Become Nile Certified
Nile certification shows you know how to set up, customize, and troubleshoot your Nile service. This page explains the training paths, what each certification requires, and how to get started.
What You Need to Know
With Nile, you no longer manage network infrastructure. Nile runs the network as a service, and you decide how it's used. Nile certification shows you know how to set up, customize, and troubleshoot your side of that service.
Three paths, taken in order:
| Video Training | Nile Certified Associate (NCA) | Nile Certified Professional (NCP) |
|---|---|---|---|
What it covers | How Nile works and a tour of the Nile Portal | Setting up your wireless, wired, and guest services | Customizing your services to fit your organization (per-user and per-device keys, zone-based wireless, Nile RADIUS, micro-segmentation) and connecting them to your identity, security, and IT-operations tools |
Prerequisite | None | Video Training | Video Training + NCA |
Hands-on labs | None | 9 | 12 |
Quiz | Yes, 80% to pass | Yes, 80% to pass | Yes, 80% to pass |
Certificate | No | Yes, digital badge | Yes, digital badge |
Estimated time | [TIME_TBD] | [TIME_TBD] | [TIME_TBD] |
What it takes: You watch the training videos, complete hands-on labs in a Nile-hosted lab environment, and pass a quiz at each level. Some labs contain deliberately broken configurations, so earning a certification shows you can troubleshoot, not just set up.
Our recommendation: If you deploy or manage Nile, earn NCA before Day 1 handover and NCP within 30 days of go-live.
Not everyone needs full certification. If you work on the Help Desk or in Day 2 Operations, you have a shorter, role-specific course. See Training by Role.
To get your Nile Learning Portal account, contact your Nile Sales representative or Service Delivery Manager (SDM), or email [email protected].
Contents
- FAQ
- Contact
Who This Is For
This program is for you if you're an IT administrator who deploys Nile and manages it afterward: you bring up sites, set up access, and support your users day to day. Nile runs and maintains the service.
After you complete | You will be able to |
|---|---|
Video Training | Explain how Nile is architected, how its zero trust model works, and find your way around the Nile Portal |
NCA | Set up your wireless, wired, and guest services, apply device-based access controls, and diagnose common setup faults |
NCP | Customize your services to fit your organization: per-user and per-device keys, zone-based wireless, Nile RADIUS, and micro-segmentation. Connect them to your identity provider, security, and IT service management tools, and troubleshoot complex failures across them |
The Certification Path
Video Training → Nile Certified Associate → Nile Certified Professional
Each level builds on the one before it. You must complete Video Training (including its quiz) before starting NCA, and you must hold NCA before starting NCP.
Labs at both certification levels are organized into the same five areas:
Area | NCA labs | NCP labs |
|---|---|---|
Authentication and Authorization (wireless and wired access) | 6 | 6 |
Nile Secure Guest | 2 | — |
Nile RADIUS | — | 1 |
Security | — | 3 |
Operations | 1 | 2 |
Total | 9 | 12 |
Path 1: Video Training
Video Training is a self-paced introduction to Nile and the required first step toward certification. No certificate is issued for this path.
You watch the videos and take the quiz on the Nile Learning Portal using the account Nile provides, and the portal tracks your progress. All videos listed below are on the Nile Learning Portal.
Core Concepts: How Nile Works
# | Video | What you'll learn |
|---|---|---|
1 | Nile Operating Model: Overview | What Nile runs versus what your team owns in Network as a Service |
2 | Nile Operating Model: Lifecycle | How work moves through the Get Started, Operate, and Adapt stages |
3 | Nile Architecture and Overview | How the Nile Access Service is built and delivered |
4 | Nile Zero Trust Campus | How Nile applies zero trust across the campus |
5 | Nile Authentication Types | The ways users and devices authenticate to the Nile network |
6 | Nile Campus Zero Trust Integrations | How Nile works with your identity, security, and IT tools |
7 | Integrating Nile Zero Trust Fabric with Upstream Routers & Firewalls | How Nile connects to your router or firewall: routing, policy, and ports |
8 | Nile Guest Service | How guest access is delivered and controlled |
9 | Nile Alerts and Notifications | What Nile alerts on and how you're notified |
10 | Migrating a Legacy Network to Nile | How a migration to Nile is planned and carried out |
Using the Nile Portal
A guided tour of the Nile Portal, from the dashboard to device troubleshooting. These videos are part of the Introduction to Nile course on the Nile Learning Portal.
# | Portal module | Video | What you'll learn |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Landing Page Overview | Nile Portal Dashboard Overview: Fast-Track Root Cause Analysis | Use the Nile Portal dashboard to find the root cause of issues quickly |
2 | Nile Tile Deep Dive | Inside Nile SLA Commitments: Availability, Coverage & Capacity | How Nile measures its availability, coverage, and capacity SLAs |
3 | Application Tile Deep Dive | Stop Blaming the Network! How Nile Pinpoints Application Outages in Seconds | Tell whether an application problem is caused by the network or not |
4 | Nile Portal Device Details Page | Mastering End-User Device Troubleshooting in Nile Portal | Troubleshoot an individual user's device from the Nile Portal |
5 | Identity-Based Segmentation | Goodbye VLANs! Zero Trust Identity-Based Segmentation Explained | How Nile segments users and devices by identity instead of VLANs |
6 | Nile RADIUS | Zero Trust Access Control: Nile RADIUS & Agentless Fingerprinting | How Nile RADIUS and agentless device fingerprinting control network access |
Video Training Quiz
After you watch the videos, pass the Video Training quiz with a score of 80% or higher. The quiz is on the Nile Learning Portal. You must pass it before starting NCA.
Path 2: Nile Certified Associate (NCA)
Goal: Set up your wireless, wired, and guest services.
Prerequisite: Video Training complete, including the Video Training quiz.
Hands-On Labs (9)
Area | Labs | What you'll be able to do |
|---|---|---|
Authentication and Authorization (6) | PSK SSID · Wireless 802.1x SSID · PSK SSO SSID · Wired 802.1x · Wired Fingerprint Rule · Wired Lock to Port | Control which users and devices connect to your wireless and wired network |
Nile Secure Guest (2) | Custom Guest Captive Portal · Nile Guest Service with URL Filtering | Give guests secure access through a custom portal, with web filtering |
Operations (1) | Webhook Integration | Send Nile events to your other systems |
Troubleshooting: Some labs contain deliberately broken configurations. The quiz asks you to identify what went wrong and why.
Assessment: NCA quiz, 80% to pass.
You receive: the Nile Certified Associate digital badge, issued through the Nile Learning Portal.
Path 3: Nile Certified Professional (NCP)
Goal: Customize your services to fit your organization, connect them to your identity, security, and IT-operations systems, and troubleshoot complex failures across them.
Prerequisite: Video Training and NCA.
Hands-On Labs (12)
Area | Labs | What you'll be able to do |
|---|---|---|
Authentication and Authorization (6) | UPSK SSID · UPSK User Self-Registration · Headless UPSK Admin Registration · Nile Okta SSO Integration · Wired SSO · Zone-based SSID | Give each user and device its own key, use single sign-on, and limit wireless networks to specific zones |
Nile RADIUS (1) | SSID with Nile RADIUS | Authenticate users and devices with Nile RADIUS |
Security (3) | Static IP, Multicast Streaming & Micro-segmentation · WIDS/WIPS Detection · Zscaler SSE Integration | Isolate devices, detect wireless threats, and connect to Zscaler SSE |
Operations (2) | Email Alerts for Infrastructure Events · ServiceNow Integration | Send Nile alerts to email and ServiceNow |
Troubleshooting: Labs include break/fix scenarios, such as a broken RADIUS configuration. The quiz asks you to diagnose the cause.
Assessment: NCP quiz, 80% to pass.
You receive: the Nile Certified Professional digital badge, issued through the Nile Learning Portal.
How to Get Certified
- Request access. Contact your Nile Sales representative or SDM, or email [email protected]. Include your name, email address, company, and the certification you're working toward (NCA or NCP).
- Receive your Nile Learning Portal account. Nile creates your account and enrolls you in Video Training, your courses, and your lab environment. The portal tracks your progress from here on.
- Watch the Video Training videos on the Nile Learning Portal. See Path 1.
- Pass the Video Training quiz with 80% or higher.
- Complete all 9 NCA labs on the Nile Learning Portal.
- Pass the NCA quiz with 80% or higher.
- Receive your NCA badge.
- Continue to NCP. Once you hold NCA, request NCP access the same way, complete all 12 NCP labs, pass the NCP quiz with 80% or higher, and receive your NCP badge.
All labs run in a Nile-hosted environment. You don't need your own Nile hardware.
Certification Requirements Checklist
Nile Certified Associate (NCA)
Watched all Video Training videos
Passed the Video Training quiz (80% or higher)
Completed all 9 NCA labs
Passed the NCA quiz (80% or higher)
Nile Certified Professional (NCP)
Completed Video Training
Hold the Nile Certified Associate (NCA) certification
Completed all 12 NCP labs
Passed the NCP quiz (80% or higher)
Recommended Timeline for Your Deployment
Plan certification around your deployment so your team is ready when it counts.
Deployment milestone | Your IT admins should have |
|---|---|
Project kickoff | Started Video Training |
Before Day 1 handover | Nile Certified Associate (NCA) |
Go-live + 30 days | Nile Certified Professional (NCP) |
Your Nile Sales representative or SDM can help arrange lab access to match these milestones.
Training by Role
Not everyone on your team needs the same training. Find your role below to see which videos and labs you need. Help Desk and Day 2 Operations staff each have their own course on the Nile Learning Portal, with a role-specific quiz and badge. IT Admins complete the full certification path.
Role | Required videos | Required labs | Recognition |
|---|---|---|---|
Help Desk | 8 | Included in the Help Desk course | Help Desk badge (NCA optional) |
Day 2 Operations | 11 | 3 Operations labs, plus labs in the Operations course | Day 2 Operations badge (NCA optional) |
IT Admin | All 16 | All 21 | NCA + NCP |
Help Desk
Your role: You take calls from end users. You need to find your way around the Nile Portal, troubleshoot a user's device, and check alerts and audit logs for outages. You have read-only access to the Nile Portal, but you can take a few actions, such as disconnecting a client to force it to re-authenticate.
Videos
Video | Required / Optional | Why you need it |
|---|---|---|
Nile Architecture and Overview | Required | A basic picture of how Nile works |
Nile Authentication Types | Required | Understand why a user can or can't connect |
Nile Guest Service | Required | Guest Wi-Fi is a common reason users call |
Nile Alerts and Notifications | Required | Tell whether there's a known outage |
Nile Portal Dashboard Overview: Fast-Track Root Cause Analysis | Required | Find your way around the Nile Portal and locate issues quickly |
Stop Blaming the Network! How Nile Pinpoints Application Outages in Seconds | Required | Tell the user whether the problem is the network or the application |
Mastering End-User Device Troubleshooting in Nile Portal | Required | Your core skill: troubleshoot a single user's device |
Zero Trust Access Control: Nile RADIUS & Agentless Fingerprinting | Required | Understand why a device was denied access |
Nile Zero Trust Campus | Optional | Background on Nile's security model |
Nile Operating Model: Overview | Optional | Background on what Nile runs and what your team owns |
Inside Nile SLA Commitments: Availability, Coverage & Capacity | Optional | What Nile guarantees |
Goodbye VLANs! Zero Trust Identity-Based Segmentation Explained | Optional | Why a user can reach some resources but not others |
Not needed for this role: Nile Operating Model: Lifecycle, Nile Campus Zero Trust Integrations, Integrating Nile Zero Trust Fabric with Upstream Routers & Firewalls, Migrating a Legacy Network to Nile.
Help Desk course: The course also includes hands-on labs and material on using the Nile Portal's audit logs and on client actions, such as disconnecting a client to force re-authentication.
Assessment: Help Desk quiz, 80% to pass.
You receive: the Help Desk badge, issued through the Nile Learning Portal.
Optional next step: Nile Certified Associate (NCA), recommended for Tier 2 help desk staff.
Day 2 Operations
Your role: You handle IT service management (ITSM) tickets for core network services: Nile infrastructure, DHCP, DNS, RADIUS, and internet. Alerts about Nile's own infrastructure are informational. For example, if an access point goes down, Nile troubleshoots it and you just need to know about it. You act on alerts for services your organization runs itself, such as your own DHCP or RADIUS servers.
Videos
Video | Required / Optional | Why you need it |
|---|---|---|
Nile Operating Model: Overview | Required | Know what Nile runs day to day and what your team owns |
Nile Operating Model: Lifecycle | Required | Know how changes, capacity, security, and refreshes are handled, and where your team takes part |
Nile Architecture and Overview | Required | Know which parts Nile runs and which parts you run |
Nile Alerts and Notifications | Required | Your main input: what Nile alerts on and how you're notified |
Nile Campus Zero Trust Integrations | Required | How Nile connects to your ITSM, SIEM, and identity tools |
Integrating Nile Zero Trust Fabric with Upstream Routers & Firewalls | Required | Understand where Nile hands off to your router and firewall, including the required outbound ports, so you can triage uplink and internet alerts |
Nile Authentication Types | Required | Context for RADIUS and authentication alerts |
Nile Portal Dashboard Overview: Fast-Track Root Cause Analysis | Required | Get from an alert to its root cause quickly |
Inside Nile SLA Commitments: Availability, Coverage & Capacity | Required | Know what Nile is responsible for, so you can tell when an alert is informational |
Stop Blaming the Network! How Nile Pinpoints Application Outages in Seconds | Required | Separate network issues from application issues |
Zero Trust Access Control: Nile RADIUS & Agentless Fingerprinting | Required | Tell Nile RADIUS issues apart from issues with your own RADIUS |
Nile Zero Trust Campus | Optional | Background on Nile's security model |
Nile Guest Service | Optional | Only if you handle guest-related tickets |
Mastering End-User Device Troubleshooting in Nile Portal | Optional | Only if tickets escalate to you from the help desk |
Goodbye VLANs! Zero Trust Identity-Based Segmentation Explained | Optional | Background on access policy |
Not needed for this role: Migrating a Legacy Network to Nile.
Labs
Lab | Required / Optional |
|---|---|
Webhook Integration | Required |
Email Alerts for Infrastructure Events | Required |
ServiceNow Integration | Required |
SSID with Nile RADIUS | Optional |
Day 2 Operations course: The course also covers alerts for DHCP, DNS, and internet services, and which alerts Nile resolves versus which ones your team acts on.
Assessment: Day 2 Operations quiz, 80% to pass.
You receive: the Day 2 Operations badge, issued through the Nile Learning Portal.
Optional next step: Nile Certified Associate (NCA).
IT Admin
Your role: You deploy Nile and manage it afterward, so you need everything on this page. Complete all three paths in order:
- Video Training: all 16 videos and the Video Training quiz
- Nile Certified Associate (NCA): 9 labs and the NCA quiz
- Nile Certified Professional (NCP): 12 labs and the NCP quiz
How to Enroll
Request access the same way for every role: contact your Nile Sales representative or SDM, or email [email protected]. Tell us each person's name, email address, and role (Help Desk, Day 2 Operations, or IT Admin), and we'll enroll them in the right course.
FAQ
How long does each path take? Video Training: [TIME_TBD]. NCA: [TIME_TBD]. NCP: [TIME_TBD].
Do I need my own Nile hardware? No. All labs run in a Nile-hosted lab environment.
Do I need an account? Yes. You need a Nile Learning Portal account for the videos, labs, and quizzes, so your progress can be tracked. Nile creates it for you. Request one from your Nile Sales representative or SDM, or email [email protected].
Does everyone on my team need to be certified? No. IT Admins should earn NCA and NCP. Help Desk and Day 2 Operations staff take a shorter, role-specific course and earn a role badge. See Training by Role.
Can I skip NCA and go straight to NCP? No. Video Training and NCA are both required before NCP.
Can I just watch the videos without getting certified? Yes. Video Training doesn't lead to a certificate, and you can stop there. You still need a Nile Learning Portal account to watch the videos and take the quiz.
How do I receive my certification? As a digital badge issued through the Nile Learning Portal.
Contact
Questions about training or certification? Contact your Nile Sales representative or Service Delivery Manager, or email [email protected].