ENARSI 300-410 v1.1 is a 90-minute concentration exam for CCNP Enterprise. Use its four-domain outline to plan troubleshooting practice, review the listed question formats and check where ENARSI fits your certification path. The worked example below separates choosing a route for installation from forwarding a packet.
What the ENARSI 300-410 exam covers
Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services (300-410 ENARSI) v1.1 is a 90-minute professional-level exam tied to CCNP Enterprise. Passing earns the Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise Advanced Infrastructure Implementation certification and also fulfills the concentration-exam requirement for CCNP Enterprise.
Cisco’s current topic document identifies ENARSI v1.1. Map older resources to its actual objectives and verbs to find coverage gaps. The four weighted domains below provide the structure; related topics may also appear.
Official sources: Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services v1.1 (300-410) Exam Description (official exam topics PDF, 2025) — pp. 1–2; 300-410 ENARSI Exam Topics and Study Guide (Cisco Learning Network) — exam details and domain weights; Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services – Cisco (300-410 ENARSI exam page) — overview and logistics
The four domains and their official weights
Layer 3 Technologies has the largest weight at 35%, followed by Infrastructure Services at 25%. VPN Technologies and Infrastructure Security each carry 20%.
Match practice to each objective’s verb: describe, configure and verify, or troubleshoot. For example, the outline calls for configuring and verifying policy-based routing and VRF-Lite, while BFD is a describe objective.
Use both domain weight and your knowledge gaps to allocate time. A 35% domain deserves substantial attention, but it does not account for a majority of the blueprint.
| Domain | Weight | What the outline asks of you |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Layer 3 Technologies | 35% | Troubleshoot administrative distance, route maps, redistribution, summarization, EIGRP (classic and named), OSPF v2/v3, and BGP; configure and verify policy-based routing and VRF-Lite; describe BFD |
| 2.0 VPN Technologies | 20% | Describe MPLS operations and MPLS Layer 3 VPN; configure and verify single-hub DMVPN with GRE/mGRE, NHRP, and IPsec |
| 3.0 Infrastructure Security | 20% | Troubleshoot AAA, IPv4 and IPv6 access control, uRPF, and control plane policing; describe IPv6 first hop security features |
| 4.0 Infrastructure Services | 25% | Troubleshoot device management, SNMP, logging, DHCP, IP SLA, NetFlow, and Catalyst Center Assurance |
Official sources: Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services v1.1 (300-410) Exam Description (official exam topics PDF, 2025) — pp. 1–2; 300-410 ENARSI Exam Topics and Study Guide (Cisco Learning Network) — exam details and domain weights
Read the verbs, then practise diagnosis
Build a working feature in your own lab, introduce one known fault and explain the evidence that locates it.
Cisco’s Learning Network lists multiple-choice, drag-and-drop and performance-based items. The retrieved documents do not establish a fixed lab count, order or time allowance per lab.
For optional practice, choose one objective, record the expected behavior and configure a working example. Introduce one fault, gather relevant output, diagnose it, make a justified correction and verify the result. Use a timer to learn where you hesitate; choose practice timings for your needs rather than treating them as exam rules.
Official sources: Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services v1.1 (300-410) Exam Description (official exam topics PDF, 2025) — pp. 1–2; 300-410 ENARSI Exam Topics and Study Guide (Cisco Learning Network) — exam details and domain weights
How routing decisions actually work
Administrative distance helps select among routing sources for the same prefix. Normal destination-based forwarding uses the longest matching installed prefix.
Separate the two questions: which eligible route enters the routing table, and which installed entry matches this packet most specifically? Different prefix lengths can coexist, so comparing their administrative distances does not select the forwarding entry.
The example supplies the route state and administrative-distance values. It does not require a universal claim about every protocol’s metric selection, multipath settings or forwarding exceptions.
Worked example
Use ordinary IPv4 destination-based forwarding in one routing table, with no policy-based routing. The following are the only installed destination entries relevant to these packets; their next hops and forwarding adjacencies are already reachable and resolved. Entry A: 10.100.0.0/16 via 10.1.1.1. Entry B: 10.100.4.0/24 via 10.1.1.2. Entry C: 0.0.0.0/0 via 10.1.1.3. Which next hop is selected for 10.100.4.7, 10.100.9.1 and 192.168.50.1? Separately, internal EIGRP and OSPF offer eligible routes to the same 10.100.4.0/24 prefix. Their configured administrative distances are 90 and 110 respectively, with no other candidate route or policy affecting installation. Which source is preferred?
Show answer
10.100.4.7 selects B, via 10.1.1.2. 10.100.9.1 selects A, via 10.1.1.1. 192.168.50.1 selects C, via 10.1.1.3. In the separate installation decision, internal EIGRP is preferred because 90 is lower than 110.
The /24 covers 10.100.4.0–10.100.4.255 and is more specific than the /16, so it wins for 10.100.4.7. The /16 covers 10.100.0.0–10.100.255.255 and is the most specific match for 10.100.9.1. The third address matches only the default entry. Administrative distance applies in the second question because both sources offer the identical prefix; it is not a comparison between the /24, /16 and default entries. Specifying internal EIGRP and the actual distance avoids assuming that every EIGRP route has distance 90.
Where ENARSI fits your CCNP Enterprise path
ENARSI is one of several concentration exams for CCNP Enterprise. To earn the certification you need the 350-401 ENCOR core exam plus one concentration of your choice; passing ENARSI alone earns the Specialist certification on its own.
Cisco lists no formal prerequisite certification. Familiarity with networking still matters for preparation. Passing ENARSI alone earns its Specialist credential; CCNP Enterprise also requires ENCOR.
Confirm exam-validity and recertification requirements on Cisco’s current certification page. An exam pass used toward a qualification and renewing an existing certification are different decisions.
ENARSI is listed at $300 USD. Confirm the price, currency and any applicable charges when booking.
Official sources: CCNP Enterprise – Cisco (certification page) — ENARSI concentration and recertification sections; Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services – Cisco (300-410 ENARSI exam page) — overview and logistics
Final preparation checklist
Check every objective, practise diagnosis and confirm your appointment details.
- Use the current ENARSI v1.1 topic list to check each resource.
- Cover all four domains, adjusting study time for weight and weak topics.
- Practise configuring, verifying and troubleshooting in your own lab.
- Explain route-selection decisions with their assumptions stated.
- Confirm language, price and appointment rules with Cisco.
Official sources: Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services v1.1 (300-410) Exam Description (official exam topics PDF, 2025) — pp. 1–2; 300-410 ENARSI Exam Topics and Study Guide (Cisco Learning Network) — exam details and domain weights; CCNP Enterprise – Cisco (certification page) — ENARSI concentration and recertification sections; Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services – Cisco (300-410 ENARSI exam page) — overview and logistics
Official sources
Facts checked:
- Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services v1.1 (300-410) Exam Description (official exam topics PDF, 2025)
- 300-410 ENARSI Exam Topics and Study Guide (Cisco Learning Network)
- CCNP Enterprise – Cisco (certification page)
- Implementing Cisco Enterprise Advanced Routing and Services – Cisco (300-410 ENARSI exam page)
- Configure Route Selection for Routers (Cisco support document, updated January 2024)