Being knowledgeable and bearing practical skills associated with executing core network technologies for the service provider is what the Cisco 350-501 SPCOR certification exam focuses on. What’s more, it looks into technocratic fields like core architecture, automation, security, networking, services, and network assurance.

A nice bonus is that after you get a pass in the above exam, you get the Cisco Certified Specialist - Service Provider Core certification. That's not all, as you can continue your journey further into the two Cisco accreditation tracks:

• CCNP Service Provider
• CCIE Service Provider

More Details

As you now know, in addition to the Cisco Certified Specialist- Service Provider Core qualification you can claim to be a certified professional and even an expert in service provider solutions. Therefore, to obtain the CCNP Service Provider, you will require to pass the 350-501 as a core test to prove your service provider infrastructure knowledge, and then pick a second one from a group carrying three concentration evaluations.

In the case of the CCIE Service Provider designation, the Cisco 350-501 test acts as a qualifying exam. As a second prerequisite, you must take an 8-hour lab evaluation to verify your hands-on experience with complex service provider networks. This is to be taken only in the lab environment, but after passing the 350-501 written test.

350-501 Exam Details

According to the official vendor’ information, every candidate for the 350-501 exam will have 2 hours to accomplish all the questions. Formats to anticipate include MCQs, testlets, drag-and-drops, and others which make the challenge much more difficult.

Regarding the registration, this process requires payment of an enrollment fee of $400. After that, the candidate must decide how s/he is more comfortable taking the final exam. It’s possible to do this remotely online or choose the nearest testing center.

Topics for 350-501 SPCOR Exam

Immediately after registration, you can begin the preparation process for the 350-501 test. And, for further comprehension of this Cisco evaluation, there are guidelines in the form of a topic list that describe what it could contain. Therefore, candidates anticipating to go through this evaluation may expect questions regarding the following areas of expertise:

• Architecture

  To start, 350-501 test-takers must know the characteristics and features of core service provider architectures, transport technologies, and mobility. In addition, everyone must demonstrate a solid knowledge of Cisco software architecture for networks, including IOS, IOS XE, and IOS XR. It should not be forgotten that this category of issues may also affect the virtualization for the service provider, which considers VNF workloads, NVF infrastructure, and OpenStack, as well as QoS architecture description. Furthermore, candidates should also be able to test and configure security plans using protection techniques such as CoPP and LPTS. And then, the exam-taker will need to confirm that s/he is familiar with management plane security as well as data plane security including uRPF, ACLs, RTBH.

• MPLS & Segment Routing

  The following knowledge area and related questions will validate the candidate's understanding of Segment Routing and MPLS. Thus, the applicant will need to demonstrate the knowledge of the MPLS implementation process including MPLS OAM, Unified MPLS, LDP neighbors, and so on. It is important to understand that the traffic engineering description should also cover RSVP functionality, FRR, as well as RSVP functionality. And regarding segment routing, the candidate should know segment types, TI-LFa, and PCE-PCC architectures among others.

• Networking

  Every candidate should not forget about the field of networking when preparing for this test. So be ready to meet the questions about the implementation of IS-IS, both IPv4 and IPv6, as well as OSPF protocols using route advertisement and metrics. The candidate should also possess skills to demonstrate the knowledge of route maps and routing policy language as well as present the algorithm of BGP path selection and the process of its implementation. Of course, an understanding of troubleshoot routing protocols and Implement high availability can also be present in the final test.

• Services

  The next section of the exam will deal exclusively with services. Candidates should therefore be prepared to talk about the different VPN services such as Ethernet OAM and Ethernet services, the Carrier Ethernet and L2VPN configuration process, and L3VPN. Multicast services will also be covered, so applicants will be asked questions about MLD and IGMP v1/v2/v3 and PIM. In addition, exam-takers should be proficient in implementing QoS services taking into account Congestion avoidance, traffic policing, and shaping.

• Automation & Assurance

  Last but not least is the assessment of the candidate's knowledge of assurance and automation. As you can see, here the candidate will encounter questions about NSO roles, high-level benefits and principles of a data modeling language, as well as agent-based and agentless configuration management tools. Applicants should also understand external scripts for Cisco device configuration through a REST API along with dial-in/out telemetry stream configuration using gRPC. And then, each candidate will prove their NetFlow/IPFIX, SNMP (v2c/v3), and NETCONF and RESTCONF configuration and verification skills.

Career Opportunities

Given that the Cisco 350-501 exam leads to professional and expert level certifications, as a qualified specialist with the CCNP or CCIE Service Provider certificate, you are capable of executing advanced solutions associated with the service provider. Therefore, once you complete both tests as required, you are good for a variety of job positions, including service provider network administrator, system engineer, project manager, network designer, and network engineer. And turning to the figures, the yearly earnings for those owning the CCNP are around $113k, while earnings for those holding the CCIE are around $149k as ZipRecruiter.com submits.

Career Path: Next Certification to Apply

Now that you have determined that you must pass the Cisco 350-501 exam, or have already passed, you have several paths in front of you. You can strive for the CCNP Service Provider certification, or you can become an expert right away thanks to CCIE Service Provider.

After that, you can give yourself time to take advantage of all the benefits you've gained, and then consider other areas of Cisco accreditation such as Collaboration, CyberOps, Security, or Data Center to become a more versatile and in-demand professional in the digital world.