A look inside the official Cisco DEVASC 200-901 guidebook

Cisco certification hopefuls have a great deal to learn when they prepare for any Cisco exam. The Cisco DevNet track, however, takes information and skills network professionals already know and teaches them how to automate tasks and streamline processes.

Cisco introduced the DevNet certifications in February 2020, and the vendor's usual cultlike certification followings didn't disappoint. Hundreds of thousands of IT professionals have joined the DevNet community, which is unfailingly committed and ferocious, according to authors Jason Gooley and Chris Jackson. While the content cleaves from the vendor's traditional focus on networking to encompass critical software skills, the DevNet tracks will mirror Cisco's standard certification levels: Associate, Specialist, Professional and Expert, although the Expert DevNet track isn't available yet.

Below is an excerpt from the book Cisco Certified DevNet Associate DEVASC 200-901 Official Cert Guide by Gooley, Jackson, Adrian Iliesiu and Ashutosh Malegaonkar. The excerpt is Chapter 18, "IP Services," which covers essential networking knowledge that both networking professionals and developers require to take the Cisco DEVASC 200-901 exam.

The chapter covers what network engineers may consider fundamentals: common network protocols and Layer 2 vs. Layer 3 network diagrams. However, it also explores troubleshooting application connectivity issues, which provides a flavor of Cisco DEVASC 200-901 as a whole to readers, Jackson said. This information is useful for anyone who works in infrastructure because the relationship between applications and network infrastructure is changing.

Jason Gooley

Applications used to be ships in the night across networks, Jackson said. In the future, more applications will act as partners on the network and influence infrastructure. This is because many applications can detect how many people connect to networks if the applications are built with intelligence, according to Jackson. So, the applications can alert networks if they need more capacity, rather than IT professionals kick-starting this communication. This can lead to improved application performance and UX.

Chris Jackson

Still, networking professionals don't need to become Python experts before they take the Cisco DEVASC 200-901 exam. DevNet hopefuls can get started without Python experience because their DevNet learning journey will start with labs and introductory information, so hopefuls can go in there cold, Gooley said.

Many people with no prior IT experience have started with DevNet and gained enough background from labs and books to start their certification journeys, according to Gooley and Jackson. So, regardless of prior experience, DevNet hopefuls can gain the information they need for the Cisco DEVASC 200-901 exam from tools like this book.

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Explore Cisco Certified DevNet Associate DEVASC 200-901 Official Cert Guide

Click here to read Chapter 18, "IP Services."