The Cisco 300-610 DCID represents Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure, one of the 6 concentration exams that candidates can take to qualify for the CCNP Data Center certificate. Passing this test also earns you the Cisco Certified Specialist - Data Center Design, a specialist title that confirms your professional knowledge relating to managing data center solutions. Primarily, such an exam was designed to certify the candidate’s aptitude for managing data center design and this includes storage network, automation, compute, and network.

Related Certification

As already mentioned, passing this 300-610 test together with the core exam, the Cisco 350-601: Implementing and Operating Cisco Data Center Core Technologies (DCCOR) will qualify you for the CCNP Data Center certification. This certificate proves that the learner has top-notch skills in data center networking solutions. In general, the full list of the concentration exams available within this track includes the following:

• 300-615: Troubleshooting Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCIT);
• 300-620: Implementing Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (DCACI);
• 300-625: Implementing Cisco Storage Area Networking (DCSAN);
• 300-630: Implementing Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure-Advanced (DCACIA);
• 300-635: Automating and Programming Cisco Data Center Solutions (DCAUTO).

300-610 Exam Facts

The real Cisco 300-610 exam costs $300 and should be completed in 90 minutes. Usually, this test is written in the English language only and candidates can opt to take the online version or attempt it from physical testing centers.

Cisco 300-610 Test Objectives

Primarily, the 300-610 evaluation provides a detailed content outline that’s built around 4 key domains. These include the following:

1. Network Design (35%)

This domain will start by covering the evaluation of options for Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity. Then, it covers the evaluation of data center technologies, the evaluation of options related to interconnecting data centers, and those for routing & device virtualization. To conclude, this section will confirm if the candidate understands the evaluation of in-band and out-of-band options in management and the evaluation of redundancy options including active/active and disaster recovery sites.

2. Compute Design (25%)

Compute design, in more detail, covers the knowledge of evaluating options for Ethernet connectivity, storage connectivity, and network device virtualization. Also tested in the learner’s knowledge of options associated with hyper-converged infrastructure like cluster mode, desktop virtualization, etc.

3. Storage Network Design (20%)

Primarily, such a topic is intended to highlight what the students should know when planning for iSCSI deployment in data centers, evaluating the QoS requirements for data centers, and determining FCoE/Fibre Channel interface. Also covered is the learner’s knowledge of evaluating options for SAN topology.

4. Automation Design (20%)

Finally, the main exam will test the student’s knowledge of evaluating options for computing and network orchestration, including automation for the two. Here, it would be great if the examinee were well-conversant with the relevant technologies such as DCNM, Intersight, NX-API, Ansible, Puppet, Python, vNIC templates, and vHBA templates among the rest.

Your Career Opportunities

If you ace the Cisco 300-610 exam, you will be getting ready for a wide range of technical jobs that involve managing data centers. The next passages describe 3 such options you can attain following your success in the real test:

• Network Administrator

  From the name, network administrators are keenly involved in the maintenance of computer networks. Also, they may solve a wide range of issues arising from such systems, install and configure computer systems together with functional networks, and consult users to understand system requirements, possible modifications, or upgrades. In some organizations, these individuals may budget for equipment costs, assemble new systems, maintain the available software & hardware, and work with the general staff to ensure the company’s primary objectives are fully met. According to PayScale.com, a typical individual serving in the role of a network administrator gets compensated with an average salary of $60,414 per year.

• Data Center Engineer

  A data center engineer, in particular, designs and manages network systems or information on data centers. What is more, these individuals monitor system operations and administer IT solutions to ascertain that hard drives, servers, and other important equipment are functioning effectively. As part of the everyday activities, the role of data center engineers may also involve monitoring and evaluating servers in a data center, calibrating the same systems as well as performing backups to optimize performance, and participating in data center renovation to maintain the highest levels of performance every day. Given the important role they play in many organizations, data center engineers are handsomely rewarded with an average annual salary of $93,140 according to ZipRecruiter.

• Senior Data Center Engineer

  As you may probably guess, a senior data center engineer is in charge of a company’s data management teams and leads in designing suitable data practices. More so, these individuals design and implement new networks, manage hardware for data storage including servers, and may help with troubleshooting problems in these systems when they arise. Aside from proving their prowess in advanced programs like Linux and Cisco solutions, a senior data center engineer should be humble enough to supervise or guide junior data center specialists while keeping the bigger picture in mind. To conclude, you need high-level education to qualify for this role, and getting the CCNP Data Center certificate might just be the ideal starting point. When you reach such heights, you can be certain to make an average income of $114,833 per annum according to the data on the ZipRecruiter.com website.

Certification Path

The CCNP Data Center is a professional certificate that confirms your knowledge of data center solutions at this level. So, you should distinguish yourself as an IT leader in managing data center technologies by going after the expert-level CCIE Data Center certification also offered by Cisco. This program requires success in the 350-601 exam alongside the corresponding lab evaluation namely, the CCIE Data Center v3.0.