Layer-2 Trunk EtherChannel Carrying Multiple VLANs
Build a two-link LACP EtherChannel between SW1 and SW2 and convert the Port-channel into an 802.1Q trunk that explicitly carries VLANs 40 and 41. Validate end-to-end host reachability across VLAN 40 and confirm the trunk’s allowed VLAN list and switchport mode on the logical port-channel. Emphasis: deterministic EtherChannel configuration on member interfaces, correct trunking on the Port-channel, and verification with IOS show commands.
Lab 7: EtherChannel + Rapid-PVST — One Logical Link
Build an LACP Layer-2 EtherChannel between SW1 and SW2 so Rapid-PVST+ treats two parallel links as one logical Port-channel 7. Without EtherChannel, STP will block one of the two access links. With LACP active on both members and Port-channel 7 as an access port in VLAN 70, STP shows a single forwarding interface (Po7) and both physical links forward as one logical channel. Two hosts in VLAN 70 verify end-to-end connectivity.
EtherChannel Consistency: Repair a Mode Mismatch
Advanced CCNP troubleshooting lab: a pair of Layer-2 switches are connected by a two-link EtherChannel intended to carry VLAN 90 between access hosts. The starter configuration ships broken on purpose: the inter-switch bundle won’t form due to incompatible aggregation modes, and a trunk allow-list drift on one side prunes VLAN 90. Diagnose with IOS show commands, correct the EtherChannel mode so LACP forms the Port-channel, and restore trunk policy so same-VLAN hosts can communicate.
STP 5: PortFast on Access Ports (VLAN 50 Triangle)
Configure PortFast correctly on access ports in a triangle switch loop while maintaining normal STP protection on inter-switch trunks. Force SW1 as the root for VLAN 50 and verify that only edge ports are fast-tracked. Observe the difference in host convergence with and without PortFast.
STP 4: Port Priority Tie-Break on Parallel Links
Guide Rapid-PVST+ to prefer a specific parallel trunk by tuning the sender’s port priority on the root bridge. Two ioll2-xe switches (SW1, SW2) form a physical loop via two equal-speed trunks. A third L2 switch (SW3) extends the user VLAN to a second closet. One Alpine host attaches to SW1 and another to SW3 in VLAN 40 (10.1.40.0/24). You will: force SW1 to be the root for VLAN 40, lower the port priority on SW1’s Gi0/2 (Ethernet0/1) to break the tie so SW2 selects its Gi0/2 as the Root Port, enable PortFast and BPDU Guard on host-facing ports, and verify with show spanning-tree outputs and host pings.
STP Lab 6: BPDU Guard — Protecting the Edge
Continue the STP series on a three-switch triangle with a real loop. SW1 is the deterministic root for VLAN 60, and access ports already use PortFast. In this lab you will harden the edge by enabling BPDU Guard on the two host-facing access ports on SW2 and SW3, while leaving the inter-switch trunks untouched. Verify with show commands that BPDU Guard is active only on the edge and that hosts still communicate normally.
STP 2: Controlling the Root Bridge with Priority
Beginner CCNA STP lab on a three-switch triangle with two hosts in VLAN 20. You will deliberately control the Spanning Tree root election using the root primary/secondary macros so SW1 is the active root and SW2 is the standby. The baseline already provides VLANs and trunks; your job is to set root priorities deterministically and verify the resulting roles and port states without introducing any Layer-3.
STP Lab 7: Rapid-PVST+ Migration on Triangle Loop
Migrate a three-switch triangle from legacy PVST to Rapid-PVST+ without changing the existing root or blocked port. SW1 remains the deterministic root for VLAN 70 (priority 4096). Verify protocol mode, link types (point-to-point vs edge), and end-to-end host reachability, then observe the faster reconvergence behavior of Rapid-PVST+.
STP Lab 8: Per-VLAN Load Balancing Across Two Roots
Use Rapid-PVST+ to elect different root bridges per VLAN across two parallel trunks, spreading VLAN 80 and VLAN 81 across distinct physical links without modifying path cost or port priority. Validate independent per-VLAN trees and confirm hosts in VLAN 80 can communicate over the surviving path. Includes a drift-check to diagnose/restore trunk allow-lists.
STP 3: Path Cost — Choose the Forwarding Link (VLAN 30)
Engineer which trunk forwards by tuning STP path cost in a 3-switch triangle. Force SW1 as the VLAN 30 root at a deterministic priority, enable Rapid-PVST+, harden edge ports with PortFast and BPDU Guard, and raise the STP cost on SW3’s direct uplink to SW1 so SW3 prefers the longer, indirect path via SW2. Verify the resulting root port, alternate (blocked) port, and host reachability across the chosen path.
Root Guard on Designated Ports
Advanced Rapid-PVST+ and Root Guard implementation on a three-switch triangle with a real loop. SW1 is the intentional root for VLAN 90 and protects its designated ports with Root Guard to prevent root re-parenting. Two Alpine hosts on VLAN 90 verify end-to-end forwarding remains stable even if a superior BPDU appears downstream.
CCNA Day 4: Inter-VLAN Routing (Router-on-a-Stick)
Deploy router-on-a-stick inter-VLAN routing across a compact branch topology with a distribution and access switch, a hardened 802.1Q trunk, and two user VLANs. Configure VLANs and access/trunk ports, build router subinterfaces, verify end-to-end user reachability, and troubleshoot trunk/native-VLAN/subinterface mismatches.
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Native VLAN on a Router-on-a-Stick Trunk
Build and verify inter-VLAN routing using router-on-a-stick with a native (untagged) VLAN on the trunk. Configure one router (subinterfaces only), one Layer-2 access switch (VLANs, access ports, and a single 802.1Q trunk), and two end hosts in different VLANs. The management VLAN 99 rides untagged as the trunk's native VLAN, so the router subinterface must use 'encapsulation dot1Q 99 native' and the switch trunk must match 'switchport trunk native vlan 99'. Verify from Linux hosts and IOS 'show' commands, then practice troubleshooting common native-VLAN faults.
Scaling to Three VLANs: Adding a Department
Extend a working two-VLAN router-on-a-stick design to a third VLAN (Guest) without breaking Sales and Engineering. Add one router subinterface, one switch VLAN + access port, and update the switch trunk’s allowed-VLAN list safely using 'add' so existing VLANs remain transported.
Router-on-a-Stick Fundamentals: Two VLANs, One Trunk
Configure inter-VLAN routing using router-on-a-stick with one router, one Layer-2 switch, and two hosts. Build VLAN 10 and VLAN 20, trunk the router uplink, create subinterfaces for each VLAN, and verify that hosts can now reach each other across VLANs.
dot1Q Subinterfaces: The Router Side
Practice creating 802.1Q subinterfaces on a single router uplink to deliver inter-VLAN routing using router-on-a-stick. The Layer-2 switch is already fully configured with VLAN 10 and VLAN 20, access ports for two hosts, and a working 802.1Q trunk to the router. Your job: leave the router's physical Ethernet0/0 unnumbered and add exactly two subinterfaces with the correct encapsulation tags and gateway IPs so hosts can reach their gateways and each other.
Switch Trunk and Access Ports for Router-on-a-Stick
Configure the Layer-2 switch side of a router-on-a-stick design. A single IOS router already provides inter-VLAN routing on Ethernet0/0.10 (10.0.10.1/24) and Ethernet0/0.20 (10.0.20.1/24). Bring up VLAN transport by creating VLANs on the switch, assigning host access ports, and converting the router-facing link into an 802.1Q trunk that carries VLANs 10 and 20. Validate with show commands on the switch and with cross-VLAN pings from the hosts.
Multi-Dept Campus Inter-VLAN with Router-on-a-Stick
Design and implement a three-department campus edge using a single router-on-a-stick to provide inter-VLAN routing for Sales (VLAN 10), Engineering (VLAN 20), and Servers (VLAN 30). Map the addressing plan directly to router subinterfaces and build an 802.1Q trunk on the access switch. Verify end-to-end reachability and troubleshoot an allow-list drift scenario.
Router-on-a-Stick Troubleshooting Capstone
Advanced CCNA capstone: diagnose and repair a fully-broken three-VLAN router-on-a-stick deployment. One iol-xe router uplinks by 802.1Q trunk to a pure layer-2 ioll2-xe switch, with three alpine PCs on their own access VLANs (10 Sales, 20 Voice, 30 CCTV); after a recent switch and router change, inter-VLAN connectivity is broken or intermittent across all three VLANs. Trace VLAN intent end-to-end from each host through the trunk to the router's subinterfaces, repair whatever faults you find, and verify with end-host pings/traceroutes and IOS show commands.
Diagnosing a Broken Router-on-a-Stick
Advanced CCNA troubleshooting lab on a router-on-a-stick design. VLAN 10 users can reach their gateway and other hosts, but VLAN 20 users cannot reach their gateway or any resources in VLAN 10. Methodically trace L2/L3 intent end-to-end - from the access ports through the trunks up to the router subinterfaces - to isolate the first-hop failure and implement fixes that restore inter-VLAN routing while maintaining enterprise trunk hardening and clean configurations.
Selective Inter-VLAN Reachability: Guest Isolation
Build a router-on-a-stick design with three VLANs (SALES, HR, GUEST) on a single router and single access switch, then enforce guest isolation using a single extended ACL applied inbound on the Guest subinterface. SALES and HR can reach each other; GUEST can reach only its default gateway and is blocked from internal subnets. The lab focuses on correct 802.1Q tagging, trunking, access port assignments, ACL placement/order, and end-host verification.
Lab 7: Inter-VLAN Verification Discipline
Build and verify a three-VLAN router-on-a-stick design: one IOS router provides inter-VLAN routing via 802.1Q subinterfaces to a single Layer-2 access switch, with three Alpine hosts in VLANs 10, 20, and 30. The starter environment does not yet forward traffic correctly between all three VLANs, so you will apply a disciplined router-switch-host verification method to diagnose and fix the problem, then briefly break and restore one VLAN's connectivity before finishing with an enterprise-clean, hardened trunk.
CCNA Port Security 1: Enable & Verify on Access Ports
Hands-on fundamentals with Cisco port security on host-facing access ports. Build a small two-switch campus with a trunk, place two Linux hosts in the same user VLAN, then enable port security with the explicit defaults (maximum 1, violation shutdown) on both host ports. Verify secure-up state and baseline host connectivity.
802.1Q Trunking Troubleshooting Capstone
Advanced CCNA switching capstone centered on restoring end-to-end VLAN 20 transport across three Layer-2 switches using 802.1Q trunks. The starter ships intentionally broken: after a simulated maintenance window, two Alpine hosts in VLAN 20 can no longer reach each other across the inter-switch trunks. Learners diagnose with show interfaces trunk, show interfaces switchport, and show vlan brief, then identify and correct the trunking faults in the right order and verify with host pings.
Practicing VLANs and trunking on Cisco Modeling Labs
VLANs are how a single physical switch becomes many logical networks, and they underpin almost everything else on a campus network — trunking, inter-VLAN routing, voice, and segmentation. The concepts (access vs trunk ports, the native VLAN, 802.1Q tagging) are simple to state and easy to get subtly wrong, which is exactly why hands-on reps matter.
These VLAN labs give you real Cisco switches in Cisco Modeling Labs to configure and break. You'll create VLANs, assign access ports, build 802.1Q trunks and set the allowed list, configure a native VLAN, and route between VLANs with router-on-a-stick or a switched virtual interface. Verify with show vlan brief, show interfaces trunk, and end-to-end pings, then upload your export for per-requirement grading. Deliberate faults — a port in the wrong VLAN, a trunk that pruned the VLAN it needed, a native-VLAN mismatch — train the troubleshooting you'll do on real access-layer gear.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an access port and a trunk port?
An access port carries a single VLAN untagged to an end device; a trunk port carries many VLANs between switches (or to a router), tagging each frame with 802.1Q so the far end knows which VLAN it belongs to. The labs have you configure and verify both.
Do the VLAN labs cover inter-VLAN routing?
Yes — both router-on-a-stick (subinterfaces with 802.1Q encapsulation) and switched virtual interfaces (SVIs) on a layer-3 switch, plus the troubleshooting when traffic won't cross between VLANs.
Which certification are the VLAN labs for?
VLANs, trunking, and inter-VLAN routing are core CCNA objectives; the segmentation and scaling labs extend into CCNP campus topics. Each lab is tagged by track.
