Aligned to the Cisco 200-301 CCNA v1.1 official exam topics across all 6 sections. Covers network fundamentals, access, IP connectivity, services, security, and automation.
Level: Intermediate
Grade band: Certification
Time: about 40 hours
Outcomes
- Configure and troubleshoot Cisco routers and switches
- Implement VLANs, STP, EtherChannel, and inter-VLAN routing
- Apply OSPFv2 and static routing in IPv4 and IPv6 networks
- Configure DHCP, DNS, NAT, NTP, and SSH on Cisco devices
- Describe SD-WAN, network automation, and REST API concepts
1.0 Network Fundamentals (20%)
Network Components & Topologies
- Network components: routers, switches, firewalls, APs, controllers, endpoints — 25 min
- Network topology architectures: two-tier, three-tier, spine-leaf, WAN, SOHO — 25 min
- OSI model deep dive: PDUs, encapsulation, layer functions and protocols — 25 min
- Ethernet fundamentals: CSMA/CD, MAC addresses, frame format, duplex, speed — 25 min
IP Addressing & Protocols
- IPv4 addressing, subnetting, and private address space — 25 min
- IPv6 addressing, prefix notation, and address types (unicast, anycast, multicast, EUI-64) — 25 min
- TCP vs UDP, wireless principles (channels, SSID, RF, encryption), switching concepts — 25 min
- Subnetting practice: VLSM, CIDR, calculating hosts and networks — 25 min
- ARP, ICMP, DNS, DHCP — how they work together in a network — 25 min
2.0 Network Access (20%)
VLANs, Trunking & EtherChannel
- VLANs: access ports, default VLAN, inter-VLAN routing, trunk ports, 802.1Q, native VLAN — 25 min
- EtherChannel (LACP) and Layer 2 discovery protocols (CDP, LLDP) — 25 min
- Inter-VLAN routing: router-on-a-stick, Layer 3 switch SVIs, configuration — 25 min
- Switch configuration: hostname, passwords, SSH, banners, management IP, VTY lines — 25 min
Spanning Tree & Wireless
- Rapid PVST+: root bridge, port states, PortFast, BPDU guard, root guard, loop guard — 25 min
- Cisco wireless architectures, AP modes, WLC, CAPWAP, WLAN GUI configuration — 25 min
- Wireless security: WPA2 Personal/Enterprise, WPA3, 802.1X, EAP methods — 25 min
3.0 IP Connectivity (25%)
Routing Table & Static Routing
- Routing table components: prefix, mask, next hop, AD, metric, gateway of last resort — 25 min
- Static routing: default, network, host, and floating static routes — 25 min
- Administrative distance and route selection: which route wins and why — 25 min
OSPFv2 & FHRP
- OSPFv2 single-area: neighbor adjacencies, DR/BDR, router ID, point-to-point vs broadcast — 25 min
- OSPF configuration: network statements, passive interfaces, default-information originate — 25 min
- First Hop Redundancy: HSRP, VRRP, GLBP — active/standby, virtual IP, preemption — 25 min
4.0 IP Services (10%)
NAT, DHCP, DNS, NTP, SNMP, Syslog, QoS
- NAT (static and pool), DHCP client/relay, DNS role, NTP client/server mode — 25 min
- SNMP, syslog (facilities and levels), QoS PHB (classification, marking, queuing, policing, shaping), SSH, TFTP/FTP — 25 min
- PAT (NAT overload): configuration, verification, troubleshooting — 25 min
- DHCP server configuration on IOS: pools, exclusions, options, relay agent — 25 min
5.0 Security Fundamentals (15%)
Device Security & ACLs
- Security concepts: threats, vulnerabilities, exploits, mitigation; password policies, MFA, certificates, biometrics — 25 min
- ACLs: standard and extended; Layer 2 security: DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, port security — 25 min
- Named ACLs, ACL placement (inbound vs outbound), wildcard masks, verification — 25 min
- Device hardening: disable unused services, secure passwords, AAA, login banners — 25 min
VPNs & Wireless Security
- IPsec VPNs (remote access and site-to-site), AAA concepts (authentication, authorization, accounting), wireless security: WPA/WPA2/WPA3 — 25 min
- GRE tunnels, DMVPN overview, SSL/TLS VPN concepts — 25 min
6.0 Automation & Programmability (10%)
SDN, APIs, Automation Tools
- Automation impact, controller-based networking, SDN architecture: overlay/underlay/fabric, northbound/southbound APIs, AI/ML in network ops — 25 min
- REST APIs (CRUD, HTTP verbs, data encoding), Ansible and Terraform, JSON-encoded data — 25 min
- Cisco DNA Center: intent-based networking, assurance, policy, provisioning — 25 min
- Network programmability: Python basics for networking, NETCONF, YANG data models — 25 min