- Brandon Hitzel
CCDP Certification Study Material
Updated: Jun 18, 2019
I provide all of the Cisco Certified Design Professional Study material
So over the last 3 months I have been studying for the Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) in order to re-new my CCNP Routing & Switching certification which is due for re-renewal in the next month or so. The reason for CCDP is I enjoy designing vs. just pure configuration, and also by obtaining my CCNP routing and switching I already have 2 the of 3 required tests completed.
My strategy generally includes using multiple sources, like books, white papers, and video lectures. In addition, I will look at the syllabus and search for the terms on google to find a video or whitepaper on a certain subject, but I also look to the forums to see if anyone has suggested any good content. So below is all of the content I have found, however I have not viewed or read everything in detail as it would take a lot of time.
Typically I will read about a topic, possibly lab it if I am having trouble understanding it or there is a need to lab it. Then I will usually have a video lecture about it and read some other supplemental material. Always take notes on every chapter and lecture to review later.
The only problem I found with CCDP is the book is a "foundation learning guide" not the "official certification guide" which looks like it means no practice-tests; although the chapters did have some practice questions (practice questions help with comprehension and information retention). So I had to use practice tests from my other official certification guides, like CCNA Security, CCNP Route & Switch and CCDA. Hopefully that will be enough. I found there to be a good mix of cisco only content and general vendor neutral type philosophy in the foundation learning guide.
Books:
The first 2 were new books I fully read through specifically for this certification, the other few are ones I had previously read but reviewed for diversity and completeness.
Designing for Cisco Network Service Architectures (ARCH) Foundation Learning Guide: CCDP ARCH 300-320, 4th Edition - ISBN-13: 978-1-58714-462-2
The Art of Network Architecture: Business-Driven Design - ISBN-13: 978-1-58714-375-5
IP Routing on Cisco IOS, IOS XE, and IOS XR: An Essential Guide to Understanding and Implementing IP Routing Protocols - ISBN-13: 978-0-13-384678-2
CCDA 200-310 Official Cert Guide, 5th Edition - ISBN-13: 978-1-58714-454-7
CCNP Routing and Switching ROUTE 300-101 Official Cert Guide - ISBN-13: 978-1-58720-559-0
CCNP Routing and Switching SWITCH 300-115 Official Cert Guide - ISBN-13: 978-1-58720-560-6
Other books people recommended:
Enterprise Campus 3.0 Architecture: Overview and Framework
BGP Design & Implementation
End-to-End QoS
Enterprise QoS Solution Reference Network Design Guide
Video Content:
I only used the pluralsight.com CCNP/CCDA/CCDP courses, but those cost money. You can find some useful youtube videos from INE, TechWise TV etc. I guess CBT nuggets and howtonetworking have video courses for CCDP as well.
These cisco learning network videos are also useful
Finally, someone recommend these Cisco Live lectures (available for free after creating an account):
Enterprise Campus Design: Multilayer Architectures and Design Principles - BRKCRS-2031
WAN Architectures and Design Principles - BRKRST-2041
Campus Wired LAN Deployment Using Cisco Validated Designs - BRKCRS-1500
Campus QoS Design-Simplified - BRKCRS-2501
OSPF Deployment in Modern Networks - BRKRST-2337
EIGRP Deployment in Modern Networks - BRKRST-2336
Advanced - Scaling BGP - BRKRST-3321
Nexus Multicast Design Best Practices - BRKIPM-3062
Cisco FabricPath Technology and Design - BRKDCT-2081
Advanced Enterprise Campus Design: Converged Access - BRKCRS-2888
Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise Planning and Design - BRKCCT-2007
Campus QoS Design-Simplified - BRKCRS-2501
White papers:
So users on the forums were very helpful with providing recommendations. Most of these were recommended by other people. Some of the design zone stuff I had already read but there were also good relevant recommendations. In my opinion an architect/design engineer should be proficient at reading and comprehending documentation like this.
Enterprise Campus 3.0 Architecture Overview: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Campus/campover.pdf
HA Campus Network Design: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Campus/routed-ex.pdf
Campus Wired LAN Technology Design Guide: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/solutions/CVD/Aug2014/CVD-CampusWiredLANDesignGuide-AUG14.pdf
Campus Network for HA Design Guide: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Campus/HA_campus_DG/hacampusdg.pdf
Cisco OTV Technology Introduction and Deployment Considerations: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Data_Center/DCI/whitepaper/DCI3_OTV_Intro.pdf
DC Access Layer Design: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Data_Center/DC_Infra2_5/DCInfra_6.pdf
OTV Best Practices Guide: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-7000-series-switches/guide_c07-728315.pdf
IE Design Summary: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/solutions/CVD/Aug2014/InternetEdgeDesignSummary-AUG14.pdf
Intelligent WAN & WAN Design Summary: http://http:/www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/solutions/CVD/Oct2016/CVD-IWANDeployment-2016OCT.pdf
MPLS WAN Technology Design Guide: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/solutions/CVD/Aug2014/CVD-MPLSWANDesignGuide-AUG14.pdf
QoS: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/CVD/Dec2017/APIC-EM-EasyQoS-DesignGuide-Dec2017.html
IPv6 Design Zone: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/enterprise/design-zone-ipv6/index.html
BGP Case study: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/border-gateway-protocol-bgp/26634-bgp-toc.html
Overview of Cisco TrustSec: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/collateral/borderless-networks/trustsec/C07-730151-00_overview_of_trustSec_og.pdf
VXLAN Overview: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-9000-series-switches/white-paper-c11-729383.html
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Data Center Policy Model: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/data-center-virtualization/application-centric-infrastructure/white-paper-c11-731310.html
vPC Best Practices: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/sw/design/vpc_design/vpc_best_practices_design_guide.pdf
Traditional WAN Design Summary: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/solutions/CVD/Mar2017/CVD-WANDesign-MAR2017.pdf
IPSec Direct Encapsulation VPN Design Guide: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/WAN_and_MAN/Dir_Encap.html
Conclusion:
I hope this helps anyone looking to expand their design knowledge or pursue the CCDP certification. Studying has been taking up my time so this is why my posting has been absent since March which I apologize for. I plan to take the test at Cisco Live, so hopefully I can pass it !
Edit: 6/17/19 - I Passed ! my weak points were network services and security, I would say the test was probably easier than the CCNP route exam as it did not have any labs but there are some pretty tricky questions. Be thorough and review all topics on the blue print before going in. Sadly next year in February 2020 the design specific track will be eliminated and combined into the new tracks where there will be a specific design test (enterprise, security, wireless etc.).
Various other resources:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/thread/124036
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/groups/ccdp-study-group
http://blog.ine.com/2010/11/19/ccdp-recommended-reading-list/
http://www.ciscopress.com/search/index.asp?query=ccdp
