Automating and Programming Cisco Enterprise Solutions ENAUTO 300-435: Everything You Need to Know to Prepare and Pass the Exam

In this article, I am going to cover every bit of detail that you need to get started, to prepare and pass the Automating and Programming Cisco Enterprise Solutions or the ENAUTO 300-435 exam. Automating and Programming Cisco Enterprise Solutions Exam is a concentration exam that can be used to earn the Cisco CCNP Enterprise or DevNet Professional certifications. If you are already up to speed on what this exam is all about, you can go ahead and download my 99-hour ENAUTO learning plan by submitting the form shown below.

Introduction

The Automating and Programming Cisco Enterprise Solutions or the ENAUTO 300-435 exam is one of the many new exams that Cisco announced in June 2019 as part of their most sweeping career certification program update since inception (all the way back to 1993!). Not only did Cisco announce newer exams, they also revised rules for recertification as well as introduced the brand new Cisco DevNet certification. All exam and rule changes went into effect on February 24 2020.

The Automating and Programming Cisco Enterprise Solutions or ENAUTO 300-435 is one of the DevNet Professional concentration exams. For DevNet Professional, you need to pass Cisco DEVCOR 350-901 exam and one of the eight DevNet Professional concentration exams.

ENAUTO Exam Topics or Objectives

The Cisco ENAUTO 300-435 exam topics includes six sections. Based on my analysis of the official ENAUTO exam blueprint, 50% of the exam topics covered within the official ENAUTO exam blueprint contain theoretical topics and the other 50% of the topics necessitate some level of hands-on activity.

1. Network Programmability Foundation
2. Automate APIs and Protocols
3. Network Device Programmability
4. Cisco DNA Center
5. Cisco SD-WAN
6. Cisco Meraki

Let’s now cover each of the exam sections as defined in the official Cisco ENAUTO exam blueprint.

Network Programmability Foundation

This section includes topics such as the Git, API styles and types, Python 101 and configuration management tools such as Ansible. About 66% of the content in this section is about theory, whereas 33% requires hands-on.

Automate APIs and Protocols

This section comprises of topics such as the YANG model, NETCONF/RESTCONF protocols, etc. All of the content in this section requires hands-on.

Network Device Programmability

This section consists of network core related topics such as the Python library NetMiko, ncclient, model driven telemetry, telemetry models, and day zero provisioning methods such as iPXE, PnP, and ZTP. About 58% of the content in this section is about theory, whereas the other 42% requires hands-on.

Cisco DNA Center

This section comprises of topics such as the traditional versus software-defined networks, features and capabilities of Cisco DNA Center, webhooks, various DNA Center APIs, and troubleshooting DNA Center using the Intent APIs. About 66% of the content in this section is about theory, whereas 33% requires hands-on.

Cisco SD-WAN

This section is about topics such as the configuration and troubleshooting of the SD-WAN deployments using the APIs. About 84% of the content in this section is about theory, whereas 16% requires hands-on.

Cisco Meraki

This section is about topics such as features and capabilities of various Meraki APIs and using Python script for Meraki webhooks. About 25% of the content in this section is about theory, whereas 75% requires hands-on.

Cisco DevNet Professional Concentration Exams

To become Cisco DevNet Professional certified, you need to pass DEVCOR 350-901 as well as one of the following eight DevNet concentration exams. All concentration exams carry 300 series, i.e. ENAUTO exam is numbered as the 300-435.

1. ENAUTO
2. SPAUTO
3. DCAUTO
4. SAUTO
5. CLAUTO
6. DEVOPS
7. DEVWBX
8. DEVIOT

ENAUTO Exam and Job Task Analysis (JTA)

JTA is about the exam alignment with the actual role that you’re required to perform as a network automation engineer. So, what are the actual roles that are out there that you can work in network automation space today.

1. Network Automation Engineer
   1. Enterprise/SP focused
   2. DC focused
   3. Security focused
2. Network DevOps
3. Network Reliability Engineering (NRE)

Now, based on those three roles, we can easily see that the ENAUTO exam maps nicely to the Enterprise/SP focused network automation engineer expert role, but not so much with to the NetDevPs and NRE. It obviously only scratches the surface for each of those roles and mastery requires not just passing more of the concentration exams but actually coding, configuring and troubleshooting the infrastructure using the platform APIs.

ENAUTO and Concentration Exam Costs or Fees

Each attempt at ENAUTO exam costs $300, like it is for all 300 series exams.

Cisco DevNet Certification and Recertification Costs or Fees

Given that you need to pass ENAUTO and the DEVCOR 350-901 exam, DevNet Professional certification would cost you $700. For recertification, things get more interesting, since you’ve multiple options.

Cisco DevNet Associate

• Pass the DEVASC exam again ($300)
• Pass any one professional concentration exam ($300)
• Pass the DEVCOR exam ($400)
• Pass the Cisco DevNet lab exam (not available today)
• Use Cisco Learning Credits >=30

Cisco DevNet Professional

1. Pass the DEVCOR exam again ($400)
2. Pass any 2x professional concentration exams ($600)
3. Pass the Cisco DevNet lab exam (not available today)
4. Use Cisco Learning Credits >=80

It is worth noting that in the newer Cisco certification program format, all certification cycles last three years.

ENAUTO Exam Preparation

It is a tough exam, and your background matters a lot. So, if you are coming from a Cisco DevNet Associate, you will find the topics familiar but at a higher difficulty level. During my analysis, I found out that the amount of exam topics overlap with the Associate and DEVCOR exams is about 52% and 72% respectively. What does that mean for you? Well, it makes sense to complete your DevNet Professional certification by passing the exam in the following order.

1. DevNet Associate (DEVASC 200-901)
2. DevNet Core (DEVCOR 350-901)
3. DevNet Automating Enterprise solutions (ENAUTO 300-435)

ENAUTO 99-Hour Learning and Study Plan

Now, to help you get started, I have put together a comprehensive 99-hour learning plan that you can follow to guide your ENAUTO exam prep. Watch the video below where I cover the ENAUTO learning plan in detail.

ENAUTO Practice Test

Cisco Enterprise Sandboxes

Currently Cisco offers Cisco IOS XE, and BGP related learning labs. You can get started by checking out the Cisco’s Enterprise sandboxes.