Find out what certification news you missed at Cisco Networkers 2006

by David "Davis CCIE, MCSE+I, SCSA" | Jul 06, 2006 8:27:00 PM

Tags: David Davis CCIE, MCSE+I, SCSA, Cisco Systems Inc., Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert, Routing, Cisco Routers and Management Newsletter

Takeaway: Dubbed Cisco Networkers 2006, Cisco's annual customer conference took place last month in Las Vegas. David Davis was one of the 100,000 attendees and got the scoop on impending changes to Cisco certifications. Find out what you need to know about what's coming up for the CCIE certification.

In June, I attended Cisco's annual customer conference, dubbed Cisco Networkers 2006, in Las Vegas. The event traditionally brings together technical customers, Cisco engineers, and Cisco partners for a week of intensive training and industry networking.

I enjoyed the conference and learned a lot, particularly about changes in the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification program. For those of you who didn't get a chance to attend the conference, I wanted to bring you up to date on Cisco's plans for the CCIE.

Cisco currently offers five different CCIE certification tracks: Routing and Switching, Security, Voice, Service Provider, and Storage Networking. The Routing and Switching track is by far the most popular; more than 70 percent of candidates pursue that route. There are presently about 12,000 CCIEs in the world (not counting some 4,000 inactive CCIEs).

Changes to the Routing and Switching track

At the conference, Cisco announced plans to make changes to the CCIE Routing and Switching written exam but won't announce the specifics until later this summer. The test changes should include the removal of enterprise mobility (in other words, wireless networking), the addition of MPLS, and more focus on IPv6. According to Cisco, the purpose of the modifications is to better reflect what companies are deploying on enterprise networks today.

Changes to the Security track

In the past, the CCIE Security written and lab exams shared about 50 percent of their content with the Routing and Switching exams. In other words, if you knew routing and switching, you knew about half of the content on the CCIE Security exams.

However, Cisco has announced plans to remove almost all of the routing and switching content from the CCIE Security lab exam, which will take effect Jan. 2, 2007. Beginning then, the lab exam will feature preconfigured routing and switching, and the test will focus almost 100 percent on security topics.

The exam will include live challenges that the candidate must deal with to help simulate the job of an actual security engineer. For more information, see "Changes to CCIE Security Lab and Written Exams."

A new CCIE track on the horizon?

During a Q&A session, one attendee asked whether Cisco plans to create a CCIE Design track or another design-specific certification anytime soon. While the company doesn't currently offer this focus, the Cisco content manager responded that the organization is seriously considering it.

But don't get too excited yet. The Cisco rep also mentioned that if they did create such a certification, it would be at a very high level in which the company would specifically invite candidates to take the test.

Cisco has long offered the Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) and Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) certifications. So, assuming the company decided to create a higher design-focused certification, it seems like it would be well beyond these certs—and quite an "exclusive club."

I find it fascinating how the CCIE exams and tracks continue to change and become more challenging. I admire Cisco's goal to keep the CCIE certification one of the most challenging and respected certifications, and I think the idea of a Design track for the CCIE is an interesting concept. However, I'm not sure I like the idea of any certification that requires an invitation to pursue.

What's your take on a certification that requires an invitation to take the exam? What do you think about the other impending certification changes? Weigh in with your thoughts in this article's discussion.

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David Davis has worked in the IT industry for 12 years and holds several certifications, including CCIE, MCSE+I, CISSP, CCNA, CCDA, and CCNP. He currently manages a group of systems/network administrators for a privately owned retail company and performs networking/systems consulting on a part-time basis.