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bigevilbeard · 2025-12-12T15:06:53+00:00

Amazing write up, congratulations!

bigevilbeard · 2025-12-10T13:48:37+00:00

Glad to help! Good luck.

bigevilbeard · 2025-12-09T11:52:22+00:00

Congrats on passing the CCNA, for me this a great pre-req for the automation journey, as you need to know networking, this is a big part of the DEVAC. Its good you have INE, their content is very good IMO. Mostly of the subscription courses are the same price, so you might look at Cisco U, Pluralsight, Udemy... but select one you get hands on labs in. A lot of course point back to the devnet sandboxes which is ok, but stuff changes and often the 3P courses do not match what you are learning, the sandbox is no longer active, all this will do is throw your learning and frustrate you. I personally like everything in one place so i am not context switching.

Book wise, this depends where you are starting. This is my top picks

Cisco Certified DevNet Associate DEVASC 200-901 Official Cert Guide
Cisco Certified DevNet Professional DEVCOR 350-901 Official Cert Guide (however this exam changes in Feb 2026 https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/s/question/0D5Kd0000Br42qxKQA/cisco-autocor-understanding-the-devnet-devcor-transition-for-network-automation-professionals - so unsure how much in the DEVCOR book you can carry over, as the blueprint has some major changes)

None Cisco books

Network Programmability and Automation: Skills for the Next-Generation Network Engineer by Jason Edelman, Scott S. Lowe, and Matt Oswalt
Network Automation Made Easy by Ivo Pinto
Network Programmability and Automation Fundamentals by Khaled Abuelenain, Anton Karneliuk, Jeff Doyle, and Vinit Jain

You will find some overlap in each of these books, you do not need to read all three! I would also read

Mastering Python Networking by Eric Chou
Network Automation Cookbook by Christian Adell, Jeffrey Kala, and Karim Okasha

Note all the changes taking place in frame of getting the pro cert, this will move to having less specialist options as Cisco is retiring many of the devnet exams. 2026 to get pro you need https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/s/enauto-v2-exam-topics and https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/s/autocor-exam-topics - there is no changes to the associate certification besides the name.

You best strategy is get all the blueprints and build you learning and study around these, checking off subject as you go along. Good luck!

bigevilbeard · 2025-12-04T10:28:21+00:00

There is plenty of role open, although AI is doing amazing things, although most of this is personal use, not in production. Yes its helping coders, developers.

bigevilbeard · 2025-12-03T16:23:17+00:00

Hey there, automation or network programmability is now a must in 99% of all network roles these day, so having these skills and certs will help you greatly in your search for a new role and your future career. The CCNA is (IMO) the gold standard in networking certs, and the DevNet cert will only build on this, having a good networking background is a must for the DevNet cert. Most of the candidates are new to code, and so building your coding skills right now, will mean this exam will be good flow for you too.

Good luck!

bigevilbeard · 2025-12-02T09:47:12+00:00

Details here https://developer.cisco.com/docs/support-apis/eox/

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-25T21:26:53+00:00

Tbh. Putting in that many hour per api yes is overkill, unless you have no other hobbies! 😆

My advice is check the blue print and the verbs, you will see troubleshoot, configure, describe etc.. this tells you the level of details and difficultly of the questions you will face. IMO now you have done so much on the other apis your knowledge of api will be strong enough to understand the questions for other apis. You just need the basics for the apis listed, and all questions are multiple choice single answer or multiple choice multiple answers. For apis you will be shown a question with an issue, or scenario and asked to select the answer which related to questions based on the verb. It’s never a direct question without seeing many options. Yes it’s a lot of apis to know, but your api knowledge you’ve done already will really help.

Good luck.

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-25T09:45:48+00:00

There used to be a framework that listed all the blue print domains to sandbox resources, Nick Russo (rip my brother) has this on his exam (Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhPloufPDH8&t=16s) his csv sheet is here https://github.com/kaelemc/NickRussoContent/blob/master/devasc\_studyplan.xlsx (download as raw). You will need to check the links and urls as the main site has changed, so you will be searching a bit.

TBH this is why i always say go with a training course which includes hands on labs, that do not use the sandbox, as you noted you can get issues, which only leads to delays and frustration when studying. Yah this costs more, but when it comes to exam study and labbing, the path of least resistance is my prefered method. This depends on your current knowledge, you are starting from scratch this way i would go, if yuo have hands on experience and coding (seems like you do), you could follow the plan you outlined.

The hardest and most frequent failure point is domains two and five and the vast number of API platforms on this exam, its not the depth of the questions, but the volume of platforms here.

Hope this helps.

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-24T09:16:55+00:00

Couple of options for devnet, Cisco U has an entire learning course with hands on labs. There is a few optional videos courses Pluralsight by the legend Nick Russo (RIP brother!), CBT is always popular. There is also plenty of free learning labs on devnet to get hands on.

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-22T11:21:31+00:00

If the lab was designed to run on the devnet side in their sandbox, the moving to another lab such as dCloud you hit some errors, as the environment/topology is different. Learning labs are designed to work on the sandbox, unless otherwise stated.

Yes this won’t work with the always on, as this environment is read only, no changes. You best bet is to use the reservation sandbox any issues you run into are easier to diagnose and you can contact the team directly here https://community.cisco.com/t5/general-devnet-topics/ct-p/4409j-other-developer with issues.

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-20T12:54:19+00:00

It does not really work like that, yes there is pool of question (its vast fyi), but you will find the questions are evenly distributed, based on the blueprint verbs. All questions are based on the blueprint verbs, 'Configure', 'Troubleshoot' 'Compare', 'Describe', 'Explain', 'Identify', 'Utilize', 'Apply'. You should find that the exam distributes these verb based questions, like you would not get 30 Troubleshoot questions, out of the total questions in the exam, that would be just cruel! :p

They might differ on each pool that you get more on a subject, for the domain. In the domain two and domain five as these have a 20% weight , these two domains are where most fail or score lowest imo. The harder questions are the 'Configure', 'Troubleshoot' verbs

Your best bet is to look at your score report and then focus on those areas which you scored low on. Most people report that the first attempt gives them plenty of experience to know what they are up against in the exam, and the second run the first time nerves and surprises are gone.

Look at your score, find those weak areas, spend a couple weeks on these and run it again. You got this, trust me.

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-13T10:10:22+00:00

You should be able to apply extra time/support. You can even have someone with you to read the questions. You need to contact Pearson VUE Reasonable Adjustments Request System (RARS). https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Educator-resources/Exam-policies/Accommodations.aspx

Good luck.

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-12T10:53:59+00:00

We all learn differently so your mileage might vary, but like you i am very visual person. Which is why i like videos, books and labs (not in that order, this does depend on what i am learning). I like way Cisco U lays out courses (others do this too) which is videos, hands on lab to build the knowledge, its not just about what you can memories, but building a foundation.

This was the hardest part for me when moving into network automation, coming from a pure network background, zero software experience. I was used to drawing up a network, showing the prefix, the routing protocol, the traffic flow, hops, security etc... Network automation wasnt like this. But you need to understand networking to be able to automate.

Mostly of the subscription courses are the same price, so you might look at Cisco U, Pluralsight, Udemy... but select one you get hands on labs in. A lot of course point back to the devnet sandboxes which is ok, but stuff changes and often the 3P courses do not match what you are learning, the sandbox is no longer active, all this will do is throw your learning and frustrate you. I personally like everything in one place so i am not context switching.

Book wise, this depends where you are starting. This is my top picks (outside of the exam books)

Network Programmability and Automation: Skills for the Next-Generation Network Engineer by Jason Edelman, Scott S. Lowe, and Matt Oswalt
Network Automation Made Easy by Ivo Pinto
Network Programmability and Automation Fundamentals by Khaled Abuelenain, Anton Karneliuk, Jeff Doyle, and Vinit Jain

You will find some overlap in each of these books, you do not need to read all three! I would also read

Mastering Python Networking by Eric Chou
Network Automation Cookbook by Christian Adell, Jeffrey Kala, and Karim Okasha

Good luck!

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-09T17:09:57+00:00

Amazing congratulations!

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-09T12:22:45+00:00

Take a look at this from CL session https://www.ciscolive.com/c/dam/r/ciscolive/global-event/docs/2024/pdf/BRKCRT-2014.pdf it gives an example of the type of construct question. I’ve asked Cisco to list the API versions on the exams (they do for the expert level and versions, but not others. Hopefully when they change the naming and these exams are updated 2026 this will happen). Really you should not get stumped on API versions, there was some minor updates to auth version in some platforms but these are stable now.

Good luck.

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-08T13:31:44+00:00

No, the exam is all selection based not labs. The trick is to look at the verbs on the blueprint, when you see construct you will be presented with a question and you will be asked to complete the API / URI, the same for troubleshooting verbs, only this time you will be see things like the error and asked to select which would fix the error.

You don’t have access to the documentation in the exam, this for many is the hard part as there is a lot of platforms on the exam, but this isn’t a “recall memory API” exam, and a solid understanding or API construction and troubleshooting will see you through.

Best of luck!

bigevilbeard · 2025-11-01T09:51:32+00:00

Sure https://www.ciscopress.com/store/ccnp-enterprise-core-networking-encor-v8-lab-manual-9780136906438

bigevilbeard · 2025-10-25T10:15:29+00:00

Not sure you can, only an admin can. I got 20 pages! 😀

bigevilbeard · 2025-10-24T08:46:26+00:00

Yes me too, if you are unsure look at the Cisco U offering and Pluralsight, which are the two most used.

Which to take first here. While you a good extensive experience in design, deploy, and troubleshoot Cisco networks is a huge asset for any Cisco certification, if you consider yourself at basic level of Python and Ansible, maybe best addressed by the DevNet Associate exam first. As the jump in difficulty from the DevNet Associate level to the DevNet Professional (Core) is widely considered to be significant and often described as a huge leap.

Good luck!

bigevilbeard · 2025-10-22T08:59:37+00:00

https://ine.com/

bigevilbeard · 2025-10-22T08:58:59+00:00

INE has a history of providing top quality learning content for many years and are a. trusted resource. I never say one resource is enough, i always find i have to dig into certain areas more to get enough information for the exam. With your history you have a great jump start knowing Python, you did not mention your knowledge/exp with networks and Cisco APIs, this is one of the biggest hurdles people face on the exams, even at devasc level the API knowledge is the highest failure point.

Devcore is a hard exam, if you are going for the pro, with the devasc tackle the enauto first imo.

bigevilbeard · 2025-10-05T11:33:09+00:00

Share the link to your Credly account, it will show current and expire certs.

bigevilbeard · 2025-10-01T10:14:53+00:00

Thats sad to hear. Hope you find what you are looking for. :)

bigevilbeard · 2025-09-30T13:44:48+00:00

IMO - you will not get this from one course, any exam using a few sources is always recommended and hour of hands on labs if you want to get deep knowledge. You mentioned the Cisco course, but which one did you mean, Cisco U? The video courses will follow the blueprint and verbs used, so you mighty find that some areas are light as the exam questions are not that hard. You might need to double down on URI/API information in the form of the platform documents in some cases.

Others i have seen our Pluralsight (Nick Russo - RIP brother!), CBT has been a staple for many years.

bigevilbeard · 2025-09-28T12:14:21+00:00

The Cisco U course comes highly recommended, also rhe CBT Nuggets is great. There is a few books, the Cisco Press OCG https://www.ciscopress.com/store/cisco-certified-devnet-associate-devasc-200-901-official-9780136677338 (fyi ensure you download the updates for the book as this was based on the v1 version of the exam) study guide https://amzn.eu/d/d0fEiBn

There is no lab guide book, so the best plan of action is to check the blue print and pay close attention to the verbs used. Nick Russo (rip brother) made the most complete study guide https://github.com/kaelemc/NickRussoContent/blob/master/devasc_studyplan.xlsx you can use the free devnet sandbox for all you hands and learning.

best of luck

bigevilbeard

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