What is the Dell Networking Foundations exam?
D-NWG-FN-23 is Dell Technologies' foundational networking skill certification exam. Dell's own description: it validates the ability to perform basic skill level tasks in installing, configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting Dell Technologies Networking products. It sits underneath several Dell certification tracks, which is why the published target audience runs from associate sales engineers and pre-sales solution architects through cloud consultants, infrastructure administrators, systems engineers, and technical support staff.
The exam is proctored, delivered through Pearson VUE testing centers and OnVUE, and offered in English and French. Dell's own store listing on the exam page prices the Networking Foundations Exam Voucher at 230 USD and the Practice Test Voucher at 50 USD, and points candidates at an optional on-demand course.
What topics does the Networking Foundations exam cover?
Dell's published exam topics table splits the exam into seven weighted categories with a steep distribution. Ethernet Technologies carries 40% of the exam on its own: how Ethernet addressing and framing operate, the operation and behavior of LLDP, VLANs, STP, and LAG, the commands to configure and verify each, and common storage networking features and benefits. IP Networking adds 25%: private versus public addressing, IPv4 properties, IPv6 formats and types, Layer 3 forwarding logic, and static versus dynamic routing.
The remaining five categories share 35%: Networking Essentials (device functions, interface and cabling options, initial switch configuration), Networking Services (DHCP and NTP configuration and verification), Security Essentials (switch access control, local authentication, ACLs), Network Operations (file transfers, connectivity troubleshooting, switch OS upgrades, SNMP monitoring), and Automation (the role and advantages of Smart Fabric Services). The through-line is command-level familiarity with Dell switching, not vendor-neutral theory.
| # | Exam topic category | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Networking Essentials (devices, cabling, initial switch configuration) | 5% |
| 2 | Ethernet Technologies (addressing, LLDP, VLANs, STP, LAG, storage networking) | 40% |
| 3 | IP Networking (IPv4, IPv6, Layer 3 forwarding, static vs dynamic routing) | 25% |
| 4 | Networking Services (DHCP, NTP) | 5% |
| 5 | Security Essentials (switch access, local authentication, ACLs) | 10% |
| 6 | Network Operations (file transfer, connectivity, OS upgrade, SNMP) | 10% |
| 7 | Automation (Smart Fabric Services) | 5% |
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
How much does the Networking Foundations exam cost?
$230 USD per attempt in the United States. The Pearson VUE voucher store price list for Dell Technologies lists the Dell Certification 100% Prepaid Voucher at $230.00 - that voucher is what a skill certification exam like D-NWG-FN-23 consumes - and Dell's own store listing on the exam page independently shows the Networking Foundations Exam Voucher at 230 USD. The practice-test voucher is $50.00 on both sources, and Dell lists a recommended on-demand course, Dell Networking Concepts And Features, at 2,040 USD.
Voucher mechanics matter for planning: select the Dell Technologies program in the voucher store, then the Americas region and United States, to reveal the USD price list; orders are processed within three business days and vouchers are created after payment approval. Retakes are full-price attempts - fail once and a second sitting is another $230 after a 7-day wait - so the realistic budget question is not the sticker price but how many attempts you plan to need.
Can you take the Networking Foundations exam at home?
Yes. Dell's exam page states that skill certification exams are proctored exams administered through Pearson VUE testing centers and OnVUE, and the Pearson VUE Dell program page repeats the sentence word for word. OnVUE is Pearson's online proctoring route: the same proctored exam taken from your own room under a live remote proctor, subject to published equipment, network, and room requirements.
The scoring flow is identical on both routes. The exam is computer scored immediately with a provisional report at the end, the final score posts to CertTracker after Dell's statistical analysis of the sitting, and Dell Learning emails results within 72 hours. Cancellation inside 24 hours of the appointment triggers a same-day forfeit fee, and no-shows forfeit the full fee, on whichever route you booked.
Is the Networking Foundations exam being retired?
Not as of 7 September 2026. The D-NWG-FN-23 exam page carries no retirement notice, which makes it the current entry networking credential in Dell's catalog. The contrast worth knowing about sits elsewhere in the same catalog: Dell's own banner on the Information Storage and Management Foundations page retires D-ISM-FN-01 on 24 September 2026 with a D-ISM-FN-02 replacement landing the next day - proof that Dell rotates this catalog with dated banners.
The practical reading: build against the live page, not a cached copy. This guide's facts were retrieved from Dell's exam page on 7 September 2026, and any engagement should recheck that page before scheduling, because the banner is the only retirement signal Dell gives.
How hard is D-NWG-FN-23, and what trips candidates up?
The exam is honest about being a fundamentals test at command depth: Dell expects you to configure and verify LLDP, VLANs, STP, and LAG on its switching, not define them. The candidates who struggle are the ones whose networking is wireless-first, cloud-console-first, or certificate-era rusty - they know what spanning tree does but cannot identify the commands to verify it, which is exactly what the 40% Ethernet category asks.
The second trap is the operational tail. Network Operations expects file transfers to and from switches, common connectivity problems and their solutions, the recommended steps of a switch OS upgrade, and enabling SNMP monitoring; Security Essentials expects local authentication and ACL configuration; Automation expects Smart Fabric Services. Candidates who spend all their preparation on the two big categories and skip the tail can watch a passing score slip away in the remaining 35%.
Dell publishes no question count, duration, or passing score for this exam, so preparation quality is the only lever a self-study candidate controls. For candidates whose requirement is the credential rather than the learning - a partner-tier obligation, a track prerequisite, a role checkbox - Exam Assist handles the D-NWG-FN-23 sitting end to end, at home via OnVUE or at a Pearson center, with the service fee due only after the agreed pass posts.
The bottom line on the Networking Foundations exam
D-NWG-FN-23 is a seven-category, Ethernet-heavy networking exam with a $230 US voucher price, at-home OnVUE delivery, immediate provisional scoring, and a 72-hour final-result window - and no retirement notice as of September 2026. Dell gives you the topic weights and the command-level objectives; the rest is execution.
If the exam itself is the obstacle - the timeline, the retake math, or the 40% Ethernet category - send your role, your window, and your deadline. You get an honest feasibility answer against the current exam page, and if the engagement makes sense, the sitting is handled end to end with the service fee due only after your pass posts.