- JNCIP-SP is Juniper's professional-level Service Provider Routing and Switching credential, tested by the JN0-664 exam on Junos OS 22.3.
- The exam has 65 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, delivered through Pearson VUE at a published base fee of $400.
- An active JNCIS-SP is the prerequisite; JNCIA-Junos is not the direct prerequisite.
- Seven objective areas run from OSPF and IS-IS through BGP, CoS, multicast and Layer 3 and Layer 2 VPNs, with no published weights.
What the Name Actually Means
JNCIP-SP stands for Juniper Networks Certified Professional, Service Provider Routing and Switching. It is a written certification for networking professionals who already have advanced Junos routing and switching knowledge and who work with, or want to work with, service provider-style networks. Juniper Networks governs the program, and current program pages carry HPE Juniper Networking branding. If you want the shorter acronym explainers, our pages on what JNCIP-SP stands for and the JNCIP-SP meaning cover the naming in more detail.
The acronym "JNCIP-SP" is used in this article only for the Juniper credential described here. Anything you read about its exam content, fees or renewal should be traced back to Juniper's own certification overview and program policies, not to material about unrelated certifications that happen to share letters.
Where JNCIP-SP Sits in the Juniper Track
Juniper's Service Provider Routing and Switching track is tiered. JNCIP-SP is the professional rung, and the structure matters because it determines whether you can sit the credential at all.
- Prerequisite: an active JNCIS-SP. The prerequisite must be current, not merely previously earned.
- Not a substitute: JNCIA-Junos is not the direct prerequisite for the professional exam, and specialist-level objectives are not the professional syllabus.
- No extra hurdles stated: the credential overview does not list mandatory work-experience hours, additional education requirements or references. Recommended training is optional.
Juniper's program FAQ allows written exams to be taken in any order, but every prerequisite requirement must still be fulfilled; none is waived. Passing the exam early does not mean you are entitled to the credential until the prerequisite is satisfied. Our JNCIP-SP requirements guide walks through eligibility in more depth.
Exam Facts at a Glance
| Item | JNCIP-SP (JN0-664) |
|---|---|
| Exam code and version | JN0-664, Junos OS 22.3 |
| Questions | 65 |
| Time | 90 minutes |
| Format | English-language written multiple-choice |
| Testing provider | Pearson VUE (test center or OnVUE remote, subject to availability) |
| Published base fee | $400 USD plus applicable taxes; no member/nonmember split is published |
| Passing score | Set statistically per exam and reported to the candidate |
| Prerequisite | Active JNCIS-SP |
| Validity | Three years |
A few clarifications prevent common mistakes. The passing score is not a fixed public percentage; Juniper reports it to the candidate. The 70% figure you may see on the practice-test page is a practice threshold and does not establish the live passing score, and our passing score article explains the distinction. The $400 figure is the published base fee, while final totals at checkout depend on your region's taxes and any discounts you hold; see the certification cost breakdown for how to think about total spend.
JN0-664 is a written exam. It is not the expert-level hands-on lab exam, and scenario wording in the objectives describes the knowledge you must demonstrate in multiple-choice form rather than a separate practical assessment. For a sense of difficulty from a preparation standpoint, see how hard the JNCIP-SP exam is.
The Seven Objective Areas
Juniper's exam objectives for JN0-664 contain seven headings. The overview does not publish percentage weights or name a highest-weighted area, so any source that quotes a precise per-domain percentage is not drawing on the official overview. Treat all seven as examinable. The full breakdown is in our exam domains guide; here is what each area asks of you.
Domain 1: OSPF
You describe OSPFv2 and OSPFv3 concepts and, given a scenario, show configuration or monitoring knowledge for single-area and multi-area OSPF, including OSPF routing policy.
- Area types and operations, and LSA flooding across multiple areas
- Designated and backup designated router operation, and the SPF algorithm
- Metrics, including external metric types
- Route summarization and restriction, and virtual links
- OSPFv2 versus OSPFv3
Domain 2: IS-IS
The IS-IS objectives mirror OSPF's structure: concepts first, then scenario-based configuration and monitoring for single-area and multi-area networks, including IS-IS routing policy.
- Areas, levels and their operations
- Link-state PDU flooding through a multi-area network
- Designated intermediate system operation and the SPF algorithm
- Metrics, including wide metrics
- Route summarization and route leaking
Domain 3: BGP
BGP is the broadest routing topic in the blueprint. Concepts, scenario-based configuration and monitoring, and BGP routing policy all appear.
- Route-selection process and next-hop resolution
- Attributes, communities and regular expressions
- Multipath, multihop and load balancing
- Advanced options, route damping, flowspec and multiprotocol BGP
- BGP scaling through route reflection
Domain 4: Class of Service (CoS)
You describe Junos OS CoS concepts and demonstrate configuration or monitoring knowledge in scenarios. Learners frequently report CoS as a weak spot, so build a clear mental model of the packet path through classification, queuing and rewriting.
- CoS processing on Junos OS devices and header fields
- Forwarding classes, classification and packet loss priority
- Policers, schedulers and drop profiles
- Rewrite rules
Domain 5: IP Multicast
Multicast covers addressing and traffic flow through to PIM and rendezvous points, with scenario work on IGMP and PIM and multicast routing policy.
- Multicast addressing, any-source multicast versus source-specific multicast
- Reverse path forwarding concept and operation, and IGMP
- PIM dense mode and sparse mode, including SSM requirements, benefits and address ranges
- Rendezvous-point concept, operation, discovery and election; Anycast RP
Domain 6: Layer 3 VPNs
This area tests control- and data-plane understanding of provider-provisioned Layer 3 VPNs, plus scenario-based configuration and monitoring of VPN components.
- Full-mesh versus hub-and-spoke topologies, VPN-IPv4 addressing, route distinguishers and route targets
- Route distribution, site of origin, sham links and VRF table-label
- Next-generation multicast VPNs and MVPN control and data traffic flow
- Scaling, IPv6 Layer 3 VPNs and Internet access options
- Junos OS support for carrier-of-carriers or inter-provider VPN models
Domain 7: Layer 2 VPNs
Four technology branches are described separately, and the scenario objective explicitly includes troubleshooting alongside configuration and monitoring.
- BGP Layer 2 VPNs: forwarding tables, connection mapping, Layer 2 VPN NLRI, route distinguishers and targets, scaling
- LDP Layer 2 circuits: virtual-circuit label, autodiscovery, Layer 2 interworking
- VPLS: BGP and LDP label distribution, route targets, multihoming, site IDs
- EVPN: MAC learning and distribution, EVPN multihoming, BGP EVPN label distribution
Notice what is absent: the official hierarchy has no standalone MPLS or traffic-engineering heading. Some third-party pages frame the exam that way, but the issuer's seven headings are the authoritative scope. Don't swap in objectives from older JN0-662/663 guides or from specialist-level material either.
Two Terminology Slips in the Official Overview
The pinned Juniper overview contains two expansions that are technically wrong, and it helps to know about them so they don't confuse your studying.
- The IS-IS objective expands "LSP" as label-switched path. In IS-IS, the flooded items are link-state PDUs, as Juniper's own IS-IS overview documentation describes.
- The multicast objective expands "PIM" as Physical Interface Module. In multicast, PIM is Protocol Independent Multicast, as Juniper's PIM overview documentation states.
What JNCIP-SP Is Not
Several nearby items get confused with the credential itself:
- Not the open-learning course: the Open Learning offering for the professional level is course access, not the exam, and its introductory text is inconsistent with the advanced credential overview.
- Not the practice test: Juniper's practice test uses a 70% practice threshold that does not define the live passing score.
- Not JNCIS-SP content: the specialist exam sits on a different Junos OS version, and the professional exam is JN0-664 on Junos OS 22.3.
- Not the expert lab: JN0-664 is a written exam, not the hands-on expert-level lab.
Recommended training named in the overview is Advanced Junos Service Provider Routing, Junos Layer 2 VPNs and Junos Layer 3 VPNs. These are optional, and attending them does not guarantee a pass. Course and lab hours should never be mistaken for exam duration. For a broader look at preparation resources, see our JNCIP-SP training overview.
Validity, Renewal and Retakes
The credential is valid for three years. Juniper's recertification options let you renew by passing an eligible current exam, completing a specified qualifying course before expiry, or earning a higher-level certification in the same track. Qualifying higher-level activity also renews lower active same-track credentials and active associate certifications. No universal CEU, CPE or CDU quota is published in the reviewed policy. If a certification expires, you restart the track.
Retake rules for the written exam are straightforward:
- After a first failure, there is no waiting period.
- After a second or subsequent failure, you wait 14 calendar days, starting the day after the failed attempt.
- If you pass, you must wait at least 18 months before repeating the same passed exam.
On exam day, your legal name must match your government-issued photo and signature identification and your CertMetrics and Pearson VUE accounts. A passing result is provisional pending security validation, and valid results appear in CertMetrics within three business days under the published policy. For scheduling considerations, see exam dates and scheduling.
Who Values This Credential
The seven objective areas map directly onto the day-to-day work of carrier, ISP and large-network engineering teams: backbone routing with OSPF, IS-IS and BGP, traffic treatment through CoS, multicast delivery, and the VPN services that providers sell to customers. Roles that touch this work include network engineers on provider backbones, engineers who build and operate Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN services, and architects who design provider edge and core networks on Junos. Job listings vary widely, so read postings for the specific protocols named rather than assuming the certification alone will be requested. Our JNCIP-SP jobs article looks at the role landscape.
No reliable salary statistic restricted to JNCIP-SP holders was verified, and generic network-engineer pay figures should not be relabeled as a JNCIP-SP premium. If you are weighing the investment, our ROI analysis and salary guide discuss what can and cannot be said with confidence. The same caution applies to the pass rate: no official pass rate is published, so treat any precise figure with skepticism.
Sequencing Your Preparation
Because the blueprint publishes no weights, spread effort by difficulty and dependency rather than by assumed percentages. One sensible order, which you can compress or stretch to fit your calendar:
IGPs: OSPF and IS-IS
- Compare area and level behavior, DR/DIS operation, and summarization versus route leaking
- Practice routing policy on both protocols in a lab
BGP
- Work through route selection, communities, regular expressions and route reflection
- Cover flowspec, damping and multiprotocol BGP, since VPNs depend on them
CoS and multicast
- These are commonly reported weak spots, so give them dedicated blocks
- Trace a packet through classification, schedulers and rewrite; trace a multicast stream through RPF, PIM and the rendezvous point
Layer 3 and Layer 2 VPNs
- Build on BGP: route distinguishers, targets, MVPN and carrier-of-carriers
- Keep BGP Layer 2 VPNs, LDP circuits, VPLS and EVPN clearly separated
The VPN domains come last because they rely on BGP fluency. Leave time at the end for mixed review. Our study guide and cheat sheet support this phase, and you can test yourself with the JNCIP-SP practice tests. Independently written practice material builds knowledge only; it is not actual exam content or an official mock exam.
Key Takeaway
Treat JN0-664 as a breadth-and-depth written exam. All seven areas are fair game, scenario items assume you can reason about configuration and monitoring output, and the Layer 2 VPN area explicitly includes troubleshooting.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the Juniper Networks Certified Professional, Service Provider Routing and Switching credential. It is earned by passing the JN0-664 written exam, based on Junos OS 22.3, after holding an active JNCIS-SP.
The published base fee is $400 USD per examination plus applicable taxes, delivered through Pearson VUE. Final checkout totals and any candidate-specific discounts vary, and course charges or voucher settings are not part of the exam fee.
JN0-664 has 65 multiple-choice questions and a 90-minute time limit, delivered in English either at a Pearson VUE test center or through OnVUE remote proctoring, subject to availability and technical checks.
The direct prerequisite is an active JNCIS-SP, not JNCIA-Junos. Exams can be taken in any order, but all prerequisite certification requirements must still be met before the credential is awarded.
It is valid for three years. You can renew by passing an eligible current exam, completing a specified qualifying course, or earning a higher-level certification in the same track. If it expires, you restart the track.