Unofficial CCIE Candidate FAQ

What is CCIE ?
The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification is accepted worldwide as the most prestigious networking certification in the industry. Network Engineers holding an active Cisco CCIE certification are recognized for their expert network engineering skills and mastery of Cisco products and solutions.

What is the prerequisites for CCIE certification ?
There are no formal prerequisites for CCIE certification. Other professional certifications or training courses are not required.

The CCIE certification consist of two part :

Part one : Pass a two-hour, written qualification exam which covers networking concepts and some equipment commands before you are eligible to schedule the lab exam. [#350-001]

1a : Take the exam at Pearson VUE testing facility [LINK]

1b : Cost for the #350-001 exam [LINK]

Part two : Pass a eight-hour lab exam tests your ability to configure actual equipment and troubleshoot the network in a timed test situation. Candidates require to attempt of the CCIE lab exam within 18 months of passing the CCIE written exam. Candidates has three years to pass the lab exam (multiple attempts) from the date passing the written exam.

The eight-hour lab exam is further broken into two part :

2a : two-hour troubleshooting section, a series of trouble tickets for preconfigured networks and need to diagnose and resolve the network fault or faults. Candidates who finish the troubleshooting section early may proceed on to the configuration section, but they will not be allowed to go back to troubleshooting since their equipment will need to be reinitialized for the configuration portion.

2b : six-hour Configuration section, anything on the CCIE blueprint is fair game and maybe be tested on.

What would be provided at the lab exam ?
1. Please refer to the "Lab Equipment and IOS List" for the device list [LINK]
2. During the lab exam, the only reference you have is the Cisco documentation CD and search function has been disabled. [LINK]
2. Terminal is PuTTY and you have access to all Windows Calculator functions.
3. Everything is digital. No printed material is provided.
4. Plenty of paper and pens to use during the lab.

CCIE R&S v4.0 Lab Exam Demo
This demo will familiarize candidates with the online interface that has replaced paper exams, which presents the virtual topology, test questions, documentation and tools. [LINK]