30 hands-on Static Routing scenarios you build in your own Cisco Modeling Labs instance and grade against the answer key. Static Routing configuration and troubleshooting practice for CCNA and CCNP.
Two sites, one static path and a floating backup — the reference wiring for Static & Default Routing, not a specific lab.
Troubleshoot a branch network where an ACL intended to block Telnet ended up blocking everything because it was never applied, and the branch router also lacks a route to the server. Diagnose from the client’s perspective, verify hop-by-hop reachability, and then place the ACL where it will see the traffic while preserving the intended deny. Finish by restoring end-to-end connectivity for all traffic except Telnet to the server.
A branch LAN’s clients can’t obtain IP addresses even though the DHCP server at the hub is up and reachable. Diagnose where the broadcast-to-unicast relay path breaks and restore end-to-end DHCP lease delivery while preserving the rest of the clean, working design.
Build a compact branch-to-edge topology that is dual-stack for IPv4 and intentionally incomplete for IPv6. IPv4 is fully working as a baseline. Your job: enable IPv6 forwarding on both routers, replace specific IPv6 routes at the branch with a single default (::/0) toward the edge, and add a specific IPv6 return route on the edge back to the branch LAN. Verify the branch host reaches the edge-side resources over IPv6 while the IPv4 plane remains stable.
Dual-stack enterprise lab with two routers, a shared access switch, and two hosts in separate VLANs. IPv4 is fully working via static routes in the starter. Your task is to add IPv6 static routes on both routers so the clients can communicate end-to-end over IPv6. Learn why a link-local next hop on a point-to-point link requires specifying the exit interface.
Advanced static-routing capstone, run as a fault hunt. Two suites were cut over last night and now Suite-B is unreachable, Suite-A gets replies only sometimes, and one client cannot even reach its own gateway. Nothing was written down. You get symptoms and the required end state — no fault list. The faults span both routers and the access switch, and the routing table being present does not mean it is right.
Inject a static default route from an edge router into an EIGRP domain so internal routers and hosts gain internet reachability. You will verify the D*EX 0.0.0.0/0 on the internal router and validate end-to-end connectivity from a branch host through the edge to an ISP-side server.
Troubleshoot classic static routing and connectivity issues in a 3-router, 2-site network. Faults seeded include a missing return route, wrong next-hop/mask, and a missing/misconfigured default route. Learners must identify and correct Layer 3 faults to restore end-to-end reachability between branch clients.
Build a routed LACP EtherChannel (Port-channel 8) between two iol-xe routers and route real inter-LAN traffic using static routes. Two parallel physical links (Ethernet0/0 and Ethernet0/1) on each router are bundled into a single Layer-3 Port-channel with a /30 transit. Each router serves a local /24 LAN with an alpine host. Validate that Po8 is up/up, static routes are present, and end-to-end host pings succeed across the aggregated uplink.
Build a central DHCP service on an IOS-XE router and service two branch departments across a routed hop via DHCP relay. Configure two DHCP pools (SALES and SUPPORT) with proper options and excluded ranges on the HQ server, and enable ip helper-address on both branch LAN interfaces so clients obtain leases from the correct pool. Verify leases and bindings using Linux and IOS show commands, and confirm return-path reachability with prebuilt static routes.
Configure a centralized DHCP server on an IOS-XE router and relay DHCP from a remote branch LAN using ip helper-address on a branch router. Verify leases, helper configuration, and end-host reachability across a routed path.
Build an Internet-edge NAT design that reaches beyond the ISP to a real external network. You will configure dynamic PAT (overload) from a private LAN to a public /29 using a NAT pool on the edge router, with the router’s default route already pointing to the ISP. Verify that an inside host can reach a public server across the ISP and that translations, counters, and default routing reflect the expected state.
Hands-on static routing lab in a small branch–WAN–branch triangle. You will configure recursive, directly-attached, and fully-specified static routes to enable end-to-end reachability between two hosts across three routers. You will learn how next-hop resolution works, how it appears in show ip route, and how to troubleshoot when static routes don’t resolve or forward as expected.
Build a 5-node edge/DMZ topology. Implement a named extended ACL on the EDGE router to allow only TCP/80, TCP/443, and ICMP echo from the Inside LAN to a DMZ web server, deny all other traffic to that server with logging, and still permit general traffic elsewhere. Apply the ACL inbound on the EDGE inside LAN interface. Harden router SSH management with a standard ACL. Verify with wget, ping, and an intentionally denied SSH attempt that increments the deny log counter.
Build a 3-router triangle with two branch LANs and real Alpine clients. Deploy primary static routes via the hub and floating backup statics over a direct branch-to-branch link. Verify reachability, path selection, and failover by simulating a hub outage.
Build a small hub-and-branch network to master default static routes and the gateway of last resort. Each branch uses a default route toward the hub; the hub holds specific routes back to branch LANs. Verify routing tables and end-to-end host connectivity, then troubleshoot common misconfigurations.
Deploy IP addressing and bidirectional static routing across a three-router topology to connect two branch LANs through an HQ hop. Practice verification from end hosts, analyze routing tables, and troubleshoot asymmetric reachability.
Beginner CCNA ACL lab on a compact 5-node CML-Free topology. You will configure static routing end-to-end, implement source NAT (PAT) at the source edge, and then build a standard numbered ACL near the destination to allow a single NATed host and a specific subnet while denying all others. You will validate with pings from end hosts, observe ACL hit counters and NAT translations, and troubleshoot common mistakes such as ACL placement, wildcard masks, and pre-/post-NAT address matching.
Three-router static-routing lab with two Linux endpoints. An extended IPv4 ACL is intentionally misordered inbound near the source, causing Telnet to be permitted unexpectedly. Learners must observe first-match behavior via hit counters, enable buffered logging to see ACL log entries, and then correct the ACL sequence so Telnet is blocked while SSH and ICMP are permitted. All routers include a complete SSH management plane. The final solution forwards end-to-end and is enterprise-clean.
Hands-on CCNA ACL practice using standard ACLs and wildcard masks to allow a single host, a contiguous range, and an entire subnet while proving a deny. You will place the ACL near the destination, order statements correctly, verify with end-host pings and ACL counters, and troubleshoot common mistakes.
Dual-router Branch/HQ lab with a branch client and an HQ server. You will apply an extended IPv4 ACL inbound near the source on the Branch LAN to block specific traffic (TCP/80) while permitting others (ICMP), and a standard IPv4 ACL outbound near the destination on the HQ LAN to admit only the approved source. Validate from real hosts, confirm ACL hitcounts, and keep inter-site connectivity via static routes over a /30 transit.
Configure a default route on a branch edge router and a return static route on an upstream core router to enable full bidirectional connectivity between a stub branch LAN and a core server LAN. Verify the S* default route, gateway of last resort, and end-to-end reachability from real hosts. Troubleshoot missing default or return paths.
Hands-on IPv6 static and default routing across a 3-router, 2-LAN topology with end-user hosts. You will enable IPv6 unicast routing, apply IPv6 addressing, configure hub-and-spoke static and default routes, and validate bidirectional host reachability. The guide provides scenario context, step-by-step tasks with the why behind each action, and targeted troubleshooting.
Hands-on CCNA static routing and manual summarization lab using a compact HQ–Branch–Remote topology. You will replace three specific static routes to Branch networks with a single /22 summary at HQ, verify end-to-end host reachability, observe the routing table reduction, and prevent over-aggregation loops by adding a Null0 discard route at Branch. A recommended step has you add the same /22 summary at Remote (replacing its default) to practice summarization on both sides.
Build a small HQ–WAN–Branch triangle with two independent WAN paths. Configure equal-cost static routes on both edge routers so traffic to the opposite site’s LAN installs with two next-hops and is load-shared by CEF. Verify end-to-end reachability from real hosts, observe per-flow load sharing on the routers, and compare behavior to a floating static of higher administrative distance.
CCNA55 min5 objectives
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Practicing static and default routing on Cisco Modeling Labs
Why it matters, and what these labs cover.
Static routing is the foundation everything else builds on: before you trust a dynamic protocol, you need to reason confidently about a routing table, next-hops, administrative distance, and the default route. Static routes are also still everywhere in production — stub sites, a default route to an ISP, and floating statics for backup paths.
In these labs you configure ip route statements on real Cisco IOS in Cisco Modeling Labs: static routes, next-hop vs exit-interface, a default route (0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0) as the gateway of last resort, and floating static routes with a higher administrative distance for failover. Verify with show ip route and end-to-end reachability, then upload your export for per-requirement grading. Troubleshooting labs give you a broken static — a wrong next-hop, a missing return route, an overlapping subnet — to diagnose and repair, which is the single most common real-world routing ticket.
Frequently asked questions
What's a floating static route?
A static route configured with a higher administrative distance than the primary path, so it stays out of the routing table until the preferred route fails — then it 'floats' in as a backup. Several labs have you configure and test one.
Do the labs cover default routes?
Yes — configuring ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 as the gateway of last resort and verifying it's used, including the distinction between a static default route and default-information originate in a dynamic protocol.
Is static routing a CCNA topic?
Yes — IPv4/IPv6 static and default routing is a core CCNA objective. The troubleshooting labs also build the diagnostic habits that carry into CCNP.
Learn Static Routing
Study the theory behind these labs — the concept explainer and step-by-step guides.
