Built around a real objective
Each lab starts from a focused objective and a realistic topology — a concept worth practicing, not a random diagram.
About
Consistent, hands-on Cisco practice — without the busywork.
The hard part of getting better at networking is showing up to practice something real, every day. A fresh, reviewed, import-ready Cisco Modeling Labs scenario is waiting whenever you are.
Veteran Owned & Operated
Veteran owned and operated. Same idea that makes practice pay off: show up, do the reps, get a little better every day.
Quality control
How a lab is checked before it ships
A graded lab is only worth as much as its answer key. Here is what every lab clears before it reaches you.
The rubric is derived, not written
Each lab's grading rubric comes from the difference between the starter configuration and the solution — every objective line the solution adds becomes a check. What gets graded is exactly what the lab asked you to configure, so the answer key cannot drift away from the task.
The rubric is graded before you are
Every rubric is run through the same grader you use, against both configurations: the solution has to score full marks and the starter has to score low. A rubric that cannot do both is not switched on.
A lab cannot publish until it is complete
Publishing is blocked, not warned about, until every check passes: summary, learning objectives and topic tags present; the CML import, solution import, topology diagram and packaged download all built; and accuracy checks that compare the guide against the rubric, the commands against the platform they run on, and the interfaces named in the guide against the ones in the topology.
Then a person reads it
The checks above catch what a machine can catch. Alec Gauldin reviews every lab before it ships for the part they cannot — whether the scenario is worth an hour of your evening.
Corrections are published, not quietly patched
When a lab or the grader is wrong it gets fixed and written down. The changelog records what changed and when, including the corrections.
265 labs published to date · 205 configurations graded · 102 labs completed by members
Who it's for
- Network engineers keeping their configuration and troubleshooting skills sharp.
- Students building real fundamentals beyond multiple-choice questions.
- CCNA and CCNP candidates who want consistent, exam-relevant hands-on reps.
What you can do here
- Open today's lab and build it in Cisco Modeling Labs.
- Upload your finished lab to grade it against the answer key, then reveal the node-by-node solution.
- Subscribe to download and run every lab while you're subscribed — the whole daily back catalogue, not just what publishes after you join, plus every series lab.
- Follow study paths that group labs toward a certification.
Quality
How every lab is made
Every lab is checked against automated quality and topology gates.
- 1 · Objective
- 2 · Draft
- 3 · Validate
- 4 · Human review
- 5 · Publish
What each step checks
The gates a draft has to clear, and what ships when it does.
Each lab is reviewed by a Principal Network Engineer who decides whether it ships. Nothing ships on the first draft alone: you only ever see labs that have cleared both the automated gates and that hands-on engineer check. A lab is only as useful as it is correct, so each one earns its place before it reaches you.
Validated automatically
Every draft is checked automatically: matching learner/solution topologies, valid device configs, complete node-scoped solution guides, clean import packaging.
Approved by a human
Nothing publishes until Alec Gauldin — a Principal Network Engineer — reviews it by hand.
Import-ready
Each published lab imports cleanly into Cisco Modeling Labs — YAML on free-tier images, plus learner guide and solution runbook.
Start practicing today
See what today's lab actually asks you to build.
Questions? Email support@goldfishnetworks.com.