Cisco CCNA (200-301 v2.0) — the full course

This course prepares you for the CCNA 200-301 exam, v2.0, which Cisco makes available from 3 February 2027.

Until 2 February 2027 the exam you can book is v1.1, which this course does not target: it is written to the v2.0 exam topics from the start.

Every lesson and every lab is free to read, mapped one-to-one to the objectives in Cisco’s published v2.0 exam topics.

The labs run in Cisco Packet Tracer, which is free with a Cisco Networking Academy account, on your own computer. They cost nothing, never touch a real network, and each one ends by saving your work for the next.

Prefer timed practice exams? This course’s question bank is on Udemy as timed practice tests: see the Udemy course (launch price until 16 Nov 2026).

29written lessons

28hands-on labs

25hours of lab work

Start with lesson 1 — Diagnosing interface and cable problems: duplex, speed, errors, collisions and cable types Exam simulator

Jump to a domain: 1. Network Infrastructure and Connectivity · 2. Switching and Network Access · 3. IP Routing · 4. Network Services and Security · 5. AI, and Network Operations and Management

What the exam weighs

Domain	Share of the exam	Lessons here
1. Network Infrastructure and Connectivity	25%	7
2. Switching and Network Access	25%	5
3. IP Routing	20%	4
4. Network Services and Security	20%	7
5. AI, and Network Operations and Management	10%	6

The curriculum

1. Network Infrastructure and Connectivity 25% of the exam

01Diagnosing interface and cable problems: duplex, speed, errors, collisions and cable typesexam topic 1.1
- Read a switch port's status line to find a shut port, a dead NIC, a duplex mismatch and a speed mismatch short · 35 min
02Hypervisors, virtual machines and containers, and what each one doesexam topic 1.2
03IPv4 addressing and subnetting: masks, prefixes, private ranges and troubleshootingexam topic 1.3
- Subnet a /24 for two LANs, then find a mistyped mask and a gateway outside its subnet short · 40 min
04IPv6 addressing: unicast types, prefix sizes and modified EUI-64exam topic 1.4
- Address a router with static and EUI-64 IPv6, and fix a LAN whose hosts get only link-local addresses short · 40 min
05Wireless principles: bands and channels, RF, security protocols and interferenceexam topic 1.5
- Correct a draft channel, power and security plan for a four-AP office floor short · 35 min
06Troubleshooting wired and wireless clients on Windows, macOS and Linuxexam topic 1.6
- Work three client tickets bottom-up: a wrong gateway, a wrong DNS server and a 169.254 address short · 40 min
07DHCPv4 on IOS: client, server and relayexam topic 1.7
- Build and troubleshoot a head office and branch: cabling, subnets, IPv6, DHCP server, relay and client capstone · 110 min
- Serve two LANs from one IOS DHCP server, one of them through a relay short · 40 min

2. Switching and Network Access 25% of the exam

01Connecting switches and routers: L2/L3 interfaces, 802.1Q trunks, LACP EtherChannel and SVIsexam topic 2.1
- Join a multilayer switch, an access switch and a router: routed port, LACP trunk and SVIs short · 45 min
02Edge ports: VLANs, PoE, port channels and LACP for hosts, APs, phones and appliancesexam topic 2.2
- Set up edge ports for a desktop, a printer, a phone port and a virtual host's LACP uplink short · 45 min
03Checking network documentation with CDP and LLDPexam topic 2.3
- Check a site's cabling documentation against CDP and LLDP short · 40 min
04Layer 2 and Layer 3 troubleshooting with show commands, ping, traceroute and capturesexam topic 2.4
- Find three planted faults, layer by layer, with show commands, ping and traceroute short · 45 min
05Rapid PVST+: root bridge, port roles and states, PortFast and the STP guardsexam topic 2.5
- Domain 2 capstone: build and troubleshoot a branch's switched network capstone · 120 min
- Choose the root bridge per VLAN, read port roles, and catch a rogue switch with BPDU guard short · 45 min

3. IP Routing 20% of the exam

01Reading the routing table: longest match, administrative distance, metric and default routeexam topic 3.1
- Predict the next hop from a routing table, then prove it short · 40 min
02IPv4 and IPv6 static routes: default, network, host and floatingexam topic 3.2
- Default, network, host and floating static routes in IPv4 and IPv6 short · 45 min
03Single-area OSPFv2 and OSPFv3: neighbors, network types, DR/BDR and router IDexam topic 3.3
- Bring up single-area OSPFv2 and OSPFv3 and read every neighbor state short · 45 min
04First hop redundancy: reading HSRP and VRRP statusexam topic 3.4
- Capstone: a resilient branch with OSPF, static backups and a shared gateway capstone · 110 min
- Read HSRP state through a failover, a preemption and a split group short · 40 min

4. Network Services and Security 20% of the exam

01Device management access: local users, and AAA with TACACS+ and RADIUSexam topic 4.1
- Local accounts first, then AAA logins through a TACACS+ server with a local fallback short · 40 min
02Moving configurations and images securely with SFTP and SCPexam topic 4.2
03NAT and PAT on IOS XE routersexam topic 4.3
- PAT for a branch LAN, and static NAT that publishes its web server short · 40 min
04Diagnosing DNS records: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS and PTRexam topic 4.4
- Reach it by address but not by name: fix an A record, then give R1 a name server short · 35 min
05IPsec VPNs: remote access and site-to-site, protocols and modesexam topic 4.5
- Build a site-to-site IPsec tunnel and read its IKE and ESP state short · 45 min
06IPv4 ACLs: standard, extended, numbered and namedexam topic 4.6
- A named extended ACL for a guest LAN, and a standard ACL that blocked everyone short · 45 min
07Layer 2 security: DHCP snooping, DAI, storm control, RA guard and port securityexam topic 4.7
- Domain 4 capstone: build and secure a small branch from the wall jack to the internet capstone · 110 min
- Stop a rogue DHCP server with snooping, then lock a port with sticky port security short · 45 min

5. AI, and Network Operations and Management 10% of the exam

01Agentic AI in network operationsexam topic 5.1
02Writing prompts for generative AI in network operationsexam topic 5.2
03Network management approaches: device, cloud, controller, automation and infrastructure as codeexam topic 5.3
04What SNMP does in network operationsexam topic 5.4
- Poll a router and a switch with SNMP gets, a getnext and a set short · 35 min
05Running commands with configuration management: Ansibleexam topic 5.5
06Reading syslog messages: content, severity levels and facilitiesexam topic 5.6
- Capstone: monitor the branch, then reconstruct an outage from its logs capstone · 90 min
- Send syslog to a server, decode each message and fix the severity level short · 40 min

The exam simulator

Open the simulator See the paid tier

This is an independent study companion for the Cisco CCNA 200-301 v2.0 exam and is not produced by or endorsed by Cisco. Cisco, CCNA and IOS are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc.