Cisco CCNP Certification Training: What’s New in BSCI 642-901 Exam
The CCNP certification will have a new look at the end of 2006. The BSCI and BCMSN exams will be updated and the CIT and BCRAN exams will be retired. Let’s take a look at what you can expect from the new BSCI exam.
According to Cisco’s exam model, certainly a very broad model at this point, the main new topics are IP version 6 (IPv6) and multicast. The addition of these two topics will make an already demanding Cisco certification exam much more difficult, but this is a big change for the exam and for the candidate. IPv6 will become more and more prevalent in today’s networks, as will multicast.
Multicasting for the Cisco CCNP BSCI exam goes far beyond what you learned about it in your CCNA studies. For the new BSCI exam, you will need to know the different methods to create multicast groups and assign members to them. Previously this material was limited to CCIE level books, and while I don’t look for the questions to be as difficult as the CCIE written exam, multicasting is not an easy subject and should not be taken lightly by the CCNP candidate in 2007.
One major topic on the CCNP exam that is going nowhere is BGP. Border Gateway Protocol has been a big part of previous BSCI exams, and that seems to continue.
If you’re pursuing your CCNP certification in 2007, be sure to monitor the Cisco website for additions to the CCNP plan. It is obvious that Cisco has raised the bar for CCNP certification and by earning this important Cisco certification you will increase your market value and networking knowledge like never before. Be on the lookout for future tutorials examining the other three new CCNP exams!
