Expect to spend a long time in the lab.
One candidate who passed in 2026 describes more than two years of daily lab study, labs, RFCs and repetition, and another reply in the thread says SD-Access questions in the Design module were hard.
Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Enterprise Infrastructure (CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure) Exam Guide
Validates hands-on expertise in designing, deploying and optimizing enterprise networks, including routing, SD-WAN, security, services and automation.
The ENCOR exam checks broad enterprise knowledge. The lab tests whether you can turn business requirements into a design, then build, fix and tune a large dual-stack network in a fixed time. Preparation is mostly hands-on, with repeated full-scale lab practice under time pressure.
Understand the exam
Syllabus
The domains are lab topics, and the last section is the separate ENCOR qualifying exam.
1.0Network infrastructure30%
- 1.1Switched campus
- 1.2Routing concepts
- 1.3EIGRP
- 1.4OSPF (v2 and v3)
- 1.5BGP
- 1.6Multicast
Example scenario: After redistributing OSPF into EIGRP at two border routers, some prefixes start looping. How would you find the cause and stop it without losing reachability?
2.0Software-defined infrastructure25%
- 2.1Cisco SD-Access
- 2.2Cisco SD-WAN
Example scenario: Guest and employee users must share an SD-Access fabric without seeing each other, while printers stay reachable for employees only. Which segmentation would you design?
3.0Transport technologies and solutions15%
- 3.1Static point-to-point GRE tunnels
- 3.2MPLS
- 3.3DMVPN
Example scenario: Spoke-to-spoke traffic in a DMVPN Phase 3 network always goes through the hub. Which NHRP settings would you check?
4.0Infrastructure security and services15%
- 4.1Device security on Cisco IOS XE
- 4.2Network security
- 4.3System management
- 4.4Quality of Service
- 4.5Network services
- 4.6Network optimization
- 4.7Network operations
Example scenario: Voice quality drops on a congested WAN link only when large backups run. How would you classify, mark and queue traffic end to end?
5.0Infrastructure automation and programmability15%
- 5.1Data encoding formats
- 5.2Automation and scripting
- 5.3Programmability
Example scenario: You need to collect interface errors from 40 routers every hour and alert when they rise. Which on-box or API-based approach would you use?
ENCOR qualifying exam
- Scope: Architecture, virtualization, infrastructure, network assurance, security, and automation and AI, as on the CCNP Enterprise core exam.
- Version: ENCOR v1.2, in effect since March 19, 2026, with no wireless section.
Official CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure v1.1 lab exam topics · Lab exam v1.1
Format
- Duration
- ENCOR 2h, lab 8h
- Delivery
- Test centre
- Languages
- English, Japanese
Question types
In the 3-hour Design module you read a customer scenario (emails, diagrams, requirements) and answer multiple-choice, drag-and-drop and dropdown items without device access.
CertUp example
A customer needs two data centres to share the same VLANs while keeping a failure in one site from spreading. Which approach fits the stated requirements?
Show answer
B. An overlay extends the VLANs while keeping each site's control plane and failure domain separate.
In the 5-hour Deploy, Operate and Optimize module you configure, troubleshoot and optimise a live network, with some web-based items alongside.
CertUp example
Branch users cannot reach the data centre after a change. Restore reachability so that branch traffic prefers the MPLS link and uses the internet VPN only as backup.
Show answer
Check the routing table on the branch edge, fix the missing or filtered route, then set a higher local preference (or a lower metric) for the MPLS path and verify failover by shutting the MPLS interface.
Make a study plan
Pass ENCOR first, then work through the lab topics with hands-on practice and finish with full 8-hour mock labs.
Most candidates spend 600–1500 hours. Plan for the low end if you already run SD-Access, SD-WAN and MPLS in production; plan for the high end if those are new to you or you do not have lab access.
- 1Understand the examRead the objectives and exam rules, check you’re eligible and pick a target date.50 h
- 3Learn the core conceptsWork through one main course alongside your own lab, topic by topic.450 h
- 4Practice with mock examsPractise every objective in a lab until you can do it quickly without notes.450 h
- 5Prepare for exam dayBook the exam and check the ID, equipment and environment rules.50 h
This budget covers the lab after you pass ENCOR. Add ENCOR study time if you have not passed it yet.
Learn the core concepts
Use the lab topics as your checklist, one structured course and as much rack or virtual lab time as you can get.
Best complete courseCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure
Best live bootcampCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure v1.1 bootcamp
Best workbookCCIE Enterprise Infrastructure Foundation, 2nd editionVerify end to end. After every lab, test reachability and policy from the end hosts, not just the device you configured.
Practice with mock exams
Rent Cisco's practice racks to drill specific topics, then use a full graded lab to check readiness before you book.
See all 3 CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure practice tests →Are you ready?
- You can build and troubleshoot every lab domain without notes.
- You can turn a written business requirement into a design choice and defend it.
- You finish full 8-hour mock labs on time with time left to verify.
Prepare for exam day
Pass ENCOR, wait about 10 days for the result to reach Cisco, then book the lab in the CCIE scheduling portal with your written exam registration ID, date and score.
Before travelling to a Cisco lab location
Before a mobile lab session
- Bring two forms of ID with your signature, one of them a government-issued photo ID.
- If you need a visa, apply 10 to 12 weeks before the exam.
- Book travel so you arrive rested; the lab runs all day.
- Check whether your session uses Cisco equipment or bring your own device.
- For bring your own device, prepare and test your laptop as Cisco instructs.
- Bring the same identification as for a permanent testing facility.
- Rescheduling is not allowed within three calendar days of the lab and costs $500 otherwise; cancellations forfeit the fee.
- If you fail, wait 30 calendar days before booking again.
- A re-read of a failed lab costs $1,000 and must be requested within 14 days.
Advice from exam takers
The graded lab helps most with format.
One candidate found the graded lab useful for learning the question style and judging readiness, although their Deploy module failed to grade and Cisco gave a free retake. Another reply says it did not work for them.
Pick lab-heavy training.
Replies to resource questions recommend INE's content, Micronics Training for lab volume, Narbik Kocharians' workbook and kbits for SD-WAN and SD-Access practice, and warn against Udemy for expert-level study.