- What 4A0-107 Actually Is
- Where the Exam Sits in Nokia's SRC Program
- Format, Fee and Delivery
- The Five Curriculum Headings You Must Master
- Written Exam vs. Course vs. Practical Lab
- Prerequisites and Preparation Guidance
- Validity, Renewal and the 2026/27 Program Update
- Who Benefits and Where the Skills Apply
- A Domain-Ordered Preparation Sequence
- Frequently Asked Questions
- 4A0-107 is Nokia's Quality of Service written exam: 40 multiple-choice questions, 90 testing minutes, USD 125, delivered through Pearson VUE.
- Passing 4A0-107 earns Service Routing Architect (SRA) credit, but it does not award SRA by itself.
- No mandatory exam prerequisites exist, and written-exam retakes have no mandatory waiting period or attempt limit.
- Nokia's September 8, 2026 program update reduces SRA written requirements from eight to five and retains 4A0-107.
What 4A0-107 Actually Is
4A0-107 is the exam code for the Nokia Quality of Service written exam, part of Nokia's Service Routing Certification (SRC) program. The program descends from the Alcatel-Lucent era, and many network engineers still recall the exam under that older branding. Today the issuer is Nokia, and the exam centers on how a service router classifies, queues, polices, schedules and marks traffic.
The acronym is shared with other, unrelated credentials in the IT and professional world. Everything on this page refers only to the Nokia exam. If you are looking for a broader orientation, the companion pages What Is 4A0-107? and What Does 4A0-107 Stand For? cover the naming question in more detail.
In plain terms, 4A0-107 verifies that you understand QoS concepts and how they are implemented on Nokia service routing platforms. It is a knowledge exam, not a configuration lab, which is an important distinction we return to later.
Where the Exam Sits in Nokia's SRC Program
The SRC program is a tiered set of certifications for engineers who build and operate IP/MPLS service provider networks. 4A0-107 does not stand alone as a title. Instead, it functions as a building block that counts toward higher-level credentials.
- Service Routing Architect (SRA): 4A0-107 earns credit toward SRA. Passing it alone does not award SRA.
- Renewal option: 4A0-107 is an accepted recertification route for NRS I, NRS II and SRA holders.
For a broader view of the credential landscape, see 4A0-107 Certification and What Is 4A0-107 Certification? on this site.
Format, Fee and Delivery
The mechanics of the exam are straightforward, and knowing them in advance removes test-day surprises.
| Item | 4A0-107 Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuer | Nokia (formerly Alcatel-Lucent) |
| Exam title | Nokia Quality of Service |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE, proctored online or at test centers |
| Fee | USD 125 |
| Questions | 40 multiple-choice written questions |
| Language | English |
| Testing time | 90 minutes |
| Appointment length | 110 minutes, including a 20-minute introductory survey |
| Prerequisites | None mandatory |
| Retakes | No mandatory waiting period or attempt limit |
What the 110-minute appointment means
Book your time slot with the full 110 minutes in mind. Only 90 of those minutes are actual testing time; the other 20 are an introductory survey. With 40 questions in 90 minutes, you have a bit over two minutes per item, which is generous for multiple-choice but tighter than it sounds if you linger on scenario-style questions that require reasoning through a packet's path across classification, queuing and marking stages.
Cost and scoring
The USD 125 fee is the exam price from Nokia's published program details. Candidates weighing total spend, including optional training, should read 4A0-107 Certification Cost 2026. On scoring, no official passing percentage and no pass-rate statistic were verified in the public sources we reviewed, so treat any number you see quoted elsewhere with caution. Our pages on the passing score and pass rate explain what can and cannot be stated with confidence.
The Five Curriculum Headings You Must Master
Nokia's exam page directs candidates to the objectives and modules of the Nokia Quality of Service course (course code 3FL30639AAAAZZZZA). That curriculum is organized under five headings. These are unweighted preparation modules: they do not establish official percentage allocations, an official domain count, or exhaustive exam coverage. Use them as a study map, not as a blueprint with guaranteed proportions. For a deeper walkthrough, see 4A0-107 Exam Domains 2026.
1. Introduction to QoS
The foundation: why QoS exists and what problems it solves on a converged network.
- The motivation for differentiated treatment of traffic
- Core concepts such as bandwidth, delay, jitter and loss, and how they affect applications
- The end-to-end view of how QoS mechanisms fit together on a router
2. Traffic Classification
How a router decides which treatment a packet receives.
- Identifying traffic by header fields and existing markings
- Mapping traffic into forwarding classes
- Understanding where classification happens in the ingress path
3. Queues and Policers
Where buffering, rate control and scheduling decisions are made.
- How queues hold traffic and how parameters shape their behavior
- The role of policers in enforcing rate limits
- Scheduling concepts that determine which queue is served next
4. Hierarchical Bandwidth Allocation
How bandwidth is distributed across multiple levels, such as per-service and per-port tiers.
- Parent and child relationships among schedulers
- How guaranteed and excess bandwidth are shared
- Reasoning through allocation scenarios across levels
5. Marking and Remarking
How packets are tagged so downstream devices apply consistent treatment.
- Setting or rewriting markings at network boundaries
- Trust and remarking decisions between domains
- Keeping treatment consistent across multiple hops
A note on syntax
Current course cases and labs use MD-CLI. Even though 4A0-107 is a written exam, familiarity with MD-CLI-style configuration snippets helps you read and interpret any configuration-based question stems and connect concepts to how they look on a real router.
Written Exam vs. Course vs. Practical Lab
Three different activities get lumped together in forum conversations, and confusing them leads to bad planning.
| Activity | What it is | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| 4A0-107 written exam | Multiple-choice knowledge test | 40 questions, 90 testing minutes, USD 125 |
| Preparation course | Optional four-day Nokia Quality of Service course | Training is not required to sit the exam |
| SRA practical lab | Hands-on assessment for the architect credential | Seven hours, separate from the written exam |
The four-day course and the seven-hour SRA practical lab are different activities from the 90-minute written exam. Passing 4A0-107 does not mean you have completed the lab, and attending the course does not substitute for sitting the exam. If you are mapping a full path to SRA, build the written exam credits and the practical lab into your plan as distinct milestones.
Prerequisites and Preparation Guidance
There are no mandatory exam prerequisites. You can register and sit the exam without holding another certification first. Nokia does publish course prerequisites as separate preparation guidance, which describe the background knowledge that makes the QoS material easier to absorb. Think of these as a recommendation about readiness, not a gate on registration.
Practically, candidates who are comfortable with IP networking fundamentals and basic service routing concepts will find the QoS vocabulary far less intimidating. Our 4A0-107 Requirements page covers eligibility and the distinction between required and recommended background in more detail, and 4A0-107 Training discusses the course option.
Nokia also links a public practice document, "Practice Exam Questions for Nokia Quality of Service (4A0-107)" (copyright 2024, document code (June) CID202017). It is worth reviewing to see the style of question, though it should supplement, not replace, structured study. For additional timed practice, you can try the 4A0-107 practice tests on the main site.
Validity, Renewal and the 2026/27 Program Update
How credential validity works
SRC certifications are valid for three years, with recertification available before termination six months after expiry. 4A0-107 is an accepted renewal option for NRS I, NRS II and SRA. These are credential-maintenance rules for the certifications themselves, not a separately established expiry on the exam credit.
The September 8, 2026 update
Nokia's program update, "Important updates are coming to the Service Routing Certification (SRC) Program in 2026/27," dated September 8, 2026, reduces SRA written requirements from eight to five and retains 4A0-107. The practical lab is unchanged. For candidates, the key takeaway is that 4A0-107 survives the restructuring and continues to count toward SRA, which makes it a safe investment of study time. Because program rules can shift, confirm current requirements on Nokia's SRC pages before you commit to a multi-exam plan.
Key Takeaway
Because 4A0-107 is retained in the updated SRA structure and is also a recognized renewal option for NRS I, NRS II and SRA, it serves double duty: a path to architect credit now and a maintenance tool later. Check Nokia's program pages for exact dates and requirements before scheduling.
For scheduling specifics, see 4A0-107 Exam Dates 2026.
Who Benefits and Where the Skills Apply
The SRC program targets people who design, deploy and troubleshoot IP/MPLS networks built on Nokia service routing equipment. QoS knowledge is relevant wherever carrying voice, video, enterprise VPN and best-effort internet traffic on shared infrastructure demands predictable treatment.
- Service provider network engineers: Operators running Nokia-based backbone and edge networks need engineers who can reason about queuing and scheduling.
- Network architects and designers: Hierarchical bandwidth allocation and marking policy are design-time decisions.
- Operations and support engineers: Troubleshooting congestion, drops and misclassified traffic requires fluency in these mechanisms.
- Consultants and integrators: Partners who deploy Nokia gear for customers use the credential to demonstrate competence.
The credential carries the most weight with employers that run Nokia routing platforms. Hiring signals and role types are explored in 4A0-107 Jobs, while pay questions are addressed in the salary guide and the broader worth-it ROI analysis. We avoid quoting specific salary figures here because no verified numbers tie directly to this single exam.
A Domain-Ordered Preparation Sequence
Because the five headings build on each other, study order matters more than study volume. The concepts compound: you cannot reason about hierarchical bandwidth allocation until queues and schedulers make sense, and marking is easiest once classification is solid. Here is one sequence that respects those dependencies. Adjust the pacing to your own calendar, and see the full 4A0-107 Study Guide for more depth.
Introduction to QoS and Traffic Classification
- Learn the vocabulary and the end-to-end flow of a packet through QoS stages
- Practice mapping traffic to forwarding classes from different match criteria
Queues and Policers
- Work through queue parameters and how scheduling chooses the next queue
- Distinguish policing behavior from queuing behavior in scenario questions
Hierarchical Bandwidth Allocation
- Trace guaranteed versus excess bandwidth across parent and child levels
- Rework allocation examples until you can predict outcomes without notes
Marking and Remarking, then full review
- Study trust boundaries and remarking decisions across domains
- Take timed practice sets and revisit weak headings; a one-page cheat sheet helps with final review
Since the retake policy has no mandatory waiting period or attempt limit, a failed attempt costs you the fee rather than months of delay. That said, each attempt is USD 125, so entering prepared is the cheaper path. For a realistic read on effort, see How Hard Is the 4A0-107 Exam?.
Frequently Asked Questions
4A0-107 is Nokia's Quality of Service written exam within the Service Routing Certification program. It is a 40-question multiple-choice test that earns Service Routing Architect (SRA) credit, though passing it alone does not award SRA.
The fee is USD 125. It is delivered through Pearson VUE and can be taken proctored online or at a test center. The appointment runs 110 minutes, which includes a 20-minute introductory survey and 90 minutes of testing.
No. There are no mandatory exam prerequisites, and the four-day preparation course is optional. Course prerequisites are separate preparation guidance rather than a registration requirement.
Yes. Written-exam retakes have no mandatory waiting period or attempt limit, though each attempt requires paying the exam fee again.
Yes. Nokia's September 8, 2026 program update reduces SRA written requirements from eight to five and retains 4A0-107. The practical lab is unchanged. It also remains an accepted renewal option for NRS I, NRS II and SRA.
If you are ready to test your knowledge against realistic questions, the 4A0-107 Exam Prep practice tests are a natural next step after reviewing the curriculum headings above.