CCIE Data Center Training & Certification Course
Overview
Cisco CCIE Data Center certification validates the expert-level skills required for the planning, design, implementation and management of complex modern IT data center infrastructure.
Advanced skills are focused on Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity, fabric infrastructure, storage networking and compute, network services, and automation and orchestration. Knowledge of evolving technologies, and their impact on the architectural framework, deployment models, implementation, and operations–are included in CCIE certification.
The CCIE Data Center practitioner is uniquely qualified to play a leadership role in harnessing evolving technologies and deep domain expertise to meet business requirements that depend on an agile IT infrastructure. Professionals who achieve CCIE Data Center certification have demonstrated their technical skills at the highest level, using industry best practices.
Step One: CCIE Data Center Written Exam
You must pass the two-hour, written qualification exam covering concepts and equipment commands related to data centre networking infrastructure before you are eligible to schedule the lab exam.
Step Two: CCIE Data Center Lab Exam
CCIE Data Center Lab is a two-part eight-hour timed exam that tests the candidate’s skills in diagnosing, configuring and troubleshooting a complex data centre topology. The candidate must make an initial attempt of the CCIE Lab Exam within 18-months of passing the CCIE written exam. Candidates who do not pass must reattempt the lab exam within 12 months of their last scored attempt in order for their written exam to remain valid. Candidate must pass the lab exam within three years of passing the written exam, otherwise, the written exam needs to be retaken prior to retaking the lab exam.
The two parts to the eight-hour lab exam are to be taken in sequence during the day of the exam starting with Part 1, followed by Part 2 are:
- Part 1: Diagnostic module (one hour)
- Part 2: Configuration & Troubleshooting module (seven hours)
Prerequisites
While there are no formal prerequisites for CCIE certification, you are expected to have an in-depth understanding of the exam topics and are strongly encouraged to have eight years of job experience before attempting certification. Other professional certifications or training courses are not required. Instead, candidates must first pass the CCIE Data Center Written Exam, and then the corresponding CCIE Data Center Lab Exam.
Full Description
CCIE Data Center Written Exam
400-151 CCIE Data Center
The Cisco CCIE Data Center Written Exam (400-151) certifies expert-level skills to plan, design, implement, operate, and troubleshoot complex Data Center infrastructure. It accesses the ability to understand the requirements of Data Centers, how different components in the Data Center interoperate, and ability to translate it into the device configurations.
The Cisco CCIE Data Center Lab Exam is an eight-hour, hands-on exam which requires a candidate to configure, diagnose, and troubleshoot a series of complex Data Center scenarios for a given specification. Knowledge of troubleshooting is an important skill and candidates are expected to diagnose and solve issues as part of the CCIE lab exam.
An Evolving Technologies section is included in the Written exam only. It will enable candidates to bridge their core technology expertise with knowledge of the evolving technologies that are being adopted at an accelerated pace, such as cloud, IoT, and network programmability.
It has been recalibrated and will consist of three subdomains and a total of five tasks for which the expected depth of knowledge will be focused on conceptual comprehension. The Evolving Technologies section will account for 10 per cent of the total score while the remaining core technologies will account for 90 per cent.
CCIE Data Center Lab Exam
CCIE Data Center Lab is a two-part eight-hour timed exam that tests the candidate’s skills in diagnosing, configuring and troubleshooting a complex data centre topology. Knowledge of configuration and troubleshooting are important skills and candidates are expected to configure and troubleshoot issues as part of the CCIE Data CenterLab Exam.
CCIE Data Center unifies written and lab exam topics documents into a unique curriculum, while explicitly disclosing which domains pertain to which exam, and the relative weight of each domain.
The two parts to the eight-hour lab exam are to be taken in sequence during the day of the exam starting with Part 1, followed by Part 2 are:
Part 1: Diagnostic module (one hour) written
Candidates are provided various pieces of information similar to information that is provided to a Data Center support engineer that is assisting a customer finding the root cause of an issue, and similar to information that is provided by someone who is stuck troubleshooting an issue. No device access is in this module.
The module includes multiple-choice, drag-and-drop style items, and point-and-click style items. The Diagnostic module (called troubleshoot tickets) contain a set of documents that the candidate consults in order to be able to understand and identify the root cause of the issue presented. Candidates analyze and correlate information in order to diagnose among the pre-defined options provided.
Part 2: Configuration & Troubleshooting module (seven hours) hands-on
The Configuration and Troubleshooting module tests hands-on practical capabilities. It consists of various scenarios based on one topology. At the beginning of the module, the candidate has a full overview of the entire module; and can make a choice of working on items in a sequence or not. Candidates are not allowed to go back and forth between modules during the exam.
Lab Environment
Cisco documentation is available on-line during the exam, however knowledge of the more common protocols and technologies is assumed. The documentation can only be navigated using the index, as the search function has been disabled. No outside reference materials are permitted in the lab room. You must report any suspected equipment issues to the proctor during the exam; adjustments cannot be made once the exam is over.
Lab Exam Grading
Each question on the lab has a specific criterion. The labs are graded by proctors who ensure all the criterion are met and points are awarded accordingly. The proctors use automatic tools to gather information from the routers to perform some preliminary evaluations, but the final determination of a correct or incorrect configuration is done by a trained proctor.
In order to pass the Lab exam, the candidate must meet the both following conditions:
- The minimum cut-score of the each individual module must be achieved.
- The total score of both modules together must be higher as the minimum value of the combined cut-score.
The reason of these criteria is to prevent a candidate from passing the Lab exam while failing or even bypassing one of the two modules.
The point value(s) of each item in both modules is known to the candidate. Note points are only granted when all requirements and sometimes restrictions of the item are met. There is no partial scoring for any items.
Results
Candidates can review your lab exam results online (login required), usually within 48 hours. Results are Pass/Fail and failing score reports indicate major topic areas where additional study and preparation may be useful.
Fees & Schedule
Delivery Mode | Course Duration | Fees |
---|---|---|
Live Virtual Training | TBD Days | Ask for Quote |
Onsite Classroom Training | TBD Days | Ask for Quote |
Customized Training | TBD Days | Ask for Quote |