CCNA Lab

Hands-on Cisco IOS practice for the Aug 2026 CCNA exam.

CCNA lab gear
Console
USB to RJ-45 + minicom / PuTTY
Layer 2 / 3 Switch
Catalyst 3560 PoE-8 - WS-C3560-8PC
Lab Network
Isolated VLAN 40 from production
Topology
Router-on-a-stick with 802.1Q trunk
Router
Cisco 1900 Series - CISCO1941
Lab Endpoint
Laptop tagged into VLAN 40 for testing
The Bench

Real Gear, Walled Off

Catalyst 3560 PoE-8 and Cisco 1900 router on isolated VLAN 40. Console via USB-to-RJ45, SSH after the initial config. Lab traffic never touches the production VLANs.

The Long Game

2017 Self-Study to 2026 Cert

Same Catalyst and 1900 router ran my CCNA self-study from 2017 onward, before pfSense took over the homelab. Now formalized with a structured study schedule for the official Aug 2026 exam.

Lab Photos

Rack
Connection

What's Covered

Topic 01

VLAN Configuration

VLAN creation, port assignment, 802.1Q trunking, native VLAN, voice VLAN, VTP modes.

Topic 02

Inter-VLAN Routing

Router-on-a-stick subinterfaces and Layer 3 SVI routing on the Catalyst 3560.

Topic 03

Access Control Lists

Standard and extended ACLs, named ACLs, applied to interfaces, VTY lines, and route maps.

Topic 04

Routing Protocols

Static routes, default routes, RIP, OSPF single-area, and route summarization basics.