22 free CCNA labs you can download today
Real CCNA 200-301 topologies for Cisco Modeling Labs, free with an account. Import one, configure it yourself, then upload your config and have it checked line by line — with the failing check named. No card, and nothing expires.
How a free 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”.
Every lab passes automated checks and a review by Alec Gauldin, Principal Network Engineer, before it publishes. How labs are checked →
Every free lab (22)
Each one is graded against a rubric you do not see until you submit.
- CCNA L3 Switching: Retire the Router-on-a-Stick
- CCNA Break/Fix: The Branches the Core Cannot See
- CCNA Break/Fix: The Trunk That Carries Only Some VLANs
- DHCP Snooping Trust Boundary
- CDP Neighbor Discovery and Edge Suppression
- CCNA L1: Interface Addressing and Verification
- CCNA NTP Client: Sync to an Authoritative Server
- CCNA: SSH Access Fundamentals on R1
- eBGP Fundamentals: The First Peering
- EIGRP Fundamentals: First Adjacency & Route Exchange
- HSRP Fundamentals: A Virtual Default Gateway
- Static EtherChannel: Bundling Two Links (mode on)
- Spanning Tree Fundamentals: Root Election & Port Roles
- DHCP Server Fundamentals: One Pool
- CCNA NAT1: Static One-to-One NAT with ISP
- Router-on-a-Stick Fundamentals: Two VLANs, One Trunk
- CCNA Port Security 1: Enable & Verify on Access Ports
- 802.1Q Trunk Fundamentals: Static Trunk and VLANs
- Standard ACL: Permit Host & Subnet, Deny Others
- VLAN Fundamentals: Creating & Assigning Access Ports
- CCNA Static Routing: Bidirectional End-to-End Connectivity
- OSPFv2 Single-Area Fundamentals: Adjacency and Area 0 Basics
Why these are the free ones
The free set is the first lab of every published bundle, plus the standing sample. That is deliberate: it spreads the free labs across the whole catalogue instead of penning them into one topic, so you can open a bundle on any subject — OSPF, VLANs, ACLs, NAT — and see exactly what the rest of it is like before paying for anything.
Want to see the grading before you sign up? Grade a config in the browser with no account at all, or read the setup guides first.
What free does not mean here
It does not mean a watered-down lab. A free lab is a full one: the same topology, the same guide, the same hidden rubric, the same score and the same named failures. The difference between free and paid on this site is how many labs you can open, not how good they are.
It also does not mean a lab pack. Topology files are easy to find; knowing whether the config you just typed is actually right is the hard part, and an answer key does not solve it — comparing your config to someone else's tells you the two differ, not which is wrong.
Open all 22 free labs
22 labs are free with an account. No card.
Frequently asked questions
Are these CCNA labs really free?
Yes. Creating an account opens them — no card, no trial period that expires. You get the same topology file, the same lab guide and the same grading a subscriber gets on any other lab. The account exists because the download and the grader both need somewhere to attach your work.
Why does downloading a free lab need an account?
Because grading is per-person. Your submission is scored against a rubric you do not see, and the result, the failing check names and your history have to belong to someone. You can try the grader with no account at all first if you would rather see how it works before signing up.
What do I need to run them?
Cisco Modeling Labs. Every published lab fits inside CML Free's five-node limit, so the free tier of CML is enough for all of them. The labs ship as CML topology files, which you import and then configure yourself.
How are the free labs chosen?
They are the first lab of every published bundle, plus the standing sample lab. That means the free set spans the whole catalogue rather than clustering in one topic — you can start a bundle on any subject and see exactly what the rest of it is like before paying for anything.
What happens after I finish the free ones?
Nothing expires and nothing is taken away. A subscription opens the rest of the catalogue and the new lab published each day; the labs you already have stay yours either way.
Subscription pricing is on the pricing page.