Now that you know that Cisco has migration paths that will allow you to continue your existing Cisco certification track and transition to the new one when it drops on Feb. 24, 2020, your blood pressure’s probably back to normal. However, you might be concerned about that bucket of Boson study products you purchased to aid you in the pursuit of your credentials. Maybe you’ve already bought our ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-125 CCNA product to help you study for your Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam, but life has happened, and you’re no longer sure you’ll be able to take the exam before the transition on Feb. 24. Have you just wasted your money?
The answer is no; you have not wasted your money. Boson has announced an upgrade policy that will qualify you for a free upgrade to the appropriate CCNA or Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) products for the new Cisco exam tracks if you purchased specific Boson products after Cisco’s announcement about the new exam tracks. To qualify for the free upgrade, you must have purchased an existing single-user Boson product license after June 1, 2019. This upgrade policy applies to Boson NetSim Network Simulator for CCNA or CCNP, Boson ExSim-Max Practice Exam products for CCNA and CCNP, and Boson Courseware products for CCNA and CCNP.
Upgrading Boson NetSim Network Simulator
If you bought a single-user license for Boson NetSim 12 for CCNA after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the next version of NetSim for CCNA when that version becomes available. If you bought a single-user license for Boson NetSim 12 for CCNP after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the next version of NetSim for CCNP when that version becomes available.
It’s important to note that Cisco is retiring the Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) credential. Candidates who pass only the 100-105 Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices 1 (ICND1) exam before Feb. 24, 2020, are not being migrated to the new Cisco exam tracks, although your CCENT credential is still valid for three years. Therefore, if you purchase a single-user license for only the Boson NetSim 12 for CCENT product, you will not qualify for a free upgrade because there will no longer be an equivalent NetSim product.
Upgrading Boson ExSim-Max CCNA Practice Exams
Free upgrades for the Boson ExSim-Max Practice Exam products are a bit more complex than the NetSim upgrades because of all the CCNA concentration exams that Cisco is replacing with its new CCNA 200-301 exam. Naturally, if you bought a single-user license for the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-125 CCNA product after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-301 CCNA exam when it becomes available.
Furthermore, if you bought a single-user license for both the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 100-105 ICND1 product and the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-105 ICND2 product after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-301 CCNA exam. However, a single-user license for only the ICND1 product or only the ICND2 product after June 1, 2019, does not qualify you for the free upgrade. You must have purchased both products to qualify for the upgrade.
In addition to the CCNA Routing and Switching credential, Cisco has decided to replace a host of CCNA-level concentration exams with the new 200-301 exam. Some of the concentrations that are being replaced by 200-301 include CCNA Design (200-310), CCNA Security (210-260), CCNA Collaboration (210-060 and 210-065), and CCNA Data Center (200-150 and 200-155). The Boson ExSim-Max Practice Exam upgrade policy has you covered there, too.
If you purchased the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-310 DESGN practice exam after June 1, 2019, you qualify for the free upgrade to the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-301 CCNA practice exam when it becomes available. You also qualify for the upgrade to the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 200-301 CCNA practice exam if you purchased the Boson ExSim-Max for Cisco 210-260 IINS exam after June 1, 2019.
On Cisco’s current exam track, you must pass both the 210-060 Implementing Cisco Collaboration Devices (CICD) exam and the 210-065 Implementing Cisco Collaboration Devices (CIVND) exam to obtain the CCNA Collaboration credential. Therefore, you must have purchased a single-user license for each equivalent Boson product after June 1, 2019, to qualify for the free Boson ExSim-Max 200-301 CCNA upgrade.
Similarly, the CCNA Data Center certification currently requires you to pass both the 200-150 Introducing Cisco Data Center Networking (DCICN) exam and the 200-155 Introducing Cisco Data Center Technologies (DCICT) exam. To qualify for the free upgrade when the Boson ExSim-Max 200-301 CCNA product becomes available, you must have purchased the equivalent 200-150 and 200-155 ExSim-Max Practice Exam products after June 1, 2019.
Upgrading Boson ExSim-Max CCNP Practice Exams
The current Cisco CCNP exam track requires you to pass three exams: CCNP ROUTE (300-105), CCNP SWITCH (300-115), and CCNP TSHOOT (300-135). Naturally, Boson has you covered with an ExSim-Max Practice Exam product for each of the three. When the new CCNP Enterprise Core (ENCOR) 300-401 arrives on Feb. 24, 2020, Cisco plans to migrate those candidates who have passed both ROUTE 300-105 and SWITCH 300-115 to the Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise Core credential. That credential is one-half of what you need to obtain the full CCNP Enterprise credential.
If bought a single-user license for the ExSim-Max for CCNP 300-105 ROUTE practice exam and the ExSim-Max for CCNP 300-115 SWITCH after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the ExSim-Max for CCNP 300-401 ENCOR practice exam when it becomes available. You must have purchased both practice exams after June 1, 2019. Purchasing only the ROUTE practice exam or only the SWITCH practice exam after June 1, 2019, does not qualify you for the free upgrade.
As for CCNP TSHOOT (300-135), Cisco plans to migrate candidates who passed that exam before Feb. 24, 2020, to the new Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services credential on Feb. 24, 2020. That credential requires you to pass the CCNP 300-410 Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services (ENARSI) exam when the new exam track takes effect. Obtaining this credential in addition to the Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise Core credential nets you the complete CCNP Enterprise credential. Therefore, if you bought a single-user license for the ExSim-Max TSHOOT 300-135 practice exam product after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the ExSim-Max CCNP 300-410 ENARSI practice exam when it becomes available.
Upgrading Boson CCNA and CCNP Courseware
In addition to network simulation and practice exams, Boson offers curricula for CCNA and CCNP candidates. The existing curricula will not exactly map to the new exam tracks after Feb. 24, 2020. Candidates who bought an existing digital Boson CCNA or CCNP curriculum after June 1, 2019, will qualify for a free upgrade to the new curriculum when it becomes available. The upgrades apply only to the digital editions of the curricula. For example, if you bought the digital edition of the Boson Courseware for CCNA v3.0 after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the digital edition of the Boson Courseware for 200-301 CCNA when it becomes available.
You also qualify for the CCNA curriculum upgrade if you purchased the digital edition of the Boson Courseware for 100-105 ICND1 and the digital edition of the Boson Courseware for 200-105 ICND2 after June 1, 2019. You must have purchased both the ICND1 courseware and the ICND2 courseware after June 1, 2019, to qualify.
Boson’s CCNP courseware upgrade path mirrors the ExSim-Max practice exam upgrade path for those products. If you purchased the digital edition of the Boson courseware for both ROUTE 300-101 and SWITCH 300-115 after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the digital edition of Boson Courseware for 300-401 ENCOR when it becomes available. If you purchased the digital edition of the Boson Courseware for 300-135 TSHOOT after June 1, 2019, you qualify for a free upgrade to the digital edition of Boson Courseware for 300-410 ENARSI when it becomes available.
A Chart for Every Course
No matter which CCNA or CCNP path you’re currently following, remember to keep working. As of this writing, you still have more than six months to complete your chosen credential. If you miss that deadline? No worries. The money you’ve spent on your Boson study aids was not in vain if you qualify for the free upgrade to the Boson products for the new Cisco exam track.