August marks two anniversaries: three-years of the CCIE Flyer and seventeen years since I passed the CCIE exam. In the past three years, the CCIE Flyer has undergone significant growth and changes. The contributors are well-known people throughout the ranks of the CCIE community. Eman has been able to get people to write about a wide variety of topics, in addition to his topics on recruiting and finding jobs for CCIEs. Eman even went to bat for a few CCIEs who were getting hired, then had their jobs suspended by resellers who just wanted the CCIE numbers for their partner status, but didn't want to pay the people that they had just hired. It's good to see those changes.

From my point of view, the CCIE program is improving. The new certifications are beneficial to those who have moved on from daily hands-on work to network design and architecture. The CCIE Emeritus program allows people to remain associated with the program, even though they don't have the time or job position to allow them to recertify.

The core CCIE program continues. It has stabilized with regard to the quality versus quantity tradeoff that has occasionally been a problem. The logo changed this year, reflecting an interest from people who focused on non-router certifications.

At CiscoLive, Cisco graciously allowed CCIEs to bring a guest to the CCIE party, showing that they recognize that the success of the CCIEs is often due to sacrifice on the home front. It is due to the flexibility of their families that many candidates are able to spend the necessary study time to pass the tests. It is an inexpensive way to say "thank you" to a spouse who is accompanying a CCIE to CiscoLive.

I expect to see the program evolve. When will new technology, like the Nexus gear, be added to the test? What will the Cisco Architect program really look like when we start to see people attempt to pass it? What new certifications are in the future? Yes, we live in interesting times.

-Terry

Terry Slattery, CCIE #1026, is a senior network engineer with decades of experience in the internetworking industry. Prior to joining Chesapeake NetCraftsmen as a full time consultant, Terry was the founder and CTO of Netcordia, and inventor of NetMRI, a suite of network management products. Terry started Netcordia as a consulting company in 2000 and transitioned to a network management product company in 2003.

During the consulting days, he used his network design and implementation skills to lead a team in the design and implementation of a high availability network at a brokerage clearing house. Terry is the former President and founder of Chesapeake Computer Consultants, Inc., a networking and computer systems training and consulting company.

He co-invented and patented the vLab(tm) internet-based remote lab system. He is co-author of the McGraw Hill text Advanced IP Routing in Cisco Networks. Terry led the team that developed the current Cisco IOS user interface under contract to Cisco Systems. Terry is experienced in the design and installation of large TCP/IP based networks and is a successful network protocol instructor. He is the second Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) #1026 and the first outside of Cisco. He enjoys membership on the Vanderbilt University Engineering School’s Industrial Advisory Board and the IEEE.