Just a comment on Cisco's (current/recent?) performance licensing . . .
Wow! I just looked into Catalyst 8300 performance licensing, and from its complexity, I can only guess Cisco will soon be offering a new certification track, in Cisco licensing, where the expert level will not only require understanding all the licensing variables, but have a lab requirement where you have a limited amount of time to create a Cisco purchase order for equipment needing specific performance requirements (by licensing).