CCNA 200-301: free labs, practice questions, and a study plan
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) is the most recognized entry-level networking certification in the industry. This is your hub for passing the 200-301 exam — hands-on labs, exam-style practice questions, and a week-by-week study guide, all free and all runnable in your browser with real Cisco IOS.
The CCNA 200-301 exam at a glance
CCNA is a single exam (200-301) that consolidates what used to be several separate Cisco associate tracks into one. It lasts roughly 120 minutes, contains about 100–120 questions — multiple choice, drag-and-drop, and simulation items — and certifies you for three years. Cisco does not publish an official passing score. The exam is broken into six weighted domains:
Devices, the OSI/TCP-IP models, cabling, IPv4/IPv6 addressing and subnetting, and wireless principles.
VLANs, trunking (802.1Q), inter-switch connectivity, EtherChannel, spanning tree, and WLAN configuration.
The routing table, static routing, OSPFv2, and first-hop redundancy (HSRP). The largest domain on the exam.
DHCP, DNS, NAT, NTP, SNMP, Syslog, SSH, and QoS concepts.
ACLs, layer-2 security (port security, DHCP snooping, DAI), device hardening, and VPN/wireless security concepts.
Controller-based networking, REST APIs, data formats (JSON), and configuration management tools.
Notice that IP Connectivity, Network Access, and Network Fundamentals together make up 65% of the exam. That is where your lab time pays off the most — see the study guide for a domain-by-domain plan.
Free CCNA study resources
Everything here is free to start and needs no software install or physical gear.
Hands-on CCNA labs
Describe a topology in plain English — “three routers running OSPF area 0” — and get a fully cabled, configurable network in seconds. Then run real Cisco IOS: show ip route, show ip ospf neighbor, show vlan brief, and more. Explore CCNA labs →
Exam-style practice questions
Test yourself with CCNA practice questions written to mirror the real exam’s style and difficulty, each with a full explanation. Start practicing →
Structured study guide
A week-by-week plan that maps each exam domain to concrete labbing goals so you always know what to study next. Read the study guide →
Why hands-on labs matter for the CCNA
The CCNA is not a memorization exam. Simulation and troubleshooting questions put you at a live CLI and expect you to configure and verify a real network under time pressure. Reading about OSPF is not the same as watching an adjacency come up, breaking it, and fixing it. Candidates who lab consistently pass at far higher rates than those who only read — which is why every resource here is built around doing, not just studying.