Cisco offers a number of certifications for professionals who wish to realize their advanced career goals. The collaboration certification of CCNP is a latest addition to the list which offers many benefits to the candidates. Here are some tips to make the preparation for the exam easier.

Handy Preparation Tips for CCNP Collaboration

Know About the Certification

The Cisco CCNP collaboration is a professional-level certification and training course aimed to recognize video, voice and collaboration engineers who wish to develop their video and collaboration skills. This is introduced to address the convergence of voice and video communication and the corresponding job roles.

Know About the Exams

To get the certification, 4 exams have to be taken.

• 300-070 CIPTV1, preparation training being Implementing Cisco IP Telephony & Video Part 1
• 300-075 CIPTV2, preparation training being Implementing Cisco IP Telephony & Video Part 2
• 300-085 CAPPS, preparation training being Implementing Cisco Collaboration Applications
• 300-080 CTCOLLAB, preparation training being Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony & Video

Know the Prerequisites

The previous knowledge required for the certification is a valid CCNA Collaboration certification or CCIE certification. To get the former, 2 exams have to be taken which are 210-060 CICD and 210-065 CIVND both of which has separate preparation training courses.

Know the Order of the Courses

It is recommended to follow the CIPTV1, CIPTV2 and CAPPS courses first. These include the implementation of Cisco IP Telephony, applications that run on Unified communications and video. After these three courses, you can start CTCOLLAB training which is about troubleshooting.

Preparation Plan

Now that you know about the certification and the prerequisites, you may have a plan for the preparation. You have to cover all the topics included in the exams. Take a print out of the syllabus and plan an individual study method based on this. Just learn only the topics included in the exams.

Regular Study Time

During the preparation and when you write the exam, time management is crucial. Study consistently so that whatever is learned is retained in the memory. Allot a specific time for study every day and make sure that you stick to it. Avoid outside distractions at this time.

Give Importance to Details

Learning the theory by-heart does not help you in passing the exam. Understand how things are done in Cisco. Sometimes, Cisco works differently than the general scenario. So, get to know about the procedures used in the Cisco environment. Cross-check every minute detail to ensure that you have not missed anything.

Hands-on Experience

The certification exams consist of a wide variety of theoretical and practical questions. So, get a lot of hands-on experience before you enter the exam hall. Cisco recommends that you should have one to three years of experience in working with Cisco products so that you can appear for the exam. This is required for you to have an element of familiarity with the environment.

Keep Practicing

Practicing what you have learned is very essential to reinforce the concepts in your mind. You may practice every single detail so as to acquire enough confidence to face the exam. What is written in the books just gives you an idea of the basic theory. To find out if it is true, you have to do practical work. This will give you some extra knowledge in addition to the theoretical knowledge.

And the most important thing while going for the exam is to have a relaxed mind. If you are thorough with the concepts and have taken efforts in trying out things for yourselves, it is easy to crack the certification.