CCNP, short for aCisco Certified Network Professional, is an advanced certification, offered by Cisco Systems. The certification is further divided into three parts, namely, CCNP Route, CCNP Switch, and CCNP TSHOOT. On successful completion of the three part exams, one will be awarded CCNP certification. The certification is valid for a period of 3 years, and one needs to recertify before the expiry of 3 year period to receive the benefits of certification. CCNA is the qualifying certification that one needs to have for appearing for CCNP exams.

CCNA, short for Cisco Certified Network Associate, is the most widely known certification in the area of computer networking on the Internet. The certification is fofered by Cisco, on passing single exam, namely CCNA or two exams, namely CCENT and INCD2. The two exam path is recommended for candidates preparing for networking certs as a fresher, without having any relevant industrial experience. If you have already worked or working in networking, single exam path is recommended. Check out the website for complete details.