- SRA means Nokia Service Routing Architect, a multi-exam path rather than one test.
- The current route requires written exams 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106, 4A0-107 and 4A0-115.
- A 7-hour practical lab (ASRA4A0) follows the written exams, split into two 3.5-hour sections.
- The optional 4A0-C02 composite replaces only 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106 and 4A0-107.
What an SRA Actually Is
In this context, SRA stands for Nokia Service Routing Architect. It is a certification issued by Nokia for engineers who design, build and troubleshoot service-provider networks on the Nokia 7750 Service Router platform running SR OS. The acronym is also used by unrelated credentials in other fields. Nothing in this article applies to those, and if you arrived here from a search for a different "SRA," the details below will not transfer.
The Service Routing Architect sits at the top of Nokia's service routing certification track. Where earlier certifications verify that you can configure and operate a router, the architect level asks whether you can design multi-service networks, diagnose faults under time pressure, and keep traffic flowing across BGP, VPLS, VPRN, EVPN and quality-of-service constructs at once. If you want shorter explanations of the term itself, our pages on what SRA is, what SRA stands for and the meaning of SRA cover the basics, and What Is SRA Certification? goes deeper on the credential's structure.
How SRA Differs from NRS I and NRS II
Candidates often confuse the architect certification with the Network Routing Specialist tiers. The two are separate. SRA is a multi-exam certification that is distinct from NRS I and NRS II. That distinction matters for planning, because you should not assume that NRS-level study materials, exam formats or timelines carry over to the architect track. In particular, announced changes to NRS I are not part of the SRA scope covered here and should not be folded into your SRA plan.
| Aspect | Nokia SRA |
|---|---|
| Issuer | Nokia |
| Structure | Multiple written exams plus one practical lab |
| Written exams (current route) | 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106, 4A0-107, 4A0-115 |
| Practical component | ASRA4A0, 7 hours, two independent 3.5-hour sections |
| Platform | Nokia 7750 SR with classic CLI or MD-CLI |
| Optional shortcut | 4A0-C02 composite, covering four of the five written exams |
The Current Route to Certification
Effective September 8, 2026, Nokia's program update defines the current route. You must pass five written exams, then attempt the practical lab:
- 4A0-102 - BGP for Internet Routing
- 4A0-105 - Virtual Private LAN Services
- 4A0-106 - Virtual Private Routed Networks
- 4A0-107 - Quality of Service
- 4A0-115 - Ethernet VPN Services
- ASRA4A0 - the practical lab
What changed with the 2026 update
Separate IS-IS/OSPF, MPLS and Services Architecture exams are no longer required under the current table. Their subject matter still helps, since BGP, VPRN and EVPN designs lean on a solid IGP and MPLS foundation, but you are not tested on them as standalone gates. The multicast exam, 4A0-108, is retired and is not a current requirement.
One trap deserves a warning. The lab's own page still displays superseded prerequisite exams. For eligibility, rely on the dated September 8, 2026 program update and the current certification table rather than that page. Candidates who were already eligible for the lab keep that eligibility under the announced transition. For a fuller breakdown of who qualifies, see our guide to SRA requirements and eligibility.
Training is optional
Course prerequisites are preparation recommendations, not additional examination requirements, and training is not mandatory to attempt any of the exams. Nokia does publish courses mapped to each written exam, and our overview of SRA training explains how to decide whether they fit your background. No single overall exam fee, scored-item split or pass rate is established in the issuer material we reviewed, so treat any such figures you encounter elsewhere with skepticism; our pages on certification cost and pass rate explain what can and cannot be said responsibly.
The Six Preparation Areas
Because SRA spans several exams plus a lab, there is no single question count or duration to quote for the whole certification. The six groups below organize the written-exam topics and the practical-lab scope. They are unweighted preparation groups, not a single weighted blueprint, so do not budget study time by imagined percentages. For a domain-by-domain treatment, read our complete guide to the six SRA content areas.
Domain 1: BGP for Internet Routing (4A0-102)
This exam tests how service providers run BGP between and within autonomous systems on SR OS.
- Inter-domain architecture and service-provider BGP roles
- BGP mechanisms, attributes and interaction with the IGP
- Peer-network design, configuration, monitoring and fault diagnosis
- Routing-policy configuration, verification and troubleshooting
- iBGP scalability using confederations and route reflectors
- Advertise-external, add-paths and fast-reroute operation and verification
Domain 2: Virtual Private LAN Services (4A0-105)
VPLS builds on Ethernet and MPLS fundamentals, so SAPs and SDPs must be second nature.
- Ethernet/MPLS foundations, SAPs and SDPs
- Basic VPLS creation and configuration
- Distributed-service MTU implications and FDB maintenance
- Operations, misconfiguration diagnosis, repair and policy-based forwarding
- RSTP loop prevention and M-VPLS with STP for redundancy and load distribution
- LAG, MC-LAG and active/standby pseudowire resilience
- Scale: H-VPLS hierarchy and PBB control of excessive MAC learning
Domain 3: Virtual Private Routed Networks (4A0-106)
VPRN covers MPLS Layer-3 VPNs, from basic PE route distribution to carrier-grade interconnect.
- VPRN architecture and PE route distribution through MP-BGP
- BGP loop causes and prevention
- Configuration, validation, monitoring and troubleshooting
- Full-mesh, hub/spoke and extranet arrangements, plus Internet access options
- Inter-AS models A, B and C: operation, configuration and diagnosis
- Carrier-supporting-carrier architecture, route exchanges and forwarding paths
Domain 4: Quality of Service (4A0-107)
This is the most mechanism-dense exam, built around how the 7750 SR classifies, queues, polices and schedules traffic.
- IntServ and DiffServ models, customer rate limits and 7750 SR processing
- Classification at SAP and network ingress and egress, match precedence and default network policy
- Token-bucket metering, queue shaping versus policing, and default scheduling
- SAP-ingress, SAP-egress and network queues; priority and profile modes; hardware versus service queues
- Policers, profile-capped operation and buffer allocation across access, network and hybrid modes
- WRED and slope-policy configuration
- Queue groups, CFHP, and hierarchical and egress-port scheduling
- Customer-header versus encapsulation-header marking and remarking across Layer-2, VPRN and IES services
Domain 5: Ethernet VPN Services (4A0-115)
EVPN is the newest and broadest of the written topics, spanning Layer-2, Layer-3 and data-center use cases.
- EVPN concepts, benefits and data-plane choices
- ELAN route types: IMET flooding, MAC-route FDB learning and proxy-ARP
- MPLS and VXLAN configuration and interconnection
- IRB architecture: asymmetric, symmetric interface-less, and numbered or unnumbered interface-ful forwarding
- Ethernet segments, multihoming routes and designated-forwarder election
- BUM split-horizon protection, aliasing, all-active load distribution and single-active behavior
- ELINE VPWS route types and operation, plus interworking with traditional MPLS networks
Domain 6: SRA Practical Lab (ASRA4A0)
The lab pulls the other five areas into live configuration work. The next section details what that looks like.
Inside the Practical Lab
The lab is where the certification earns its reputation. It is a hands-on assessment, not a multiple-choice test, so there is no item count to memorize. You design and implement live 7750 SR service networks, make them interoperate, diagnose performance problems and resolve faults, using either classic CLI or MD-CLI. Nokia states the lab content is unchanged by the 2026 update.
The format is two independent 3.5-hour sections, with a one-hour lunch excluded from the seven hours. Topics must be both configured and verified, and not every topic necessarily appears on a given sitting. That last point shapes how you should prepare: you cannot predict which areas dominate, so shallow familiarity with any single area is a liability.
Published practical scope
- BGP: AS peering, messages and attributes, reflectors and confederations, advertisement and redistribution, selection, policy and regular expressions, advertise-external, add-paths and FRR
- QoS: classification, queues and buffers, policing and shaping, scheduling and rate limits, hierarchical and egress scheduling, CFHP, marking, and application to Layer-2 and Layer-3 services
- VPLS: SAP encapsulation, forwarding and MTU; FDB size and alarms; MAC aging, learning and discard; protection and OAM; BGP autodiscovery, BGP VPLS and LDP VPLS with autodiscovery; STP and M-VPLS-RSTP, MC-LAG and pseudowire resilience; ring and full-mesh designs, H-VPLS and PBB scale
- VPRN: MPLS and MP-BGP label signaling, RD and RT, VRF import and export, route selection, full-mesh, hub-spoke, extranet and Internet topologies, static, OSPF and BGP PE-CE routing, and inter-AS models A, B and C
If you are weighing the lab's difficulty, our analysis of how hard the SRA exam is discusses where candidates typically struggle, and the page on SRA passing score explains what is and is not publicly established about scoring.
Where the Credential Fits in a Career
An SRA signals hands-on depth on Nokia's service-provider routing platform. The people who pursue it typically work in roles that touch the 7750 SR directly: network engineers and architects at telecom operators, internet service providers and large enterprises that run Nokia IP/MPLS backbones, as well as engineers at integrators and managed-service firms that deploy and support such networks. The credential is most relevant where Nokia equipment is in production, and it carries less weight in environments built on other vendors' platforms.
We deliberately avoid quoting salary numbers because none are established in the sources behind this article. For a qualitative discussion of earning potential and the kinds of roles that value the certification, see our SRA salary guide, our overview of SRA jobs and the ROI analysis of whether SRA is worth it.
Sequencing Your Preparation
The five written exams and the lab reward a deliberate order. Because the written topics are unweighted and the lab can touch any of them, the sequencing below is about dependencies, not percentages. Treat it as a template to adapt, and see the full SRA study guide for more detail.
BGP first
- BGP attributes, policy and route reflection underpin both VPRN and EVPN, so master them before anything else.
- Revisit IGP and MPLS basics if they feel rusty, since they are no longer separate gates but still support everything else.
VPLS and VPRN
- Build SAP/SDP fluency and VPLS resilience before moving to Layer-3 services.
- Practice MP-BGP route distribution, RD/RT and inter-AS models A, B and C in a lab environment.
QoS and EVPN
- Work through queue, policer and scheduler construction until you can reason about default behavior.
- Study EVPN route types and multihoming last, because they draw on BGP and VPLS concepts you will already have.
Lab simulation
- Rehearse timed, two-section sessions that mix BGP, QoS, VPLS and VPRN tasks with explicit verification steps.
Written-exam timing is a separate matter; check SRA exam dates and scheduling for how to plan around the effective date. A concise refresher is available in our SRA cheat sheet, and you can reinforce each area with original practice questions on the main practice test site.
Common Misreadings of the Program
- "SRA is one exam." It is a path of multiple written exams plus a practical lab, so no single question count or time limit describes it.
- "The composite covers everything." 4A0-C02 replaces only four written exams, not 4A0-115 and not the lab.
- "I still need multicast and the old MPLS exams." Multicast 4A0-108 is retired, and the separate IS-IS/OSPF, MPLS and Services Architecture exams are no longer required.
- "The lab page lists my prerequisites." That page still shows superseded prerequisites. Use the dated September 8, 2026 update instead.
- "Training is mandatory." It is recommended preparation, not a requirement.
Our practice material is original supplemental study content. It is not endorsed by the issuer, does not reproduce actual exam questions, and cannot guarantee results. Use it alongside Nokia's own published scope, and confirm current details at the practice site and with Nokia before you register.
It stands for Nokia Service Routing Architect, a multi-exam certification for engineers working with the Nokia 7750 SR and SR OS. Other credentials share the acronym but are unrelated. See What Is A SRA? and What Does SRA Mean? for related explanations.
Under the program update effective September 8, 2026, you pass written exams 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106, 4A0-107 and 4A0-115, then complete the 7-hour ASRA4A0 practical lab.
No. The optional 4A0-C02 composite substitutes only for 4A0-102, 4A0-105, 4A0-106 and 4A0-107. You still need 4A0-115 and the practical lab.
It runs seven hours as two independent 3.5-hour sections, excluding a one-hour lunch. You configure and verify live 7750 SR networks using classic CLI or MD-CLI, and not every topic necessarily appears.
No. Course prerequisites are preparation recommendations rather than examination requirements, and training is not mandatory to attempt the exams. Many candidates still use the courses mapped to each written exam as a study guide.