CTS 032: Cisco Updates CCNP Wireless

CCNP Wireless Certification Update In March 2016, Cisco announced new updates to the CCNP Wireless exam. After looking through the objectives, I came to the conclusion that the new CCNP Wireless looks appealing. Cisco changed the objectives to meet the exam closer to the real world. The new CCNP Wireless exams are: * 300-360 WIDESIGN * 300-365 WIDEPLOY * 300-370 WITSHOOT * 300-375 WISECURE Be prepared for the lab simulations in any of these exams as there is an emphasis on it based on the objectives. Additionally, the candidate will need to know at least the following: * AireOS v8.0 * IOS-XE v3.6 * ISE v1.3 * Prime Infrastructure v2.2 If a physical lab is in sight for you, be sure you can work with the list of technologies above. 300-360 WIDESIGN The CCNP Wireless WIDESIGN exam focuses a lot on designing WLANs. From gathering requirements to predictive and validation surveys. You may even see a question or two relating to Ekahau Site Survey. I’d say this exam is the most important out of all the CCNP Wireless exams. Study Material 300-365 WIDEPLOY The focus of the deployment exam targets Cisco technologies specifically. We’re talking about the deployment of access points, controllers, mesh, and more Cisco proprietary subjects such as FlexConnect. It would be advantageous to have a physical lab setup to practice these objectives. Study Material 300-370 WITSHOOT The TSHOOT exam is new to CCNP Wireless. In the existing exam, troubleshooting was scatterred across all the exams. New with the 2016 update, troubleshooting shines on its own. Troubleshooting is a big part of wireless. I’d go far to say it’s just as important as designing. There’s going to be a large focus on debug messages, show commands, log messages, etc. So sit tight and lab it up. Study Material 300-375 WISECURE The security aspect of wireless. Cisco has removed previous technologies such as NAC, WCS, and ACS. There’s a large focus on standards such as 802.1X, EAP, AAA, and policies. Taking those standards in mind, you will need to translate that into a Cisco configuration. Study Material Links and Resources * Join me and Ekahau for a webinar: Challenges and Solutions for Higher-Ed Wi-Fi * Wireless Network Engineers can expect a 9.7% increase in starting pay. * Extreme Networks going into wireless industry. * Wireless Packet Analysis using CloudShark and Airtool (Video) * Webinar: Gigabit Wi-Fi: Not So Fast with Andrew von Nagy (Video)