One cannot deny the fact that Networking has become an integral part of the computer world. The information technology professional, who is skilled and has gone through the CISCO CCNP training, is in great demand in the Networking industry. To assure the quality and standard of that technician, they need to be certified by this Networking equipment giant and this involves an evaluation for their years of experience as well as training.

As more and more businesses become reliant on personal computers and the technology it employs, the need for more certified technicians has grown and having CCNP certified technician is the requirement. This certification puts the ordinary technician well ahead of his colleagues.

Cisco's core, networking certification for the professional level is the CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) certification. Individuals who manage to earn this prestigious certification can plan, do installation, configure and troubleshoot WAN's and LAN's, and are able do this for small and large firms alike. CCNP certification is also possible other areas of specialty and these certification designations include, CCNP Data Center, Security, Service Provider, Service Provider Operations, Voice and CCNP Wireless.

A technician, network engineer or administrator who has at least one year's practical experience, wishing to expand the skill set they have into working on complex networks will need to go under got the Certified Network Professional certification process.

One of the prerequisites for obtaining the Certified Network Professional certification from CISCO is that the candidate must have some valid CCIE certification or valid CCNA Routing and Switching certification. Then in order to attain the Certified Network Professional certification, the candidate must pass threes examinations, namely, Implementing Cisco IP Switched Networks, Implementing IP Routing and Maintaining and troubleshooting Cisco IP Networks.

The candidate may sit the exams in any order that they prefer and the questions are mixture of different examination techniques such as, simlets, simulations, multiple choice etc. The exams are graded on a scale of 300-1000 and candidates must sore more than 850 to pass. The questions do not carry equal marks but vary based the level of difficulty and complexity. The candidates score is not published.

You can re-sit a failed exam after paying the applicable fees and waiting five business days. The cost of the exam varies based on where you are located, local or overseas, and whether foreign currency is involved. It is vital that you contact your nearest testing center to confirm cost and exam timetable.

You can also register for your exams through any Pearson VUE testing or Prometric center who will advise you on the requirements. The validity period of the Certified Network Professional certification from CISCO is three years. The technician will need to be re-certified after that period. It is important for firms and individuals to ensure this is done to make sure that all specialists are up to date with the new technologies introduced with time. The benefits from ensuring that is done is mutual, that's to any firm that'll need the services of the expert and the expert himself.