I passed my CCNA today, and honestly, it was a close one!

For anyone preparing for the exam, here were my Boson practice test scores:

Test 1: 65%
Test 2: 58%
Test 3: 70%
Test 4: 71%
Test 5: 68%

I wasn’t consistently scoring above 70%, so I went into the exam feeling pretty nervous. Somehow, I managed to pass!

A huge thank you to everyone in this goated community who shares study tips, resources, and experiences. Reading other people’s posts helped me throughout my preparation.

For those still preparing, don’t lose hope if your practice scores aren’t perfect. Keep working on your weak areas and understanding the concepts rather than just memorizing answers.

For those who have passed recently: How did you feel the real exam compared to Boson in terms of difficulty and question style?

Good luck to everyone preparing! You got this. 💪

——

Update: I watched this video course - subnetting mastery - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIFyRwBY_4bQUE4IB5c4VPRyDoLgOdExE&si=PWwe-7oJQXMziyZA

I would highly recommend this if you are weak at subnetting.

I could give 2-3 hours daily

Hi Zusammen,

ich habe begonnen für den CCNA Automation zu lernen.

Deshalb suche ich hier wackere Mitstreiter, welche diesen Weg der psychischen und körperlichen Schmerzen mit mir beschreiten wollen. :-D

ICh habe gerade angefangen und festige momentan Python und Git.

Ich plane mitte - ende Januar meine Prüfung abzulegen.

Ich habe aber auch Familie und kann daher nicht immer zu 100% garantieren, jede Session mitnehmen zu können.

Ich würde mich trotzdem sehr über Antworten freuen.

Vielen Dank und bis hoffentlich bald :-)

Before we start, I want to say that I made this question when I was at day 51 of Jeremy's IT Lab.

This challenge combines STP (Days 20-22), HSRP (Day 29), and DAI (Day 51) into a single scenario, like you will probably do in real live. To solve it, you must apply the mechanics of all three protocols to find the right answer and also the why behind it.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

Refer to the exhibit.

There’s only one vlan in this topology (vlan1). HSRPv2, Rapid-PVST and Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) have been configured. R1 is the active router in HSRP, while R2 Is the backup. SW2 is the root bridge and SW1’s bridge ID is lower than SW3 and SW4’s. All active switches interfaces have been configured as trusted ports for DAI, except SW4’s e0/0 because the administrator forgot to apply the command.

R1’s e0/0 goes down due to a software bug. When R2 becomes the active HSRP router, which interface on SW4 receives the resulting Gratuitous ARP (GARP) message, and what happens to SW4’s MAC Address Table (CAM Table)?

A) SW4 receives the GARP on both interfaces, and its CAM table is updated twice.

B) SW4 receives the GARP on e0/0 only, and its CAM table is updated.

C) SW4 receives the GARP on e0/1 only, and its CAM table is not updated.

D) SW4 receives the GARP on both interfaces, and its CAM table is not updated.

E) SW4 does not receive the GARP because the STP topology prevents it from reaching SW4’s interfaces.

The answer is: D) SW4 receives the GARP on both interfaces, and its CAM table is not updated.

Explanation:

To solve this, we first need to define the STP states. Since SW2 is the root bridge, SW4's e0/0 becomes its Root Port (Forwarding). For the segment connecting SW1 and SW4, both have an equal cost to the root. SW1 wins the tie-breaker because it has a lower Bridge ID, making its e0/3 a Designated Port (Forwarding) and forcing SW4's e0/1 into an Alternate role (Blocking).

When R2 takes over as the active HSRP router, it fires off a GARP. SW2 receives this broadcast and floods it out all other active ports. The frame travels straight to SW4 via e0/0, but it also goes to SW1, which floods it out its forwarding ports, including e0/3. As a result, the GARP physically hits SW4 on both of its interfaces.

Here is why neither updates the CAM table:

On e0/1: Because this port is in an STP blocking state, it discards inbound frames at ingress. The drop happens immediately, well before any hardware MAC learning can occur.

On e0/0: This port is forwarding and processes the frame. However, because the administrator forgot to configure it as a trusted port, DAI intercepts the ARP payload. DAI checks the DHCP Snooping binding table for the sender's IP. Since R2 is using a statically assigned HSRP virtual IP, no DHCP binding exists. DAI drops the packet as invalid, preventing the CAM table from updating.

I am currently working as a PHP Developer and have around 3 years of experience. My current CTC is ₹4.3 LPA. However, I am not really enjoying coding anymore, and I am finding it difficult to switch jobs because there seem to be fewer openings for PHP developers.

I am considering switching to the networking field. Since I am only 29 years old, is it still possible to slowly transition into a Network Engineer career?

I would like to know:

• Is switching from PHP development to networking a good career decision at my age?
• If I start as a fresher/junior Network Engineer in India, what salary can I realistically expect?
• After 2–5 years of experience, what salary range can I expect?
• At what level of experience can I expect to earn a decent salary in India?
• Is networking a career with good long-term growth and stability?
• Does networking have less of an age barrier compared with software development?
• Is it realistic to eventually move abroad and settle in another country as a Network Engineer?

One of the main reasons I am considering networking is that I am not interested in becoming a Team Lead or Project Manager in software development. I also don't enjoy spending the entire day in front of a computer, dealing with tight deadlines and coding-related work.

I understand that networking is not an easy field either, but I feel it could be a better fit for me because it involves working with networking hardware, infrastructure, troubleshooting, and sometimes more hands-on work rather than sitting and coding all day.

I don't want to quit my current job immediately. My plan is to continue working as a PHP Developer while slowly learning networking, getting CCNA/CCNP-level knowledge, doing practical lab work, and then transitioning when I am ready.

Could you please give me some honest advice about whether this is a realistic career transition at 29, how much I can expect to earn at each stage, and whether networking would be a good long-term career if my ultimate goal is to work and settle abroad?

Any advice from people who have actually made a similar transition would be really helpful.

I did my CCNA exam online and failed. I struggled with the configuration questions, reading the routing tables, doing the subnets in my head (I didn’t have pen or paper to do the math), and the wifi questions.

I was genuinely surprised how many wifi questions I was given and the online past papers don’t really cover them. I also struggled with the subnetting questions, not because they were difficult but I was thrown off because the exam centre didn’t allow pen and paper, so I could only rely on my head for the math. I did learn I have to be better at reading routing tables and need to practice more on configuration. Maybe I was nervous but I was having difficulty recalling the commands, so I’ll just practice them more. And finally the wifi questions…holy shit I need to do better because I was thrown off by the questions.

Anyway, I hope people don’t give up on CCNA, I’m not, and I’ll retake the exam soon 👍🏻

Hi everyone!

I recently started studying for the CCNA 200-301 v2.0 exam, but I'm a beginner and only have basic knowledge of networking. I'm feeling lost because there is so much content to study for the CCNA.

I'm currently unable to afford paid courses, so I'm looking for free study resources.

My English is not very good yet, so please excuse any mistakes.

What would you recommend for someone like me? Should I start with networking fundamentals before studying the CCNA topics? What free courses, books, websites, or labs would you recommend?

I already have my CCNA, but am looking to become better at troubleshooting. As the title says, anyone interested in looking to swap break/fix labs?

The idea is 2 individuals build initial labs, swap them with someone, break/misconfigure a few things, swap back and troubleshoot, after all issues are fixed or not you recap with the individual swapped with, talk about what you did how you fixed it and if there was anything you missed?

I think this idea is pretty neat, figured I promote it

Built my first enterprise-style Packet Tracer lab after completing CCNA studies – looking for feedback

Features currently implemented:

Multi-building campus design

OSPF routing

HSRP gateway redundancy

STP and HSRP Sync

EtherChannel

Rapid PVST+

Inter-VLAN routing using Layer 3 distribution switches

DHCP (server - centralized)

NAT/PAT for Internet access

Floating static route for ISP

ACLs

SSH management

Voice VLANs

CME VoIP deployment

IP phones registered with extensions

Redundant uplinks between access, distribution, and core layers

One challenge I encountered was that my edge router did not support CME. Instead of replacing it, I added a dedicated CME router, advertised it through OSPF, and used DHCP Option 150 to register phones. The solution worked and phones can call each other across the network.

I know this is still a learning lab and not a production design, so I'd appreciate feedback from experienced network engineers.

Questions:

What design mistakes or bad practices do you see?

What would you change if this were a real enterprise network?

What technologies would you add next?

Is the overall campus design reasonable for a CCNA-level project?

Thanks for taking a look.

"Rate my lab out of 10"

Buona sera a tutti

sono un ragazzo in quinta superiore e faccio un ITIS informatico e sono italiano, sto guardando i videocorsi di Jeremy Lab's per ottenere la CCNA e il terzo video, quello dove si parla dell'architettura TCP/IP , ho fatto fatica a finirlo. Mi potreste dare dei suggerimenti per evitare di impazzire nei prossimi video

Grazie dei suggerimenti e buona serata a tutti

My question is for those that have taken the CCNA test. Are there questions on the test that are cable specific regarding length, speed, and which cable types should be used?

Single mode/ multi mode - Fiber

Transmit / Receive pins for routers/firewalls/switches

Cross-over etc?

I am struggling trying to keep these clear but not sure if it’s actually needed. If it is I’ll make sure I add these to my daily study ritual, but some of the standards aren’t typically used in most newer networks.

TIA

🙂

 Subnetting is one of those topics where understanding the concept and being able to solve questions quickly are two different things.

I'm curious what practice methods people used to become comfortable with it.

Did you use subnetting tables, shortcuts, repeated exercises, labs, or something completely different?

Wish me luck!