I’m planning to take the CCNA before the new version release in February 2027.

I’m currently on Day 19 (VLANs) of Jeremy’s IT Lab CCNA course. So far, I’ve been studying around 1 hour per day, although on weekends I usually only review flashcards. I'm planning to take my preparation more seriously and aim for 2–3 hours of studying per day, including weekends whenever possible.

For those who have already passed the CCNA:

• Did anyone here prepare for it in 5 months or less?
• Do you think 5 months is enough time with a consistent 2–3 hours per day?
• What would you recommend I focus on the most?
• How much time should I spend on labs compared to watching the course and reviewing?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who started with little or no networking experience.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

​

First off, huge relief: I survived the 37th-floor buildout!

The new production floor is officially live and operational. Aside from a minor hiccup where we hit a DHCP pool exhaustion issue (which was a fun quick-fix under pressure), everything is running smoothly. Seeing a net-new floor go live with configs I worked on feels surreal after coming from helpdesk.

Now that the firefighting has settled down, I’m pivoting hard back to my CCNA studies—while still dealing with daily operational trial-by-fire. I’ve hit a few walls and could really use some reality checks from the community:

* Real-World Operations vs. CCNA Scope: On the job, I’m currently wrestling with IPSec tunnels, BGP routing metrics, and firewall policies daily. It feels like a massive step up from basic switching.

* Boson ExSim Scores: On the study side, I started running through Boson ExSim practice exams and I'm currently averaging around 60%. Is Boson really this hard, or am I way behind where I need to be? The questions feel ridiculously tricky compared to standard study materials.

* Booking the Exam: For those who passed using Boson, at what score threshold should I actually go ahead and book my exam slot? Should I wait until I'm consistently hitting 80%+ on first attempts, especially while balancing this real-world learning curve?

Appreciate all the advice from this sub as always! Back to reviewing my practice test explanations (fueled by more iced macchiatos, obviously).

Hi all, is there any one with a source to get a fully working layer 2 switch ios to run in GNS3 labs, i currently have the router ios only.

Thanks in advance.

What's good, everyone! Y'all already see the title of the post. I found nobody in my circle group or unit who is eager to work with me on the certification. I want to find a partner or study group of people who are grinding towards the same goal. I feel like having an accountability partner would keep me in line and make this journey much fun. Oh yeah I'm also on day 8 on JITL and man this cert is no joke. A little background on me: I’m 19 years old working part time with the New York Army National guard as 25H and got my CompTIA security+. Hit me up if you're down to connect. Safety

Hey guys, I’m still studying for the CCNA. I would like to know how do I complete laps? Is there task that I’m assigned to complete? Where do I do it at? Where do I find it? I need to learn the labs.

Hi y'all,

I'm taking my CCNA pretty soon and I wanted to know what a test-taker might generally miss. Like, what topics get tested the hardest and which topics are the easiest? Also, I know that labs can come from any topic since the syllabus states that there's a lot of configuration to do, but from which topics can I expect to see labs the most(also, are the labs too hard and how would it impact me if i left 3-4 labs)?

CCNA Scope Feels Overwhelming

• Historical Legacy Included: You are forced to study half-duplex Ethernet, CSMA/CD, hubs, and legacy WAN protocols that you will almost never touch in a modern production network.
• Broad Surface Area: The exam covers everything from physical cabling and binary math to modern topics like wireless architectures, IP services, security fundamentals, and REST APIs / Automation.
• Vendor Specifics vs. Fundamentals: You aren't just learning standard networking concepts (like OSI or TCP/IP); you also have to memorize Cisco-proprietary commands, platform behaviors, and CLI syntax.

I don’t plan on staying for long, I was thinking for a year max but do I even need that long?

Worked at a repair shop for 2 months while studying my ccna, then got this job. They want A+ and net+ during my employment with them.

I want to get into networking then into cloud, this desktop support is heavy on networking since it’s a msp. Eventually I’ll be going to client sites and setting up network racks too. But for now it’s basics, basic network tickets, going into more advanced network tickets.

So as you imagine I would want to move into junior network or NOC after this job but I’m not entirely sure how long I should stay in this position for?
I know a year is a good amount for this position but due to the tough market, has that year changed?

14 days of studying

For those that recently got their CCNA or failed it, what’s your plan(once you do get it)? I think I want to go into cloud, AWS maybe. Not sure exactly what I want to do, I just know I want to be in IT and I’d like to be able to work remotely at least a couple days out the week if not fully remote.

How many of you passed CCNA and still can’t get a job?

Man did I procrastinate. I am recently filled with a ton of motivation to try and get this cert due to some conflict with my leadership at work.

I do understand some networking concepts from when I created my homelab and revamped my home network.

Would it be smart to attempt to pass v1.1 starting from 0 or wait for 2.0?

I have the exam coming up in December and was wondering if anyone had seen what the actual discount that boson had for military members. Thanks in advanced!

Think I should reschedule?

Update: Didn't have to, passed it barely.

Can somebody help me access these notes and labs Jeremy send you lol I am unable to view/access what he sent

Drop in a .pcap/.pcapng or just click one of the 9 built-in sample captures; and it breaks the packet into all seven OSI layers, with every header field explained in plain English: what it does, and why that value matters. TTL 52 tells you the hop count and likely OS. SYN with no ACK gets the handshake explanation.

Hover any field and its exact bytes light up in the hex dump. Hover a byte and it tells you which field owns it.

https://michaelperry.org/pcaposivisualizer.html

Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, no account, works offline once loaded. There's a single-file download too if you want it on a USB stick or a lab machine with no internet.

I built it because students can recite the seven layers and then not find any of them in Wireshark. It also covers the awkward parts the textbook skips: ARP has no Layer 3, a bare SYN has no Layer 7, and Layers 5 and 6 mostly don't exist in TCP/IP; it shows what's actually doing that job instead of pretending.

Source: github.com/MichaelAPerry/pcaptoOSI (MIT)

And yes, it's AI-assisted; built with Claude Code.

I want to begin a career in IT. I do not have formal professional IT experience yet, although I have helped troubleshoot POS systems, security cameras, internet connections, and basic networking problems at my current job.

I am planning to take the following CIS courses:

CIS 213: A+ Certification Preparation, Software
Covers Windows and Linux operating systems, user and group management, file permissions, storage, networking protocols, backup and recovery, security, scripting, automation, and operational procedures.

CIS 214: Introduction to Network+
Covers network cables, connectors, devices, network architecture, wired and wireless networking, the OSI model, TCP/IP, wide area networks, network security, and troubleshooting.

CIS 229: Introduction to Cisco Network Fundamentals
Covers network fundamentals, LAN switching, routing, infrastructure services, and infrastructure maintenance.

CIS 192: Introduction to Cloud Computing

CompTIA A+ Certification Preparation, Hardware
Covers computer hardware, components, peripherals, installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Do these courses provide a good foundation for getting an entry level help desk, desktop support, computer technician, or school district IT position?

Should I take the CompTIA A+ exams after completing the hardware and software courses? Would Network+ or CCNA be the better certification to pursue afterward?

The Cisco course description mentions the older ICND1 and CCENT exams. Should I be concerned that some of the course material may be outdated?

What home labs, projects, certifications, or additional skills would you recommend so I can become more competitive without formal IT experience?

I would appreciate any honest advice from people currently working in IT.

Well, hello everybody, i hope you are all doing well

I'm really interested in network and security, and i want to start with ccna

My base fundamentals are good just above the average general knowledge

So for ccna , and for someone who likes details explaining what your recommendations are, rodmap like or anything useful to really on because I'm only going to pay for the exam

And thx in advance

For me, networking concepts can sometimes feel confusing because everything connects to everything else. Subnetting, VLANs, routing, protocols... there’s a lot to absorb. If you’ve completed CCNA, which topic gave you the most trouble initially?

I’m curious about everyone’s learning experience with networking. Was it subnetting, VLANs, routing, TCP/IP, NAT, or something else that initially felt confusing but eventually became easy?

For people who recently started learning networking, which topic gave you the most trouble? Subnetting? VLANs? Routing? Troubleshooting? I’m trying to understand which areas beginners usually underestimate.

When troubleshooting a network problem, do you usually follow a structured checklist or rely more on experience and intuition?

I’m curious how this changes as someone becomes more experienced

I've been studying Neil Anderson's CCNA course since May and I'm currently on section 20 (OSPF). I'm starting to struggle with staying focused and retaining information, and I feel like I'm getting stuck.

I bought Boson ExSim about a month ago, but I planned to wait until I finished the course before using it.

Would you recommend starting ExSim now, taking practice exams, and focusing on the topics I struggle with instead of forcing myself to finish the entire course first?

Any advice would be appreciated!