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Cisco Revises CCNP: BSCI, BCMSN, ISCW & ONT Exams Retire

Posted on January 25th, 2010 by Kasia Grabowska 9 Comments »

Kasia GrabowskaLast October, the Cisco Certifications Team alerted students about upcoming revisions to the CCNP certification in a brief post on Cisco’s Learning Network. Since then CCNP candidates have been waiting to hear the big news.

Today the announcements have been made — the BSCI, BCMSN, ISCW, ONT and the Composite BSCI & BCMSN exams will retire on July 31st, 2010 and will be replaced by three new exams.

Cisco points out that the revision is designed to be “more predictive of job readiness” and focuses on the competencies that are needed to run today’s networks.

The new CCNP Certification will include three exams:

 

New CCNP Certification: What the latest update means for you

If you are currently in the process of obtaining your CCNP, you have a few option on how to complete your certification. Cisco has outlined four CCNP Certification tracks that will be available until July 31st, 2010.

Please note that the new CCNP exams are not available yet, here are the start dates:

  • ROUTE Exam (642-902) — available March 10th, 2010
  • SWITCH Exam (6942-813) — available March 10th, 2010
  • TSHOOT Exam (642-832) — available April 30th, 2010
  • TSHOOT BETA Exam (642-832) — available February 16th – March 26th, 2010

CCNP Path 1: for those who passed (or at least attempted to pass) ISCW and ONT exams:

  • ISCW Exam 642-825
  • ONT Exam 642-845
  • BCMSN 642-812 or SWITCH 642-813
  • BSCI 642-901 or ROUTE 642-902

CCNP Path 2: for those who passed (or attempted to pass) ISCW and ONT exams, and are interested in taking the Composite exam:

  • ISCW Exam 642-825
  • ONT Exam 642-845
  • Composite BCSI & BCMSN 642-892

CCNP Path 3: for those who have not attempted the ISCW or ONT exams:

  • TSHOOT 642-832 or TSHOOT BETA
  • BCMSN 642-812 or SWITCH 642-813
  • BSCI 642-901 or ROUTE 642-902

CCNP Path 4: for those who completed (or plan on completing) the Composite BSCI & BCMSN exam but have not attempted the ISCW or ONT exams:

  • Composite BCSI & BCMSN 642-892
  • TSHOOT 642-832 or TSHOOT BETA

 

The New CCNP TSHOOT, SWITCH and ROUTE Exams

So what’s changed between the old and the new CCNP exams?

While the number of questions on the exams has remained the same (between 50 and 60), the time you have to complete each exam has gone up to 120 minutes from 90 minutes.

Judging from the certification paths outlined above, it looks like the content on the old ISCW and ONT exams has been revised and turned into the single TSHOOT exam. Similarly, the BCMSN exam is now the SWITCH exam and BSCI the ROUTE exam. Other than that, I’m sure the new exams will focus more on new technologies. As far as the specific exam topics and objectives are concerned, we’ll cover this in more detail in an upcoming post — so stay tuned for more on that.

Cisco also stated that the new CCNP track is more job relevant and also more rigorous than the previous track. More focus is being placed on troubleshooting, security, and supporting more complex networks. In sum, the changes in the certifications reflect evolving network professional job roles.

 

New Service Provider Operations Certification Track

Cisco also announced a new service provider operations certification track, which is the first of its kind in networking industry. The SP operations track will include associate (CCNA), professional (CCNP) and expert-level (CCIE) certifications and will focus on developing skill to operate large, complex SP networks.

Here’s more info and a quick 2 minute video about the SP operations track and the CCNP updates.

 

 

What Are Your Thoughts?

What do you think about the updated CCNP certification exams? Did Cisco give enough notice to CCNP candidates about the changes? Are the Certification Paths adequate?

And finally, what do you think about the new SP operations certification track?


 

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9 Responses to “Cisco Revises CCNP: BSCI, BCMSN, ISCW & ONT Exams Retire”

  • me Says:

    January 28th, 2010 at 3:24 am

    Is there any option to make the following:

    bsci
    switch
    tshoot

    ?

    Or I must take the BSCI + BCMSN + TSHOOT in order to get the certification?

  • Kasia Grabowska Says:

    January 28th, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Yes, I believe that is possible, but only before July 31st, 2010.

    You would then be following the CCNP Path #3:

    – BSCI 642-901 or ROUTE 642-902
    – BCMSN 642-812 or SWITCH 642-813
    – TSHOOT 642-832 or TSHOOT BETA

    taking the BSCI, SWITCH and TSHOOT as your selected exams since in this scenario, you have the option to do it.

  • RaXa Says:

    January 29th, 2010 at 9:28 am

    I have passed all of the CCNP exams except one i.e ONT. Shall I have to appear in Tshoot Exam so as to complete my CCNP certification.

  • monty Says:

    January 30th, 2010 at 1:26 am

    6 months notice is not enough to have all the exams finished (path 3). hope Cisco made it at least a year…

  • Kasia Grabowska Says:

    February 1st, 2010 at 7:41 am

    Hi Monty,

    You’re absolutely right, six months is not enough to complete all of the exams required for a CCNP. I think these certification paths were created with people who are already in the process in mind — those who started working towards their CCNP and either prepared for or passed some of the exams.

    If you’re just starting to study for your CCNP I would suggest going with the new exams.

    Good luck!

  • Kasia Grabowska Says:

    February 1st, 2010 at 7:46 am

    Hi RaXa,

    Have you attempted the ONT exam? From the info that Cisco released, it looks like those who have attempted the ONT and ISCW exams will be allowed to take them again before they expire on July 31st. However, if you have not taken the exam you might have to complete the TSHOOT, at least that’s what it looks like.

    I would definitely suggest contacting Cisco to get more clarification, just to be sure, you know.

    Here’s the contact info for Cisco Learning (they’re really good about responding): https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/help

    Good luck! And let us know what you find out!

  • Balthezor Says:

    February 4th, 2010 at 12:32 pm

    Hi,

    I just passed my CCNA 2 days ago – and was dissapointed to see that Cisco is changing their CCNP curriculum in 5 months time. I was so psyched up to start it – now I cant.

    Question:

    I have not done any of the existing four modules of CCNP – If I manage to finish the first module / a module of the existing CCNP training – What does that mean – do I have to start fresh 10 July any way? What does the curriculum change mean for people who want to start their CCNP now?

    Thank-you in advance…

  • Kasia Grabowska Says:

    February 4th, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    Great question Balthezor!

    Since you haven’t started on your CCNP yet, you will not be able to take the ONT and ISCW exams at all — from now until July 31st only those who have attempted to pass the exams will have this option.

    But you still have the option to take the BCMSN and BSCI exams if you like and follow the CCNP Path #3:

    - TSHOOT 642-832 or TSHOOT BETA
    - BCMSN 642-812 or SWITCH 642-813
    - BSCI 642-901 or ROUTE 642-902

    From what I know, if you only pass 1 or 2 of these exams before July 31st, you will be able to complete your CCNP but only by taking the new exams.

    So, what does this mean for you? Well, if you prepare for either (or both) the BCMSN or BSCI exams and don’t have a chance to pass them before the deadline, then you will still have to prepare for the new exams. The content might be very similar, but you will still need to get updated materials and spend extra time preparing for the updated exam.

    What you need to do is establish a time line to see if you will be able to successfully complete any of the old exams. What you should take into consideration into making your decision is:

    - How long do you think it would take you to prepare for each CCNP exam?
    - How long did it take you to prepare for your CCNA?
    - Do you already have the study materials for the old exams?
    - Have you already began to study for them?

    Take a close look at the pros and cons before making your final decision, you might find that it’s better to just switch over to the new exams now.

    Now just to be 100% sure, I would definitely suggest contacting Cisco to verify all of this info and get their input on this. I’m sure they know something we don’t and might be able to advise you better.

    Good luck!
    Kasia

  • Sheraz Says:

    February 7th, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    Hi,

    it’s better from certification perspective, but previous CCNP V5 covers almost everything included security, vpns, Qos, now its more specific studends have to included others track as well to find out the career in industry.I myself is confused i have passed CCNP Composite now what should i do, should i go for the Tshoot exam to get it complete or i should do ONT & ISCW because both of these modules will help me alot to make my CV sound good! what is your suggestion ?

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