All CCIE Written Exams Changing!!!

Well, this is certainly one of the most interesting changes I have seen in my ten year history as a CCIE.

new tech

All written CCIE exams are getting a new section! This section is titled Evolving Technologies. You will now need to prove your “conceptual comprehension” in these 5 areas spread over 3 major domains:

1. Cloud
1.1: Compare and contrast Cloud deployment models

  • Infrastructure, platform, and software services (XaaS)
  • Performance and reliability
  • Security and privacy
  • Scalability and interoperability

1.2: Describe Cloud implementations and operations

  • Automation and orchestration
  • Workload mobility
  • Troubleshooting and management
  • OpenStack components

2. Network Programmability

2.1: Describe functional elements of network programmability (SDN) and how they interact

  • Controllers
  • APIs
  • Scripting
  • Agents
  • Northbound vs. Southbound protocols

2.2: Describe aspects of virtualization and automation in network environments

  • DevOps methodologies, tools and workflows
  • Network/application function virtualization (NFV, AFV)
  • Service function chaining
  • Performance, availability, and scaling considerations

3. Internet of Things

3.1: Describe architectural framework and deployment considerations for Internet of Things (IoT)

  • Performance, reliability and scalability
  • Mobility
  • Security and privacy
  • Standards and compliance
  • Migration
  • Environmental impacts on the network

For each written exam, this section will make up 10 percent of your total score. Obviously, Cisco will refresh the topics in this section as technologies continue to evolve.

These changes hit July 25, 2016!

To prepare, you can use my blog (yes I will cover everything you need to know on this batch of new topics), or you can use these Cisco recommended study aids found here.

What do you think about this amazing change to the program? Let me know in the comments section below!

15 thoughts on “All CCIE Written Exams Changing!!!

  1. Its not clear to me whether all or just some of this will be applicable to any particular written exam (R&S is what I, and most, will be interested in).

    My reaction, should the answer be “all” is that this is an over-reach. Being a CCIE doesn’t make a guarantee of familiarity, let alone expertise in all facets of IT, nor should Cisco pretend it that it does. A lot of business depend on SAP or AS400 – should Cisco make sure we have some knowledge of these systems too?

  2. Hi Andrew!

    To clarify – the three topic domains above (verbatim) are being added to every single CCIE written and the CCDE exams.

    🙂

      1. Well, what seemed like ages ago, I said I have a deadline to taken my written. Well today, on the last possible day to take it, I did … and passed! No evolving technologies for me!

    1. Yes – version 2 of the CCIE Data Center has hit and it includes ACI – I will do a full write up here soon!

      1. So far, not a fan of ACI. I’ll keep an open mind though, maybe with the right documentation and some solid training I’ll come around. We just finished our first ACI deployment, and it was both slow as well as bug-tactular. Looking forward to the write up Anthony!

  3. These changes are indeed must at least in written to understand how technologies are moving towards SDN , less manual and more software driven for almost all domains R&S (Routers with NFV,Switching using Cisco ACI, Firewall and LB with API) and on top of Vmware Vrealise as a Orchestration (VRA) and automation (VRO, Workflow).Python and JSON is used these days as a scripting languages.

    Cisco ACI will be attached with VMWARE vCenter (opflex), that means EPG’s are visible as port groups in vcenter.

    One question, when these topics are available in the exam, Jan-2016 ???

  4. These changes are indeed must at least in written to understand how technologies are moving towards SDN , less manual and more software driven for almost all domains R&S (Routers with NFV,Switching using Cisco ACI, Firewall and LB with API) and on top of Vmware Vrealise as a Orchestration (VRA) and automation (VRO, Workflow).Python and JSON is used these days as a scripting languages.

    Cisco ACI will be attached with VMWARE vCenter (opflex), that means EPG’s are visible as port groups in vcenter.

    One question, when these topics are available in the exam, Jan-2016 ???

  5. hello Anthony Sequeira,
    i need to understand something, if one should pass the v1 written ( written exam before july). will that be ok for to sit for the lab exam in Data center v2.

    1. Yes indeed – the version 1 written will qualify you. Cisco has always been very fair about that kind of thing.

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