- What ENSLD Actually Is
- Who the Exam Is Built For
- Exam Mechanics: Fee, Format and Delivery
- The Five Domains and Their Weights
- Concrete Topics You Must Master
- What the Questions Feel Like
- Where 300-420 Fits in the CCNP Enterprise Path
- Validity and Renewal
- Who Hires for This Skill Set
- Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain
- Frequently Asked Questions
- ENSLD is Cisco's Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks exam, code 300-420, version 1.1, delivered through Pearson VUE.
- The exam costs USD 300 plus applicable tax and runs 90 minutes, in English or Japanese.
- Addressing/Routing and Campus Networks each carry 25%; WAN and Network Services carry 20% each; Automation carries 10%.
- Passing earns Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Design and satisfies the CCNP Enterprise concentration requirement.
What ENSLD Actually Is
ENSLD is the shorthand for Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks, exam code 300-420, currently at version 1.1. It is a Cisco concentration exam: a proctored written test that measures whether you can make sound architectural decisions for enterprise campus, WAN, services and automation environments. If you want the short-form definitions, our pages on what ENSLD stands for and the meaning of ENSLD cover the naming in detail.
The word that matters in the title is designing. Plenty of Cisco exams ask you to configure, verify and troubleshoot. This one asks you to choose: which routing protocol fits this topology, which first-hop redundancy approach suits this campus, which WAN transport model satisfies these availability requirements, and why. You are evaluating trade-offs the way a network architect would in a design review.
Who the Exam Is Built For
The exam targets engineers who already work near the design layer of an enterprise network: network designers, senior network engineers, solutions and pre-sales engineers, and consultants who translate business requirements into topologies. It also suits operations engineers who are growing into architecture roles and want formal recognition of that shift.
There are no formal exam prerequisites. Cisco does not require you to hold another certification before you sit 300-420. Realistically, though, candidates do best when they already understand enterprise routing, switching, wireless and virtualization fundamentals at the level tested in ENCOR. We break down this point further in ENSLD requirements and eligibility.
Exam Mechanics: Fee, Format and Delivery
Here is the logistics picture, drawn from Cisco's published exam information:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam name and code | Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks, 300-420 ENSLD v1.1 |
| Exam fee | USD 300 plus applicable tax |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Languages | English and Japanese |
| Delivery provider | Pearson VUE |
| Delivery modes | Test center, or eligible OnVUE online proctoring |
| Prerequisites | None formal |
| Passing threshold | Determined statistically by Cisco |
The exam is closed-book. Cisco's examination policies apply, including confidentiality rules that prohibit sharing exam content. Whether you test at a center or through OnVUE, you will be proctored, and online delivery carries its own environment and check-in requirements, so read Pearson VUE's current guidance before exam day rather than the night before.
Cisco does not publish a fixed cut score. Because the passing threshold is set statistically, you should not hunt for a magic percentage; our passing score article explains what is and is not known. For the full fee picture, including retake considerations and tax, see the ENSLD certification cost breakdown, and for scheduling logistics see ENSLD exam dates and scheduling.
The Five Domains and Their Weights
Cisco divides the 300-420 blueprint into five official domains that total 100%. Two of them dominate the exam.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1. Advanced Addressing and Routing Solutions | 25% |
| 2. Advanced Enterprise Campus Networks | 25% |
| 3. WAN for Enterprise Networks | 20% |
| 4. Network Services | 20% |
| 5. Automation | 10% |
Half of your score potential sits in Domains 1 and 2. That does not mean you can ignore the rest, since a design exam rewards breadth of judgment, but it tells you where deep competence pays the most. A fuller walk-through lives in our complete guide to the five ENSLD domains.
Concrete Topics You Must Master
Domain 1: Advanced Addressing and Routing Solutions (25%)
This domain is about designing the control plane and addressing scheme so the network scales, converges predictably and stays manageable.
- Choosing and combining IGPs and BGP for a given topology, including OSPF, EIGRP and IS-IS design considerations
- BGP design decisions, now including BGP confederations per the March 2026 minor update
- Summarization, route filtering and redistribution strategy to control routing table size and prevent loops
- IPv4 and IPv6 addressing plans, including how they support summarization and growth
- Convergence tuning and high-availability concepts, including NSF/NSR as added in the March 2026 update
Domain 2: Advanced Enterprise Campus Networks (25%)
Here you design the access, distribution and core layers and the services that ride on them.
- Layer 2 and Layer 3 campus design choices, including where to route and where to switch
- First-hop redundancy and fast failover strategy
- Wireless design considerations in the campus, including capacity and roaming implications
- Fabric-based and traditional campus design trade-offs, and when each fits
- Segmentation and resilience requirements at each layer
Domain 3: WAN for Enterprise Networks (20%)
This domain covers connecting sites and clouds over diverse transports.
- WAN transport selection, including private circuits, internet-based and hybrid options
- SD-WAN design concepts and how they change routing and policy placement
- Resilience, path selection and traffic engineering decisions across multiple links
- Branch and remote-site connectivity models and their failure behavior
Domain 4: Network Services (20%)
Services design covers the traffic-handling features that make a network usable for real applications.
- Quality of service design, including classification, marking and queuing strategy for voice, video and critical data
- Multicast design, including the multicast service-reflection topic added in the March 2026 update
- Network management and monitoring design choices
- Security and segmentation services that interact with the network design
Domain 5: Automation (10%)
The smallest domain is still testable, and it rewards candidates who can reason about when and why to automate.
- Model-driven programmability concepts and the data formats and interfaces behind them
- Using controllers and APIs to deploy and assure network services at scale
- Evaluating automation approaches against operational and design requirements
Treat these lists as study anchors, not a substitute for the official objectives. Cisco's document is the authority on exact wording, and the March 2026 release notes changed what is in scope within v1.1.
What the Questions Feel Like
Expect scenario-driven items rather than rote definitions. A typical question describes a business situation, such as a company with several campuses, a mix of WAN transports and a growth target, and asks which design choice best satisfies the stated requirements. Often more than one option is technically possible; the right answer is the one that best fits the constraints given. That is why design exams feel different from configuration exams: you have to read requirements carefully and notice what the scenario prioritizes, such as cost, convergence speed, scalability or operational simplicity.
Since the exam is closed-book and timed at 90 minutes, pacing matters. Read the requirement statement first, eliminate options that violate it, and only then compare the remaining candidates. If you want an honest calibration of how demanding this is, read how hard the ENSLD exam is and the data-focused ENSLD pass rate discussion. We do not quote a pass-rate figure here because Cisco does not publish one for this exam.
Key Takeaway
Practice answering "which is the best design given these constraints" rather than "what does this command do." Realistic scenario questions in the ENSLD practice tests build exactly that muscle.
Where 300-420 Fits in the CCNP Enterprise Path
Passing 300-420 earns the Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Design credential. It also fulfills the concentration requirement for CCNP Enterprise. The full CCNP Enterprise certification needs two exams: the ENCOR core exam plus one concentration exam, and ENSLD is one of the available concentration choices. That means a design-minded engineer can build toward CCNP Enterprise through the design track instead of a more implementation-heavy concentration.
| Credential | What you need |
|---|---|
| Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Design | Pass 300-420 ENSLD |
| CCNP Enterprise | Pass ENCOR plus one concentration exam (300-420 qualifies) |
Our pages on the ENSLD certification and what ENSLD certification means go deeper on how the badge appears on your Cisco record.
Validity and Renewal
The Specialist award is valid for three years. You can renew it with 40 continuing education (CE) credits earned before it expires. The full CCNP Enterprise certification also runs on a three-year cycle, with an 80-CE requirement. CE credits can come from qualifying activities such as training and other Cisco-recognized options, which Cisco lists on its continuing education pages. Plan ahead: credits must be earned before the expiry date, not after.
Who Hires for This Skill Set
Employers that run large or multi-site enterprise networks, plus the integrators, managed service providers and Cisco partners that design them, value the skills this exam validates. Typical titles that line up with the content include network architect, network designer, solutions architect, senior network engineer and pre-sales systems engineer. Partners often value the credential because customer-facing design work is where scoping errors become expensive.
We deliberately avoid quoting salary figures here because we do not have verified numbers to cite. For a measured treatment, see the ENSLD salary guide, the ENSLD jobs overview and our ROI analysis of whether the certification is worth it.
Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain
A domain-weighted order works better than studying in blueprint sequence. Because routing and campus design carry 25% each and everything else builds on them, start there and let later topics reuse that foundation. A sample ordering over six weeks:
Addressing and Routing (Domain 1)
- Revisit IGP and BGP design, including confederations
- Practice summarization and redistribution scenarios
- Study NSF/NSR and convergence trade-offs
Campus Networks (Domain 2)
- Compare layered and fabric campus designs
- Work through redundancy and segmentation scenarios
WAN (Domain 3)
- Compare transport options and SD-WAN designs
- Reason about path selection and failure behavior
Network Services and Automation (Domains 4-5)
- Design QoS and multicast, including service-reflection
- Cover programmability and controller-driven automation
Integration and Practice
- Take timed scenario practice across all domains
- Review weak areas against the official objectives
For a fuller plan, see the ENSLD study guide and the one-page ENSLD cheat sheet, and explore structured options under ENSLD training. When you are ready to test yourself against exam-style scenarios, our practice test platform is the place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
ENSLD is the shorthand for Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks, the Cisco exam with code 300-420. Passing it earns the Cisco Certified Specialist - Enterprise Design credential.
The exam fee is USD 300 plus applicable tax, and the exam lasts 90 minutes. It is offered in English and Japanese through Pearson VUE.
No formal prerequisite exists, so you may sit 300-420 first. However, full CCNP Enterprise requires both ENCOR and a concentration exam, and ENSLD satisfies the concentration requirement.
Advanced Addressing and Routing Solutions and Advanced Enterprise Campus Networks each carry 25%. WAN for Enterprise Networks and Network Services carry 20% each, and Automation carries 10%.
The Specialist award is valid for three years and renews with 40 CE credits earned before it expires. Full CCNP Enterprise has a three-year cycle and an 80-CE requirement.