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We study from an early age that change is the one fixed in life. Sometimes we view change as one thing to be anxious about, one thing we should shift and regulate for, and that the unknown may deliver us…nicely, something. On the flip aspect, some change is sweet, 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. Especially when you’ve somebody so as to add context that explains how a selected change advantages you.
It is my hope that this weblog collection will allow you 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 May 2025, we’re renaming Cisco DevNet Certifications to Cisco Automation Certifications. On February 3, 2026, every certification stage (Associate, Professional, and Expert) will transition to the CCNA/CCNP/CCIE taxonomy that’s so acquainted to our studying neighborhood, companions, and employers. Read the announcement.
As of February 3, 2026, the Cisco Certified DevNet Associate and the Cisco Certified DevNet Expert will turn out to be often called the CCNA Automation and CCIE Automation certifications, respectively. Same take a look at, new names. It’s that straightforward.
However, after a lot thought and consideration, it was determined that the Cisco Certified DevNet Professional certification wanted greater than a reputation change. It wanted to align with as we speak’s job market.
CCNP Automation: Reimagining the DevNet Professional Certification
We wanted to align the CCNP Automation certification to check the abilities and necessities being seen available in the market as we speak from our prospects who’re using community automation engineers. Much work was put into job position and job evaluation, in addition to figuring out the {qualifications} of a professional candidate.
After all that work was carried out, it was time to lock a bunch of material consultants from varied backgrounds and focus areas in a room to work out the examination matters listing, 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 yearly. We change solely as much as 10% of the examination matters, and generally not even that a lot. But 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 Professional-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 “network automation developers” 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 ensure these functions have been safe, accessible, resilient, and scalable.
What automation expertise do as we speak’s engineers want?
These expertise are nice to have in your base of data, however the market wanted one thing totally 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
- Comfortable navigating the brand new world of AI
We wanted to check a skillset that wasn’t “application developer who understands a bit of networking,” however “network engineer with experience in network-specific automation frameworks to implement an end-to-end solution.”
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 at the moment are obtainable!
Download examination matters
So, what did we alter within the AUTOCOR?
In-Scope Platforms
At the highest of the Exam Topics PDF, particular in-scope platforms are known as out.
- This reduces repetition within the examination matters.
- Focuses on the platforms it’s best to research for.
- Provides boundaries for the scope, so that you don’t want to check each single Cisco product.
Keep these platforms in thoughts as you progress via every of the domains.
Domain Changes
- The examination moved from 5 domains of research to 4.
- This will increase the examination weight on the primary two domains: Network Automation and Infrastructure as Code.
- These sections shall be acquainted to community automation professionals, however with a modified focus.
- Rather than testing on single-platform APIs, every job within the Network Automation part is targeted on a resolution that includes an automation device, comparable to Ansible, Terraform, or Python.
In some cases, not all platforms could 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 the direction of a correct resolution and toolset, so you have to know and perceive limitations and capabilities in addition to the right way to accomplish a objective utilizing automation.
Infrastructure as Code part
While 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 device.
Professionals want to know:
- CI/CD processes.
- Cisco Modeling Labs.
- Network sources of reality (for pulling information into pipelines for variables, configuration, and many others.).
The focus is on the answer slightly than particular person elements.
Operations part
The emphasis is on the right way to preserve an automation resolution practical previous preliminary testing and deployment. To do that, key areas embody:
- Security and secret administration (passwords, API keys).
- Ensuring deployed automation options stay practical via network-centric testing.
- Using model-driven telemetry on varied platforms to enhance community observability.
Keep in thoughts, although, that the safety/secret administration (like passwords and API keys), certificates administration, and logging solely pertain to the community gadgets or the automation resolution being examined on, not on your complete utility stack (which is one thing an utility developer would care about).
We’re trimming the matters to dwelling in on that community automation engineer persona and testing it via actionable expertise.
The change all of us knew was coming: AI
No fashionable engineer will be capable to perform with out some understanding of AI, its impression on our business, and the right way to safely and successfully use its capabilities. Network automation engineers received’t be any exception to this, both. However, we needed the examination matters to be crafted in such a means that introduced tangible, useful expertise and AI functions 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 that AI may trigger hurt to a company, together with IP theft, information sovereignty, and simply “code that doesn’t work.”
- Likewise, community automation engineers ought to be capable to determine when options will work and when they’re simply plain made up.
- This reinforces the usage of AI as a device and assistant, slightly than outsourcing every part 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 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 enable them to naturally discuss to an LLM and carry out some kind of community automation, presumably even utilizing a number of MCP servers.
While we perceive the world of AI is quickly evolving, we felt that the abilities examined by these examination matters shall be wanted and utilized by our prospects and learners, and can turn out to be a part of the baseline information 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 all the time be “yes”. While we all know that this might doubtlessly interrupt your research, hopefully, the extra context and reasoning why we made this modification will allow you to really feel extra assured and cozy with making that change. Also, keep in mind that you’ve till February 2, 2026, to take and move the present DEVCOR examination, so should you really feel that you simply’re shut, proceed transferring on to get that move earlier than then.
If you do have to alter your research, although, all is just not misplaced. Many 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 possibly can give attention to making use of these ideas in an entire automation resolution.
Upleveling your automation pondering
You’ll additionally be capable to uplevel your automation pondering and conversations, not simply understanding the how, however the why, which is able to profit you in your skilled profession. Finally, whilst you don’t need to overlook every part you realized about utility improvement and the related lifecycle, you received’t be required to recollect it on the brand new examination.
This 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), so that you could really feel snug with these modifications as nicely.
Finally, I promise that I’ll change one thing concerning the following components of this collection: I promise to not use the phrase “change” almost as a lot as I did right here. 😉
As all the time, you will discover me on LinkedIn or X (previously Twitter) in case you have any questions concerning this or another examination. Happy finding out!
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