Cisco Revises its CCIE Exam

October 2009 brought with it fall colors and major changes to the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification program. Since 1993, the CCIE certification has served as Cisco’s top level credential with only 3 percent of all Cisco credential holders (and less than 1 percent of all networking professionals around the world) having earned it. While Cisco has updated the program over the years to reflect changes in technologies and protocols, this latest revision is the result of feedback received from networking experts.

First, Cisco conducted a survey, asking over 1500 networking experts for their input. These experts detailed their daily tasks and responsibilities, providing Cisco with a realistic snapshot of a network professional’s career path. Using information gleaned from this survey, Cisco revamped the CCIE program to emphasize network planning and evaluation.

According to Learning@Cisco’s product marketing manager Lora O’Haver, some lower level questions had to be eliminated to accommodate the additional material. O’Haver explained that they took out questions that professionals at this level should already have been tested on. As far as technologies and protocols go, O’Haver said that it wasn’t necessary to remove older technologies or protocols no longer in use and that Cisco added a lot of additional material.

The new CCIE exam includes a greater emphasis on planning and evaluating network changes. New questions covering Virtual Private Networks and MPLS have also been added. Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is also becoming more important, and this too is reflected in the revised CCIE exam. Of note, the troubleshooting portion of the hands-on lab exam now features simulated troubleshooting activities. For two of the eight hour hands-on lab exam, candidates will be tasked with troubleshooting. Playing a network support position, the candidate receives a trouble ticket and must analyze the problem, find the discrepancy, and solve the problem.

While the new CCIE certification is more focused on expert-level technologies and techniques than ever before, Cisco’s 360 Learning Program provides candidates with three to five years of experience with learning tools as they prepare for the exam. This program consists of assessments, learning plans, lessons, training materials, practice activities, and mentoring. In June 2010, Cisco announced new enhancements to the 360 Learning Program including priority scheduling to CCIE Mobile Lab Events and a free retake of the CCIE lab exam.     

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