The current blueprint is v1.1. Cisco's v2.0 blueprint takes effect on 3 February 2027, and 2 February 2027 is the last day to test v1.1. Confirm the current version on Cisco's site before you book.
The exam rewards configuration judgement
CCNA is not a vocabulary test with a few labs attached. It asks you to read output, choose a configuration, spot the broken line and explain why a design works. The exam is 120 minutes and graded pass or fail. Cisco publishes the topic blueprint rather than a fixed item count, so study the objectives instead of chasing a leaked number.
The domains are network fundamentals (20%), network access (20%), IP connectivity (25%), IP services (10%), security fundamentals (15%) and automation and programmability (10%). IP connectivity leads, but every later domain assumes the fundamentals are solid.
Build before you memorise
Reading about VLANs is not the same as tagging a trunk and watching a host disappear from the wrong VLAN. Every week should include hands-on work: a small topology, a deliberate break, and the show commands that explain it. Our Labs tab has browser-based topology and configuration tasks, so you can practice the reasoning without a physical rack.
Ten weeks, five sessions a week
- Weeks 1-2: subnetting and addressing. IPv4 masks, VLSM, summarisation, IPv6 addressing and prefix maths. Use the subnet calculator to check, then drill until /26 problems take under a minute. Add the IPv6 calculator for prefix practice.
- Week 3: interfaces, cables and device access. Console and management access, interface states, duplex and speed, basic device hardening. Read output, not just commands.
- Week 4: VLANs, trunks and spanning tree. Access ports, trunk allowed lists, native VLAN, inter-VLAN routing, root bridge selection, port states. Break a trunk on purpose and find it with show commands.
- Week 5: routing fundamentals. Static routes, default routes, administrative distance, longest prefix match. Build a three-router path and trace a packet with show ip route.
- Week 6: OSPFv2. Neighbor formation, areas, cost, passive interfaces, DR/BDR basics. Know which output proves a neighbor is stuck and why.
- Week 7: IP services. DHCP, DNS, NTP, NAT, HSRP, syslog, SNMP, QoS concepts. Tie each service to the symptom a user would report.
- Week 8: security fundamentals. Port security, DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, ACLs, AAA concepts, VPN types, wireless security. Practice ACL order and implicit deny.
- Week 9: automation. REST, JSON, Ansible, Terraform, SDN concepts, controller-based networking. You do not need to write production code, but you need to read a simple JSON object and explain what a controller does.
- Week 10: timed mixed sets and weak-spot repair. Two sittings, then one week on the missed domains only. Rebuild one broken topology from scratch.
The troubleshooting loop
Use the same loop on every lab:
- Name the intended path: source, destination, protocol, port.
- Check the local interface and VLAN.
- Check the trunk or access link.
- Check the route or default gateway.
- Check filtering: ACL, firewall, NAT.
- Prove the fix with a ping, a traceroute or a show command.
Write the loop down and use it until it is automatic. The exam cannot watch your process, but the questions are built from the same steps.
Practise with labs and PBQs
Half of this plan is labs, so the lab list matters as much as the video list. The 200-301 pack holds 8 performance-based questions and 86 labs, most of them console tasks over a small topology, graded on the running configuration you leave rather than on the commands you typed (counts from the live catalogue).
Match the task to the week. Weeks 1 and 2 need the subnetting tasks and nothing else, because the address maths is the gate. Week 3 is interfaces and device access. Week 4 is the trunk and VLAN tasks, which are the ones people fail quietly because a trunk that is up can still be wrong. Weeks 5 to 8 take routing, OSPF, services and security in that order, and each week ends with one task you break on purpose and then repair. Week 10 is mixed sittings only.
If you are choosing between browser labs and an install, the CCNA lab comparison is the honest version of that decision, and the CCNA lab catalogue lists every task with the objective it checks so you can verify the mapping yourself.
What to do in the last two weeks
Stop adding new topics. Re-run the weak labs, read the show output aloud, and practice explaining a failure to a colleague in three sentences. For the exam itself, expect a mix of multiple choice, drag-and-drop and simulation-style items. Read the whole item before touching a device. A missing word like "not" or "first" changes the answer.
If your date lands after the v2.0 cutover, check Cisco's blueprint for the current topic list before your final month. Do not study a retired blueprint because a forum post told you it was easier.