Ten hands-on labs — CDP and LLDP discovery, Syslog, SNMPv2c/v3 monitoring and traps, and DNS on Cisco IOS — the network-assurance toolkit, on CML free-tier (5 nodes or fewer).
Enable Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) on R1 to map directly-connected Cisco neighbors while suppressing CDP advertisements on the untrusted management-edge interface. Routers are directly cabled for true CDP adjacency and also share a common management LAN via SW1 alongside an Alpine MGMT host.
View lab detailsEnable the open-standard LLDP on adjacent Cisco IOS routers over direct point-to-point links while also attaching the devices to a shared management LAN. Learners configure deterministic LLDP behavior (global enable plus per-interface transmit/receive) and verify neighbor discovery without adding any routing protocols or static routes.
View lab detailsHarden Cisco IOS edge interfaces by disabling CDP/LLDP toward untrusted endpoints while keeping discovery active on trusted infrastructure links. Routers share a management LAN with a server and form a direct router-to-router adjacency for CDP/LLDP. The learner enables discovery globally, selectively suppresses it on the client-facing edge, and verifies the outcome with show commands.
View lab detailsNew here? Start with the free study hub and step-by-step guides, then own the bundle to practice on real Cisco IOS.
10 hands-on, auto-graded CCNA labs spanning 23 topics — each one a real Cisco Modeling Labs scenario you build on Cisco IOS. It's a one-time $29.99 and every lab is yours to keep forever.
A one-time purchase — $29.99. Buy once and own every lab in the bundle permanently; it's separate from the daily-lab subscription, so there's nothing recurring.
Yes — each lab is a Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) topology you import and build on real Cisco IOS, and the CML free tier is enough. You download the topology and lab guide, then build it yourself.
Every lab ships as a problem to solve. You build it in CML, then submit your config to grade it against the answer key — you get a pass/fail on each objective, so you know exactly what's right and what to fix instead of guessing.
CCNA. The labs are sequenced to build the hands-on configuration and troubleshooting skills CCNA candidates are expected to demonstrate on real gear.
Configure a Cisco IOS router (R1) to forward its logs to a central syslog server with accurate date/time and millisecond timestamps. Validate the remote host and trap level in show logging. This is Lab 4 of 10 in the Network Discovery & Monitoring series.
View lab detailsTune which syslog messages go where on Cisco IOS using severity levels: keep detailed logs locally in a 16 KB buffer, reduce console noise to warnings, and send notifications to a central server. Single management LAN, no routing. Grading focuses on three R1 commands steering severity: logging buffered 16384 debugging, logging console warnings, and logging trap notifications.
View lab detailsConfigure Cisco IOS SNMPv2c read-only access on R1 so an NMS on a trusted management LAN can poll device status. You will add a read-only community string and device identity (location/contact), validate from IOS show commands, and confirm basic reachability from the MGMT host. No routing protocols or static routes are used; all devices share a single management subnet bridged by an L2 switch.
View lab detailsConfigure a Cisco IOS router (R1) to proactively send SNMPv2c trap notifications to a centralized NMS host. Learners practice the difference between polling and traps, add the trap destination and enable device-initiated notifications, and verify deterministically with show commands. Flat L2-only management LAN; no routing, no VLAN/STP complexity.
View lab detailsHarden the monitoring plane by replacing cleartext SNMPv2c with authenticated and encrypted SNMPv3 (authPriv) on R1. You will create a v3 group that requires privacy and a user with SHA authentication and AES-128 encryption, then verify the configuration. The flat management LAN avoids routing complexity so you can focus on the security mechanics of SNMPv3.
View lab detailsEnable and verify DNS-based name resolution on Cisco IOS. R1 will use a central DNS resolver on the management LAN and also maintain a static host mapping for R2, demonstrating resolution order and operational differences between local host tables and DNS queries.
View lab detailsTroubleshoot a pre-broken monitoring deployment on a single shared management LAN. R1 is already configured for discovery and monitoring, but the NMS receives no syslog or SNMP traps from R1. Diagnose with show commands and correct the two seeded faults: wrong syslog target and missing SNMP trap generation. Deterministic, no-routing, single-subnet design for CML Free (5 nodes).
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