60 hands-on VLAN scenarios you build in your own Cisco Modeling Labs instance and grade against the answer key. VLAN configuration and troubleshooting practice for CCNA and CCNP.
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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.
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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.
Build a single 802.1Q trunk between two Layer-2 switches that correctly carries three VLANs with an explicit allow-list and a dedicated non-default native VLAN. Place hosts in Users (VLAN 10) across both switches and a server in Servers (VLAN 20). Verify that the trunk allows VLANs 10, 20, and 99, that the native VLAN matches on both ends, and that same-VLAN hosts communicate across the trunk. Then intentionally break and restore the configuration to practice troubleshooting trunk allow-lists, native VLAN alignment, and host VLAN placement.
Hands-on CCNA lab focusing on 802.1Q trunk allow-lists. Build a realistic three-switch campus with two user hosts in VLAN 10. First bring up trunks carrying all VLANs by default, then implement an explicit allowed VLAN list and prune a non-used VLAN. Intentionally remove VLAN 10 from one trunk to observe an outage, verify with Linux pings and IOS show commands, and restore service by fixing the allow-list. Reinforce native VLAN alignment and compare default vs explicit trunk policy.
Deploy and verify port security maximum settings on host-facing access ports in a pure Layer-2 campus with two access switches uplinked to a distribution switch. You will raise the allowed secure MAC count to 2 on each user port to support a PC and a potential downstream device (e.g., a dock), then verify with show commands. No Layer-3, SVIs, or routing are used; focus purely on access VLANs, trunks, and the port-security maximum behavior.
Configure port security in shutdown mode on host-facing access ports and enable automatic errdisable recovery for psecure-violation. The lab uses two Layer-2 switches connected by a trunk and three Linux hosts in the same VLAN to validate baseline L2 connectivity. You will deploy and verify the global errdisable recovery timer and cause while keeping the trunk healthy. Focus is on deterministic configuration and verification via show commands rather than attempting to trigger live violations.
Deploy and compare the two non-disabling port-security violation modes on host-facing access ports. Build a small Layer-2 topology with a trunk between two switches and same-VLAN hosts. Configure violation protect on one access port and restrict on another using deterministic sticky MAC entries. Validate baseline reachability, then observe the different behaviors: protect silently drops with no counter/logs; restrict drops and increments the violation counter.
Build a static 802.1Q trunk between two Layer-2 switches to carry VLANs 10 and 20. Map hosts to access ports, verify trunk encapsulation and allowed VLANs, demonstrate same-VLAN reachability across the trunk, and confirm inter-VLAN isolation. Then simulate an allow-list drift fault, diagnose with show commands, and restore service.
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Two access-layer switches have a VLAN 20 connectivity problem: users in one wiring closet cannot reach users in the other. Diagnose and repair the issue, then deploy sticky secure MAC learning on the host-facing access ports so each port dynamically learns and persists its connected host's MAC. Verify sticky entries in show commands and confirm same-VLAN host connectivity end-to-end.
Harden a real desk port that carries both data (PC) and voice (IP phone) using switchport voice vlan and access vlan on a single access port. Apply port security with a maximum that accounts for two MAC addresses (phone + PC) so a third device is restricted. A deliberate trunk allow-list drift on the inter-switch link initially blocks the Voice VLAN; learners must repair the trunk and then verify port-security state on the desk port.
Advanced CCNA switchport port-security rollout on multiple access ports across two Layer-2 switches with a trunk. You will standardize a consistent edge policy (sticky MAC learning, maximum 1, violation restrict) on all host-facing access ports while leaving the uplink trunk exempt from port-security. Includes a realistic drift on the trunk allow-list and VLAN database to fix before validating end-to-end user VLAN transport. Pure Layer-2: no SVIs or routing.
Hands-on CCNA L2 switching lab: build a small campus with a distribution switch and two access switches carrying a shared user VLAN over 802.1Q trunks. Harden access ports with sticky port-security in violation shutdown mode. Intentionally seed and diagnose broken trunks/host VLANs, restore end-to-end host reachability, then trigger a port-security violation to observe err-disabled behavior and perform manual recovery.
Troubleshoot a Layer-2 forwarding fault that breaks a user VLAN between access/distribution switches, then implement static secure MAC binding on the client-facing access port. You will restore end-to-end VLAN 20 reachability and enforce a single authorized MAC on the user port using port-security with violation restrict.
Build an end-to-end 802.1Q path across three Cisco IOS Layer-2 switches so VLAN 10 transports user traffic from an access port on the left switch to an access port on the right switch through a middle switch. Harden trunks (native VLAN 999, nonegotiate) and verify with show interfaces trunk. Then intentionally break the allow-list to see the outage and restore service.
Hands-on DTP negotiation and trunk hardening across a 3-switch path. You will observe dynamic trunking behavior (auto vs desirable), fix an allow-list drift that blocks user VLAN transport, and then harden the trunks to static with nonegotiate and a non-default native VLAN. End-to-end host reachability in the same VLAN proves success.
Hands-on CCNA switching lab contrasting single-VLAN access ports with 802.1Q trunks. You begin with the inter-switch link configured as a plain access port, so only one VLAN reaches the router-on-a-stick gateway while the other cannot. You will diagnose the connectivity problem, convert the link into a properly hardened 802.1Q trunk, and validate that both VLANs regain access to their gateway.
An advanced CCNA switching lab focused on verifying 802.1Q trunks and diagnosing a silent VLAN after a switch refresh. The topology uses three layer-2 switches (a distribution switch between two access closets) and two Alpine hosts, and users in VLAN 20 at one closet cannot reach their VLAN 20 peers at the other closet across the trunk path. Learners use show interfaces trunk, show interfaces switchport, and show vlan brief to locate the break and restore predictable Layer-2 forwarding without adding any Layer-3 configuration.
Diagnose and remediate a trunk misconfiguration between an access switch and a distribution switch so that same-VLAN hosts across two access switches can communicate end-to-end. Use CDP and trunk verification commands to investigate the fault and restore proper trunk operation, without introducing any Layer-3 routing.
Hands-on CCNA switching lab focused on the native VLAN and tagging behavior on 802.1Q trunks. Users in one VLAN currently cannot reach their peers across a switch-to-switch trunk; you will standardize the native VLAN away from VLAN 1 to a dedicated parking VLAN, diagnose and correct the trunk configuration, verify the untagged VLAN on both ends, and confirm same-VLAN host reachability across the trunk.
Advanced Layer-2 capstone, run as a fault hunt. A branch was cut over last night: one user VLAN has no gateway, another user sits in the wrong subnet, the management VLAN is unreachable from the distribution switch, and a port that should lock to one MAC no longer does. Nothing was recorded. You get symptoms and the required end state — no fault list. Faults span the router and both switches, and more than one of them presents as 'the trunk is broken'.
Deploy and troubleshoot VLANs, 802.1Q trunks, and port security in a realistic small-branch ROAS design. You will stand up VLANs 10/20/99 with a hardened trunk native VLAN 999, configure sticky port security on access ports, correct a misassigned VLAN, and resolve an err-disabled port caused by a port security violation. Finish by verifying end-to-end host connectivity across VLANs.
Hands-on CCNA VLAN lab: build VLANs with names, assign access ports, harden and verify 802.1Q trunks, and troubleshoot a broken allow-list that prevents a VLAN from traversing the SW1–SW2 trunk. Includes router-on-a-stick gateways, management VLAN, and end-host validation.
Configure VLANs and 802.1Q trunks across two access switches with a router-on-a-stick gateway. Intentionally misconfigure the native VLAN and trunk allow-list to observe loss of intra-VLAN connectivity, detect the mismatch using switch warnings and show commands, and then remediate to restore user reachability. Validates VLAN segmentation, trunking symmetry, and troubleshooting skills for CCNA candidates.
Hands-on CCNA VLAN and trunking lab: assign access ports by interface range, build and harden 802.1Q trunks, set a dedicated native VLAN, correct a misassigned user port, and verify VLAN membership. Includes a cross-switch path with a router-on-a-stick gateway, tests from real hosts, and troubleshooting of trunk allow-lists and native VLAN mismatches.
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