The CCIE certification offered by Cisco certifies network engineers with expert-level skills in planning, operating, and troubleshooting complex network infrastructures. There are two requirements to obtain CCIE certification - passing a written exam and an intensive 8-hour hands-on lab exam. The CCIE certification is divided into several tracks including Routing and Switching, Security, Service Provider, and Voice, with each track focusing on different specializations within networking.

1. CCIE Certification
General Overview
The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert, or CCIE, is a technical certification offered by Cisco Systems.
The CCIE certifies the skills required of network engineers to plan, operate and troubleshoot complex,
converged network infrastructures on a wide variety of Cisco equipment. The CCIE is often described
as the most difficult IT Certification to obtain in the area of information technology (IT). The CCIE
certifies a very specific set of skills in the field of networking. According to Cisco, less than 3% of Cisco
Certified engineers obtain CCIE certification, and the average candidate will spend thousands of their
own dollars and spend at least 18 months studying while pursuing it. As of March 5, 2010 there are
only 20,881 CCIEs in the world. Passing all the requirements of the program earns the individual a
unique CCIE number assigned by Cisco. The program is currently divided into seven different areas of
expertise or “tracks”. The CCIE track in which one becomes certified determines the different aspects
of networking technology that individual is recognized as being an expert in. One may also choose to
pursue multiple CCIE tracks to be recognized as an expert in multiple different categories of Cisco
technology. The current CCIE tracks offered by Cisco are Routing and Switching, Security, Service
Provider, Service Provider Operations, Storage Networking, Voice, and Wireless.
CCIE Requirements
No matter what CCIE track one chooses to pursue, there are two general requirements that must be
met—The written exam and the lab exam.
Written Examination
The first requirement to achieve CCIE certification is to pass a written examination specific for the
CCIE track the candidate is pursuing. The CCIE written examination is a two hour qualification exam
consisting of 90-110 questions, and can be taken at any Cisco authorized Pearson VUE testing center.
Questions may be a combination of multiple choice and more complex, interactive items that assess
technical knowledge. The results of the written exam are pass/fail and are available immediately. The
passing score is set by statistical analysis and is subject to change. The scoring is reported on a scale
of 300-1000 points, and the current cost of the exam is $350 per attempt. Passing the CCIE written
exam is a pre-requisite to sit the CCIE lab exam.
Lab Examination
The second and far more difficult requirement needed to achieve CCIE certification is to pass a
grueling hands on lab examination administered by Cisco. The specific format of the lab is currently
not the same across all tracks, but in general the entire time of the lab exam is 8 hours. The CCIE lab
requires a candidate to configure and troubleshoot a series of complex networks to given
specifications in this limited amount of time. Point values are given for each task, and a candidate
must achieve a given number of points (About 80%) to pass the lab exam. The current cost of the
exam is $1400 per attempt not including travel and lodging expenses. The CCIE lab exam is graded by
trained proctors who ensure the entire criterion are met and points are awarded accordingly. Typically
results of the lab exam are available within 48 hours.
The CCIE lab has traditionally only been available to take at a handful of Cisco lab locations worldwide
including Bangalore, Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, Raleigh, San Jose, Sao Paulo, Sydney and
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2. Tokyo. Not all tracks are available at all locations. Recently, there have been efforts made by Cisco to
expand the availability of the lab in some tracks by introducing both a mobile lab which moves
periodically to different cities around the world, and through introducing the ability to take the lab
exam at a Pearson VUE testing center.
CCIE Tracks
Routing & Switching
The Routing and Switching track is the most popular of all CCIE tracks by a wide margin. Individuals
certified in the CCIE Routing and Switching track comprise about 85% of the total number of CCIEs.
The CCIE Routing and Switching track certifies expert level knowledge in Cisco networking across LAN
and WAN interfaces and a variety of routers and switches. A CCIE in routing and switching specializes
in a variety of LAN/WAN networking technologies and protocols related to global network operations
such as spanning-tree, advanced switching concepts, IGPs, BGP, IP multicast, IPv6, network
security, QoS,MPLS, IOS services and more. For a detailed description of what is covered by the
Routing and Switching CCIE program, one should view the detailed blueprint available from Cisco. [2]
Security
The CCIE Security track focuses specifically on network security, and certifies individuals with expert
level knowledge of specific security protocols and components such as VPN solutions, ASA, IDS,
and IOSsecurity features. Individuals certified as CCIE Security are certified experts in configuring
complex, end-to-end secure networks, troubleshooting integrated environments, and understanding
common attacks and mitigation techniques.
Benefits of CCIE Security Certification
The CCIE Security Certification is the most widely used credential in the industry which warrants the
uniquely high level expertise of network security professionals. CCIE Security certified personal are the
confirmed specialists of the implementation, configuration and troubleshooting of security solutions
using Cisco technologies. It is due to this reason that the CCIE Security certification is considered one
of the most trustworthy credential in the industry.
Service Provider
The CCIE Service Provider track focuses on the skills needed for expertise in the arena of service
provider networking. The CCIE Service Provider certification certifies individuals as experts in IP
fundamentals and technologies as well as building an extensible service provider network
infrastructure to deliver rich managed services. Individuals certified as CCIE Service Provider will
possess advanced skills related to packet architecture and technologies important to service providers
such as service provisioning, MPLS, VPNs, service level agreements and basic security.
Service Provider Operations
The CCIE Service Provider Operations track focuses on expert level knowledge of troubleshooting and
maintaining complex service provider networks. The CCIE Service Provider Operations certified
individual will have a strong knowledge of PE-PE and PE-CE network infrastructures in both Cisco IOS
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3. and Cisco IOS XR operating environments and will possess broad theoretical knowledge of operations
management processes, frameworks, and network management systems.
Voice
The CCIE Voice track focuses on expert level knowledge of and experience with Cisco Voice over IP
products and solutions in an enterprise network environment. A CCIE certified in the CCIE Voice track
will be capable of building and configuring complex end-to-end telephony networks, as well as
troubleshooting and resolving VoIP related problems. A CCIE Voice certified engineer will not need
core IP routing knowledge but must be able to ensure quality of service using in-depth understanding
of layer 2 and layer 3 network infrastructures.
Storage Networking
The CCIE Storage Networking track specializes in expert level knowledge in the implementation and
troubleshooting of storage area network (SAN). An individual certified in CCIE Storage will be highly
skilled with LANs, MANs and WANs over Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCIP and FICON, and must demonstrate
in-depth understanding of layer 2 and layer 3 network infrastructures.
Wireless
The CCIE Wireless focuses on and validates expertise in major aspects of WLAN technology and
provides the next step for individuals interested in a career in managing or working with Cisco wireless
technologies. A CCIE Wireless will possess a broad theoretical knowledge of wireless technologies and
a solid understanding of WLAN technologies and products offered by Cisco.
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