SAN JOSE, Ca. – Cisco Systems has created a new expert-level certification for network designers. The Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) certification is based on the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification, but this new credential is based specifically on high-level network design expertise.

As with the CCIE certification, CCDE applicants will have to pass two exams — a two-hour written exam that will soon be available through Pearson VUE testing centers and an eight-hour practical exam that is still being developed (it will be available later in 2008).

In August 2007, Cisco launched an entry-level certification for network design, but Christine Yoshida, manager of Cisco learning and development at Cisco Systems, said there is an increasing need in the market for network designers with a high level of skill and expertise. Designed for network designers with at least seven years of experience in networking, the CCDE certification offers a way for highly-skilled designers to prove to customers and potential employers that they have a certain skill set, she said.

“Our design expert program … is at the other end of the skills spectrum, in that we would like to provide a way for employers to identify people with expert design skills,” Yoshida said.

Additionally, the CCDE completes the networking design certification track for individuals that design Cisco-based networks, she said. It offers them a complete career path in design.

Modeled after the CCIE exams, the CCDE exams will have a focus on network architecture and a network designer’s ability to interface with customers at the executive level and then incorporate business requirements into successful designs, said David Bump, certification portfolio manager at Cisco Systems.

“It crosses silos. It’s an infrastructure credential. … It’s at the Layer 3 level,” Bump said.

The experienced network designer has evolved into a more strategic role in the networking organization, and they need to provide value to their employers through their seasoned expertise, Bump explained. They have to be able to translate business requirements into networking designs, and that’s what the CCDE will test applicants on.

“Instead of using templates, they can actually create templates and customize these templates,” Bump said.

Since the CCDE is at the same level as the CCIE, it also qualifies as a re-certification agent for the CCI, Bump said. It will also help network designers stand out and differentiate themselves from those without the certification, he said.

“We suspect there’s a lot out there just waiting to be recognized. What we’re seeing is the CCIE just isn’t enough anymore and we have to recognize these individuals who look at the big picture of the network,” Bump said.

However, because of the knowledge necessary to successfully pass the exams, Bump said he expects it will be a high-value, low-volume credential. Very few people will actually become CCDE-certified.

“Our channel programs team, they recognize that this is a difficult exam, but they recognize that there are a lot of individuals in the channels organization. As part of their program, they’re looking at CCDE as equivalent to CCIE, but we expect roughly for every four CCIEs, you’re going to have one CCDE,” Bump said.

This story was written by Chris Talbot of ConnectIT

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