There are no special technical requirements to follow through and understand in regards to this chapter; however, familiarity with general networking concepts will help you get a better grasp of the concepts that will be discussed. The chapters that follow will require deeper knowledge of different aspects of networking, from IP to the OSI layer to security. Additionally, topics covering network connectivity with AWS will require that you have a broad understanding of WAN connectivity types and routing protocols, especially the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing mechanism.

The exam blueprint outlines that the following skills will be tested:

• An understanding of the AWS network concepts
• An understanding of hybrid IT network architectures
• An understanding of network automation tools provided in AWS
• The ability to configure network services and integrate them with applications
• The ability to design and implement network...

AWS outlines several different requirements as prerequisites so that you're able to pass the exam. These include both the understanding of the networking components and services within AWS, as well as general networking concepts. Alongside theoretical knowledge, practical experience on large-scale network deployments is a big bonus.

The ideal exam candidate should be able to identify that they have the following list of skills:

• A minimum of five years experience using AWS services with a focus on networking
• A detailed understanding of the OSI model
• The understanding and ability to implement AWS security best practices
• The understanding of the AWS storage options and their features
• The understanding of and the ability to integrate AWS networking components
• The understanding of global enterprise networking requirements

• The understanding of network...

The exam was designed in a multiple choice, multiple answer question format. There are approximately 65 questions in the exam, and you will have 170 minutes to complete them. The questions in the exam are content heavy, so this time should be used wisely. The exam is available in English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese, and you can also sign up for an online practice exam before taking the exam with a registered exam proctor. The registration fee for the actual exam is $300 USD, and that of the practice exam is $40 USD. The exam questions come in three different formats:

• Multiple choice: You will need to select the option that provides the best answer to the question or select an answer that completes a statement. The question may come in the form of a graphic, where you will be able to point and click on the answer.
• Multiple response: You will need to select...

When scoring the exam, the score for each of the questions is given only for fully correct answers. This means that the question will be deemed as correctly answered only when the correct answer or all of the correct answers are selected. A single incorrect answer in a multiple-response question invalidates the entire question.

The exam pass/fail grade is independent of the number of correct answers, and is calculated based on the score that's achieved out of 1,000. Each question carries a different number of points since each question is considered to be of a different level of difficulty. This means that even if you were to answer 70% of the questions correctly, you can get scored at 60% or lower if all the questions that were answered correctly carried a lower score. I encourage you to answer all the questions during the exam, as even a few unanswered questions...

The questions in the exam are broken down into knowledge domains. Each knowledge domain will have a defined percentage of questions in the exam. However, the exam blueprint specifies that the knowledge domains might not match the number of questions exactly, and the percentages are posted for orientation purposes only.

The following knowledge domains are defined for the AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty exam:

• Domain 1: Design and implement hybrid IT network architectures at scale – 23%: The questions focus on assessing the exam taker's ability to demonstrate the understanding of external network connectivity options and their characteristics. Expect questions on Direct Connect, VPNs, IPSec, bandwith, BGP routing, and prioritizing traffic.
  

• Domain 2: Design and implement AWS networks – 29%: This domain represents the core...

The first step to being prepared for this exam is, of course, the level of practical experience you have on AWS. No book can replace your day-to-day hands-on experience, and your years spent working, troubleshooting, and learning about networking technologies. The goal of this book is to provide the next step and allow you to focus on passing the exam with a well-structured approach that will enable you to rapidly prepare yourself for a pass.

Once you have acquired the relevant knowledge that's covered in the knowledge domains, you will need to assess your confidence level at passing the exam. I personally recommend that my readers and students need to achieve a confidence level of 80% or higher before taking the exam, as this is a good indicator that they can pass the exam, no matter the passing score that AWS sets for that day. To determine your confidence...

In this chapter, we have taken a short look at the blueprint, requirement, structure, and knowledge domains of the AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty exam. We have also discussed the scoring of the exam and determined that the best strategy for passing the exam is having high confidence in passing by being able to answer mock questions correctly at a very high rate.

In the next chapter, we will be taking a look at the core networking component of AWS, the Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). The VPC gives us the ability to build a private, layer 2, isolated networking layer for our applications in the cloud.