Is VCP-NV still a valid certification?
The original VCP-NV, earned through exam VCPN610, retired on November 30, 2015, and is no longer valid. But unlike most VMware credentials from that era, the Network Virtualization track never disappeared. Broadcom’s replacement chain runs unbroken from VCP6-NV through year-versioned releases to VCP-NV 2024, which is current and attainable today through exam 2V0-41.24. If you hold the 2014 VCP-NV, you are on a track that still exists, which is not true of most retired VMware certifications.
Why This Page Is Different From the Other Retired VMware Certs
Most VMware certifications from 2013 to 2015 lead nowhere. The VCP5-DCV upgrade path, for example, pointed to VCP6-DCV, which itself retired in 2019, leaving holders with no continuous route forward.
Network Virtualization is the exception. The track has been maintained continuously for over a decade:
- VCP-NV, earned via VCPN610, retired November 30, 2015, replaced by VCP6-NV
- VCP6-NV, exam 2V0-642, retired June 30, 2020
- The credential then moved to annual versioning: VCP-NV 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024
- Each year’s version was formally replaced by the next in Broadcom’s retirement documentation
- VCP-NV 2024 appears only as a replacement in that documentation, never as a retired credential
That matters practically. Someone who certified on NSX in 2014 has been working in a discipline that VMware, and now Broadcom, continued to invest in. The technology grew from an add-on into a core component of VMware Cloud Foundation.
What VCPN610 Actually Was
VCPN610 certified VMware Certified Professional - Network Virtualization, the first professional-level NSX credential. It arrived in 2014, shortly after VMware brought NSX to market following the Nicira acquisition.
The exam validated the ability to install, configure, and administer NSX virtual networking implementations. Published blueprint objectives included describing the benefits of an NSX implementation, describing NSX architecture, differentiating VMware network and security technologies, and contrasting physical and virtual network technologies. Candidates reported coverage of Layer 2 switching, static and dynamic Layer 3 routing, encapsulation behavior including how MAC addresses are handled, upgrade ordering and version requirements, and vCloud Networking and Security.
Note on specifics: various third-party sites state a question count and time limit for VCPN610. Broadcom’s surviving documentation records the retirement date but not the original exam format, so those figures are not stated here as vendor fact.
The exam sat alongside VCAN610, the associate-level network virtualization exam, which retired the same day, and VCXN610, the expert-level exam, which retired November 30, 2016.
What Your 2014 NSX Knowledge Is Worth Now
The conceptual foundation held up unusually well. Network virtualization was a genuinely new idea in 2014, and the core concepts VCPN610 tested are still the concepts NSX runs on. Logical switching, distributed logical routing, and the overlay model that decouples logical networks from physical topology are all still central. An engineer who understood why an overlay encapsulates traffic, and what that means for MTU and for troubleshooting, still understands the fundamental thing.
The distributed firewall concept became more important, not less. Micro-segmentation was a differentiating feature in 2014. It is now a mainstream security requirement, and the current exam’s emphasis on security reflects that.
The product changed substantially underneath those concepts. The largest single shift was NSX-V to NSX-T. The original VCP-NV covered NSX for vSphere, which was tightly coupled to vCenter. NSX-T was re-architected to support multiple hypervisors, containers, and bare metal, and it became the strategic product. NSX-V reached end of general support, and the current certification covers NSX 4.x. Someone whose NSX knowledge stopped in 2014 knows a product architecture that VMware subsequently replaced.
Newer material has no 2014 equivalent. Distributed IDS and IPS, container networking, and API-driven policy automation postdate the original exam entirely.
The Current Credential
The current professional-level network virtualization certification is VMware Certified Professional - Network Virtualization 2024 (VCP-NV 2024), earned through the VMware NSX 4.x Professional V2 exam, code 2V0-41.24.
According to Broadcom’s exam guide, last updated February 23, 2024, the exam is a 55-item exam with a passing score of 300 using a scaled method. Candidates are given an appointment time of 135 minutes, which includes adequate time for non-native English speakers. It is a proctored exam delivered through Pearson VUE, and may include multiple-choice, multiple-selection multiple-choice, build-list, matching, drag-and-drop, point-and-click, and hot-area item types.
The exam guide defines the minimally qualified candidate as someone who can install, configure, manage, and troubleshoot NSX solutions but occasionally needs to research topics. It specifies six months or more of experience working with VMware NSX solutions and two years of experience working in IT, plus experience with VMware vSphere and its command line.
Read that requirement honestly against your own situation. Six months of hands-on NSX experience is the stated expectation, and a 2014 credential does not substitute for it if you have not touched the product since.
How to Present a Retired VCP-NV on a CV
The framing here differs from other retired VMware certifications, because the track is live.
Accurate and useful: “VCP-NV (VMware Certified Professional, Network Virtualization), 2014” listed with its year, or folded into experience as “Deployed and administered NSX virtual networking; VCP-NV certified 2014.”
Actively worth saying, if true: that you were working with network virtualization early. NSX in 2014 was not a mainstream skill. Genuine early experience with overlay networking and micro-segmentation is a real signal for roles in software-defined networking, provided you can talk about what you have done since.
Not accurate: presenting it as current. The credential retired in 2015, and anyone hiring for NSX work knows the version history.
The Return Path
Because the track survived, returning is more straightforward here than for most retired VMware credentials, but it is still a real gap.
Establish which NSX you know. If your experience is NSX-V on vSphere, the architectural differences in NSX-T and NSX 4.x are the core of what you need to learn, not a refresher on concepts you already hold.
Get current hands-on time. The exam guide asks for six months of NSX experience. The exam is scenario-heavy, and recognition of current interfaces and workflows is difficult to build from reading alone.
Understand where NSX sits now. NSX is a named component of VMware Cloud Foundation in the current VCF Administrator exam guide. If your organization runs VCF, NSX knowledge feeds directly into the broader platform credential, and you may want to weigh VCP-NV 2024 against the VCF track depending on your role.
Verify the current version before booking. This credential has been re-versioned annually. Confirm the live exam code and requirements on Broadcom’s certification site rather than relying on any secondhand list, including this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still take VCPN610? No. It retired November 30, 2015.
Does my old VCP-NV count toward VCP-NV 2024? No. There is no credit or shortened requirement from the 2014 credential. The 2024 certification is earned by passing the current exam.
Is NSX still worth certifying in? NSX is a named component of VMware Cloud Foundation in Broadcom’s current VCF Administrator exam guide, and the NV track has been maintained annually through 2024. Both facts indicate continued investment. Whether it is worth it for you depends on whether your environment runs NSX.
I know NSX-V, not NSX-T. How big is the gap? Substantial. NSX-T was re-architected to support multiple hypervisors, containers, and bare metal rather than being tied to vCenter, and the current exam covers NSX 4.x. The networking concepts transfer; the product specifics largely do not.
Should I take VCP-NV 2024 or the VCF Administrator exam? Match the exam to the environment you actually operate. If your work is specifically NSX and network virtualization, VCP-NV is the closer fit. If you administer a full Cloud Foundation stack, the VCF credential covers NSX as one component among many.
References
Broadcom. Retired Exams and Certifications. Last updated July 2025. https://docs.broadcom.com/doc/vmware-retired-exams-certifications-and-badges (Primary source for VCPN610, VCAN610, and VCXN610 retirement dates, for VCP-NV to VCP6-NV succession, and for the year-versioned VCP-NV chain through 2024)
Broadcom. VCP-NV Exam Guide (2V0-41.24). Last updated February 23, 2024. https://docs.broadcom.com/doc/vmware-vcp-nv-exam-guide (Primary source for current exam code, item count, scoring, duration, item types, and minimally qualified candidate definition)
Broadcom. VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator Exam Guide (2V0-17.25). Last updated April 23, 2026. https://docs.broadcom.com/doc/vmware-cloud-foundation-administrator-exam-guide (Primary source for NSX as a named VCF component)
Broadcom. VMware Certified Professional - Network Virtualization. https://www.broadcom.com/support/education/vmware/certification/vcp-nv-nsxt (Current certification page)
Wahl, Chris. Now Available: VMware Certified Professional (VCP) in Network Virtualization. Wahl Network, August 25, 2014. https://wahlnetwork.com/2014/08/25/now-available-vmware-certified-professional-vcp-network-virtualization/ (Contemporaneous account of the original credential’s launch and blueprint scope)