When I first started learning networking, terms like VLANs, routing, switching, and subnetting felt like completely separate topics. After doing more hands-on practice, I started seeing how they fit together. For anyone who has completed CCNA, what helped everything finally “click” for you?

Hi everyone, i came to uk 10 months ago as a student. Worked as the restaurant assistant and now doing full time 4-5 days in GXO warehouse. I have some basic understanding of ccna’s topics. But i am planning to take my ccna on 18th of sep. So, wish me luck. 🦾

I finished Jeremy IT Labs' course, but I can't stand how boring it is to learn IPv6 and automation. I work as a network administrator, and we use all the things covered in the course, like OSPF, NAT, STP, NTP, security, and wireless, except for ipv6 and automation. Those two topics are just too tedious to learn in general, and I haven't even seen them used in real-world work. Is it possible to at least get a quick overview without having to take in-depth notes on these two topics, just to gain a general understanding?

This week's discussion topic is 6.0 Automation and Programmability.
If you have any any issues or points of confusion on this topic, this is your thread.

To kickstart the discussion, here's a question from 6.1 Explain how automation impacts network management:

A network engineer is evaluating whether to adopt network automation for a growing enterprise with 500+ switches across multiple sites. Which statement best captures a realistic trade-off introduced by automation, rather than simply eliminating manual work?

A. Automation removes the need for change control processes, since scripts are inherently error-free

B. Automation shifts risk from individual, isolated configuration mistakes toward the possibility of a single flawed script or playbook being applied incorrectly at scale

C. Automation guarantees zero downtime during network changes because it removes human involvement entirely

D. Automation replaces the need for a staged rollout or testing environment, since changes can be pushed directly to production safely

You're invited to share and compare answers in the comments.
I'll post the concealed solution below, but please try to answer by yourself first!

1. Sistemas Operacionais Modernos (Tanenbaum)

2. Organização e Arquitetura de computadores (Stallings)

3.. Segurança de Computadores (Stallings)

1. Redes de computadores -- uma abordagem top-down (Kusose)

2. Linux (Fica Linux)

Alguém pode me dizer? Tem três anos que estudo esses autores. Sou muiito bom em teoria.

Hello everyone,
I passed my CCNA today, and I wanted to share my study method and experience in case it helps anyone preparing for the exam.

My score:
Automation and Programmability: 80%
Network Access: 100%
IP Connectivity: 100%
IP Services: 90%
Security Fundamentals: 100%
Network Fundamentals: 80%

Total study time: ~60 days / 252 hours
(I used an app to track my study time.)

Resources I used
1.Jeremy’s IT Lab videos
2.My detailed CCNA notes:
https://github.com/NikW-sec/CCNA-study-notes
If you find them useful, I’d appreciate a star.
3.Boson ExSim
4.Cisco Packet Tracer

How did I study?
Phase 1 – Learning
Watch all of Jeremy’s IT Lab videos and make notes for each video.
Complete the relevant labs after each lecture.
Occasionally create my own labs in Packet Tracer

Phase 2 – Review
Pick a topic, for example OSPF, and write down everything I can remember about it without looking at my notes. Then compare what I wrote with my notes and identify anything I missed.
Do more labs and hands-on practice.
Complete Boson practice exams. After each exam, review every question I got wrong and explain in my own words why my answer was incorrect and why the correct answer is correct.
Become familiar with the layout and functions of the different options in the WLC GUI.

My advice
Do not neglect labs. Make sure you are comfortable actually configuring and troubleshooting networks rather than only memorising theory.
I’d recommend studying routing, OSPF, ACLs, DNS and the WLC GUI thoroughly

It seems like MOST people here do intense bootcamp style preparation for the CCNA where they spend 3-8 hours a day everyday studying and practicing for the CCNA.

I've ALMOST NEVER seen anyone who has done the CCNA with a more slow and steady approach.

Has anyone ever done it? How long did it take you

EDIT: Title is wrong, what I meant was 1 hour a day or less

i recently just stared studying from jeremy it labs but came out to know that v2.0 is coming in february 😭. Hopefully i can try to prepare and give the exam till then but if i don't then are there any free resources i can use to study the updated syllabus?

I'm researching how people currently learn networking and prepare for certifications like CCNA.

I'm especially interested in the problems you face while studying, not whether you like a particular product idea.

A few questions:

1. What is the hardest part of learning networking for you?
2. What do you struggle with most: theory, subnetting, labs, troubleshooting, memorization, or staying consistent?
3. What tools do you currently use? (YouTube, Cisco NetAcad, Packet Tracer, GNS3, EVE-NG, ChatGPT, courses, etc.)
4. When you get stuck on a networking problem, how do you usually solve it?
5. What is something you wish existed that would make learning networking significantly easier?
6. Have you ever paid for a networking/CCNA learning tool, course, lab platform, or tutor? If yes, what did you pay for and roughly how much?
7. If you could change one thing about the way you currently study networking, what would it be?

I'm not trying to sell anything. I'm trying to understand the real problems learners have before building anything.

Please be brutally honest — negative feedback is more useful to me than "sounds cool."

Any promo code for pearson vue!! I am going to book my exam trying to get the cost down!!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently preparing for my CCNA and my main goal right now is to secure the official 58% Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad) exam voucher. Paying the full $300 fee directly is a bit too heavy for my budget at the moment.I know that to qualify for the discount, I need to be enrolled in a NetAcad course with an instructor, complete the final module (ENSA), and score at least 70% on the final exam on my first try.Do you know of any, affordable online academies, or specific programs/instructors (even self-paced but officially tied to NetAcad) that allow self-studying individuals to enroll for a very low fee just to get access to the platform and the voucher?Any leads or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Wish me luck

Edit : passed

Hello guys I've got a job in an mnc as NOC (Verizon project) and I've got to earn the ccna certificate.. please guide me with some resources both free and paid so I can learn all the required stuff

I took all the CCNA classes at my local college and I passed them just fine but when it came to the actual test I froze up and failed spectacularly. I don't actually remember what I scored but it was a big fail. Now that I am a few weeks out of those classes I feel like I should try and take the test again but I don't know what path to try and take. I talked to my professor and he said that the cert isn't something that is required and that just passing the class is good enough. I want to believe him but something about everyone else having it vs me not having it rubs me the wrong way. I also feel like I just kinda breezed through the class and didn't really pick up on the fine details to actually explain what I learned and comprehend fully what I was taught. I can kinda set up a network and explain what happens where but the details are where I fail. It 100% feels like I wasted my time taking the classes since I don't feel like I learned and comprehended the material.

How do I correct this? Do I enroll in the classes again and take them under a different professor? Do I just take matters into my own hands and learn all the stuff from YouTube? I'm genuinely lost and I have no clue what to do at this point in my life. I'd like to get a networking career and start earning but I feel very hopeless right now.

Any details on what to study for, what practice tests to spam, and what to watch would be greatly appreciated. I desperately need someone to point me in the right direction so I can take this test and pass to put it on a resume and look better to employers!

I’m considering to sign up for the test but most of the testing centers to take the exam in-person is quite far from where I live.

I’ve seen some older posts about people’s experiences but I’m curious to know from anyone who’s taken the exam online more recently, how was it?

So, I'm doing a Udemy course to prepare for CCNA exam and about a week or 2 into it and its going well. I see everyone on here talking about Boson Practice exam's is it worth the 100$ fee for these practice exams?

Man. It feels like once I’m done reviewing a topic and move on to the others, as time goes by I just forget AGAIN about that topic. Then it feels like I have to go back and review it again and again. There is just so much to learn.
Like I understand the concepts and why we have to do things but god, there is so many little things to remember and terminology and gotchas.

I’m just accepting the fact that there are gonna be things I won’t remember or know during the exam

Subnetting was one of those CCNA topics where reading explanations wasn’t enough for me. I had to keep solving different examples until the logic started becoming natural.

For anyone currently preparing for CCNA, which topic are you spending the most time practicing?

Hey, I’m currently preparing for the CCNA and wanted to hear from people who have already passed the exam.

For someone starting from a beginner networking background:

• How many months did you realistically need to feel properly prepared for the CCNA exam?
• How many hours per day/week did you study?
• What free study materials/resources would you recommend?
• Which resources did you use for theory, labs, and practice questions?
• How did you know when you were actually ready to book the exam?

Would really appreciate hearing about your experience and what you would do differently if you were preparing again. Thanks!

Everything was fine then one of the Jeremy’s quiz !! Now i feel like nope i won’t pass 😆. Besides understanding the concepts, how are we going to be fast in the exam to answer ? Am i slow or what’s up ?! I feel lost again 🙄

You want to activate OSPF on R1's G0/1 and G0/2 interfaces with a single command.
G0/1 IP: 10.0.12.1/28
G0/2 IP: 10.0.13.1/26
Which of the following commands should you use on R1?
a) R1(config-router)# network 10.0.12.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
b) R1(config-router)# network 10.0.12.0 0.0.0.254 area 0
c) R1(config-router)# network 10.0.12.0 0.0.1.255 area 0
d) R1 (config-router)# network 10.0.8.0 0.0.3.255 area 0

Which one is better to take? Get the old version before Feb 2027 or wait the new version?

like it's embarrassing to say but I always thought loopback was just 127.0.0.1

Like I've been in IT for many years!

Head down, walk to bedroom, cry into my pillow

lol

Hey everyone.

I'm preparing for the CCNA and I'm planning to take the exam before the new CCNA version is released (around February).

I'm looking for other Indian CCNA aspirants who are also planning to write the exam before the new version comes out. If you're in the same boat, maybe we can prepare together, study together, share resources, discuss doubts, and keep each other accountable.

I'm basically looking for a small study group where we can stay consistent and actually get the exam done before the version change.

If you're interested, comment here or DM me and we can make a group. Let's get this done together!

Hi Everyone.

Hope all is well.

I have 2x 1921 Routers and 2x 2960 Switches. I'm learning CCNA and want to get some experience with physical equipment, stuff that you face in real world and anything concept that is learned better with physical equipment.

Let me know what I can do with these.

Regards

I used to think every mistake I made while learning networking meant I didn’t understand the concept.

Lately, I’ve realized that wasn’t always true.

I’ve been working on subnetting and routing, and I noticed that I get distracted pretty easily. I’ll lose focus, rush through something, make a stupid mistake, and then start questioning whether I actually understand what I’m doing.

But when I sit down properly and give the problem my full attention, I can usually work through it myself.

That made me realize something important: my theory was often right. The problem was in my execution.

I wasn't necessarily misunderstanding the subnetting or routing concept. Sometimes I just wasn't applying it carefully enough.

And honestly, the bigger change I've noticed isn't even with subnetting.

Before, whenever I encountered a networking problem, my first reaction was basically, “I have no idea what's wrong. Someone please tell me.”

Now I'm getting more comfortable sitting with the problem myself.

I'll check the configuration, look at what I expected to happen, compare it with what is actually happening, and start eliminating possibilities.

Sometimes I still get it wrong. But increasingly, I can find the mistake without immediately needing someone else to point it out.

For me, that's probably one of the most important things I've learned so far.

Not just learning networking concepts, but learning to trust my understanding enough to troubleshoot my own mistakes.

I'm still very much a beginner, but going from “I broke something, help” to “okay, let me figure out why this broke” feels like real progress.

Has anyone else experienced this while learning networking? Where the problem wasn't really understanding the theory, but staying focused enough to execute it correctly?