You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
CISCOCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
The CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification validates expert-level skills in designing, deploying, operating, and optimizing complex enterprise network infrastructures. It covers network infrastructure, software-defined networking, transport technologies, security, and automation. Earning this credential positions you as a technical leader capable of maximizing the potential of enterprise network solutions.
Exam formatMultiple-choice written qualifier (350-401 ENCOR) + 8-hour hands-on lab exam
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions707
Content last reviewed 1 January 2025 · Up to date
The certification
What CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
5domains
21objectives
186concepts
US $1,600 (lab exam) + US $400 (written qualifier)exam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
Includes a hands-on lab exam
Beyond the written/multiple-choice exam, this certification also requires a separate hands-on lab (or practical) exam on live equipment. Practice here prepares the written qualifying exam — the lab itself needs real hands-on experience, not just study.
About this certification
The CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification is Cisco's expert-level credential for network professionals who architect, deploy, and optimize complex enterprise network solutions. It validates deep technical knowledge across network infrastructure, software-defined networking, transport technologies, security, and automation, preparing you to lead in the design and operation of modern enterprise networks.
To earn this certification, you must pass two exams: a written core exam (350-401 ENCOR) and a hands-on lab exam (CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure Lab Exam v1.1). The core exam also earns you the Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core certification. The lab exam tests your ability to plan, design, operate, and optimize dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) solutions for complex enterprise networks, ensuring you have the practical skills to excel in real-world environments.
Who it’s for
This certification is for senior network engineers, network architects, and technical leaders who design, deploy, operate, and optimize complex enterprise network infrastructures. It is ideal for professionals aiming for senior-level or leadership positions in enterprise networking. Candidates typically have five to seven years of experience with enterprise networking technologies and solutions, and are looking to validate their expert-level skills and advance their careers.
Recommended experience
Cisco recommends five to seven years of experience designing, deploying, operating, and optimizing enterprise networking technologies and solutions before taking the exam. Designing and deploying complex enterprise network infrastructures; Operating and optimizing enterprise networks with a focus on performance and reliability; Implementing software-defined networking solutions, including SD-WAN and SD-Access; Integrating security and services into enterprise network solutions; Automating network tasks to improve efficiency and reduce operational overhead
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective Cisco measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official Cisco exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
Network Infrastructure
- Switched campus
- Routing Concepts
- EIGRP
- OSPF (v2 and v3)
- BGP
- Multicast
Software-Defined Infrastructure
- Cisco SD-Access
- Cisco SD-WAN
Transport Technologies and Solutions
- Static point-to-point GRE tunnels
- MPLS
- DMVPN
Infrastructure Security and Services
- Device security on Cisco IOS XE
- Network security
- System management
- Quality of Service
- Network services
- Network optimization
- Network operations
Infrastructure Automation and Programmability
- Data encoding formats
- Automation and scripting
- Programmability
On the day
The exam itself
Everything Cisco publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
Exam formatMultiple-choice written qualifier (350-401 ENCOR) + 8-hour hands-on lab exam
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish, Japanese
PricingUS $1,600 (lab exam) + US $400 (written qualifier)
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path Cisco lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
Credential earnedCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure Certification Renewal and maintenance
Your CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification is valid for three years. You can renew with Continuing Education credits or retake exams before they expire. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. Cisco maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by Cisco
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, Cisco’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official Cisco certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How do I prepare for the ENCOR written qualifying exam?
The written qualifying exam for this CCIE is 350-401 ENCOR, the same exam as CCNP Enterprise (350-401 ENCOR). Practice the full ENCOR question bank on its Examers page to prepare the written portion. The 8-hour hands-on lab exam is a separate, live-equipment exam that cannot be prepared with practice questions alone — it requires real lab experience.
What is the difference between the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure and CCIE Enterprise Wireless certifications?
CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure focuses on enterprise network infrastructure, including routing, switching, SD-WAN, and SD-Access. CCIE Enterprise Wireless focuses specifically on wireless networking solutions. Both are expert-level certifications within the Enterprise track.
Do I need to earn a lower-level Cisco certification before pursuing CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure?
No. Cisco states there are no formal prerequisites for this certification. However, candidates are recommended to have five to seven years of experience with enterprise networking technologies.
Is the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab exam hands-on?
Yes. The lab exam is a hands-on exam that tests your ability to plan, design, operate, and optimize dual-stack solutions (IPv4 and IPv6) for complex enterprise networks.
What happens if I pass the 350-401 ENCOR core exam?
Passing the 350-401 ENCOR core exam automatically earns you the Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Core certification. This is a separate credential from the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure.
Can I use Cisco Learning Credits to pay for the exams?
Yes. Both the 350-401 ENCOR core exam and the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure Lab Exam can be paid for using Cisco Learning Credits.
What job roles does the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification map to?
Potential roles include Network Architect, Business Services Architect, and Systems Engineer. These roles focus on designing, implementing, and optimizing enterprise network solutions.
How can I recertify my CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification?
Your certification is valid for three years. You can renew it by earning Continuing Education credits or by retaking the required exams before the certification expires.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2025-01-01 Up to date
Practice free questions 707 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept Cisco measures — each one written out.
5domains
21objectives
186concepts
150free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official Cisco exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
1Network Infrastructure201 questions
2Software-Defined Infrastructure76 questions
3Transport Technologies and Solutions93 questions
4Infrastructure Security and Services261 questions
Device security on Cisco IOS XE10 concepts · 12 pagesOpen →Network security3 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →System management8 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Quality of Service10 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Network services13 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Network optimization7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Network operations7 concepts · 11 pagesOpen →
5Infrastructure Automation and Programmability76 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Switched campus7 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
33 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
707 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
707questions
150pages
21objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Network Infrastructure201 questions
2Software-Defined Infrastructure76 questions
3Transport Technologies and Solutions93 questions
4Infrastructure Security and Services261 questions
5Infrastructure Automation and Programmability76 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
186concepts
707free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from Cisco
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
6official links
186concepts mapped
The source
Cisco’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Official certification page The exam, its objectives and its scoringCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure exams and training page issuerCisco certifications overview page issuerCisco enterprise certifications page issuerCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure community page issuerCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure resources page issuer
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official Cisco outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 21 objectives, 186 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When Cisco changes the outline, this page changes with it.
21objectives on the outline→186concepts written→707free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.