We study from an early age that change is the one fixed in life. Generally we view change as one thing to be anxious about, one thing we should shift and regulate for, and that the unknown may convey us…effectively, 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 possibly can say that even your views on change can change. Particularly when you might have somebody so as to add context that explains how a specific change advantages you.
It’s my hope that this weblog sequence will allow you to just do that, as we face main adjustments centered on a subject close to and expensive to my coronary heart: the up to date Cisco Automation Certifications and their related examination subjects.
In case you missed the announcement in Might 2025, we’re renaming Cisco DevNet Certifications to Cisco Automation Certifications. On February 3, 2026, every certification degree (Affiliate, Skilled, and Professional) will transition to the CCNA/CCNP/CCIE taxonomy that’s so acquainted to our studying group, companions, and employers. Learn the announcement.
As of February 3, 2026, the Cisco Licensed DevNet Affiliate and the Cisco Licensed DevNet Professional will turn into referred to as the CCNA Automation and CCIE Automation certifications, respectively. Identical check, new names. It’s that simple.
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 right now’s job market.
CCNP Automation: Reimagining the DevNet Skilled Certification
We would have liked to align the CCNP Automation certification to check the talents and necessities being seen out there right now from our prospects 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 consultants from varied backgrounds and focus areas in a room to work out the examination subjects checklist, the three of which have been launched on the finish of July.
A brand new strategy to testing
All Cisco certification exams endure an replace and alter course of annually. We modify solely as much as 10% of the examination subjects, 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 have been targeted very a lot on reworking community engineers into people who have been snug with writing functions for community automation. These “community automation builders” wanted to be acquainted not solely with Cisco APIs and their features but in addition with the software program improvement lifecycle, utility deployment, and platforms, and the way to verify these functions have been safe, accessible, resilient, and scalable.
What automation abilities do right now’s engineers want?
These abilities are nice to have in your base of information, however the market wanted one thing totally different. Engineers who’re snug with automation frameworks and instruments and might:
- 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 “utility developer who understands a little bit of networking,” however “community engineer with expertise in network-specific automation frameworks to implement an end-to-end answer.”
Lofty targets, however I really feel that our new examination subjects 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 subjects are actually obtainable!
Obtain examination subjects
So, what did we alter within the AUTOCOR?
In-Scope Platforms
On the high of the Examination Matters PDF, particular in-scope platforms are known as out.
- This reduces repetition within the examination subjects.
- Focuses on the platforms you need to research for.
- Supplies boundaries for the scope, so that you don’t want to review each single Cisco product.
Maintain these platforms in thoughts as you progress by way of every of the domains.
Area Adjustments
- The examination moved from 5 domains of research to 4.
- This will increase the examination weight on the primary two domains: Community Automation and Infrastructure as Code.
- These sections shall be acquainted to community automation professionals, however with a modified focus.
- Reasonably than testing on single-platform APIs, every job within the Community Automation part is concentrated on a answer that includes an automation instrument, akin 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’ll be checked out as somebody to assist information an enterprise in direction of a correct answer and toolset, so you could know and perceive limitations and capabilities in addition to find out how to accomplish a objective utilizing automation.
Infrastructure as Code part
Whereas instruments like Git are nonetheless essential, once more, the main target has shifted in 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 knowledge into pipelines for variables, configuration, and so on.).
The main target is on the answer slightly than particular person parts.
Operations part
The emphasis is on find out how to preserve an automation answer purposeful previous preliminary testing and deployment. To do that, key areas embody:
- Safety and secret administration (passwords, API keys).
- Making certain deployed automation options stay purposeful by way of network-centric testing.
- Utilizing model-driven telemetry on varied platforms to enhance community observability.
Be mindful, although, that the safety/secret administration (like passwords and API keys), certificates administration, and logging solely pertain to the community gadgets or the automation answer being examined on, not on your complete utility stack (which is one thing an utility developer would care about).
We’re trimming the subjects to residence in on that community automation engineer persona and testing it by way of actionable abilities.
The change all of us knew was coming: AI
No fashionable engineer will have the ability to operate with out some understanding of AI, its impression on our trade, and find out how to safely and successfully use its capabilities. Community automation engineers received’t be any exception to this, both. Nonetheless, we needed the examination subjects to be crafted in such a method that introduced tangible, invaluable abilities and AI functions to the check, 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 company, together with IP theft, knowledge sovereignty, and simply “code that doesn’t work.”
- Likewise, community automation engineers ought to have the ability to work out when options will work and when they’re simply plain made up.
- This reinforces the usage of AI as a instrument and assistant, slightly than outsourcing all the pieces to a mannequin; if one thing breaks at 3 a.m., “AI made it” received’t be an appropriate excuse to your leaders.
- The sensible functions 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 make it possible for our engineers may assemble an AI agent that might permit them to naturally discuss to an LLM and carry out some form of community automation, presumably even utilizing a number of MCP servers.
Whereas we perceive the world of AI is quickly evolving, we felt that the talents examined by these examination subjects shall be wanted and utilized by our prospects and learners, and can turn into a part of the baseline data that any community automation engineer ought to know.
Does this variation my DEVCOR research?
With such a significant rewrite of an examination, the reply to this query will all the time be “sure”. Whereas we all know that this might probably interrupt your research, hopefully, the extra context and reasoning why we made this variation will allow you to really feel extra assured and comfy with making that change. Additionally, bear in mind that you’ve got till February 2, 2026, to take and move the present DEVCOR examination, so should you really feel that you simply’re shut, proceed shifting on to get that move earlier than then.
If you happen to do have to alter your research, although, all isn’t 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 shall be accelerated with these ideas, so you’ll be able to deal with making use of these ideas in a whole automation answer.
Upleveling your automation pondering
You’ll additionally have the ability to uplevel your automation pondering and conversations, not simply understanding the howhowever the whywhich can profit you in your skilled profession. Lastly, whilst you don’t wish to overlook all the pieces you realized about utility improvement and the related lifecycle, you received’t be required to recollect it on the brand new examination.
It is a change, however this can be a change for the higher. I’ll even be placing out an identical breakdown of the ENAUTO 2.0, in addition to the brand new DCNAUTO (I contributed to all three exams), as a way to really feel snug with these adjustments as effectively.
Lastly, I promise that I’ll change one thing concerning the following components of this sequence: I promise to not use the phrase “change” practically as a lot as I did right here. 😉
As all the time, you will discover me on LinkedIn or X (previously Twitter) if in case you have any questions concerning this or another examination. Pleased learning!
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