A router has three routes to the same destination: a static route, an OSPF route and a directly connected route. Which one will it use to forward the packet?

It load-balances across all three

Two switches are connected and hosts on VLAN 20 on one switch cannot reach hosts on VLAN 20 on the other, although VLAN 10 works fine across the link. What is the most likely cause?

VLAN 20 is not allowed on the trunk between the switches

Spanning tree has blocked the link

The hosts are using the wrong default gateway

The link is running at half duplex

How hard is the CCNA?

It is a genuine engineering exam: broad, detailed and timed tightly, with simulations. Most first-time candidates need three to six months and regular lab practice. It is considerably harder than Network+.

Do I need Network+ first?

No. Network+ is a gentler on-ramp to the same ideas, and some people take it first, but the CCNA has no prerequisite.

What is the pass mark?

Cisco does not publish it. The score is scaled from 300 to 1,000, and candidates commonly report passing in the low 800s. Target 85% on practice papers.

How much does it cost and how long is it valid?

About US$300 at the time of writing, and it is valid for three years.

Is the automation section hard?

No. It is conceptual: what a controller does, what REST and JSON look like, what Ansible and Terraform are for. It is the cheapest 10% on the paper.

All certifications

Cisco · 200-301 · Associate

Cisco Certified Network Associate

The associate-level Cisco credential, version 2.0 (exams from 3 February 2027): infrastructure and connectivity, switching, IP routing, services and security, and AI in network operations.

Free practice: 241 questions written to the official exam guide, with the diagnostic, practice papers, timed mocks, a study plan and an explanation on every answer.

Official exam page

Find out where you stand on 200-301

20 questions drawn in the exam’s own domain weights. You get a report straight away: your score against the pass mark, where the points went, and what to study first.

Questions: 20
Time: about 20 minutes
Cost: free

Your email

Your answers save as you go, and the report stays in your record. A new email needs no code.

· your answers stay on this device and you can save the report at the end.

The course

The diagnostic shows where you stand. Then you learn the syllabus chapter by chapter, answer that chapter’s questions, and move on. When every chapter is mastered, you sit full timed mocks in the real exam’s shape.

20 chapters, about 15 hours in all. Each is a 45-minute study session with quick checks, then a 10-question quiz on that chapter.

Network Infrastructure and Connectivity25% of the exam

Interfaces and cabling: diagnosing physical faults45 min
Hypervisors, virtual machines and containers45 min
IPv4 addressing and subnetting45 min
IPv6 addressing and prefixes45 min
Wireless principles45 min
Client connectivity and DHCPv4 on IOS45 min

Switching and Network Access25% of the exam

Switch-to-switch and switch-to-router links: physical, trunks, EtherChannel, SVIs45 min
Edge ports: VLANs, PoE, voice, access points and hosts45 min
CDP, LLDP and Layer 2/Layer 3 troubleshooting45 min
Rapid PVST+45 min

IP Routing20% of the exam

Reading the routing table and static routes45 min
Single-area OSPFv2 and OSPFv345 min
First hop redundancy: HSRP and VRRP45 min

Network Services and Security20% of the exam

Device access, AAA and secure file transfer45 min
NAT/PAT and DNS records45 min
IPsec VPNs: site-to-site and remote access45 min
IPv4 access control lists45 min
Layer 2 security features45 min

AI, and Network Operations and Management10% of the exam

Agentic AI, prompts and network management approaches45 min
SNMP, Ansible and syslog45 min

About the Cisco Certified Network Associate (200-301) exam

The Cisco Certified Network Associate is the standard credential for network engineers. Employers recognise it, recruiters search for it, and it remains the most direct proof that someone can configure and troubleshoot a real network. It is aimed at network engineers, administrators and support engineers, and at people moving into networking from help desk or systems roles.

Cisco published version 2.0 of the exam on 20 May 2026. The first date to sit v2.0 is 3 February 2027, and v1.1 can be taken until 2 February 2027; the exam code stays 200-301. Version 2.0 has five domains: network infrastructure and connectivity, switching and network access, IP routing, network services and security, and AI with network operations and management. It brings troubleshooting back into the blueprint, so expect to diagnose faults from symptoms and command output. The practice here is written to v2.0; if you sit before February 2027, study the v1.1 topics instead.

There are no prerequisites, but this is an associate exam and it expects command-line fluency with Cisco IOS. Most people need three to six months, and a lab, to prepare properly.

The exam at a glance

Questions: Not published by Cisco; performance-based questions, multiple choice and drag and drop
Time: 120 minutes
Pass mark: Not published by Cisco; a scaled score on 300 to 1,000 is reported
Exam fee: About US$300
Valid for: 3 years, renewable by re-examination or continuing education credits
Where you sit it: Pearson VUE test centre or online proctored
Prerequisites: None required; Cisco suggests a year of experience implementing and administering Cisco solutions

As published in the vendor’s exam guide at the time of writing. Fees vary by country and change; the vendor’s page is the source of truth.

The fee and how to sit it in your country: Sri Lanka · India · Pakistan · Bangladesh · Nepal · Australia · New Zealand · Philippines · Indonesia · Vietnam

What is on the exam, domain by domain

Network Infrastructure and Connectivity
Jointly the largest domain (25%). Interfaces and cabling, IPv4 and IPv6 addressing and subnetting, wireless principles, virtualisation, and the problems you diagnose at this layer.
25% of the paper
Switching and Network Access
Jointly the largest domain (25%). Trunks, EtherChannel and SVIs, connecting edge devices, CDP and LLDP, verification commands, and Rapid PVST+ including PortFast and the guard features.
25% of the paper
IP Routing
Reading the routing table and forwarding decisions, static routes (default, network, host, floating), single-area OSPF, and first hop redundancy status.
20% of the paper
Network Services and Security
AAA and local users, SFTP and SCP, NAT and PAT, DNS, IPsec VPNs, access control lists, and Layer 2 security (DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, storm control, RA guard, port security).
20% of the paper
AI, and Network Operations and Management
Agentic AI and prompt components in network operations, management approaches, SNMP, Ansible and syslog.
10% of the paper

How to prepare

Use a structured course and the official cert guide together; the CCNA is too broad to self-assemble from articles.
Lab every day. Packet Tracer is free and sufficient for most objectives; CML or real hardware if you can. Configure OSPF, VLANs, trunks, ACLs, NAT and SSH from memory before you book.
Subnetting must be automatic, under thirty seconds a question, because the exam's time limit is tight.
Learn to read show output: show ip route, show ip interface brief, show vlan, show spanning-tree, show ip ospf neighbor. Many questions are a screenshot and a question about what it means.
Do not skip the AI and network operations domain because it is only 10%: SNMP, syslog, Ansible and prompting for network tasks are recognition-level and quick marks.
Sit full-length timed practice exams; pacing is the most common reason strong candidates fail.

Sample questions

Three questions in the exam’s style, written by Square 1 against the published domains. They are ours, not the vendor's. The answer and the reasoning are under each one; the practice papers on this page draw from a bank written the same way, with an explanation on every question.

Question 1 · IP Routing
A router has three routes to the same destination: a static route, an OSPF route and a directly connected route. Which one will it use to forward the packet?
1. The static route
2. The OSPF route
3. The directly connected route
4. It load-balances across all three
Answer: C. When routes to the same prefix come from different sources, the router prefers the lowest administrative distance: directly connected (0) beats static (1) beats OSPF (110). Load balancing happens only between equal-cost routes from the same source.
Question 2 · Switching and Network Access
Two switches are connected and hosts on VLAN 20 on one switch cannot reach hosts on VLAN 20 on the other, although VLAN 10 works fine across the link. What is the most likely cause?
1. Spanning tree has blocked the link
2. VLAN 20 is not allowed on the trunk between the switches
3. The hosts are using the wrong default gateway
4. The link is running at half duplex
Answer: B. One VLAN working across the link means the trunk is up and spanning tree is forwarding on it. A VLAN that does not cross the trunk while others do is almost always the allowed-VLAN list, or the VLAN not existing on the far switch. Gateways matter for routing between VLANs, not within one.
Question 3 · Network Services and Security
An administrator wants to permit only host 10.1.1.5 to reach the web server 10.2.2.10 on TCP port 443 and deny everything else. Which type of access control list is required?
1. A standard ACL
2. An extended ACL
3. A VLAN access map
4. A MAC address ACL
Answer: B. Only an extended ACL can match on source, destination, protocol and port together. A standard ACL matches on source address alone, so it cannot restrict the destination or the port.

Questions people ask before they book

How hard is the CCNA?: It is a genuine engineering exam: broad, detailed and timed tightly, with simulations. Most first-time candidates need three to six months and regular lab practice. It is considerably harder than Network+.
Do I need Network+ first?: No. Network+ is a gentler on-ramp to the same ideas, and some people take it first, but the CCNA has no prerequisite.
What is the pass mark?: Cisco does not publish it. The score is scaled from 300 to 1,000, and candidates commonly report passing in the low 800s. Target 85% on practice papers.
How much does it cost and how long is it valid?: About US$300 at the time of writing, and it is valid for three years.
Is the automation section hard?: No. It is conceptual: what a controller does, what REST and JSON look like, what Ansible and Terraform are for. It is the cheapest 10% on the paper.