MTCINE · ● Active · Expert · MikroTik
Exam facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | €495–€600 (instructor-led training + exam; pricing varies by region/provider) |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Questions | 25 open-book |
| Passing | 60% (50–59% scores receive second attempt) |
| Format | Open-book multiple choice |
| Delivery | Vendor-administered, in-person or remote via approved MikroTik trainer |
| Languages | English |
| Valid | 3 years |
| Renewal | Retake exam before expiration; no CE credits |
| Prerequisites | MTCRE (MikroTik Certified Routing Engineer); MTCNA prerequisite for MTCRE |
| Released | ~2010 (estimated; MikroTik certification program maturity date) |
| Retiring | N/A |
Vendor source — MikroTik Training ↗ Training schedule — MikroTik Training Centers & Trainers ↗
About
The MTCINE is MikroTik's most advanced routing certification, covering enterprise and service-provider scale inter-networking. It follows the MTCRE and requires hands-on mastery of BGP confederation and route reflection, MPLS L2/L3 VPNs, traffic engineering (TE), and large-scale OSPF/IS-IS design. The exam is administered by approved MikroTik trainers at the end of a three-day instructor-led course heavy on RouterOS labs. Open-book format emphasizes practical troubleshooting and design decision-making rather than memorization. MTCINE holders are positioned for roles in ISP network operations, carrier engineering, WISP backbone design, and complex routing architecture.
Domain context — SP/Carrier Networking
Service-provider and carrier-grade IP routing, MPLS, and BGP convergence at continental and multi-region scale. Core skills: interdomain routing policy, label-switched paths, VPN architectures, and traffic engineering for resilience and capacity optimization.
Topics covered
Official exam domains (open-book, 25 questions total):
- BGP at scale — Autonomous Systems, BGP transport and packet types, iBGP/eBGP with loopbacks, Private AS removal, multihop configuration, route distribution and filtering, path selection algorithm, prefix attributes, route reflectors, confederations
- MPLS fundamentals — Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), static labeling, penultimate-hop-popping (PHP), MPLS traceroute, LDP-based pseudowires, VPLS tunnels, Bridge Split Horizon in L2 MPLS, MTU and fragmentation handling
- Layer 2 MPLS — BGP-based L2 tunnels, VPLS (Virtual Private LAN Service), pseudowire configuration and troubleshooting
- Layer 3 VPNs — VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding), BGP-based L3VPN, OSPF as CE-PE protocol, route target and route distinguisher management
- Traffic Engineering (TE) — RSVP fundamentals, static path definition, dynamic path (CSPF), bandwidth reservation and admission control, bandwidth constraints and link utilization optimization
- ISP routing strategies — Multi-carrier redundancy, failover design, load balancing across eBGP peers, route filtering and policy implementation, community-based routing
Source: MikroTik Training Centers ↗
Common skills at SP/Carrier Networking · Expert
Shared competencies across Expert-level carrier-networking roles, independent of certification.
- Advanced BGP design and troubleshooting (confederation, route reflection, communities, policy application)
- MPLS architecture and L2/L3 VPN implementation at scale
- Traffic engineering and constraint-based routing (CSPF, RSVP)
- Multi-protocol convergence (BGP, OSPF, IS-IS) in large domains
- Rate limiting, QoS, and traffic shaping on high-throughput links
- IP addressing strategy and subnet management (IPv4 and IPv6)
- Network security and prefix filtering in interdomain contexts
- Carrier-class reliability: redundancy design, fast convergence, OAM (ping, traceroute, BFD)
Recommended courses at SP/Carrier Networking · Expert
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| MikroTik Official (approved partners) | MikroTik Certified Inter-Networking Engineer (3-day course + exam) | €495–€600 | ↗ |
| My Network Training | MikroTik Internetworking Engineer with LABS (RouterOS v6) | $99–$199 | ↗ |
| Udemy (Kaleem Ullah) | MikroTik Internetworking Engineer with LABS (RouterOS v6) | $14–$99 | ↗ |
| TechTristar | MTCINE Training + Live Labs | $299–$499 | ↗ |
| LinITX | MikroTik Certified Inter-Networking Engineer Training (on-site, UK) | £1,250–£1,800 | ↗ |
Practice exams
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Whitaker | MTCINE: 500 Exam-Style Questions for Certification Success (eBook) | $9.99 | ↗ |
| Albert Whitaker | MTCINE: 500 Study Notes and Key Concepts for Faster Learning (eBook) | $9.99 | ↗ |
| Prepare4Exams | MTCINE Exam Questions Practice Pack | $29–$49 | ↗ |
Books
No dedicated textbooks for MTCINE exist as a standalone certification. Recommended references covering exam domains:
| Title | Author | Publisher | Year | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches, and Internetworking Protocols (2nd ed) | Radia Perlman | Addison-Wesley Professional | 2000 | ↗ |
| BGP Design and Implementation | Cisco Press (Cisco Press) | Cisco Systems | 2009 | ↗ |
| MPLS in the SDN Era: Interoperability, Automation, and Emerging Trends | Kireeti Kompella, Onno W. Purta | Packt Publishing | 2015 | ↗ |
| Service Provider Data Center Architectures and Applications | Jim Metzler | Cisco Press | 2013 | ↗ |
Note: These are vendor-neutral or multi-vendor references; no MikroTik-specific MTCINE textbook has been published. Training manual provided during official MikroTik course is the primary reference.
Typical job titles at SP/Carrier Networking · Expert
ISP Network Engineer · BGP Engineer (MikroTik) · WISP Senior Network Engineer · Carrier Network Architect · Route Reflection Engineer · MPLS Network Specialist · Service Provider Network Designer · Network Operations Engineer (ISP/Telecom) · Backbone Network Engineer
(Job titles drawn from current job-board postings in North America, EU, and Southern Africa listing MTCINE or equivalent BGP/MPLS expertise as required or strongly preferred.)
Salary
| Region | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USD | $112,000–$155,000 | Glassdoor ↗ · Robert Half ↗ · ZipRecruiter ↗ |
| ZAR | R473,000–R840,000 | PayScale ZA ↗ · Pnet ↗ · Glassdoor ZA ↗ |
| GBP | £60,000–£95,000 | IT Jobs Watch ↗ · Robert Half UK ↗ · Hays ↗ |
Note: Salary ranges reflect ISP Network Engineer and Senior Network Engineer roles requiring advanced BGP/MPLS expertise. MTCINE holders with 5+ years experience typically occupy the upper quartile of these ranges. Regional variation is significant; metropolitan hubs (London, NYC, Singapore, Johannesburg) command premiums of 15–25% over national averages.
Skills validated
Concrete technologies and protocols tested on the MTCINE exam.
- Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) v4 — iBGP, eBGP, multihop, route reflection, confederations
- Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) — LDP, pseudowires, label propagation, PHP
- Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) — BGP-based and LDP-based L2 VPN
- Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) — multi-tenant routing, route targets
- BGP/MPLS Layer 3 VPNs (L3VPN) — inter-AS Option A/B/C scenarios
- Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) — large-area designs, CE-PE interaction
- Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) — link-state routing at scale
- Traffic Engineering — RSVP, constraint-based path selection (CSPF), bandwidth management
- RouterOS CLI and configuration of advanced routing constructs
- Network troubleshooting tools — traceroute, BGP debug, MPLS LSP path verification
- Service Provider design principles — redundancy, failover, load balancing
Related certifications
- Prerequisite: [MikroTik Certified Routing Engineer (MTCRE) ↗]({file not yet created})
- MTCRE is mandatory before MTCINE eligibility
- Stacks with: Cisco CCIE Routing & Switching (vendor-specific; cross-certification path)
- Equivalents at this level: Juniper Junos Enterprise Routing & Switching, Arista Certified Engineer
- Vendor overview: [MikroTik Vendor Overview ↗]({file not yet created})
Sources
- MikroTik Training: https://mikrotik.com/training
- MikroTik Training Centers & Trainers: https://mikrotik.com/training/centers
- My Network Training — MTCINE Course: https://mynetworktraining.com/p/mikrotik-internetworking-engineer-with-labs-mtcine
- Udemy — MikroTik Internetworking Engineer with LABS: https://www.udemy.com/course/mikrotik-internetworking-engineer-with-labs-mtcine/
- TechTristar MTCINE Training: https://training.techtristar.com/mikrotik-certified-inter-networking-engineer-mtcine/
- LinITX MTCINE Training (UK): https://linitx.com/product/linitx-mikrotik-certified-inter-networking-engineer-mtcine-training-course/17946
- Albert Whitaker — MTCINE 500 Exam-Style Questions: https://www.amazon.com/MTCINE-MikroTik-Certified-Inter%E2%80%91Networking-Engineer-ebook/dp/B0GNMGK36S
- Albert Whitaker — MTCINE 500 Study Notes: https://www.amazon.com/MTCINE-MikroTik-Certified-Inter%E2%80%91Networking-Engineer-ebook/dp/B0GNMKLSGD
- Glassdoor ISP Engineer Salary: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/isp-engineer-salary-SRCH_KO0,12.htm
- Robert Half Salary Guide 2026: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/salary-guide
- ZipRecruiter ISP Engineer Salary: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Isp-Engineer-Salary
- PayScale ZA Senior Network Engineer: https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Sr._Network_Engineer/Salary
- Pnet Network Engineer Jobs (ZA): https://www.pnet.co.za/jobs/network-engineer
- Glassdoor South Africa Network Engineer: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/south-africa-network-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,12_IN211_KO13,29.htm
- IT Jobs Watch BGP Salary (UK): https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/bgp.do
- Robert Half UK Network Engineer: https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en/job-details/network-engineer/london
Last verified: 2026-05-01 Vendor ecosystem: [MikroTik Ecosystem]({file not yet created}) Parent domain: [SP/Carrier Networking]({file not yet created})