We study from an early age that change is the one fixed in life. Typically we view change as one thing to be apprehensive about, one thing we should shift and alter for, and that the unknown may carry us…nicely, something. On the flip aspect, some change is nice, even wanted and refreshing (as anybody who places a brand new coat of paint on a home will attest). I assume you would say that even your views on change can change. Particularly when you’ve gotten somebody so as to add context that explains how a specific change advantages you.
It’s my hope that this weblog sequence will make it easier to do exactly that, as we face main modifications centered on a subject close to and pricey to my coronary heart: the up to date Cisco Automation Certifications and their related examination matters.
In case you missed the announcement in Could 2025, we’re renaming Cisco DevNet Certifications to Cisco Automation Certifications. On February 3, 2026, every certification stage (Affiliate, Skilled, and Skilled) will transition to the CCNA/CCNP/CCIE taxonomy that’s so acquainted to our studying neighborhood, companions, and employers. Learn the announcement.
As of February 3, 2026, the Cisco Licensed DevNet Affiliate and the Cisco Licensed DevNet Skilled will turn out to be often known as the CCNA Automation and CCIE Automation certifications, respectively. Similar take a look at, new names. It’s that straightforward.
Nonetheless, after a lot thought and consideration, it was determined that the Cisco Licensed DevNet Skilled certification wanted greater than a reputation change. It wanted to align with in the present day’s job market.
CCNP Automation: Reimagining the DevNet Skilled Certification
We would have liked to align the CCNP Automation certification to check the abilities and necessities being seen out there in the present day from our clients who’re using community automation engineers. A lot work was put into job function and job evaluation, in addition to figuring out the {qualifications} of a certified candidate.
In spite of everything that work was accomplished, it was time to lock a bunch of material specialists from numerous backgrounds and focus areas in a room to work out the examination matters record, the three of which had been launched on the finish of July.
A brand new method to testing
All Cisco certification exams endure an replace and alter course of annually. We alter solely as much as 10% of the examination matters, and typically not even that a lot. However within the case of the CCNP Automation, we simply couldn’t make that quantity match with how the exams wanted to be reshaped.
When first launched, the Skilled-level DevNet exams had been targeted very a lot on reworking community engineers into people who had been snug with writing purposes for community automation. These “community automation builders” wanted to be acquainted not solely with Cisco APIs and their capabilities but in addition with the software program improvement lifecycle, software deployment, and platforms, and the way to verify these purposes had been safe, accessible, resilient, and scalable.
What automation abilities do in the present day’s engineers want?
These abilities are nice to have in your base of data, however the market wanted one thing completely different. Engineers who’re snug with automation frameworks and instruments and may:
- Create digital twins for pre- and post-change validations
- Leverage programmability rules for operations and monitoring
- Comfy navigating the brand new world of AI
We would have liked to check a skillset that wasn’t “software developer who understands a little bit of networking,” however “community engineer with expertise in network-specific automation frameworks to implement an end-to-end resolution.”
Lofty targets, however I really feel that our new examination matters hit all these areas (I could also be just a bit biased, since I used to be a type of people locked in that room for hours).
Cisco Automation Certification examination matters are actually out there!
Obtain examination matters
So, what did we modify within the AUTOCOR?
In-Scope Platforms
On the high of the Examination Subjects PDF, particular in-scope platforms are referred to as out.
- This reduces repetition within the examination matters.
- Focuses on the platforms you must examine for.
- Supplies boundaries for the scope, so that you don’t want to review each single Cisco product.
Hold these platforms in thoughts as you progress by means of every of the domains.
Area Modifications
- The examination moved from 5 domains of examine to 4.
- This will increase the examination weight on the primary two domains: Community Automation and Infrastructure as Code.
- These sections might be acquainted to community automation professionals, however with a modified focus.
- Slightly than testing on single-platform APIs, every job within the Community Automation part is concentrated on a resolution that includes an automation instrument, corresponding to Ansible, Terraform, or Python.
In some cases, not all platforms might be configured for every job (like utilizing NETCONF for ACI). This wasn’t an oversight; as a community automation skilled, you can be checked out as somebody to assist information an enterprise in the direction of a correct resolution and toolset, so it’s essential to know and perceive limitations and capabilities in addition to easy methods to accomplish a aim utilizing automation.
Infrastructure as Code part
Whereas instruments like Git are nonetheless vital, once more, the main target has shifted in the direction of utilizing a CI/CD pipeline and GitOps to deploy community automation options, both in opposition to actual {hardware} or leveraging a digital twin simulation instrument.
Professionals want to know:
- CI/CD processes.
- Cisco Modeling Labs.
- Community sources of fact (for pulling information into pipelines for variables, configuration, and so on.).
The main target is on the answer quite than particular person elements.
Operations part
The emphasis is on easy methods to hold an automation resolution useful previous preliminary testing and deployment. To do that, key areas embrace:
- Safety and secret administration (passwords, API keys).
- Making certain deployed automation options stay useful by means of network-centric testing.
- Utilizing model-driven telemetry on numerous platforms to enhance community observability.
Take into accout, although, that the safety/secret administration (like passwords and API keys), certificates administration, and logging solely pertain to the community units or the automation resolution being examined on, not on your complete software stack (which is one thing an software developer would care about).
We’re trimming the matters to residence in on that community automation engineer persona and testing it by means of actionable abilities.
The change all of us knew was coming: AI
No trendy engineer will be capable of operate with out some understanding of AI, its affect on our business, and easy methods to safely and successfully use its capabilities. Community automation engineers received’t be any exception to this, both. Nonetheless, we needed the examination matters to be crafted in such a approach that introduced tangible, beneficial abilities and AI purposes to the take a look at, and I really feel like we hit the mark with these.
We needed the candidates to know the implications behind utilizing AI for his or her roles, together with:
- Ways in which AI may trigger hurt to a corporation, together with IP theft, information sovereignty, and simply “code that doesn’t work.”
- Likewise, community automation engineers ought to be capable of determine when options will work and when they’re simply plain made up.
- This reinforces the usage of AI as a instrument and assistant, quite than outsourcing every little thing to a mannequin; if one thing breaks at 3 a.m., “AI made it” received’t be a suitable excuse to your leaders.
- The sensible purposes of AI within the networks.
- With the short rise of mannequin context protocol (MCP) servers getting used as conduits and extensions to LLMs for community automation, it was a no brainer to incorporate a Pythonic framework of MCP server improvement as a job merchandise.
We additionally needed to guarantee that our engineers may assemble an AI agent that will enable them to naturally discuss to an LLM and carry out some form of community automation, probably even utilizing a number of MCP servers.
Whereas we perceive the world of AI is quickly evolving, we felt that the abilities examined by these examination matters might be wanted and utilized by our clients and learners, and can turn out to be a part of the baseline data that any community automation engineer ought to know.
Does this modification my DEVCOR research?
With such a significant rewrite of an examination, the reply to this query will at all times be “sure”. Whereas we all know that this might probably interrupt your research, hopefully, the extra context and reasoning why we made this modification will make it easier to really feel extra assured and cozy with making that change. Additionally, bear in mind that you’ve got till February 2, 2026, to take and go the current DEVCOR examination, so should you really feel that you simply’re shut, proceed shifting on to get that go earlier than then.
Should you do have to vary your research, although, all is just not misplaced. Most of the ideas that exist inside DEVCOR, like API utilization, git instructions, use of Python, Ansible, and Terraform, and understanding Cisco platforms, will all come in useful in AUTOCOR. Your research might be accelerated with these ideas, so you possibly can concentrate on making use of these ideas in a whole automation resolution.
Upleveling your automation considering
You’ll additionally be capable of uplevel your automation considering and conversations, not simply understanding the how, however the why, which is able to profit you in your skilled profession. Lastly, whilst you don’t need to overlook every little thing you discovered about software improvement and the related lifecycle, you received’t be required to recollect it on the brand new examination.
This can be a change, however it is a change for the higher. I’ll even be placing out an analogous breakdown of the ENAUTO 2.0, in addition to the brand new DCNAUTO (I contributed to all three exams), so to really feel snug with these modifications as nicely.
Lastly, I promise that I’ll change one thing in regards to the following elements of this sequence: I promise to not use the phrase “change” almost as a lot as I did right here. 😉
As at all times, you’ll find me on LinkedIn or X (previously Twitter) you probably have any questions concerning this or some other examination. Blissful learning!
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