Cisco's Highest Level of Certification Receives Major Revision

The CCIE, known as the top certification in Cisco's stable of expert level certifications, recently demonstrated why it remains at the head of the class. The certification division at Cisco surveyed over 1,500 networking experts in terms of the various responsibilities within their positions and the many tasks they face on a daily basis. The responses were detailed enough for Cisco to chart the evolution of a professional network expert over the span of his career. The end result was a proposal that stated the most important talking points and everyday tasks networking professionals face. This, in turn, prompted Cisco to revamp the main theme of the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert certification.

Lora O'Haver, product marketing manager at Learning@Cisco, stated, "The good news is, it wasn't hugely different from our old list. [In] this revision, we didn't remove anything. Sometimes we remove technologies [or] protocols that are no longer used, [but] this time we didn't need to. We did add quite a lot."

O'Haver also added, "To accommodate for the extra material, some lower-level questions were eliminated. We're really focusing in now on the expert level, so we took out questions that people at a professional level should already have been tested on."

The new certification exam now concentrates more on planning and evaluating network changes, as well as new routing area technologies. Other areas that will become mission critical in the near future lie in the areas of IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) and MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching). Another part of the test undergoing a necessary modification is the segment on troubleshooting, always an important part of a professional's duties. Two hours of the eight hour hands-on lab have been devoted to simulated technology often experienced in the field. An applicant now receives trouble tickets in a network support role, and has to analyze the problem, locate the offending discrepancy, and repair it.

Even though the new certification test has raised the stakes, students with three to five years experience may now begin their studies with the Cisco 360 Learning Program. The 360 program is designated to assist and direct applicants to a successful education in preparation for the exam. The first part of the program benchmarks a student's level of knowledge on various networking topics with a diagnostic pre-assessment lab. The results are used to create a learning plan that blends a variety of learning components to focus the student's efforts. The learning process continues with lesson and lecture participation, printed materials and instructors guiding their path. Practice exercises with actual network equipment and assessments of knowledge are applied, along with various approaches to solving network problems. Finally, a mentor reviews the student's work, and assists in tuning their skills with tips and best practices.

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