Cisco CCNA Primer

The Cisco CCNA exam is notoriously difficult with a 50% first time pass rate. This primer course will lay a strong foundation for you to progress onto the actual CCNA course.
89489 learners enrolled

Skill level

Beginner

Hours to complete

80

Projects

4

Prerequisites

None

Your Guided Learning Pathway

In this 12 hour course your instructor will take you from intermediate to advanced level practitioner.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3

Network Foundations

Learn all the concepts and principles you must understand as a network engineer, architect, or support technician.

See real-world examples of how to apply the concepts and where they should be applied.

Learn how to configure and troubleshoot Cisco equipment..

Manage a Network

Learn the tools and strategies necessary to manage and mitigate risks in a small to medium-sized network.

Understand the services and protocols that make up a modern network. Study TCP/IP, NAT, STP, CDP, NTP, DHCP, and more.

Configure Cisco network equipment such as routers and switches..

Get Exam Ready

This course prepares you to study for the Cisco CCNA exam. This is a primer course, so you must progress onto the CCNA before attempting the exam.

This course covers around 60% of the actual CCNA exam syllabus, so you will be well placed to continue your studies and take the exam.

What it Covers

This course prepares you to study for the Cisco CCNA exam.
  • IP routing basics
  • Network troubleshooting
  • Spanning tree
  • NAT and CDP
  • Router configuration
  • WAN and LANs

Benefits of the certification

Getting certified in your chosen career path is essential, but passing the CCNA exam gets you:
  • Industry recognition from peers and employers.
  • Career advancement through promotion
  • Increased confidence in your security skills

Target audience

This certification is ideal for:
  • Network+ engineers
  • Beginners to networking
  • Expired CCNAs

Prerequisites

There are no mandatory prerequisites.
  • Access to Cisco Packet Tracer (free)
  • Internet connection
  • 1-2 hours free per day

Cisco CCNA Exam Pass

Shvan Sharef

Shvan is just one of the countless students we’ve helped pass their Cisco CCNA exam.

There are secrets to passing the exam the first time. Learn the theory, take practice exams, and do a ton of practical labs. Keep on doing that until each syllabus item is mastered. Our courses give you the structure you need to follow. You just need to turn up and do the work.

If you don’t feel quite ready to take on the Cisco CCNA, then take our primer course. You may have already completed the CompTIA Network+ or passed the CCNA exam, but now it’s expired, and you need to brush up on the basics.

Using real-world examples and detailed explanations, you learn about TCP/IP, Switching and VLANs, Cisco network security, IP Subnetting, Routing protocols, and much more.

aws-certified

Your Instructor

Paul Browning

Paul worked as a police officer in the UK for 12 years before making a move into the IT world. He worked for several large companies providing network support before starting his own IT consulting business. In 2004, Paul started teaching IT certifications online.

He's the author of over 20 IT books and has passed his CCNA, CCNP, A+, Network+, and MCSE+I.

Curriculum

Module 1 Preparing for the CCNA
Unit 1 What is the Cisco CCNA Exam?
Unit 2 What is the CCNA Exam Format?
Unit 3 The Best Way to Prepare
Unit 4 How to Build a CCNA Home Lab
Unit 5 CCNA Preparation Materials
Unit 6 After the CCNA
Unit 7 LAB - Connect to a Router
Module 2 Networking Basics
Unit 1 Common Network Devices
Unit 2 Network Cables and Connectors
Unit 3 The OSI Model
Unit 4 The TCP Model
Unit 5 TCP/IP Protocols and Services
Unit 6 LAN Technologies
Unit 7 Topologies
Unit 8 Network Appliances
Unit 9 Inside a Cisco Router
Unit 10 LAB - ARP, Telnet and PING
Module 3 Switching Bascis
Unit 1 VLANs and Trunks
Unit 2 Spanning Tree Prococol
Unit 3 The Cisco 2960 Switch
Unit 4 LAB - VLANs
Unit 5 LAB - Trunking
Module 4 IP Addressing and Subnetting
Unit 1 IPv4 Addressing
Unit 2 Easy Subnetting
Unit 3 IPv6 Addressing
Unit 4 Planning IP Addressing
Unit 5 Route Summarization
Module 5 Routing Protocols
Unit 1 Routing Concepts
Unit 2 Routing Protocols
Unit 3 Configuring the Router
Unit 4 Static Routing
Unit 5 LAB - Static Routes
Unit 6 LAB - Configuring RIP
Unit 7 LAB - Configuring EIGRP
Unit 8 LAB - Configuring OSPF
Module 6 Network Security
Unit 1 Access Lists
Unit 2 User Authentication
Unit 3 Firewalls and DMZ
Unit 4 Tunneling, Encryption and Remote Access
Unit 5 Security Appliances
Unit 6 Switch Security
Unit 7 LAB - Configuring Standard ACLs
Unit 8 LAB - Extended ACLs
Unit 9 LAB - Named ACLs
Module 7 Network Services
Unit 1 Network Address Translation
Unit 2 Cisco Discovery Protocol
Unit 3 NTP and Logging
Unit 4 Simple Network Management Protocol
Unit 5 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
Unit 6 LAB - Static NAT
Unit 7 LAB - Dynamic NAT
Module 8 Wide Area Networks
Unit 1 Frame Relay
Unit 2 Wide Area Networks
Unit 3 LAB - PPP
Module 9 Troubleshooting
Unit 1 Router and Switch Troubleshooting

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30 days

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Reviews

I passed my Network+ using howtonetworks training videos, follow-along labs and practice exams. I highly recommend them if you want to pass first time.
exam pass
Adam
CompTIA Network+ Certified
I was struggling to understand the materials but following the howtonetwork.com course really helped make it all clear to me. Highly recommended.
AjlindaVIdrizismall
Ajlinda
Microsoft Azure Certified
I passed the Cisco CCNA, CCNA Security and CCNP exams in six months. Doing the hands-on labs really helped and of course the live Cisco racks are perfect!
Igor_CCNA_Secsmall
Igor
Cisco CCNA & CCNP
I passed my Network+ on my first attempt. I'd been dreading it but I was more than ready come exam day. The practice exams and labs really helped me to understand everthing.
Kristy_Becraft_Net2
Kristy
CompTIA Network+

Frequently Asked Questions

If your questions isn’t answered here then please log a ticket and we’ll get right back to you.
What does the site teach me?  
If you want to have a successful career in IT you need to be qualified. We help you prepare for your IT certification exams with video lectures, exams, case studies and lab exercises to follow along.
We’ve set out a roadmap for you to follow. This is based on many years experience in the IT industry. It gives you a solid foundation and internationally recognized qualifications. From there you can choose to specialize.
Everything! All courses, videos and exams. All future courses we add. No hidden extras and no catches. Check out the full list of courses here.
It’s $1 to join and then $20 per month thereafter. You can quit any time by logging into your account.
Yes. You have a full 30 days to try the site out. If you aren’t happy for any reason then please log a ticket and we will refund you. This applies if you haven’t completely finished your course.
Absolutely. We don’t actually store any card details. All transactions take place via a fully PCI compliant card processing company.
You can access one course at a time. We have this limit to prevent overwhelm. There are hundreds of hours of training here and most people take one certification at a time. If you need to study for a related course at the same time then please log a ticket.
Unfortunately not. But your videos all stream off super fast cloud servers on the cloud so are delivered locally to you.