CCNP certifications are valid for three years. (Recertifying at the Professional level automatically renews the related CCNA certification)

On appraisal of the studying materials available for the CCNP certification. The best source both in terms of content relevant to the exams and price is offered by the inclusive 4 exam package by Cisco themselves : Cisco CCNP Certification Library (3rd Edition) at $102 (32% discount) , covers all 4 exams 642-801, 642-811, 642-821, 642-831.

The package comprises books totaling 2,472 pages. The package gives a solid understanding of how to build, maintain, and troubleshoot networks the Cisco way.

• CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide, Third Edition, coverage includes advanced IP addressing concepts, routing principles, managing routing updates, and configuring EIGRP, OSPF, IS-IS, and basic BGP
• CCNP BCMSN Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, coverage includes Spanning Tree Protocol, VLAN design and deployment, multicast networks, QoS solutions for voice networks, multilayer network design using the Enterprise Composite Model, and troubleshooting multilayer switched networks
• CCNP BCRAN Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, coverage includes assembling and cabling WAN components, configuring asynchronous connections with modems, traffic control methods, scaling IP address with NAT and access control with AAA, and a DSL and VPN overview
• CCNP CIT Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, coverage includes network information discovery and documentation, applying effective troubleshooting strategies, and isolating and correcting problems at the physical, data link, network, transport, and application layer

CCNP Certification Library (3rd Edition)

CCNP Certification Library, Third Edition, is a comprehensive review and practice self-study package for the four CCNP exams: BSCI, BCMSN, BCRAN, and CIT. The four books contained in this package, CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide, CCNP BCMSN Exam Certification Guide, CCNP BCRAN Exam Certification Guide, and CCNP CIT Exam Certification Guide, present complete reviews and ample opportunity to test your knowledge of CCNP exam topics. These authorized Cisco CCNP self-study guides are written by CCIE certified individuals and certified Cisco Systems instructors, bringing years of teaching and consulting experience together in an ideal test preparation format.

CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide, Third Edition, helps you evaluate your ability to build, manage, and optimize scalable, routed Cisco internetworks. This book covers all the topics on the CCNP BSCI exam 642-801, including OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, and IS-IS. CCNP BCMSN Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, covers all the topics on the CCNP BCMSN exam 642-811 and helps you understand how to build networks using multilayer switching techniques and how to deploy a global intranet. CCNP BCRAN Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, covers all the topics on the CCNP BCRAN exam 642-821 and tests your ability to configure, operate, and troubleshoot WAN and other remote access networks while maximizing bandwidth utilization over remote links. CCNP CIT Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, covers all the topics on the CCNP CIT exam 642-831 and examines your ability to diagnose, isolate, and correct performance problems and failures in a converged network environment.

Every chapter in each Cisco Press Exam Certification Guide focuses your study and tests your knowledge of the subject through specially designed assessment features. "Do I Know This Already?" quizzes assess your knowledge and help you decide how much time you need to spend on each section. The detailed Foundation Topics sections review the exam topics you will need to master. Each chapter includes a Foundation Summary section full of tables and concise reviews for quick reference. Challenging chapter-ending review questions and scenario-based exercises test your knowledge of the subject matter, reinforce key concepts, and ensure that you understand how all the technologies work together in a real-world environment. Finally, each book's companion CD-ROM has a robust, customizable test engine with simulation-based question types that allows you to take practice exams that mimic the real testing environment. You can take a full sample exam, focus on particular topic areas, randomize answers for reusability, track your progress, examine your strengths and weaknesses, and refer to an electronic version of the book to review concepts.

CCNP Certification Library, Third Edition, is part of a recommended learning path from Cisco Systems that includes simulation and hands-on training from authorized Cisco Learning Partners and self-study products from Cisco Press. To find out more about instructor-led, e-learning, and hands-on instruction offered by authorized Cisco Learning Partners, please visit www.cisco.com/go/authorizedtraining.

4 Companion CD-ROMs
The four companion CD-ROMs contain test banks with a total of more than 800 practice questions, including simulation-based questions, and the full text in electronic format.

This library is in the Exam Certification Guide Series offered by Cisco Press. Books in this series provide officially developed exam preparation materials that offer assessment, review, and practice to help Cisco Career Certifications candidates identify weaknesses, concentrate their study efforts, and enhance their confidence as exam day nears.

Exam Notes - A good brush up before the tests is in order, Certz.com recommends the CCNP Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack as an excellant companion to the Certification Library, at $34 / 32% discount.

CCNP Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack helps CCNP candidates prepare for their exams by reviewing essential elements of routing and switching theory and practice. These cards--which are really pages bound in a paperback book--aren't much good at teaching their subject (though a series of Quick-Reference Sheets aren't bad for building on what you already know). They're meant for pure review, and for identifying knowledge gaps that will require an explanatory text or reference to fill. This book covers four CCNP exams, and includes about 500 questions and a 30-page reference section for each.

A trip through a section of this book involves looking at the right-hand page for questions--there are two of them on each such page--then flipping the page to see the corresponding answers on the other side. Most answers are reasonably well explained (readers get an idea of why the correct answer is what it is), but they do not include citations of authoritative Cisco documents or even other Cisco Press reference books. Also, some readers may prefer a more randomized sequence to this book's grouping by theme. For that, they will have to resort to the quiz software on the companion CD-ROM.

Topics covered: The subjects tested on the four Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) exams, including Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks 2.0 (BSCI), Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks 2.0 (BCMSN), Building Cisco Remote Access Networks v2.0 (BCRAN), and Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting Support 5.0 (CIT).

Product Description:
Prepare for all four of the most current CCNP exams with more than 1,200 flash cards, practice test questions, and quick reference sheets

• Check topic comprehension with more than 1,200 physical cards that are also downloadable to PC, Palm OS, and Pocket PC
• Practice for exams with an electronic testing engine that includes more than 800 questions covering all four exams
• Review exam topics with Quick Reference cards organized by exam
• Build confidence with tools from the only Cisco Systems authorized publisher

The CCNP Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack (CCNP Self-Study) provides final-stage preparation tools for the new CCNP exams announced by Cisco Systems in April 2003. These exams, 642-801 BSCI, 642-811 BCMSN, 642-821 BCRAN, and 642-831 CIT, have all been rewritten with new topical coverage updated to teach networking professionals what they need to know to manage their networks. The elements of this title have been created to provide comprehensive coverage of the new topics in all four exams.

As a final preparation tool for the four CCNP exams, this product complements official Cisco curriculum, other books, and other exam preparatory material. It marries three uniquely successful and complementary methods of late-stage test preparation. The Pack contains a testing engine with more than 800 questions, including simulation based questions. The flash cards come in a printed format, and can also be downloaded to PC, Windows Pocket PC, and Palm OS via the included CD-ROM for ultimate portability. Fact-filled Study Sheets allow readers to review important exam topics, organized by exam.