We study from an early age that change is the one fixed in life. Generally we view change as one thing to be frightened about, one thing we should shift and alter for, and that the unknown may carry 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 could have somebody so as to add context that explains how a specific change advantages you.
It’s my hope that this weblog sequence will assist you 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 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 Professional) 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 Professional will turn into often known as the CCNA Automation and CCIE Automation certifications, respectively. Identical take a look at, new names. It’s that simple.
Nevertheless, 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 at the moment’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 available in the market at the moment from our prospects who’re using community automation engineers. A lot work was put into job position and process evaluation, in addition to figuring out the {qualifications} of a professional candidate.
In spite of everything that work was executed, it was time to lock a bunch of material specialists from varied backgrounds and focus areas in a room to work out the examination matters checklist, the three of which had been launched on the finish of July.
A brand new strategy to testing
All Cisco certification exams endure an replace and alter course of every year. 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 centered very a lot on remodeling 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 additionally with the software program growth lifecycle, software deployment, and platforms, and the way to verify these purposes had been safe, accessible, resilient, and scalable.
What automation abilities do at the moment’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
- Snug 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 kind of people locked in that room for hours).
Cisco Automation Certification examination matters at the moment are obtainable!
Obtain examination matters
So, what did we modify 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 matters.
- Focuses on the platforms it is best to research for.
- Supplies boundaries for the scope, so that you don’t want to check each single Cisco product.
Maintain these platforms in thoughts as you progress by way of every of the domains.
Area Modifications
- 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 might be acquainted to community automation professionals, however with a modified focus.
- Relatively than testing on single-platform APIs, every process within the Community Automation part is targeted on a resolution that includes an automation device, akin to Ansible, Terraform, or Python.
In some cases, not all platforms will be configured for every process (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 the direction of a correct resolution and toolset, so you will need to know and perceive limitations and capabilities in addition to tips on how to accomplish a objective utilizing automation.
Infrastructure as Code part
Whereas instruments like Git are nonetheless vital, once more, the main focus has shifted in the direction of utilizing a CI/CD pipeline and GitOps to deploy community automation options, both towards actual {hardware} or leveraging a digital twin simulation device.
Professionals want to grasp:
- CI/CD processes.
- Cisco Modeling Labs.
- Community sources of fact (for pulling information into pipelines for variables, configuration, and so on.).
The main focus is on the answer somewhat than particular person elements.
Operations part
The emphasis is on tips on how 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 way of network-centric testing.
- Utilizing model-driven telemetry on varied platforms to enhance community observability.
Take note, 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 way of actionable abilities.
The change all of us knew was coming: AI
No fashionable engineer will have the ability to perform with out some understanding of AI, its impression on our trade, and tips on how to safely and successfully use its capabilities. Community automation engineers received’t be any exception to this, both. Nevertheless, we wished the examination matters to be crafted in such a approach that introduced tangible, priceless abilities and AI purposes to the take a look at, and I really feel like we hit the mark with these.
We wished the candidates to grasp 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 have the ability to determine when options will work and when they’re simply plain made up.
- This reinforces using AI as a device and assistant, somewhat than outsourcing all the pieces 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 fast 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 growth as a process merchandise.
We additionally wished to ensure that our engineers may assemble an AI agent that may 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 prospects and learners, and can turn into a part of the baseline data that any community automation engineer ought to know.
Does this transformation my DEVCOR research?
With such a serious rewrite of an examination, the reply to this query will all the time be “sure”. Whereas we all know that this might doubtlessly interrupt your research, hopefully, the extra context and reasoning why we made this transformation will assist you really feel extra assured and comfy with making that change. Additionally, keep in mind that you’ve got till February 2, 2026, to take and go the current DEVCOR examination, so for those who really feel that you just’re shut, proceed transferring on to get that go earlier than then.
For those who do have to alter your research, although, all isn’t misplaced. Lots 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 may deal with making use of these ideas in an entire automation resolution.
Upleveling your automation considering
You’ll additionally have the ability to 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 wish to neglect all the pieces you discovered about software growth and the related lifecycle, you received’t be required to recollect it on the brand new examination.
This can be a change, however this can be 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), with the intention 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’ll find me on LinkedIn or X (previously Twitter) if in case you have any questions concerning this or every other examination. Comfortable finding out!
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