CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure by Saria

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CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
By Saria
There were many vital announcements on the agenda
at Cisco Live last year. One of the most
significant was the revamping of the program for
certification. Various new certifications were
introduced (such as DevNet's CCNA and CCNP). I
decided to write about this since I was a part
of that certification process for a few years.
I'm sharing this blog as a personal blog, and the
opinions expressed here are my own and not
officially sanctioned.
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• At Juniper, I had the chance to write questions
  for an exam the service provider wrote. It was a
  fantastic experience, and I received
  comprehensive training from the certification
  program in correctly writing exam questions. I'm
  not sure what made me decide to participate as an
  accredited (certifiable?) person I saw it as an
  ideal chance to contribute to the program. After
  I joined Cisco, I immediately partnered with the
  certificate program in this city by offering the
  services of a query writer. I received my
  training through Juniper, in addition to being an
  active CCIE working on the programmability
  aspect. It was a great fit and a fantastic
  opportunity to renew your certification without
  having to pass the test. You can write or review
  questions to get your CCIE renewed.
• Since I was the manager of an entire team in the
  business unit that was working on
  programmability and Software-Defined Access, It
  was logical for me to discuss with software
  developers about adding these subjects to the
  exam. I can tell you that there was much internal
  discussion regarding this issue since there was
  much debate about how the CCIE exam has a
  reputation for being difficult, and the purpose
  of our Intent-Based Networking solutions is
  simplicity. A product manager even suggested an
  additional CCIE course for SD-Access, which I
  immediately rejected due to this reason.
• However, as I frequently make clear on this blog
  and elsewhere, SDN technologies do not eliminate
  the requirement to employ network specialists.
  SDN products, and all SDN devices, can be highly
  complex due to their automation. Automation
  allows us to create more complicated products,
  generally. It would help if you didn't have to
  manage every component of SD-Access manually.
  But, we still need engineers who know what
  automation tools are doing and how to interact
  with the various components that make up an
  extremely complex solution such as SD-Access.
  Network engineers won't disappear.
• This is why we needed SD-Access, SDWAN, and
  device programming (NETCONF/YANG, for instance)
  to be included in the lab. We need engineers who
  understand and are aware of these technologies.
  The certification program is an excellent
  opportunity to teach people about the basics of
  these technologies. I, along with a few people on
  my team, have worked for several months on this
  CCIE program to create the new framework, which
  evolved into the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure.
  The long-running CCIE Routing and Switching will
  cease to exist.
• The CCIE exam has constantly been updated to
  reflect the changing requirements of networking.
  The R/S exam is no longer offered with ISDN or
  IPX, and it shouldn't be. The market is looking
  for more automated solutions, and the exam keeps
  up with the times. The new model could be
  intimidating if you're preparing to pass this
  exam. But, CCIE exams have always been
  difficult. Consider the following if you can
  pass this exam, the resume will fill you with
  skills that allow you to be highly marketable.
• This new version of the CCIE (we always
  abbreviate things, you know?) can be broken down
  in this way
• 60 represents classic networking, one of the
  most fundamental routing protocols we have all
  come to know and love.

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• 25-25 is SDx and SD-WAN. Mostly.
• 15 of the cost is for programming. NETCONF/YANG,
  controller APIs, Ansible, etc.
• How do you prepare yourself for this? Just like
  you study for any other subject. Would you be
  able to research it and even test it? There's
  plenty of information available on these
  subjects, and I'll offer some suggestions
• Programmability
• You don't have to be an expert in programming in
  the exam section. It's not about determining if
  you can write complex programming, but if you
  understand the fundamentals well enough to
  complete specific tasks with scripts or Ansible.
  Instead of CLI. DevNet includes a wealth of
  instances of sending NETCONF messages, reading
  data off the router, or switching using
  programming interfaces. Download them, play
  around with them, spend some time learning
  Python basics, and then relax.
• The Learning DevNet provides a tremendous source.
  Hank Preston, an evangelist for DevNet, has
  published numerous resources about
  programmability. There is also the book on IOS
  XE programmability that I created with my
  colleagues.
• Laboratory It is possible to download lab
  programmability software quickly using your
  laptop. Python, as well as the client software,
  are both free, as is Ansible. If you have lab
  equipment, you may want to create a Linux VM or
  install some tools on your laptop.
• Software-Defined
• I've said it before, a complicated device to
  test. To connect a device to an SD-Access fabric,
  select it and select "Add to Fabric." What can
  you test? Since these are all new technologies,
  it is essential to know the various components
  of SD-Access/SD WAN and how they work together.
  What is the policy process? What are the ways
  that fabric domains communicate to domains that
  are not fabric? There's plenty to research here.
• Learn We've published books on SD-Access as well
  as SD-WAN. We are also moving to integrate much
  of our information into Cisco Communities.
• Lab This is a bit more difficult. We're trying
  to get SD-Access in the hands of Learning
  Partners, so you'll be able to have access to the
  software. We're also working on the
  virtualization of SD-Access to the greatest
  extent possible to make it more accessible to
  use in labs. There's no time frame on this, but
  I'm sure we'll be able to do the former shortly.
• They are massive, but they are exciting
  modifications that are exciting and huge. I've
  been blessed to find a job in the field.
  However, this new exam can also help others
  follow this direction.