- SNCF is Cisco exam 300-710, Securing Networks with Cisco Firepower, now titled Securing Networks with Cisco Firewalls.
- Passing earns the Cisco Certified Specialist credential and satisfies the CCNP Security concentration requirement.
- Deployment and Configuration are each 30% of the blueprint, so together they make up 60% of your score.
- The exam costs USD 300 plus tax, runs 90 minutes, and has no formal prerequisites.
What SNCF Certification Actually Is
SNCF stands for Securing Networks with Cisco Firepower, the exam code is 300-710, and it is issued by Cisco. It is a concentration exam in the CCNP Security track, which means it tests one specialized slice of network security rather than the broad core covered by the CCNP Security core exam. The slice here is next-generation firewall technology: deploying, configuring, managing, troubleshooting and integrating Cisco's firewall platform.
If you have seen other credentials that share the SNCF abbreviation, set them aside. This article covers only the Cisco 300-710 exam. For shorter explainers on the abbreviation itself, see our pages on what SNCF is, what SNCF stands for, and the broader SNCF certification overview.
What makes this exam distinct is its practical orientation. Candidates are expected to reason about real firewall behavior: how traffic is inspected, how policies are layered, how a sensor is placed in a topology, and what to check when something stops working. It rewards people who have touched the platform, or who have practiced against realistic scenarios, more than people who have only read about it.
Firepower to Firewalls: The Name Change
Cisco now calls this same exam Securing Networks with Cisco Firewalls. The 300-710 code and the SNCF short name have not changed, and the exam is the same exam. You will see both titles in circulation: older study material and job postings often say "Firepower," while Cisco's current exam page uses "Firewalls."
The current blueprint is Securing Networks with Cisco Firewalls v1.2, effective August 27, 2026. Cisco cautions that related topics may also appear and that the objectives may change, so always check the official exam page before you finalize your plan.
What You Earn and Where It Fits in CCNP Security
Passing 300-710 earns the Cisco Certified Specialist - Securing Networks with Cisco Firewalls credential. It also satisfies the concentration exam requirement for CCNP Security. To earn the full CCNP Security certification, you additionally need to pass the 350-701 SCOR core exam. The two exams can be taken in either order.
| Item | What It Means for You |
|---|---|
| Exam passed: 300-710 SNCF | Earns Cisco Certified Specialist - Securing Networks with Cisco Firewalls |
| Exam passed: 300-710 plus 350-701 SCOR | Earns full CCNP Security |
| Prerequisites | None formally required, and no mandatory training course |
| Credential validity | Three years for the Specialist certification |
This structure is useful because the Specialist credential stands on its own. You can pass SNCF, hold a recognized Cisco credential immediately, and decide later whether to pursue the SCOR exam for the full CCNP. For a closer look at eligibility, read our guide to SNCF requirements and prerequisites.
The Four Exam Domains
The official blueprint divides the exam into four weighted domains. Understanding the weighting tells you where your study hours should go. Our complete SNCF exam domains guide goes deeper on each area; here is the summary.
Domain 1: Deployment (30%)
This domain covers getting the firewall platform into the network correctly. Expect questions about deployment modes, interface and device placement, and how design choices affect what traffic the system can see and enforce.
- Choosing between routed and transparent style deployments and understanding the trade-offs
- Device registration and baseline setup
- High availability and scaling considerations
- Encrypted Visibility Engine concepts, which appear in the current objectives
Domain 2: Configuration (30%)
The other 30% domain is hands-on policy work. This is where most of the day-to-day engineering lives, and it is where scenario questions tend to ask you to pick the correct setting or sequence.
- Access control policy construction and rule ordering
- Intrusion and malware protection settings
- ZTNA and VPN configuration, both named in the current objectives
- Understanding how policy components inherit and interact
Domain 3: Management and Troubleshooting (25%)
Once a deployment is running, you must keep it healthy and diagnose faults. This domain tests operational judgment: reading events, isolating the cause of dropped or misrouted traffic, and managing the platform at scale.
- Cisco Security Cloud Control Firewall Management, listed in the current objectives
- Health monitoring and event analysis
- Packet-level troubleshooting and policy verification
- Interpreting why a given flow was allowed, blocked or not inspected
Domain 4: Integration (15%)
The smallest domain, but not one to skip. It covers connecting the firewall platform to the wider security ecosystem.
- Cisco XDR integration
- Splunk integration
- AI-driven threat intelligence, named in the current objectives
Notice that Deployment and Configuration together account for 60% of the exam. A candidate who is excellent at those two domains has a strong foundation even before touching the other two, though neglecting Management and Troubleshooting at 25% is a common and costly mistake.
Exam Format, Fee and Booking Mechanics
Format and delivery
The exam is a proctored, computer-delivered written exam lasting 90 minutes. You can take it at a Pearson VUE test center or, where eligible, through an OnVUE online appointment from your own location. The exam is closed book: personal books and notes are not permitted, and you must accept Cisco's confidentiality agreement as part of the current policies.
Cisco's general guidance for Associate and Professional level exams describes multiple-choice questions, drag-and-drop items and possibly performance-based lab items. It does not guarantee a particular mix for every SNCF delivery, so prepare for all of those styles rather than assuming one. No fixed question count has been verified, and you should not rely on figures you see quoted in forums.
Cost and scoring
The exam fee is USD 300 plus tax, and Cisco Learning Credits are accepted. See our SNCF certification cost breakdown for the wider budget picture, including study materials.
Cisco does not publish a fixed numeric passing score. Standards are determined statistically and can change. That means any article claiming an exact cut score for this exam is guessing. Our passing score explainer covers what is and is not known, and our pass rate analysis explains why no official pass rate has been verified.
Language availability
The individual SNCF exam page lists English, while the CCNP Security catalog also lists Japanese. If language matters to you, verify what is offered for your specific booking before you pay. For scheduling details, see SNCF exam dates and scheduling.
Who Should Sit This Exam
The roles that benefit most from SNCF are those that own or support firewall infrastructure day to day. Typical fits include:
- Network security engineers responsible for perimeter and internal segmentation controls
- Security operations staff who investigate firewall events and tune policy
- Systems integrators and consultants who deploy Cisco firewall platforms for customers
- Network engineers moving into security who already know routing and switching
Employers that run Cisco security platforms, as well as partners and managed security providers that deploy them, are the natural audience for this credential. We cover the market side in our pages on SNCF jobs and the SNCF salary guide, and if you are weighing the investment, read whether the SNCF certification is worth it. We deliberately do not quote salary numbers here, because verified figures are not available for this specific exam.
There is no formal prerequisite, but that does not mean the exam is easy. A candidate with no firewall experience will find the policy and troubleshooting scenarios demanding. Our difficulty guide breaks down what makes the exam challenging and for whom.
Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain
Cisco's current exam page recommends the SFWIPF course followed by SFWIPA. Cisco has also announced a consolidated SNCF course for the end of calendar year 2026, but that announcement does not establish that it is available today, so check the training catalog before planning around it. Training is recommended, not mandatory, and you can also prepare through lab practice and quality question banks. Our SNCF training page and the full SNCF study guide cover resources in detail.
Because the domains build on each other, order matters. Here is a sequence that follows the logic of the blueprint:
Deployment first
- Learn deployment modes and where each places the sensor in a topology
- Study registration, high availability and the Encrypted Visibility Engine
- Reason first, then confirm in a lab: why would you pick one mode over another?
Configuration, the deepest block
- Build access control policies and practice rule ordering until it is automatic
- Work through intrusion, malware, ZTNA and VPN settings
- Spend extra time here: it is half of the 60% that Deployment and Configuration represent
Management and Troubleshooting
- Practice reading events and tracing why a flow was handled the way it was
- Learn Cisco Security Cloud Control Firewall Management workflows
Integration and full review
- Cover Cisco XDR, Splunk and AI-driven threat intelligence integration
- Take timed practice exams and review every miss against the blueprint
Deployment comes first because every later decision assumes you understand what the platform can see. Configuration gets the longest block because it carries the most weight and the most scenario complexity. Integration goes last because it makes more sense once you understand the core platform.
Key Takeaway
Use the domain weights as your time budget. Deployment and Configuration deserve roughly 60% of your effort, Management and Troubleshooting about a quarter, and Integration the remainder. Then test yourself with timed questions on the SNCF practice test site and map every wrong answer back to a blueprint domain.
For a compact last-week reference, our SNCF cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts into a single page.
Validity and Renewal
The Specialist certification is valid for three years. To renew through Cisco's continuing education program, you need 40 credits before expiry. For comparison, Professional level certifications such as CCNP require 80 credits. A qualifying concentration exam pass earns 40 CE credits, while a core exam pass earns 80, which supports exam-based or combined renewal routes.
This is worth knowing early, because it affects the order you take things in. If you intend to earn full CCNP Security, passing SNCF and SCOR reasonably close together keeps you comfortably inside the combination window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. SNCF (300-710) was originally titled Securing Networks with Cisco Firepower, and Cisco now calls the same exam Securing Networks with Cisco Firewalls. The exam code and short name remain the same.
No. Cisco lists no formal prerequisite qualifications and no mandatory training courses. Training is recommended, particularly SFWIPF followed by SFWIPA, but you can book the exam without it.
The fee is USD 300 plus tax, and Cisco Learning Credits are accepted. The proctored exam lasts 90 minutes and can be taken at a Pearson VUE test center or through an eligible OnVUE online appointment.
Not by itself. Passing SNCF earns the Cisco Certified Specialist credential and satisfies the CCNP Security concentration requirement. Full CCNP Security also requires passing the 350-701 SCOR core exam.
You must wait five calendar days, beginning the following day, before retaking the same exam. Cisco does not publish a fixed passing score, so review your score report against the four domains and focus your retake preparation on the weakest area.