12/21/2000 -- Cisco announced earlier this month that it will be retiring three of its Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) tracks: WAN Switching, SNA-IP and ISP Dial.

According to the Cisco Web site, the written exams for these tracks will be retired on Jan. 31, 2001, and the corresponding lab exams will be retired on Aug. 31, 2001.

Cisco said on its Web site that its upcoming CCIE Service Provider (SP) track is the reason it's eliminating the WAN and ISP options: "Because WAN Switching and last-mile technologies such as ISP-Dial are central to SP solutions, the need for stand-alone certifications in [these topics] no longer serve the industry."

No reason was given for the retirement of SNA-IP. "Unofficial word is that the reason they are stopping [it] is because of lack of demand and expense in keeping the lab operational," one industry source speculated.

According to Cisco's Web site, WAN and ISP dial candidates who do not complete the Lab exam before the above dates will automatically qualify to sit for the SP lab when it becomes available sometime in 2001. The Web site does not state whether this option will be extended to SNA-IP candidates. CertCities has contacted the Cisco CCIE program regarding this; we will post any updates here when a response is received.

For more information, visit http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/625/ccie/certifications/wan.html. -B.N.