The landscape of networking is dynamic and ever changing - and the need to stay ahead of the digital curve is more important than ever. In recognition of this need, Cisco has recently introduced the Designing and Implementing Enterprise Network Assurance (ENNA) v1.0 specialist certification. The certification targets professionals in multiple technical roles, as well as support and help-desk personnel who manage complex systems and network infrastructure. You can read up on the formal announcement here.
An exciting part of this new certification for us is the inclusion of ThousandEyes, and we were able to get some time with our very own Abdiel Hernandez Fentanes - a Customer Delivery Engineering Technical Leader within ThousandEyes who helped with the creation of ENNA - to share a bit about the project, and why he’s excited to see this continue to expand.
The Designing and Implementing Enterprise Network Assurance (ENNA) v1.0 specialist certification is the latest from Cisco. Can you tell us about it?
This certification is tailored for technical roles working in NOCs, SOCs, Site Reliability, network, or cloud monitoring engineers as well as other support and helpdesk-type roles that work managing systems and network infrastructure. The certification aims to validate expertise in understanding, deploying, and diagnosing network issues using monitoring solutions critical for today's complex environments.
Why did Cisco decide to come out with a specialist certification focused on Network Assurance?
There is an increased demand for evolving Digital Experience Monitoring as the internet’s complexity grows. Monitoring cloud infrastructure and networks beyond the enterprise network present distinct challenges that go beyond traditional monitoring methods.
Network Assurance is one of the key technology initiatives that ThousandEyes focuses on. How much does this certification focus on the ThousandEyes Network Assurance strategy?
While the certification tests on network assurance for enterprise networks, ThousandEyes is a core competency and knowing it will be crucial to passing the exam. Candidates should be able to determine the right monitoring strategy to deploy for a given network architecture, be able to recognize the right monitoring technique, exhibit experience in configuring integrations for alerts, API, OTEL, etc.
Cisco is introducing an ENNA Learning path in Cisco U. Can you tell us what the customer should expect with the ENNA Learning Path offer?
The training will include an introduction into each network assurance offer that Cisco has available (ThousandEyes, Cisco Catalyst Center, AppDynamics and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN). Also, the key aspects of the ThousandEyes platform that are evaluated in the exam: enterprise agents, endpoint agents, the different types of tests (network, web, DNS, voice and BGP tests), Internet Insights and alert and dashboard configurations. There will also be a Meraki Insights track covering an overview, configuration, and analysis module.
Can you offer your top study tips for those who want to prepare to take the ENNA exam?
- Carefully analyze the blueprint.
- Make sure you understand the required level of knowledge for each item. This will help you prepare accordingly for each domain.
- Complement your studies with product documentation or standards where it may apply.
- Create a list of resources for yourself. Things like online courses, practice exams and articles.
- Sign up for trials to get hands-on experience with network assurance platforms! This will help you generate an understanding of how to use, configure and analyze outputs.
The exam for the new ENNA specialist certification is scheduled to launch at the end of May 2024. ENNA Cisco U., and instructor-led training are currently planned for availability late April 2024.
If you’re interested in learning about the ENNA exam, download the exam topic blueprint here. To stay ahead of all things ENNA, sign up for updates here.
