Join Telegram Study Group ▷
We would be discussing the requirements for the CCIE Data Center Lab Exam, but before that, if you really wish to have this certification, and want to clear the CCIE DC Lab exam in one go, remember, you are going to need some help and a good training institute. For which I will vouch for SPOTO. Do check out their training courses.
So, basically, there is only one requirement for appearing in the CCIE Data Center Lab Exam, which would be to clear the CCIE Data Center Written Exam. There are also some time variations in clearing it. Let’s check it out below:
CCIE Data Center Lab Exam
CCIE Data Center Lab, which is a two-part eight-hour timed exam which is going to tests the candidate's skills in configuring, diagnosing and troubleshooting a complex data center topology. The candidate would be required to make an initial attempt of the CCIE Lab Exam within a time span of 18-months of clearing the CCIE written exam. Candidates who fail to do so would have to reattempt the lab exam within 12 months of their last scored attempt so as to keep their written exam to remain valid. The candidates are required to clear the lab exam within three years of clearing the written exam, otherwise, the written exam would be needed to be retaken prior to retaking the lab exam.
There are two parts to the eight-hour lab exam, which the candidates are needed to take in sequence during the day of the exam beginning with Part 1, and later followed by Part 2:
• Part 1: Diagnostic module
• Part 2: Configuration & Troubleshooting module
Diagnostic module:
Candidates are provided with various pieces of information which would be similar to information that would be provided to a Data Center support engineer that is assisting a customer to find out the root cause of an issue, and similar to the information that would be provided by someone who is being stuck troubleshooting an issue. No access to any kind of device is in this module.
The diagnostic module would be including multiple-choice, point-and-click style items, and drag-and-drop style items. The Diagnostic module would be containing a set of documents that the candidate is needed to consults in order to be able to identify and understand the root cause of the issue presented. Candidates are needed to analyze and correlate information so they could diagnose among the pre-defined options provided.
Configuration & Troubleshooting module
The Configuration and Troubleshooting module is going to tests hands-on practical capabilities of the candidates. It would be consisting of various scenarios which would be based on one topology. At the beginning of the module, the candidate would be given a full overview of the entire module; and would be allowed to make a choice of working on items in a sequence or not. During the exam, the candidates would be prohibited to go back and forth between modules during the exam.
Recommended Hardware and Software Equipment
The CCIE Data Center Lab Exam v2.1 environment is being updated. There are no updates to the lab exam when it comes to hardware, but changes are being made to the software releases which would be needed to accommodate some new technologies as well as features. Candidates who are preparing for the exam using hardware equipment would be now advised to use the following Cisco equipment as well as software releases:
·Cisco Data Center Network Manager Software 10.x
·Cisco UCS Software Release 3.x Fabric Interconnect
·Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller 3.x
·Cisco Integrated Management Controller 3.x
·Cisco UCS Director 6.x
·Cisco NX-OS v8.x on Nexus 7000 switches
·Cisco NX-OS v7.x on Nexus 5000 switches
·Cisco NX-OS v7.x on Nexus 9000 switches
The best way to gain this certification is by gaining a good and reliable source of study, for which my recommendation would be the study dumps offered by the SPOTO would be the best.
