the topics that can be covered on the BCMSN exam, go to cisco.com; then click Learning and Events, followed by Exam Information and then Certification Exams. The exam lasts 90 minutes and is offered through either Pearson VUE or Prometric testing centers only. See http://www.cisco.com/en/US/learning/le3/le11/learning_about_registering_for_exams.html for the most current information about registering for the exam.