Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center

What is it?

What exactly is the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center?

Professional data-center networking

CCNP Data Center certifies skills in Cisco data-center technologies including unified computing, storage networking and automation, via the DCCOR core plus a concentration.

Before you book

Who is eligible to sit the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center?

Who it is for: Data-center engineers

The test itself

What is the format of the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center?

The Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center is administered by Pearson VUE and runs 120 minutes (core), contains 90–110 (core) questions and requires ~825 of 1000 to pass.

Money & time

How much does the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center cost?

For the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center, the exam fee is $400 per exam; the all-in cost is typically $700+; most candidates spend 4–8 months preparing.

The fine print

What are the retake and renewal rules for the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center?

Proctoring & delivery

Delivered by Pearson VUE: at authorized test centers or online via OnVUE remote proctoring (CCST uses the Certiport/Pearson VUE platform). A government-issued photo ID is required; online tests include a room/environment scan.

Retake policy

If you fail, Cisco requires a waiting period of 5 calendar days before you may retake the same exam. Each attempt requires full payment of the exam fee. Cisco does not cap total attempts, but some exams limit attempts within a 12-month window.

Score reporting

Results are reported as pass/fail and made available online (Cisco Certification Tracking System) typically within 48 hours. A section-level performance breakdown is provided to help target further study; scaled scores use a 300-1000 range (CCNA/CCNP-style exams).

Recertification

All Cisco certifications are valid for 3 years from the date earned. Recertify before expiry by (a) passing a higher-or-equal level qualifying exam, (b) earning Continuing Education (CE) credits through eligible training/activities, or (c) a combination of exam + CE. For associate-level certs 30 CE credits are required; for professional-level 40 CE credits. Certificates can also be extended via the Cisco Continuing Education program.

Refunds & rescheduling

Exam fees are generally non-refundable once scheduled, but Pearson VUE allows rescheduling or cancellation up to 24-48 hours before the appointment without penalty; no-shows forfeit the fee. CCST/Certiport policies may differ by region.

What it pays

How much does this credential pay?

$130,390 median for computer network architects (BLS SOC 15-1241, May 2024), the closest official series to the data-center engineering roles CCNP Data Center supports

CCNP Data Center pays through the network-infrastructure job market, and the closest official BLS figure is the May 2024 median annual wage of $130,390 for SOC 15-1241 Computer Network Architects — BLS has no occupation literally called 'data center engineer', so we cite the architect series for this credential and say plainly that the fit is partial rather than exact. The lowest 10 percent in that occupation earned less than $79,520 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $198,030 in May 2024, a very wide spread driven by seniority, employer and location far more than by any certificate. BLS counted 179,200 computer-network-architect jobs in 2024 and projects 12 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 11,200 openings a year, most of them replacement demand. Three caveats anchor the picture. First, BLS classifies by job duties rather than by certification, so the series includes architects without a CCNP and excludes CCNP holders working under other titles, which means the credential’s specific wage premium cannot be read off this page. Second, CCNP Data Center is a specialist credential for data-center and infrastructure engineers, and the relevant comparison for a holder is typically the data-center-engineering salary band rather than the architect median; employer listings rather than BLS set any premium for the data-center concentration specifically. Third, the certificate gates nothing legally — unlike a state license it is an employer-recognized credential, so its value is realized through hiring, specialization and promotion decisions. For a candidate asking whether CCNP Data Center pays, the direct answer is that it certifies skills inside a job family with a $130,390 national median and double-digit projected growth, and the Nexus, UCS, storage and ACI technologies in the blueprint are exactly the infrastructure employers are modernizing as workloads move between data centers and the cloud.

Job growth.+12% projected change 2024-34 (much faster than average), with about 11,200 openings a year; data-center infrastructure and cloud integration are the skills employers are modernizing fastest

Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Computer Network Architects

Your schedule

How long should I study for it?

180-240 hours over 16-20 weeks of focused study

CCNP Data Center is two exams — the 350-601 DCCOR core and one concentration — and the efficient plan runs 16 to 20 weeks at 10 to 14 hours a week, roughly 180 to 240 hours in total, with the core consuming about 60 percent of the time because it is the 120-minute, $400 exam covering the broadest ground. The two exams are sequential in practice: most candidates pass the core first, since DCCOR v1.2 covers network, compute, storage network, automation and AI, and security, and the concentration then deepens one area — ACI with DCACI, storage with DCSAN, troubleshooting with DCIT, design with DCID, or automation with DCAUTO. Weeks one through four cover the network domain: routing protocols such as OSPF and MP-BGP, switching with RSTP and vPC, overlay protocols such as VXLAN EVPN, and ACI concepts. Weeks five through eight work the compute domain in depth — UCS rack and blade servers, UCS-X in Intersight Managed Mode, server pools, boot policies and firmware — which is 25 percent of the paper. Weeks nine through eleven cover the storage network domain: Fibre Channel, zoning, VSANs, NPV and NPIV, and network storage systems such as NFS and iSCSI. Weeks twelve through fourteen cover automation and AI, and security, including EEM, Python on NX-OS, Ansible, ACI contracts and microsegmentation. Weeks fifteen through seventeen are full timed practice exams at the real formats — 120 minutes for the core and 90 minutes for the concentration — with a miss log driving final gap-closing. Candidates with strong data-center experience can compress to twelve weeks, spending recovered time in a lab on UCS, Nexus and ACI configuration rather than on concept review; candidates coming from campus networking should add four weeks of data-center concepts before the core. The plan’s anchor is the lab: UCS setup, Fibre Channel zoning, VXLAN EVPN and ACI are hands-on skills, and candidates who configure them rather than read about them finish the performance-based questions inside the clock.

1. Weeks 1-411-14 hrs/week

   Network domain (25%)

   • Cover routing protocols: OSPFv2/v3, MP-BGP, PIM and FHRP
   • Study switching with RSTP+, LACP and vPC, and overlay protocols such as VXLAN EVPN
   • Apply ACI concepts: fabric setup, access policies and VMM
   • Practise analyzing packet flow and implementing network configuration management
2. Weeks 5-812-14 hrs/week

   Compute domain (25%)

   • Implement UCS rack servers and blade chassis: initial setup, VLANs, pools and policies, templates and QoS
   • Configure server management: server pools, boot policies, SAN connectivity and Fibre Channel zoning
   • Describe UCS-X in Intersight Managed Mode and the impact of firmware and software updates
   • Practise compute configuration management with backup and restore, and monitoring with Cisco Intersight
3. Weeks 9-1111-13 hrs/week

   Storage network domain (20%)

   • Implement Fibre Channel: fabric initialization, port channels, zoning, FCNS, device aliases, NPV and NPIV
   • Configure and explain VSANs, and describe NFS and iSCSI network storage systems
   • Understand disruptive and nondisruptive software updates and EPLDs
4. Weeks 12-1412-14 hrs/week

   Automation, AI and security (15% + 15%)

   • Implement automation tools: EEM, scheduler, bash and guest shell on NX-OS, REST APIs and on-box Python
   • Evaluate Ansible, Python, POAP, Terraform CLI and Intersight for orchestration
   • Apply security: AAA and RBAC, ACI contracts and microsegmentation, keychain authentication and MACsec
   • Describe AI-enabling technologies in data-center infrastructure
5. Weeks 15-1710-12 hrs/week

   Timed practice exams and gap closing

   • Take timed practice sittings at the real durations: 120 minutes for the core, 90 minutes for your chosen concentration
   • Re-drill the miss log by domain until clean
   • Book the core and the concentration with the five-day retake rule and your schedule in mind

What to buy

Which study resources are worth paying for?

The buying logic for CCNP Data Center is anchored by the fact that Cisco publishes the official exam topics for free — the DCCOR v1.2 topics page is the definitive scope map — so the first resource every candidate needs costs nothing, and no paid product can claim to define the blueprint better than Cisco’s own documents. The exam seats themselves are the biggest line item: the 350-601 core costs $400 and each concentration costs $300, both paid to Pearson VUE at scheduling, and retakes are full price with a five-calendar-day wait after a failure. Beyond Cisco’s free topics, the market splits into three tiers. Cisco’s own paid training — Cisco U. learning paths, the official courses and practice tests — typically runs several hundred dollars and is the closest match to the exam style, including performance-based questions. Cisco Press books for data center, such as the official cert guides for DCCOR and the concentrations, are usually $50 to $70 and are strongest for the UCS, storage and ACI fundamentals. Third-party question banks from providers such as Boson and Pearson, typically $100 to $150, are the best timed-readiness check because they simulate the performance-based item mix, and the ones that explicitly track the current exam version are the ones to choose. A lab — Cisco Modeling Labs, the DevNet sandbox, or virtual UCS and Nexus environments — is worth more than any course for a performance-based exam, because the blueprint names objects you must actually configure. Prices below are list prices as of mid-2026 and change frequently, and we rank nothing by commission; confirm the current price on the Cisco and Pearson VUE pages before buying.

Prices checked 2026-08 in USD before tax. The $400 core and $300 concentration fees are Cisco’s published prices; prep-product list prices change frequently, so confirm at the source before buying. We do not rank by commission.

What you'll face

What question types will I see?

CCNP Data Center exams are delivered on computer through Pearson VUE, and the official topics page describes the item mix as performance-based questions, multiple choice and drag-and-drop — Cisco publishes the formats but reports only a pass or fail result, with no numeric passing score and no cohort pass-rate statistics. The core exam, 350-601 DCCOR, runs 120 minutes and costs $400, while each concentration exam runs 90 minutes and costs $300; the core is offered in English and Japanese and the question count is not fixed in the published topics, so pacing discipline matters more than counting questions. Performance-based questions drop you into a task — zone a Fibre Channel fabric, configure a UCS server pool, or apply an ACI contract — and carry disproportionate weight because they test whether you can do the work rather than recognize it. Multiple-choice items test concepts from the blueprint, from OSPF and VXLAN EVPN to UCS management, storage networking and security, while drag-and-drop items typically ask you to order configuration steps or match technology concepts. The DCCOR v1.2 blueprint weights network and compute at 25 percent each, storage network at 20 percent, and automation and AI and security at 15 percent each, which tells candidates where the item mass sits. Cisco also publishes a free exam tutorial that walks candidates through each item format before exam day, which is worth taking once so the first performance-based task you see is not a surprise. The three samples below are editor-written illustrations of the published blueprint, not live exam items; one shows the network domain, one the storage domain, and one the security domain.

Samples are editor-written illustrations of the published blueprint, not live exam items.

Reference

What are the key facts about the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center?

Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center is a certification credential; awarded by Cisco; the exam fee is $400 per exam; typical preparation is 4–8 months; holders typically earn $90,000 – $130,000.

In short

Is the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center worth it?

• CCNP Data Center = DCCOR core + 1 concentration.
• It covers compute, storage and network.
• It renews every three years.

Worth comparing

How does the Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center compare with similar credentials?

• Cisco Certified Network Associate Cisco Systems

Trust

Where does this information come from?

Everything above is taken from the awarding body's own published material. Fees, question counts and domain weights are revised regularly — check the official page before you pay.

• Cisco Awarding body
• Official Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center exam page Exam page
• Cisco certification programme Programme rules

Research confidence: high · Last reviewed 2026-08