Cisco Routing & Switching Certifications: What Replaced Them

Cisco no longer offers the old “Routing and Switching” certification ladder. CCENT, CCNA Routing and Switching, CCNP Routing and Switching, and CCIE Routing and Switching were all retired in 2020 as Cisco moved to the current role-based structure. The modern path is CCNA at associate level, CCNP Enterprise at professional level, and CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure for deep expert-level enterprise networking.

The old skills are not obsolete. Routing, switching, addressing, redundancy, troubleshooting, and network services remain core networking capabilities. What changed is how Cisco packages and assesses them.

CCENT and ICND1 are retired

Cisco retired the 100-105 ICND1 exam and the CCENT credential on February 23, 2020. The split CCNA path through ICND1 and ICND2 disappeared at the same time.

Today’s CCNA uses one broad exam path and combines networking foundations with security, wireless, automation, and programmability rather than creating a separate entry technician credential.

Many old articles still describe CCENT as an entry credential because they were correct when written. The rehabilitation task is not to erase that history; it is to stop presenting the old path as schedulable today.

Legacy certificates earned before retirement remain part of a professional’s history. New candidates, however, should not spend money on exam-specific material that promises an active CCENT outcome.

CCNA is the current associate networking foundation

CCNA remains the most relevant starting point for general Cisco networking. It covers network fundamentals, network access, IP connectivity, IP services, security fundamentals, and automation/programming awareness.

The certification is also in a version transition: v1.1 remains current through February 2, 2027, with v2.0 beginning February 3, 2027. Candidates should prepare for the version they will actually take.

The unified CCNA creates a broader first step than ICND1 alone. It expects candidates to understand switching and routing while also recognizing wireless, security, controller-based networking, APIs, and automation.

This breadth is useful because entry networking roles increasingly cross old technology boundaries. A junior engineer may troubleshoot a campus switch, a wireless client, an ACL, a cloud-connected path, and an automation workflow in the same week.

Hands-on study should include both configuration and verification. A candidate who can type a VLAN or static route but cannot prove which state changed has not built dependable networking skill.

Use emulation or lab hardware to practice faults. Interface shutdowns, wrong VLANs, missing routes, ACL mistakes, DHCP issues, and OSPF adjacency problems make the associate material operational.

CCNP Routing and Switching became CCNP Enterprise

Cisco retired the old ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT exams in 2020 and replaced the certification model with CCNP Enterprise.

The current structure uses ENCOR as the professional core plus a concentration. Advanced routing and troubleshooting now live primarily through ENARSI, while other concentrations cover design, SD-WAN, cloud connectivity, assurance, and related enterprise depth.

CCNP Enterprise also changed the exam strategy. Instead of passing separate ROUTE, SWITCH, and TSHOOT exams, professionals pass a broad core and then choose a concentration aligned to their responsibilities.

This gives more room for specialization. A routing-heavy engineer can choose ENARSI; another professional may focus on design, SD-WAN, cloud connectivity, network assurance, or automation.

ENCOR provides the professional enterprise foundation

350-401 ENCOR covers enterprise architecture, dual-stack infrastructure, virtualization, security, assurance, and automation. Current Cisco training is aligned to v1.2.

The core is broader than the old SWITCH exam because modern enterprise engineering includes controllers, software-defined networking, telemetry, APIs, and secure operations alongside traditional routing and switching.

Current ENCOR v1.2 study should use Cisco’s latest blueprint because the role continues to evolve. Wireless has moved to a dedicated track, while enterprise networking keeps stronger emphasis on wired architecture, assurance, security, virtualization, and automation.

Treat the core as an integrated system. Enterprise engineers should understand how routing, switching, policy, security, telemetry, and software-driven change interact during both normal operation and failure.

ENCOR candidates should expect broader architecture and assurance reasoning than the old ROUTE/SWITCH split encouraged. Modern enterprise networks include overlays, controllers, telemetry, APIs, and security policy in the same operating model.

Professional engineers should therefore read both control-plane and operational evidence: routes, topology, telemetry, logs, policy, device state, and automation outcomes.

ENARSI carries much of the advanced routing and troubleshooting depth

300-410 ENARSI is the strongest successor for professionals who valued the old ROUTE and TSHOOT depth. It covers advanced Layer 3, VPN services, infrastructure security, infrastructure services, and automation.

The current CCNA-to-CCNP Enterprise progression makes the modern sequence clearer: broad associate foundation, professional core, then concentration depth.

ENARSI is not identical to old ROUTE plus TSHOOT, but it preserves the professional need for advanced Layer 3 reasoning and troubleshooting. VPN services, infrastructure services, security, and automation make the role broader than the historical exams.

Build scenarios that fail in more than one layer. A route can be missing because of adjacency, policy, redistribution, filtering, or tunnel state; professional troubleshooting depends on evidence rather than command familiarity.

Wireless and automation now have clearer independent paths

Cisco’s certification portfolio has continued to specialize. Wireless now has dedicated professional and expert tracks, while Automation has its own associate and professional structure.

This means “routing and switching” is no longer the umbrella for every network skill. Enterprise engineers increasingly decide whether deeper routing, wireless, automation, security, cloud connectivity, or assurance best matches their role.

Cisco’s dedicated Wireless certifications give RF, roaming, design, implementation, assurance, and wireless operations more depth than the old enterprise umbrella could provide.

Automation similarly has a broader role across Cisco technologies. Engineers can develop programming, APIs, infrastructure-as-code, orchestration, and AI-infrastructure skills without treating them as a small appendix to routing and switching.

Specialization also changes career signaling. A dedicated Wireless or Automation path tells employers more clearly what depth the engineer intends to build than an old generic Routing and Switching label could.

At the same time, cross-domain knowledge remains valuable. Wireless engineers still need routing and switching; automation engineers still need to understand the network state their code changes.

CCIE Routing and Switching became CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure

The old CCIE Routing and Switching label retired with the 2020 redesign. Expert enterprise networking is now represented by CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure, which combines the enterprise core with a demanding hands-on lab.

Expert-level work expects architecture, implementation, troubleshooting, assurance, security, automation, and operational judgment across complex networks rather than mastery of only traditional router and switch configuration.

Expert study adds practical pressure. The ability to configure a protocol in isolation is insufficient; engineers need to design, operate, troubleshoot, and automate a complex enterprise network within a hands-on lab environment.

That makes work experience especially important. Expert-level preparation should build on change windows, outages, design reviews, automation, and failure recovery rather than trying to replace them with theory.

Expert candidates should also build automation and assurance habits early. A modern CCIE-level engineer is expected to use telemetry, APIs, controllers, and repeatable workflows alongside deep protocol knowledge.

This reinforces the main lesson of the certification redesign: enterprise networking is broader than manually configuring routers and switches, even when routing and switching remain foundational.

Old Routing and Switching material should be filtered for durable skills

Legacy courses can still teach subnetting, Ethernet, OSPF, BGP, route policy, STP, redundancy, and troubleshooting. These concepts remain useful when the implementation has not materially changed.

Retired exam codes, old certification ladders, obsolete wireless assumptions, and historical product interfaces should be clearly marked. Use current Cisco objectives as the source of truth for exam preparation.

Create a three-column migration list: keep, verify, retire. Keep stable concepts such as subnetting or OSPF fundamentals; verify version-sensitive features and syntax; retire old exam codes, certification requirements, and product-specific assumptions that no longer match current blueprints.

This lets experienced learners reuse valuable books and labs without accidentally preparing for a certification structure that disappeared years ago.

Historical certification books can still be excellent technical references when they explain protocol behavior deeply. The risk appears when exam-specific shortcuts, version assumptions, or retired product behavior are mistaken for current requirements.

Keep publication date and target exam code beside every reused resource. This makes it easier to separate timeless explanations from certification guidance that has expired.

Lab files deserve the same audit as books. Old Packet Tracer or emulator labs can teach routing and switching well, but replace device-specific assumptions that no longer match modern IOS XE or current exam scope.

Keep the learning objective, not the historical topology. Rebuild the scenario with current devices and add modern verification, security, and automation where it improves the lesson.

The modern Cisco path is role-based rather than technology-box based

A network engineer may still spend most of the day routing and switching, but the professional role now includes security, automation, observability, virtualization, cloud connectivity, and software-defined systems.

This is why the current certification structure looks broader. Cisco is validating the environment network engineers actually operate rather than preserving a title built around two device categories.

Role-based structure also makes career development clearer. The professional goal can be enterprise routing, design, assurance, automation, wireless, security, data center, service provider, or another domain rather than one generic ‘network engineer’ ladder.

Keep fundamentals broad enough to collaborate across those roles. Specialization should deepen responsibility without losing the packet-path, identity, security, and operational concepts that connect modern networks.

Start with CCNA if you need a broad foundation. Move into CCNP Enterprise when you are ready to own professional enterprise networks. Choose ENARSI, design, SD-WAN, cloud connectivity, assurance, or automation based on the problems you want to solve.

The old Routing and Switching certifications remain useful history, but current career planning should use the active Cisco portfolio and the responsibilities behind it.

Use job responsibilities to choose depth. A branch-routing engineer, campus designer, automation engineer, wireless specialist, and network-assurance engineer may all share CCNA-level fundamentals but require very different professional development.

That is the real benefit of the newer structure: the certification can follow the work rather than forcing every professional through the same ROUTE/SWITCH/TSHOOT sequence.

Create a current pathway map with CCNA as foundation, CCNP/CCIE role depth, and separate Wireless, Security, Automation, Data Center, and Service Provider tracks. This prevents old Routing and Switching labels from reappearing inside new study plans.

Review the map whenever Cisco publishes exam refreshes. The underlying networking knowledge may stay relevant while eligibility, concentration names, and exam objectives change.

Use current Cisco job-role language when updating a résumé. A legacy CCNP Routing and Switching can remain listed historically, while current study or work should be described through CCNP Enterprise, ENARSI, design, automation, wireless, or another active domain.

This avoids implying that a retired certification is still being renewed while still giving the old achievement appropriate professional value.

That role-based framing also makes transitions easier later: enterprise engineers can move toward cloud, security, wireless, automation, or architecture without discarding the networking foundation they already built.

That role-based framing also makes transitions easier later: enterprise engineers can move toward cloud, security, wireless, automation, or architecture without discarding the networking foundation they already built.