Before Jumping Into SDN Should We First Gain the CCNP DC Cert?

stlsmoore

I'm currently wrapping up my CCNP R/S but it feels like I'm hitting a major fork in the road on what to do next. The CCIE R/S really isn't my cup of tea but CCDA/DP is making a lot sense for me to tackle next.

I'm very interested in the SDN technology that's happening. However would I need a solid understanding of the data center before taking the leap into learning programming and SDN in general? Like the title mentioned should we obtain our CCNA DC or even CCNP DC certification before even thinking about diving into SDN? I imagine (assume) SDN will be very data center centric for the first 5-10 years before Enterprises will see the need to implement the technology.

Danielh22185

Interesting indeed. I myself have given this some thought and kind of wonder where to next after NP R/S. My company is making some serious strides to more and more virtualization. I too want to be on top of my game when it comes to networking in that aspect. I also feel though that there will always be a need for R/S concepts, no matter the platform it's built into and there will be a need for experts that understand those concepts for a long time.

networker050184

It would probably be wise to at least familiarize yourself with the current DC design methodologies. You want to be familiar with the problems that SDN is looking to solve.