CCIE Enterprise Training Online.
Six months, $2,299. Covers the ENCOR 350-401 written qualifier and preparation for the 8-hour CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab, with the final month given entirely to full-length mock labs. Runs on real Catalyst, ISR 4451, ASR 1001-X and a live Viptela SD-WAN cluster. Cisco's fees are separate and larger than the training: $400 written, $1,600 per lab attempt.
What does CCIE Enterprise actually cost?
- 6-month live cohort
- 24×7 real-hardware rack access
- Viptela SD-WAN cluster time
- Final month of 8-hour mock labs
- ENCOR 350-401 written — $400
- CCIE lab exam — $1,600 per attempt
- Retakes at the same $1,600
Around $4,300 for a first pass — and you should budget for the possibility of a second lab attempt, because the CCIE lab has a low first-attempt pass rate industry-wide and most people who eventually pass sit it more than once. Anyone quoting a cheap all-in CCIE number is excluding Cisco's fees.
What is on the 8-hour lab exam?
No device access. You are given a scenario and asked to produce and defend design choices — topology, protocol selection, redundancy, migration approach. Candidates who have only ever configured, never designed, tend to lose the most points here.
Hands-on configuration and troubleshooting across the full blueprint. Time management decides outcomes as much as knowledge does — the exam is deliberately larger than eight hours of comfortable work.
The blueprint domains
- Network Infrastructure — Layer 2 and Layer 3 technologies, switching, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, multicast
- Software Defined Infrastructure — SD-Access fabric and SD-WAN architecture, deployment and policy
- Transport Technologies and Solutions — MPLS, VPN overlays, DMVPN, QoS and traffic engineering
- Infrastructure Security and Services — device hardening, control-plane protection, AAA, network services
- Infrastructure Automation and Programmability — APIs, model-driven programmability, Python, Ansible
Can I do CCIE without CCNA or CCNP?
Formally, yes. Cisco requires no prerequisite certifications. You pass ENCOR, you book the lab.
Practically, attempting the lab without CCNP-level fluency is close to setting fire to $1,600. The exam assumes you can configure multi-area OSPF, BGP path manipulation, MPLS L3VPN and SD-WAN overlays without reference material, under time pressure, while something is deliberately broken.
A concrete self-test: if you cannot currently troubleshoot a broken redistribution scenario in under twenty minutes, do CCNP Enterprise first. That is not a sales pitch — CCNP is a cheaper course.
The final month — 160+ hours of lab intensive
The last month is not new material. It is repetition under exam conditions, which is the part almost every failed CCIE attempt is missing.
Complex multi-site topologies, OSPF/EIGRP implementation, redistribution scenarios
Advanced BGP configurations, MPLS L3VPN, inter-AS options, troubleshooting
Cisco SD-WAN deployment, vManage configuration, Python automation scripts
Full 8-hour lab simulations, time management, exam strategies, final review
Mock labs run as full 8-hour blocks with a post-mortem after each. For US participants these are scheduled on weekends, since eight continuous hours does not fit a weeknight.
What hardware do the labs run on?
| Category | Equipment |
|---|---|
| Switching | Catalyst 9300 · Catalyst 9500 · Catalyst 3850 |
| Routing | ISR 4451 · ASR 1001-X · Cisco 8000-series |
| SD-WAN | Viptela vEdge · vManage · vSmart · vBond cluster |
| Security | ASA 5500-X · Firepower 4100 · Palo Alto PA-Series |
| Wireless | Cisco 9800 WLC · 9120 / 9130 access points |
| Automation | Python · Ansible · gNMI · NETCONF · RESTCONF |
The SD-WAN row matters more here than on any other Cisco track, because Software Defined Infrastructure is a full blueprint domain on the CCIE Enterprise lab. That is a real Viptela cluster — vManage, vSmart, vBond and vEdge. No Packet Tracer. No GNS3. No EVE-NG for graded work.
Who teaches it?
Networkers Home was founded in 2007 by Vikas Swami, who holds Dual CCIE #22239 — Routing & Switching in October 2008 and Security in January 2009, cleared within 90 days of each other — and worked on the Cisco TAC VPN team in 2004. The CCIE number is independently verifiable on Cisco's public database, which is worth checking for any provider making CCIE claims.
The CCIE-level faculty pool also includes CCIE Enterprise and CCIE Security holders who run the lab modules and sign off on mock-lab readiness before a candidate books the real exam.
What do CCIE-level roles pay in the US?
| Role | Experience | US range |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Network Engineer (CCIE-track) | 5–8 yrs | $130,000–170,000 |
| Network Architect | 7–10 yrs | $160,000–210,000 |
| CCIE-certified Consulting Engineer | 8+ yrs | $175,000–230,000 |
| Principal / Distinguished Engineer | 10+ yrs | $200,000–280,000 |
How to read this table: US labour-market reference ranges from public US job postings — not Networkers Home placement outcomes. This is a certification course, not a placement programme, and the institute does not run a US hiring pipeline.
How do US students attend?
Recorded and posted within ~30 minutes.
Identical syllabus and rack access.
Final-month mock labs are full 8-hour weekend blocks. Rack access is 24×7 throughout at roughly 180–240 ms US latency.
When this is the wrong course for you
- You do not have CCNP-level fluency yet. Do CCNP Enterprise first — it costs less and CCIE assumes everything in it.
- You cannot commit sustained lab hours over months. CCIE rewards accumulated hours on real gear more than any other certification.
- You want the letters without the lab. There is no version of CCIE that works that way.
- You need US placement support. This is a certification course.
What does CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure cost in total, including Cisco’s fees?
Tuition and Cisco’s exam fees are two separate bills. You pay us for instruction and lab time; you pay Cisco directly for the exams. Anyone quoting you a single all-in number is leaving something out.
| Item | Cost (USD) | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying exam (350-401 ENCOR) | $400 | Cisco / Pearson VUE |
| CCIE EI lab (8 hours) | $1,600 | Cisco |
| Cisco total, first attempt | $2,000 | Cisco |
| Lab retake, per attempt | $1,600 | Cisco |
| This program (tuition) | $2,299 | Networkers Home |
One thing worth knowing before you budget: 350-401 ENCOR is the same exam that earns CCNP Enterprise credit. Passing it once counts toward CCNP and simultaneously unlocks your CCIE lab booking, which makes it the highest-value single exam in the Cisco ladder.
Where do you actually sit the CCIE lab if you’re in the US?
This is the question most training pages skip, so here it is plainly. The lab is a single 8-hour practical exam delivered at Cisco testing facilities and at mobile lab locations. Research Triangle Park, NC and San Jose, CA operate as mobile lab sites rather than permanently staffed daily facilities, so US candidates book into scheduled windows rather than picking any date. Availability changes — check the current schedule on Cisco’s Learning Network when you are ready to book.
That has a practical consequence worth planning around: popular tracks book out well ahead, and the date you can sit is often months after the date you feel ready. Treat the booking as a target to train toward, not a reward for finishing preparation.
Our instruction is delivered from Bangalore, which is also one of Cisco’s permanent lab locations. You will still sit your lab in the US — but it means our trainers work alongside that facility and know the current lab environment first-hand rather than from documentation.
CCIE Enterprise training online — frequently asked
How much does CCIE Enterprise cost in total?
Training here is $2,299 for the six-month program. Cisco's fees are separate and are the larger number: the ENCOR 350-401 written qualifier is $400, and the 8-hour lab exam is $1,600 per attempt, paid directly to Cisco. A realistic first-pass budget is therefore around $4,300. Plan for the possibility of a second lab attempt — the lab has a low first-attempt pass rate industry-wide and most successful candidates sit it more than once. Anyone quoting you a cheap all-in CCIE number is either excluding Cisco's fees or has not read them.
Can I do CCIE without CCNA or CCNP?
Formally yes — Cisco has no prerequisite certifications for CCIE. You pass the ENCOR 350-401 written qualifier, then book the lab. Practically, attempting CCIE Enterprise without CCNP-level fluency is close to setting fire to $1,600. The lab assumes you can configure multi-area OSPF, BGP path manipulation, MPLS L3VPN and SD-WAN overlays without reference material and under time pressure. If you cannot currently troubleshoot a broken redistribution scenario in under twenty minutes, do CCNP Enterprise first.
What is actually on the CCIE Enterprise lab exam?
Eight hours, split into two modules. Module 1 is Design, three hours, with no device access — you are given a scenario and asked to produce and justify design decisions. Module 2 is Deploy, Operate and Optimize, five hours of hands-on configuration and troubleshooting. The blueprint spans Network Infrastructure, Software Defined Infrastructure, Transport Technologies and Solutions, Infrastructure Security and Services, and Infrastructure Automation and Programmability. The Design module is where people who have only ever configured — never architected — reliably lose points.
How long does CCIE Enterprise take?
Six months of structured instruction here, with the final month given entirely to full-length 8-hour mock labs. From there, most candidates take another two to four months of independent lab repetition before booking the real exam. Realistically that is eight to ten months from starting to sitting the lab, on top of already having CCNP-level knowledge. Anyone telling you CCIE is a three-month project has not sat it. The number that actually predicts success is total hours on real equipment, not weeks elapsed.
What hardware do the labs run on?
Real Cisco equipment racked in Bangalore, reachable 24×7 over VPN. Switching on Catalyst 9300, 9500 and 3850. Routing on ISR 4451, ASR 1001-X and Cisco 8000-series. SD-WAN on an actual Viptela cluster — vManage, vSmart, vBond and vEdge — which matters because Software Defined Infrastructure is a full blueprint domain and most providers teach it from slides. Wireless on the Cisco 9800 WLC with 9120 and 9130 access points. No Packet Tracer, no GNS3, no EVE-NG for graded work.
What time do the live classes run for US students?
US-East weeknights run Tuesday and Thursday, 7:00–9:30 PM ET. US-West weekends run Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM PT. Sessions are recorded and posted within about 30 minutes. Rack access is 24×7 via vpn.networkershome.com at roughly 180–240 ms US latency, which is imperceptible for CLI work. The 8-hour mock labs in the final month are scheduled as full-day blocks — usually weekends for US participants, since an 8-hour continuous session does not fit a weeknight.