Cisco Certified Network Professional

When to Use

• Design or troubleshoot enterprise campus LAN switching (VLANs, STP/RSTP/MST, EtherChannel, stacking)
• Plan enterprise routing (OSPF, EIGRP, BGP fundamentals, redistribution, summarization)
• Architect WAN edge services (FHRP, DMVPN/SD-WAN handoff points, QoS at branch/DC edge)
• Integrate wireless at L2/L3 boundaries (controller/AP attachment, guest segmentation touchpoints)
• Implement network assurance (SNMP, NetFlow/IPFIX, syslog, basic telemetry, baseline dashboards)
• Apply security integration (802.1X, ACLs, control-plane protection, device hardening) at the network layer
• Follow structured troubleshooting methodology on Cisco IOS-XE, Catalyst, and Meraki-managed campuses

When NOT to Use

• Carrier- or internet-scale backbone BGP policy, peering, IX, and DCI as primary deliverable → network-backbone-architect
• SD-WAN controller policy, template lifecycle, and overlay operations as primary task → sd-wan-engineer
• Cloud VPC/VNet, landing zone, and cloud-native networking IaC only → cloud-engineer
• Wi-Fi RF surveys, channel planning, and mobility protocol depth → wireless-wifi-mobility-specialist
• Enterprise security program, SOC 2 evidence, or audit control mapping → information-security-engineer
• Physical cabling, rack/power, and DC build without routed campus design → infrastructure-engineer
• IoT/OT edge protocols, BACnet/Modbus gateways, and plant segmentation → iot-network-edge-engineer

Related skills

Core Workflows

1. Scope and enterprise architecture

Clarify sites, user/device counts, critical apps, RTO for path loss, and Cisco platform mix (IOS-XE, Catalyst, Meraki).

See references/ccnp_scope_and_enterprise_architecture.md.

2. Campus switching and Layer 2

Design VLANs, STP domain, EtherChannel, stacking/VSS, and L2 security boundaries.

See references/campus_switching_and_layer2.md.

3. Routing (OSPF, EIGRP, BGP)

Select IGP, plan areas/AS, summarization, redistribution, and enterprise BGP at the edge.

See references/routing_ospf_eigrp_bgp.md.

4. WAN edge, QoS, and services

Place FHRP, WAN attachment, marking/queuing, and service modules (NAT, DHCP relay, multicast touchpoints).

See references/wan_edge_qos_and_services.md.

5. Assurance and troubleshooting

Baselines, flow telemetry, structured TSHOOT, and change/rollback discipline.

See references/assurance_troubleshooting_and_operations.md.

6. Security integration and automation basics

802.1X, ACL placement, control-plane hardening, and Git/NETCONF adjacency without replacing security engineering.

See references/security_integration_and_automation_basics.md.

Outputs

• Campus context — sites, tiers, critical flows, and failure domains
• L2/L3 design — VLAN map, STP root plan, routing protocol choice, and summarization boundaries
• Edge services matrix — FHRP, QoS classes, WAN/SD-WAN attachment, and ACL inspection points
• Assurance plan — SNMP/flow targets, baseline KPIs, and escalation playbooks
• Troubleshooting runbook — layered checks (physical → L2 → L3 → app path) with evidence to capture
• Handoff notes — what to defer to backbone, SD-WAN, cloud, wireless, or security peers

Principles

• Hierarchy and summarization — aggregate at distribution/core; keep access simple
• Stability before features — STP root, FHRP priority, and IGP metrics are operational contracts
• Document redistribution — tag, filter, and loop prevention are design requirements, not afterthoughts
• QoS end-to-end — classify at access; trust boundaries explicit at WAN edge
• Measure, then tune — baselines before micro-optimizing timers or metrics
• Design guidance, not exam dumps — teach trade-offs; do not facilitate certification cheating