60 hands-on CCNA scenarios you build in your own Cisco Modeling Labs instance and grade against the answer key. Focused CCNA configuration and troubleshooting practice for CCNA and CCNP.
A compact, enterprise-clean, 5-node CML lab that builds on OSPF multi-area design. You will enable OSPF across a small core–ABR–branch topology, advertise multiple branch networks in area 10, and summarize them at the ABR using 'area range'. You will verify that specific inter-area routes are replaced by a single summary in area 0 while preserving end-to-end reachability between hosts.
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Build and verify a compact, enterprise-clean multi-area OSPF network with an ABR. Configure area 0 and a non-backbone area, advertise loopbacks and LANs, enforce OSPF hygiene (passive LANs, explicit router-ids), and verify O IA inter-area routes from the endpoints.
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Build a 5-node triangle OSPF topology with a branch and a data center connected by two paths: a direct link and an indirect path via a core router. Implement OSPFv2 with clean hygiene (router-ids, passive on LANs), then influence path selection by adjusting interface cost so branch-to-DC traffic prefers the core path. Verify the chosen path from the end hosts using traceroute and confirm symmetric routing by validating the reverse path.
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Three IOS routers share a true broadcast multi-access segment through a Layer-2 switch. You will deploy OSPFv2, influence the DR/BDR election using interface priorities, and verify full adjacencies to the DR. An alpine client behind RTR-HQ-R3 must reach loopbacks on RTR-HQ-R1 and RTR-HQ-R2 via OSPF-learned routes. The lab emphasizes proper multi-access deployment hygiene (router-ids, passive default, interface selection) and realistic verification from the end host.
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Build a two-router OSPFv2 lab, assign deterministic router-ids using loopbacks, form a clean adjacency from Down through Exchange to FULL, and verify neighbor state and router-ids. End-to-end reachability is validated from real hosts across an enterprise-clean topology.
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Bring up OSPFv2 adjacency between two branch routers over a point-to-point /30, advertise each site’s user LAN and router loopback in area 0, and verify end-to-end pings succeed from the hosts. The baseline ships with addressing and SSH management ready; you will enable and tune OSPF only.
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Harden 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.
Harden the campus access edge by capping broadcast traffic per-port with storm control. In this lab you will apply a broadcast ceiling on the user-facing access ports only, choosing a shutdown action if exceeded, and verify that normal host connectivity remains intact. The uplink to the default gateway/DHCP server is trusted and must not be rate-limited.
Harden the Layer-2 access edge by limiting multicast and unknown-unicast floods on host-facing ports with a non-disruptive trap action. You will apply storm-control multicast and unicast thresholds to SW1 access interfaces while leaving the uplink trusted and unrestricted for gateway/DHCP. Verify the configuration with show commands and end-to-end host reachability.
Harden the Layer-2 access edge by enabling DHCP Snooping on a single access switch and placing the trust boundary only toward the legitimate DHCP server/gateway. Validate with show commands and end-host connectivity.
Harden the Layer-2 access edge by rate-limiting DHCP messages on untrusted ports. SW1 already has DHCP snooping enabled for VLAN 10 with the uplink trusted. Your task is to apply a per-interface rate limit on the host-facing access ports to blunt DHCP starvation attacks while leaving the trusted uplink unlimited.
Harden the campus access edge by isolating same-switch hosts using protected ports. You will configure switchport protected on both host-facing access interfaces so PC1 and PC2 cannot communicate at Layer 2, while all endpoints still reach the default gateway R1. This is a deterministic Layer-2 security control that mimics lightweight private-VLAN isolation on a single switch. Focus is on SW1 only; R1 and hosts are pre-provisioned.
Harden the Layer-2 access edge by enabling Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) on a single access switch. DHCP Snooping is already in place and the uplink toward the DHCP server/gateway is trusted. Your job: enable DAI for VLAN 10 and trust the uplink so ARP on host-facing ports is validated against the DHCP Snooping bindings.
Enable 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.
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.
Tune 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.
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.
Configure 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.
Enable 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.
Configure 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.
Practice deterministic VLSM planning and interface addressing on two Cisco IOS routers. Starting from a single /24, allocate three right-sized IPv4 subnets (two LANs represented by loopbacks and one router-to-router WAN) and configure exact interface addresses and masks. No routing protocols or static routes are configured; verification focuses on directly connected reachability and show commands.
Hands-on IPv4 subnetting and interface addressing on three IOS routers and one client. You will split a /24 into four equal /26s, assign the correct /26 mask to each link, and configure deterministic lowest-usable addressing on router interfaces. No routing protocols or static routes are used; verification is strictly directly-connected reachability.
Beginner CCNA lab (1 of 10) focused on configuring and verifying IPv4 interface addressing on Cisco IOS routers. Learners assign given /24 addresses to two router interfaces and validate directly-connected reachability. No routing protocols or static routes are configured in this lab.
Beginner CCNA NTP lab. Two IOS routers share a single /30 link with no routing. Configure R1 as an authoritative NTP master at stratum 3 and point R2 to R1 as its NTP server. Verify using show ntp associations, show ntp status, and show clock. Emphasis: deterministic config — grading checks the presence of ntp master 3 on R1 and ntp server 10.0.0.1 on R2, not live convergence.
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