CCNA labs that grade your configuration
Hands-on CCNA practice on real Cisco IOS. Import the topology into Cisco Modeling Labs, configure it yourself, then upload your config and have it checked line by line — with the failing check named.
How a lab works
- 1Import the topology into Cisco Modeling Labs
Every lab ships a ready-made
.yamltopology. No drawing, no cabling — import and the network is standing. - 2Configure it yourself on real Cisco IOS
A written guide states the objective and the requirements. The commands are yours to work out — that is the part that teaches.
- 3Upload your config and get it graded
Your running-config is checked line by line against a withheld rubric. You get a score and the name of every check that failed — not just “wrong”.
What makes these different from a lab pack
Topology files are easy to come by. What is hard, alone, is knowing whether the configuration you just typed is right. An answer key does not solve it — comparing your config to someone else's tells you they differ, not which of you is wrong, and it is far too easy to read the key and conclude you knew it.
Here the rubric stays hidden until you submit. Then it scores your own running-config, check by check, and names what missed. A trunk that comes up is not the same as a trunk that is right, and this is the difference the grader exists to show you.
Prefer to read first? The free study hubs and setup guides cover the theory and the tooling.
Recent CCNA labs
Every one is graded. A new lab publishes every day.
- CCNA EtherChannel: Why Won't It Bundle?
- CCNA Foundations: Grow the Bundle & Spread the Load
- CCNA: EtherChannel Mode Matching (PAgP, LACP, Static)
- CCNA Foundations: Layer 2 EtherChannel with LACP — Two Links, One Trunk
- CCNA Foundations: Root Guard — Keep the Root Where You Put It
- CCNA Foundations: PortFast & BPDU Guard
Work through them in order
Picking labs at random leaves gaps. The CCNA study path sequences the catalogue so each lab builds on the last — addressing and subnetting, then switching, then routing, then services and security — and topic bundles let you own a single subject outright.
Try a CCNA lab free
No card. Grade a config in your browser, or take a full lab in CML and submit it.
Frequently asked questions
What are CCNA labs and why do I need them?
CCNA labs are hands-on exercises where you configure real Cisco devices to meet a stated objective — VLANs and trunking, OSPF, ACLs, NAT, EtherChannel, spanning tree. Reading about a protocol and configuring one are different skills, and the exam (plus the job) tests the second. The gap most self-taught engineers hit is not finding a topology; it is confirming the configuration they just wrote is actually correct.
How are these labs graded?
You export your finished lab from Cisco Modeling Labs and upload it. Your running-config is checked line by line against a rubric you do not get to see, and you get a score plus the name of every check that failed. That is the part almost no other lab source does — most hand you an answer key and leave you to mark your own work.
Do I need Cisco Modeling Labs to use these?
The labs ship as CML topology files, so CML is the intended environment and most labs are sized to fit CML Free's node limit. You can also grade a configuration in the browser with no account at all if you just want to see how the grading works first.
Are the labs suitable for a complete beginner?
Yes. The catalogue runs from Beginner labs that address a single interface through capstones that hand you a deliberately broken network to repair. The CCNA study path orders them so each builds on the last, rather than leaving you to guess what to do next.
Is there a free CCNA lab I can try first?
Yes — a full graded lab, free, with no card. You get the same topology file, the same guide and the same grading a subscriber gets.
Subscriptions and one-time bundles are on the pricing page.