3 hands-on Authentication scenarios you build in your own Cisco Modeling Labs instance and grade against the answer key. Authentication configuration and troubleshooting practice for CCNA and CCNP.
Harden EIGRP adjacencies with MD5 authentication between two iol-xe routers over a /30 transit, then validate that only trusted peers form neighbors. You will configure a key chain, bind it to the transit interface, and enable EIGRP (AS 100) to exchange two user LANs. Verification includes neighbor state, key chain presence, and end-to-end host reachability.
Deploy OSPFv2 with MD5 authentication on backbone links, deliberately trigger and diagnose an area mismatch adjacency failure, then fix it and restore end-to-end reachability between two branch hosts in a compact three-router topology.
Advanced CCNP OSPFv2 multi-area capstone. Build a three-router line topology with area 10 at the branch, area 0 at the core, and MD5 authentication on the area 0 transit. Advertise all loopbacks and a branch user LAN. Validate end-to-end reachability from the branch host to every router loopback and the core LAN. Includes realistic enterprise management and verification flows.