CCNA Foundations Series: Layer 2 Day 4

Archive lab

Hands-on CCNA Layer 2 switching lab: build VLANs, access ports, hardened 802.1Q trunks, and basic port-security across two access switches and an L2 core. Verify segmentation end-to-end from real hosts and practice troubleshooting native-VLAN and port/VLAN mismatches.

Learning objectives

• Create and name VLANs for Users, Servers, Management, and a secure native VLAN.
• Assign switchports to access VLANs and enable PortFast, BPDU Guard, and sticky port security.
• Build 802.1Q trunks with explicit allowed-vlan lists and a non-default native VLAN.
• Verify VLAN membership and trunk status and observe MAC learning behavior.
• Troubleshoot VLAN misassignments and trunk/native VLAN mismatches using symptoms from end hosts.

Troubleshooting focus

• Verify every link's interface status and IP addressing (`show ip interface brief`) and correct any interface that is down or misaddressed.
• Confirm each device's running configuration matches the lab objective, and bring any interface, route, or service that is not in its expected state back to health.
• Trace end-to-end reachability with ping/traceroute and isolate the first hop where forwarding fails.