What is on the 200-301 exam?

A 90-question simulation model, since Cisco publishes no fixed count in 120 minutes, graded pass or fail, with no scaled score. Domains: Network Fundamentals (20%), Network Access (20%), IP Connectivity (25%), IP Services (10%), Security Fundamentals (15%), Automation and Programmability (10%).

Which domain is worth the most?

IP connectivity at 25% and Fundamentals at 20%. Start there, and keep coming back: the heaviest domains decide most pass and fail results.

How long should I plan for?

Set aside five to eight weeks at about five focused hours a week, then let a full practice sitting decide your exam date. If you already work in IT, the first weeks move faster. Do not book until a fresh sitting, with questions you have not seen, lands above the pass mark.

What score do I need to pass?

This exam is graded pass or fail. The simulator shows a pass or fail result and never invents a scaled score.

Start with subnetting. Every routing and troubleshooting question quietly depends on it.

Do I need hands-on experience?

Helpful, not required. The browser labs let you practise the hands-on tasks without a server or a rack, and each lab grades the end state rather than the exact command you typed.

Are the practice questions the same as the real test?

No. SecLern questions are written originally for this site and mapped to the published objectives. They are never copied from a real exam.

What should I do the week before the exam?

Take one full simulation early in the week and review every miss. Spend the middle of the week on the two domains that scored lowest, then stop adding new material 48 hours out. Confirm your appointment and ID, sleep, and read the goal line twice on every performance task.

Is this page current?

This page is built against 200-301 CCNA v1.1 Exam Topics (Cisco Public) (1.1), verified 2026-10-19. Exam owners change objectives and retirement dates, so confirm the date for your language before you book.

CertificationsCCNA

Cisco · 200-301

Cisco CCNA 200-301

Cisco CCNA 200-301 is the associate-level networking certificate for people who configure and troubleshoot real networks: switching and routing, network services, security fundamentals, and the automation tooling that now sits alongside them.

Help desk or network support moving into network engineering, or anyone whose job runs through Cisco gear. Cisco lists no prerequisites, but A+ or Network+ level knowledge makes the material land faster.

Study 200-301 free

See labs Check version dates

Version status

The v2.0 blueprint takes effect 3 February 2027. Cisco does not publish a fixed item count; the 90 here is our study simulation default.

Retires: 2 February 2027 for v1.1

Where the marks live

Domain weights from the current 200-301 objectives. Start with the heaviest slice, not the first chapter.

IP connectivity leads at 25%

25%IP connectivity

How much study time does 200-301 need?

Pick the closest starting point. The range below is a planning estimate, not a promise or a pass prediction.

70 to 110 hoursat a steady pace

That is up to 22 weeks at 5 hours a week, or 14 weeks at 8 hours. Some IT background, but the exam material is still new.

Estimate only. Based on the exam level and a study-pace assumption. Your background, exam date and practice scores will move it.

A study plan that works

Order matters

Start with subnetting. Every routing and troubleshooting question quietly depends on it.
Learn VLANs, trunking, and spanning tree with a packet tracer or lab, not from slides alone.
Build one small OSPF topology and break it on purpose, then read the show output until the fix is obvious.
Finish with timed mixed sets that include simulation-style items: reading CLI output is the real exam skill.

Try one question

Live demo

Demo questionNetwork access

Two switches are connected by a trunk. Users in the same VLAN can reach the local switch but not hosts on the far switch. What should you check first?

Written for this page. It is a teaching demo, not an item from the question bank or the real exam.

Try the hands-on shape

About 2 minutes

Try it: a terminal that answers back

Teaching terminal. Type help, then try ping web or nmap web.

A teaching model of ping and nmap, not a real network.

Demo preview. A teaching model with fixed sample data, not the real lab. Full labs run in the browser with checkable steps.

Practice a performance question

8 performance-based questions are written for Cisco CCNA 200-301. They ask you to do the task in a simulated console, table or form, and they grade in parts, so a half-right answer still earns credit.

How performance questions are scored

Sample performance questionMatch each task to the control or service

A Linux script refuses to run: Permission denied

A workstation has 169.254.x.x and no internet

A switch port shows no link light

A teaching demo written for this page. It is not a real exam item, and nothing here is saved.

This matching sample is local and ungraded. The full set is included in practice for this exam.

Common traps

Ways smart people lose points on this exam.

Burning the clock on subnet math. Practice until masks and ranges are automatic.
Memorizing commands without reading output. Most items hand you show output and ask what it proves.
Skipping the automation and AI-operations objectives because they feel new. They are on the blueprint.

Practise 200-301, three ways

Every lab is a job task in the tool that job uses, graded on the end state you leave behind. The PBQ pages explain the performance formats this exam uses and open one real scenario in the browser. The practice test gives you fifteen questions with a reason for every option.

Open the 200-301 labs

Objectives by domain

Every published 200-301 objective, grouped by the domain that carries it. The wording stays with Cisco.

54 objectives

Fundamentals20% of the exam

1.1Network components
1.2Topology architectures
1.3Interfaces and cabling
1.4Interface problems
1.5TCP vs UDP
1.6IPv4 addressing
1.7Private IPv4
1.8IPv6 addressing
1.9IPv6 types
1.10Client IP parameters
1.11Wireless principles
1.12Virtualisation
1.13Switching concepts

IP connectivity25% of the examStart here

3.1Routing table
3.2Forwarding decisions
3.3Routing protocols
3.4Static routes
3.5OSPFv2
3.6First-hop redundancy

IP services10% of the exam

4.1NAT
4.2NTP
4.3DHCP and DNS
4.4SNMP
4.5Syslog
4.6DHCP relay
4.7QoS
4.8SSH
4.9File transfer
4.10Management access

Security15% of the exam

5.1Security concepts
5.2Security programs
5.3Device access
5.4Password policies
5.5IPsec VPNs
5.6ACLs
5.7L2 security
5.8AAA
5.9Wireless security
5.10WLAN security config

Automation10% of the exam

6.1Automation concepts
6.2Controller-based SDN
6.3REST APIs
6.4AI in operations
6.5Config management
6.6JSON

The full entry for each objective (the explainer, key terms, traps and practice questions) lives in the Study Book. One objective per certification is free to read; Pro opens the rest.

Questions about this exam

90 questions in 120 minutes. Graded pass or fail, with no scaled score. Domains: Fundamentals (20%), Network access (20%), IP connectivity (25%), IP services (10%), Security (15%), Automation (10%).

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