Nokia Data Center Fabric Network Expert Lab Exam

Exam name: Nokia Data Center Fabric Expert Lab Exam

Exam number: DCFNE

Mandatory prerequisite exams :

To register for the Nokia DCF Network Expert Lab Exam, candidates must have passed the following two prerequisite written exams:

• Nokia Data Center Fabric Fundamentals Exam (4A0-D01)

• Nokia SR Linux EVPN and Data Center Interconnect (4A0-D03)

Exam duration: 3.5 Hours

Language: English

Price: €650

You can prepare for the lab exam by attending instructor-led courses, eLearning, self-studying, and practicing your hands-on skills using My DCF Learning Labs.

Instructor-led training:

• Nokia Data Center Fabric Fundamentals (4 days)
• Nokia SR Linux EVPN and Data Center Interconnect  (4 days)

 eLearning:

• Nokia Data Center Fabric Fundamentals (4 hours)

Self-study:

• Access the same materials used in our instructor-led training for self-study.

Learn more

My DCF Learning Labs

• More than just a lab service, My DCF Learning Labs offers lab exercises complete with inline instructions and solutions, giving you everything you need in one easy-to-use browser-based application.  
• Access our Data Center Fabric Fundamentals lab and our SR Linux EVPN and DCI Lab to prepare for the lab exam.

Learn more

Credit toward certification:

Nokia Certified Data Center Fabric Network Expert

What to Expect

The Nokia Data Center Fabric Network Expert Lab Exam is a three-and-a-half-hour practical exam that tests a candidate's ability to configure data center fabric, EVPN services and other supporting technologies on the Nokia Service Router Linux (SR Linux), and the data center interconnect (DCI) solution to interoperate with the Nokia 7750 Service Router (SR).

To register for the Nokia DCF Network Expert Lab Exam, candidates must have passed the following two prerequisite written exams

• Nokia Data Center Fabric Fundamentals Exam (4A0-D01)

• Nokia SR Linux EVPN and Data Center Interconnect (4A0-D03)

Exam topics

Exam topics are summarized in the sections below. Candidates should be able to configure and verify all topics and features; however, it is possible that not all topics will be covered in the exam.

1. DC Fabric Fundamentals
•    The Nokia Service Router Linux (SR Linux) product architecture and the command line interface (CLI)
•    Network instances
•    Bridged and routed interfaces 
•    Integrated routing and bridging (IRB) interfaces 
•    MAC and IP addresses
•    MAC learning and aging
•    MAC move mechanism
•    Static routing
•    BGP routing protocol
•    Filters and access control lists (ACLs)
•    Equal-cost multipath (ECMP) and BGP multipath routing
•    Routing policies for route advertisement and route filtering
•    Link layer discovery protocol (LLDP)
•    Link aggregation group (LAG) and link aggregation control protocol (LACP)
•    Bi-directional forwarding detection (BFD)

2. Ethernet VPN (EVPN) overlay 
•    MP-BGP 
•    IPv4 and EVPN address families
•    Route target and route distinguisher
•    Route reflector (RR)
•    Route policies for EVPN route advertisement and route filtering
•    EVPN route types

3. Layer 2 EVPN 
   3.1 Layer 2 EVPN concepts 
•    MAC-VRF network instance
•    Broadcast domain
•    EVPN Route target and route distinguisher
•    VXLAN tunnel
•    EVPN control plane MAC learning and MAC table
•    Route policies used in Layer 2 EVPN
•    EVPN routes and MAC table entries verification 
•    MAC protection
•    MAC mobility 
•    MAC duplication
•    Proxy-ARP
•    IP duplication detection

     3.2 Layer 2 EVPN multi-homing 
•    Ethernet segment
•    Link aggregation group (LAG)
•    Single-active and all-active multi-homing mode
•    Bonded interface
•    Designated forwarder 
•    Aliasing and fast convergence
•    EVPN routes and MAC table entries verification 
   
4. Layer 3 EVPN  
    4.1 Layer 3 EVPN concepts 
•    MAC-VRF network instance
•    Broadcast domain
•    IP-VRF network instance
•    Integrated routing and bridging (IRB) interface 
•    Anycast gateway
•    Asymmetric routing 
•    Symmetric routing
             • PE-CE routing 
•    EVPN route target and route distinguisher
•    VXLAN tunnel
•    EVPN control plane MAC/IP learning and MAC/IP table
•    Route policies used in Layer 3 EVPN
•    EVPN routes and IP routes verification

   4.2 Layer 3 EVPN multi-homing 
•    Ethernet segment
•    Single-active and all-active multi-homing mode
•    IP aliasing and fast convergence
•    Centralized router variant
•    Static route to VNF
•    PE-CE BGP to VNF
•    EVPN routes and IP routes verification

5. Data center interconnect (DCI) solution 
•    Layer 2 and Layer 3 EVPN gateway-less data center interconnect solution
•    Interoperability between Nokia SR Linux and Nokia 7750 SR 
•    Route reflector
•    BGP route policies used in the DCI solution between DC and WAN
•    VXLAN tunnels stitching
•    Dual-instance EVPN VPLS service on Nokia 7750 SR
•    Routed-VPLS service and VPRN service on Nokia 7750 SR
•    EVPN routes, MAC table entries, IP routes and VPN-IPv4 routes verification 

Exam notes and tips

During the exam, you will be allowed to access soft copies of the product manuals only as reference material, if necessary. The product manuals will be accessible from the PC used to access the exam equipment. No other notes or textbooks or reference materials are allowed during the exam. Electronic devices, including cell phones, are not allowed into the examination room. For on-site lab exams, candidates will be provided with pen and paper. No pen and paper are allowed for virtual lab exams. 

The exam pass mark is 80 percent. Candidates must complete some parts of the exam correctly, in order to obtain full marks in later parts of the exam. The candidate must have an adequate level of hands-on experience to maintain a reasonable pace during the exam so that all required tasks can be completed within the allotted time.

Listed below are some tips to help candidates successfully prepare for and pass the Nokia DCF Network Expert Lab Exam:

1. Ensure that you completely understand and are familiar with the student manuals and labs of the prerequisite courses in the DCF certification. This will help you to become more comfortable with the lab exam material. Review the exam preparation tab for more details.

2. For each exam scenario, a recommended time and mark allocation are provided to help you manage your time.

3. If you are unclear about anything in the exam, ask the proctor for clarification. The exam proctor will attempt to clarify anything that may be ambiguous. Do not expect the proctor to provide other information during or after the exam.

4. Be sure to allow yourself some time to verify the correct operation of your solution.

5. Save your configuration often. Your exam mark will be based on your final configuration.

6. Relax and read each question very carefully. Be thorough in your solution but remember to pace yourself appropriately.

Lab exams are delivered virtually or at select Nokia locations.  To take the exam virtually, you must meet the system requirements below, or you can visit our lab exam registration page to view available locations for in-person delivery.

Virtual system requirements:

• A webcam
• A microphone
• A single monitor (only one monitor is allowed)
• Minimum 4 Mbps end-to-end internet connection (a wired network connection is preferred)
• Windows 10.0
• Microsoft Edge 11.0
• 60 GB of free hard disk space12 GB of RAM (6GB dedicated allocated memory for VMPlayer)
• Administrative privileges on the PC
• Hardware virtualization support at CPU level on the PC (Intel VTx)