268 hands-on CCNA scenarios you build in your own Cisco Modeling Labs instance and grade against the answer key. Aligned to the CCNA certification track — exam-ready configuration and troubleshooting practice.
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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.
Hands-on CCNA lab to practice creating VLANs on a single Layer-2 switch and assigning access ports. You will segment a flat network into two VLANs, place hosts into the right VLAN, and verify that intra-VLAN pings succeed while inter-VLAN pings fail (no routing present). Includes realistic verification and troubleshooting.
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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.
Advanced CCNA L2 troubleshooting in a compact branch. Some PCs can't reach their default gateway or other departments across two switches and a router-on-a-stick gateway, and your monitoring system has flagged a switching/trunking problem on the path. Validation is performed from the endpoints (Alpine hosts) using pings and ARP, and trunks are hardened with a non-default native VLAN.
Configure VLANs and access ports on two Layer-2 switches, build 802.1Q trunks (with hardened native VLAN and an explicit allowed list), validate end-to-end reachability, intentionally prune a VLAN from the inter-switch trunk to observe segmentation, then restore the correct allow-list. Includes realistic router-on-a-stick gateways for VLAN 10/20/99 and switch management on VLAN 99.
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 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.
Hands-on CCNA static routing lab: build a small hub-and-spoke with two stub routers and a hub router. Configure default routes on the spokes and specific static routes on the hub so two user LANs reach each other end-to-end. Validate from real hosts and practice first-hop and return-path troubleshooting.
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Deploy a compact two-site topology with a WAN core and two end hosts to practice IPv4 static host routes (/32) versus subnet routes (/24). You will configure a specific /32 host route to steer one destination host over the direct R1–R3 path while a broader /24 for the same remote LAN is sent via the R1–R2–R3 core. Validate with show commands and traceroute, then troubleshoot longest-prefix match and return-path issues.
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.
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.
Deploy primary static routes between two branch LANs via a hub router and add a higher-AD floating static for a direct inter-branch backup. Verify end-to-end reachability, simulate a hub outage to trigger automatic failover, then restore the primary path. Includes realistic addressing, unique /30 transits, and host-based verification.
Hands-on CCNA static routing troubleshooting in a realistic three-router core/edge topology with two user LANs. Static routing on the network was recently changed and users at SITE-A (10.10.10.10) and SITE-B (10.30.30.10) can no longer reach each other; you will investigate the routers' route tables and next-hop reachability to diagnose and restore full bidirectional connectivity.
Design and implement a 3-router full-mesh with two edge LANs using static IPv4 routes only. Edges use primary defaults toward the core plus floating (higher AD) backup defaults; the core uses specific routes for the edge LANs. Validate bidirectional reachability, path choice, and failover behaviors from real hosts.
Implement VLANs, 802.1Q trunking, router-on-a-stick inter-VLAN routing, and access-layer port security on a compact branch network with two access switches and two endpoints. You will configure segmentation (VLANs 10, 20, 99), hardened trunks with a dedicated native VLAN 999, Layer 3 gateways on a core router, and sticky MAC port security on user-facing ports. Verify end-to-end reachability and remediate common misconfigurations like missing allowed VLANs, native VLAN mismatches, and unauthorized endpoint moves.
Build a 3-router triangle with two end-to-end paths between Branch A and the Data Center. Stand up OSPF area 0, create an ECMP condition, then intentionally steer traffic using ip ospf cost. Verify from the end hosts and troubleshoot common OSPF control-plane mismatches.
Deploy a compact enterprise multi-area OSPF with a backbone (area 0) and one branch area (area 10). You will configure area 10 as a stub, then transition it to a totally-stubby area from the ABR, validate reduced LSDB and routing tables, and simulate an operational fault (area mismatch) to diagnose adjacency loss and restore full transit. The lab uses three routers and two hosts to verify end-to-end reachability and real-world outcomes.
Build a 5-node CML lab to design OSPFv2 across two areas with an ABR that summarizes non-backbone routes using area range. Validate adjacencies, end-to-end reachability, and that the backbone learns a single summary in place of specific inter-area routes. Intentionally introduce an area mismatch, diagnose why the adjacency does not form, and repair it.
Build and troubleshoot a compact multi-area OSPF design with a single ABR between area 0 and area 10. You will deploy OSPF, observe an adjacency failure caused by an area mismatch on one transit link, repair it, and validate that routes propagate end to end between two user LANs.
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.
Hands-on CCNA Layer 2 switching lab: build VLANs, access ports, hardened 802.1Q trunks, and basic port-security across two access switches and an L2 core. Verify segmentation end-to-end from real hosts and practice troubleshooting native-VLAN and port/VLAN mismatches.
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.
Deploy OSPFv2 across three routers with unique, loopback-derived router-ids. Observe OSPF neighbor state transitions, advertise loopbacks and LANs, and troubleshoot an adjacency failure caused by a duplicate router-id. Validate full end-to-end reachability from client hosts after fixing the issue.
Hands-on CCNA beginner lab: build a 3-router chain with end hosts, enable OSPFv2 area 0, form full adjacencies, advertise loopbacks and LANs, verify route propagation end-to-end, and intentionally create then resolve an OSPF area mismatch on a transit segment.
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