Cisco CCNA Certification
Cisco Certification Portal: (www.cisco.com/go/certifications)
(Another) Cisco Certification Portal: (www.cisco.com/go/certification)
Cisco CCNA 200-301 Info and Exam Topics Page: (cisco.com/go/ccna)
Cisco Learning Network (CLN): The Cisco Learning Network (CLN) is the best learning community to use when learning for CCNA.
Take the exam from Vue (Vue.com): www.vue.com/cisco
Cisco certification tracking website: https://www.certmetrics.com/cisco/
Digital Badges (for social media, resume’): https://www.youracclaim.com/org/cisco
Re-certification details: www.cisco.com/go/recertification
Continuing education portal (for recertification): ce.cisco.com
Cisco certification support: https://ciscocert.secure.force.com/english/
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 1, on O’Reilly (Safari)
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 2, on O’Reilly (Safari)
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 1, on CiscoPress.com
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 2, on CiscoPress.com
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide Library (Contains Both Volumes) on CiscoPress.com
The CCNA Official Cert Guides come with practice questions. You can use some of those practice questions at Safari (O’Reilly Online), and for others you must purchase the book(s). In particular:
- The Safari offering includes all four CCNA Exam banks found in some of the books.
- The Premium Edition eBook products from Cisco Press, namely the CCNA Vol 2 Premium Edition and the CCNA Library Premium Edition, include those same four CCNA exam banks.
- The CCNA Vol 1 and CCNA Vol 2 books include other exam banks: one with all the questions from the chapter pre-quizzes, one with part review questions, and others that cover only the content in that book but not the other volume.
- The print books include two exam banks, rather than four, for the general question types.
Links:
CCNA Questions from Premium Edition CCNA Library, on O’Reilly (Safari)
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 1, on CiscoPress.com
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 2, on CiscoPress.com
CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide Library (Contains Both Volumes) on CiscoPress.com
Premium Edition of CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 1, on CiscoPress.com
Premium Edition of CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide, Volume 2, on CiscoPress.com
Premium Edition of CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide Library (Includes Both Vol 1 and 2), on CiscoPress.com
Packet Tracer and Labs
Wendell’s CCNA Blog: A large variety of CCNA content, collected since 2010.
Config Labs for CCNA 200-301: Short configuration exercises for CCNA, found at the blog site. You can do these in 10-15 minutes each just with pen/paper or a text editor. Optionally, use Cisco Packet Tracer or even Cisco Modeling Labs to perform the lab in a simulator or emulator.
Packet Tracer Labs for the Books’ Examples: Exploratory labs, also found at the blog site. These labs give you some assistance to re-create many of the examples found in the CCNA Official Cert Guide (OCG) books. In the blog, each of these lab posts matches one book chapter. Inside each post, you find links to packet tracer files, advice about which book examples can be reasonably recreated in Packet Tracer, and tips about how to make the examples work in Packet Tracer. These labs do not have steps or objectives. Instead, you can try the same commands shown in the books, try additional show commands, change the configuration vs. what is shown in the book, and have a place to explore, using examples from the books as a starting point.
Cisco Packet Tracer (PT) has a couple of great features as a CCNA learning tool. In particular, it’s free, and it supports many of the CLI commands you need to know for CCNA. To learn more:
Learn more and download directly from Cisco:
-
- Cisco Packet Tracer: Introduction to Packet Tracer Course
Guided tour of how to find, download, install, and test your Cisco Packet Tracer Installation:
The Pearson CCNA 200-301 Network Simulator provides a self-contained hands-on lab exercise system for CCNA. The software simulates the CLI of Cisco routers and switches, focusing on the most common commands needed to master CCNA. More importantly, the product includes about 250 lab exercises that help you learn various CCNA topics, whether you are a beginner or more advanced.
Pearson sells the commercial product for around $100 US. They also offer two free versions with a small set of labs. Normally, you can access these Sim Lite products only once you purchase the CCNA Official Cert Guide books (Volumes 1 and 2, respectively), but if you take the CCNA Crash Course, you can come to this page, click below, and download the CCNA Sim Lite products and use them for free as well.
Details below.
Pearson Network Simulator: This is the full product that you must purchase.
Pearson CCNA Sim Lite, Volume 1: This product has labs related to the CLI and LAN switching.
Sim Lite Vol 1 (Windows) download
Pearson CCNA Sim Lite, Volume 2: This product has labs related to IP Access Control Lists (ACLs).
Pearson CCNA Network Simulator
GNS3 – Doc page with their perspective on pro/con vs. CML (VIRL) and Packet Tracer:
Real Gear – info on Wendell’s Certskills.com website
Cisco Feature Navigator – learn about the features in different IOS versions, feature sets, for different device models.
IP Subnetting
IP Subnetting from Beginning to Mastery LiveLessons (Recorded Video Course): A video course about IP Subnetting. 1/3 explanation, 1/3 problem walkthroughs, 1/3 practice for you.
IP Subnetting from Beginning to Mastery LiveLessons (Live Online Course): An interactive live course on the most important parts of subnetting, with lab exercises during class. Come to class, learn subnetting, practice, and get answers to your questions.
IP Subnetting Video and Practice Questions Kit: A practice question product with over 900 subnetting practice questions.
Links:
IP Subnetting from Beginning to Mastery (Recorded Course) at O’Reilly
IP Subnetting from Beginning to Mastery (Live) at O’Reilly
IP Subnetting Practice Kit – Videos about the product – at O’Reilly
IP Subnetting Practice Kit – the Questions – at O’Reilly
IP Subnetting from Beginning to Mastery (Recorded Course) at Cisco Press
IP Subnetting Practice Kit at Cisco Press
IPv4 Address Classes
Class | First Octet Values | Purpose |
A | 1 – 126 | Unicast (large networks) |
B | 128 – 191 | Unicast (medium-sized networks) |
C | 192 – 223 | Unicast (small networks) |
D | 224 – 239 | Multicast |
E | 240 – 255 | Reserved (formerly experimental) |
- First Octet of 0 or 127: Reserved for Special Uses
Powers of 2
Power | Decimal | Power | Decimal | Power | Decimal |
20 | 1 | 28 | 256 | 216 | 65,536 |
21 | 2 | 29 | 512 | 217 | 131,072 |
22 | 4 | 210 | 1024 | 218 | 262,144 |
23 | 8 | 211 | 2048 | 219 | 524,288 |
24 | 16 | 212 | 4096 | 220 | 1,048,576 |
25 |
32 | 213 | 8192 | 221 | 2,097,152 |
26 | 64 | 214 | 16,384 | 222 | 4,194,304 |
27 | 128 | 215 | 32,768 | 223 | 8,388,608 |
Private IPv4 Networks
Class of Networks | Private IP Networks | Number of Networks |
A | 10.0.0.0 | 1 |
B | 172.16.0.0 through 171.31.0.0 | 16 |
C | 192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.0 | 256 |
The Nine DDN Octet Values
Decimal Value | Binary | Number of Binary 1’s |
0 | 00000000 | 0 |
128 | 10000000 | 1 |
192 | 11000000 | 2 |
224 | 11100000 | 3 |
240 | 11110000 | 4 |
248 | 11111000 | 5 |
252 | 11111100 | 6 |
254 | 11111110 | 7 |
255 | 11111111 | 8 |
Speed Goals and Learning Stages
Subnetting Processes | Book Speed Goals | Your Speed Goal | Your Current Speed | Your Current Stage |
Find Classful Network Facts * | 10 | |||
Convert Mask Formats * | 10 | |||
Find Subnet Facts | 30 | |||
Interpret Design w/ Mask | 15 | |||
Choose One Mask | 15 | |||
Find All Subnet IDs * | 45 |
- Excludes the time required to write all the answers on paper.
Binary-to-Decimal Conversion Chart: Decimal 0 – 127
Decimal | Binary | Decimal | Binary | Decimal | Binary | Decimal | Binary |
0 | 00000000 | 32 | 00100000 | 64 | 01000000 | 96 | 01100000 |
1 | 00000001 | 33 | 00100001 | 65 | 01000001 | 97 | 01100001 |
2 | 00000010 | 34 | 00100010 | 66 | 01000010 | 98 | 01100010 |
3 | 00000011 | 35 | 00100011 | 67 | 01000011 | 99 | 01100011 |
4 | 00000100 | 36 | 00100100 | 68 | 01000100 | 100 | 01100100 |
5 | 00000101 | 37 | 00100101 | 69 | 01000101 | 101 | 01100101 |
6 | 00000110 | 38 | 00100110 | 70 | 01000110 | 102 | 01100110 |
7 | 00000111 | 39 | 00100111 | 71 | 01000111 | 103 | 01100111 |
8 | 00001000 | 40 | 00101000 | 72 | 01001000 | 104 | 01101000 |
9 | 00001001 | 41 | 00101001 | 73 | 01001001 | 105 | 01101001 |
10 | 00001010 | 42 | 00101010 | 74 | 01001010 | 106 | 01101010 |
11 | 00001011 | 43 | 00101011 | 75 | 01001011 | 107 | 01101011 |
12 | 00001100 | 44 | 00101100 | 76 | 01001100 | 108 | 01101100 |
13 | 00001101 | 45 | 00101101 | 77 | 01001101 | 109 | 01101101 |
14 | 00001110 | 46 | 00101110 | 78 | 01001110 | 110 | 01101110 |
15 | 00001111 | 47 | 00101111 | 79 | 01001111 | 111 | 01101111 |
16 | 00010000 | 48 | 00110000 | 80 | 01010000 | 112 | 01110000 |
17 | 00010001 | 49 | 00110001 | 81 | 01010001 | 113 | 01110001 |
18 | 00010010 | 50 | 00110010 | 82 | 01010010 | 114 | 01110010 |
19 | 00010011 | 51 | 00110011 | 83 | 01010011 | 115 | 01110011 |
20 | 00010100 | 52 | 00110100 | 84 | 01010100 | 116 | 01110100 |
21 | 00010101 | 53 | 00110101 | 85 | 01010101 | 117 | 01110101 |
22 | 00010110 | 54 | 00110110 | 86 | 01010110 | 118 | 01110110 |
23 | 00010111 | 55 | 00110111 | 87 | 01010111 | 119 | 01110111 |
24 | 00011000 | 56 | 00111000 | 88 | 01011000 | 120 | 01111000 |
25 | 00011001 | 57 | 00111001 | 89 | 01011001 | 121 | 01111001 |
26 | 00011010 | 58 | 00111010 | 90 | 01011010 | 122 | 01111010 |
27 | 00011011 | 59 | 00111011 | 91 | 01011011 | 123 | 01111011 |
28 | 00011100 | 60 | 00111100 | 92 | 01011100 | 124 | 01111100 |
29 | 00011101 | 61 | 00111101 | 93 | 01011101 | 125 | 01111101 |
30 | 00011110 | 62 | 00111110 | 94 | 01011110 | 126 | 01111110 |
31 | 00011111 | 63 | 00111111 | 95 | 01011111 | 127 | 01111111 |
Binary-to-Decimal Conversion Chart: Decimal 128 – 255
Decimal | Binary | Decimal | Binary | Decimal | Binary | Decimal | Binary |
128 | 10000000 | 160 | 10100000 | 192 | 11000000 | 224 | 11100000 |
129 | 10000001 | 161 | 10100001 | 193 | 11000001 | 225 | 11100001 |
130 | 10000010 | 162 | 10100010 | 194 | 11000010 | 226 | 11100010 |
131 | 10000011 | 163 | 10100011 | 195 | 11000011 | 227 | 11100011 |
132 | 10000100 | 164 | 10100100 | 196 | 11000100 | 228 | 11100100 |
133 | 10000101 | 165 | 10100101 | 197 | 11000101 | 229 | 11100101 |
134 | 10000110 | 166 | 10100110 | 198 | 11000110 | 230 | 11100110 |
135 | 10000111 | 167 | 10100111 | 199 | 11000111 | 231 | 11100111 |
136 | 10001000 | 168 | 10101000 | 200 | 11001000 | 232 | 11101000 |
137 | 10001001 | 169 | 10101001 | 201 | 11001001 | 233 | 11101001 |
138 | 10001010 | 170 | 10101010 | 202 | 11001010 | 234 | 11101010 |
139 | 10001011 | 171 | 10101011 | 203 | 11001011 | 235 | 11101011 |
140 | 10001100 | 172 | 10101100 | 204 | 11001100 | 236 | 11101100 |
141 | 10001101 | 173 | 10101101 | 205 | 11001101 | 237 | 11101101 |
142 | 10001110 | 174 | 10101110 | 206 | 11001110 | 238 | 11101110 |
143 | 10001111 | 175 | 10101111 | 207 | 11001111 | 239 | 11101111 |
144 | 10010000 | 176 | 10110000 | 208 | 11010000 | 240 | 11110000 |
145 | 10010001 | 177 | 10110001 | 209 | 11010001 | 241 | 11110001 |
146 | 10010010 | 178 | 10110010 | 210 | 11010010 | 242 | 11110010 |
147 | 10010011 | 179 | 10110011 | 211 | 11010011 | 243 | 11110011 |
148 | 10010100 | 180 | 10110100 | 212 | 11010100 | 244 | 11110100 |
149 | 10010101 | 181 | 10110101 | 213 | 11010101 | 245 | 11110101 |
150 | 10010110 | 182 | 10110110 | 214 | 11010110 | 246 | 11110110 |
151 | 10010111 | 183 | 10110111 | 215 | 11010111 | 247 | 11110111 |
152 | 10011000 | 184 | 10111000 | 216 | 11011000 | 248 | 11111000 |
153 | 10011001 | 185 | 10111001 | 217 | 11011001 | 249 | 11111001 |
154 | 10011010 | 186 | 10111010 | 218 | 11011010 | 250 | 11111010 |
155 | 10011011 | 187 | 10111011 | 219 | 11011011 | 251 | 11111011 |
156 | 10011100 | 188 | 10111100 | 220 | 11011100 | 252 | 11111100 |
157 | 10011101 | 189 | 10111101 | 221 | 11011101 | 253 | 11111101 |
158 | 10011110 | 190 | 10111110 | 222 | 11011110 | 254 | 11111110 |
159 | 10011111 | 191 | 10111111 | 223 | 11011111 | 255 | 11111111 |
First Digits to Identify Address Type
General | More Obvious | Type |
2000::/3 | Begins with 2 Begins with 3 |
Global Unicast Address |
fc00::/7* | Begins with fd | Unique Local Address |
fe80::/64 | Begins with fe80:0:0:0 | Link-Local Address |
ff02::/16 | Begins with ff02 | Scope local multicast |
ff02::1:ff00:0/104 | Pattern: ff02:0:0:0:0:1:ff__:____ | Solicited-Node Multicast Address |
- Range literally includes all addresses that begin fc and fd, but all that begin fc are reserved.
Hex-Binary Conversion Table
Binary | Hex |
0000 | 0 |
0001 | 1 |
0010 | 2 |
0011 | 3 |
0100 | 4 |
0101 | 5 |
0110 | 6 |
0111 | 7 |
1000 | 8 |
1001 | 9 |
1010 | A |
1011 | B |
1100 | C |
1101 | D |
1110 | E |
1111 | F |
Powers of 2
Power | Decimal | Power | Decimal | Power | Decimal |
20 | 1 | 28 | 256 | 216 | 65,536 |
21 | 2 | 29 | 512 | 217 | 131,072 |
22 | 4 | 210 | 1024 | 218 | 262,144 |
23 | 8 | 211 | 2048 | 219 | 524,288 |
24 | 16 | 212 | 4096 | 220 | 1,048,576 |
25 | 32 | 213 | 8192 | 221 | 2,097,152 |
26 | 64 | 214 | 16,384 | 222 | 4,194,304 |
27 | 128 | 215 | 32,768 | 223 | 8,388,608 |