NETWORKCHUCK ACADEMY
Course

Cisco CCNA 2025

Our very own Jeremy Cioara has built a brand new CCNA for 2025 built around the real world skills you need today. Join Castle Ryzen Coffee, the last coffee enterprise of the future, as they scale their network in a decimated world.
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Skills

26

Videos

185

Labs

85

Hours

34

Build the Network That Saves a Civilization

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Master CCNA skills by designing and deploying a resilient, multi-site enterprise network for Castle Rysen Coffee—complete with routing, security, wireless, automation, and real-world troubleshooting.
This CCNA training walks learners through designing and deploying a complete, production-ready network for Castle Rysen Coffee—a fictional but highly realistic multi-site enterprise operating in a challenging, post-apocalyptic world. Students will build a secure, scalable network spanning a central headquarters, regional fallout shelters, and dozens of district coffee shops.

Through hands-on labs, you'll implement IPv4/IPv6 addressing, VLANs, routing (static + OSPF), wireless networks, EtherChannels, and core services like DHCP, DNS, NAT, NTP, and SNMP. You'll also configure multilayer security (ACLs, port security, DAI, DHCP Snooping), segment guest and administrative networks, support streaming/video surveillance, and integrate automation using tools like Ansible and REST APIs.

By the end, learners gain practical experience in end-to-end network design, implementation, monitoring, troubleshooting, documentation, and automation—mirroring the real-world expectations of a modern network engineer.
Trainer

Jeremy Cioara

Hello! If we haven't met before, my name is Jeremy Cioara. I stepped into the training world back in 1998, teaching a group of phone technicians at US West Communications about this new technology called DSL. I was 19 years old.

Things have come a long way since then… and yet some things never change: I'm still passionate about seeing others light up when what was once a confusing, discouraging topic suddenly clicks. What's even more exciting these days is that I now bring the experience of building a company (Veeya) that actually does the stuff I teach! I'm stepping back into the virtual classroom with a renewed passion for bringing the real world into my training. Yes—there's so much more to being successful in technology than… technology!

And yes, my friend, I still say, "I hope this has been informative for you, and I'd like to thank you for viewing."
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Virtual LabS

Practice Real Skills in Real Environments

You've GOT to check out our CCNA virtual labs! They're designed to make networking feel alive and achievable, right from your screen. You'll be stepping in as the network administrator of Castle Rysen Coffee, deploying Cisco network environments for the future of mankind! Here's what to expect:

  • Real-World Feel:
    We're using genuine Cisco software, giving you hands-on practice with routers, switches, and configs that really mirror what you'll encounter. No more wondering if it's your problem or the simulator malfunctioning.
  • Course Integration:
    We've spliced these labs directly into the course interface, so as soon as we demo a concept on video, you can immediately try it yourself!
  • Build Confidence Fast:
    Break things, fix them, experiment freely in a safe space. It's all about turning "I get it" into "I can do this" while we're on this journey together. 

Watch our CCNA Lab Demo

Study planner

Learn on Your Time

  • Study Planners allow you to commit to times to learn so that you can stay on track!
    • Schedule training times
    • Set deadlines
    • Monitor your progress
    • Plan your future!
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Course contents

00

Skill 01 - Using Packet Tracer to Understand Networks

Build and test network designs in a risk-free virtual environment using Cisco Packet Tracer. You'll learn how to create network topologies, add routers and switches, connect devices with the right cables, and simulate real-world network scenarios without touching physical hardware. Through hands-on lab exercises, you'll drag and drop devices onto the workspace, configure them using the CLI, test connectivity with ping and traceroute, visualize packet flow in real-time, and troubleshoot problems in a controlled environment where mistakes don't cause outages. You'll experiment freely with different network designs, validate configurations before deploying them to production equipment, and develop the troubleshooting instincts that separate beginners from professionals.
01

Skill 02 - Assembling Your Network Equipment

This is your path to gain the skill of walking into a smaller environment (such as a small office or coffee shop in this case), assessing what is needed, and determining the equipment to use when preparing the network environment.
02

Skill 03 - Cables, Connectors, and Ports

Master the physical and logical connections that make networks function by learning cables, connectors, and communication protocols. You'll understand ethernet standards, cable categories, fiber optics, wireless technologies, and exactly which cable to use for each scenario. Through hands-on exploration, you'll discover how devices establish connections, maintain communication, and transfer data across different media types. You'll confidently connect any device to any network and diagnose connectivity problems with precision and speed.
03

Skill 04 - Network Design and Communication Models

Understand network communication through the OSI and TCP/IP models that define how data moves across networks. You'll learn each layer's function, the protocols that operate at each level, and how to troubleshoot using a layered approach. Through practical application, you'll map real-world networking problems to specific model layers, understand encapsulation and headers, and use this framework to communicate with other professionals. You'll diagnose network issues faster and collaborate more effectively using the universal language of networking models.
04

Skill 05 - Configuring Cisco Devices using the IOS

Configure Cisco devices from scratch using the command-line interface that powers enterprise networks worldwide. You'll learn the base configuration every router and switch needs including hostnames, passwords, interface descriptions, management access, SSH setup, and security best practices. Through step-by-step configuration walkthroughs, you'll navigate between configuration modes, understand privilege levels, and establish device security. You'll confidently access and configure any Cisco device and establish the foundation for every network deployment you build.
05

Skill 06 - Understanding and Configuring Basic Switching

Operate and configure Cisco switches to connect users and manage network traffic at Layer 2. You'll learn MAC address tables, port configuration, speed and duplex settings, how switches make forwarding decisions, and the show commands that discover connected devices and track down users. Through practical exercises, you'll configure switch ports, monitor switch operations, and troubleshoot common switching problems. You'll manage switches like a professional and become the go-to person for connectivity and user access issues.
06

Skill 07 - Designing IP Addresses for Castle Rysen

Implement IP addressing schemes that scale across networks of any size. You'll learn IPv4 address structure, address classes, subnet masks, default gateways, and how devices use IP addresses to communicate across networks. Through addressing design exercises, you'll assign IP addresses to devices, configure subnet masks correctly, understand the relationship between IP addresses and network boundaries, and identify addressing conflicts. You'll design and deploy IP addressing schemes that support growth and avoid the common mistakes that cause network failures.
07

Skill 08 - Configuring Switch and Router Interfaces

Configure router and switch interfaces to enable connectivity and optimize performance. You'll learn interface types, configuration commands, status verification, and troubleshooting techniques for physical and logical interfaces. Through hands-on configuration, you'll bring up interfaces, set IP addresses, adjust speed and duplex, create interface descriptions, monitor interface statistics, and identify interface errors before they impact users. You'll manage the physical connections that make your network function and troubleshoot interface problems with confidence.
08

Skill 09 - Set up Static and Default Internet Routing

Enable routing so data can travel between different networks and reach the internet. You'll learn how routers make forwarding decisions, configure static routes, set default gateways, and build routing tables that direct traffic correctly. Through routing configuration exercises, you'll connect multiple networks together, establish routes between sites, verify end-to-end connectivity, and trace packet paths to identify where routing breaks down. You'll build routed networks that connect users to resources across multiple locations and understand exactly how data flows through your infrastructure.
09

Skill 10 - Configuring Basic NAT

Deploy Network Address Translation to connect private networks to the public internet securely and efficiently. You'll learn NAT types including static NAT, dynamic NAT, and PAT, understand inside and outside addresses, and configure overload for multiple devices sharing one public IP. Through configuration exercises, you'll set up NAT on Cisco routers, verify translations are working, and troubleshoot NAT issues. You'll connect entire networks to the internet using minimal public IP addresses and understand the NAT behavior that affects application connectivity.
10

Skill 11 - Subnetting IPv4 Networks

Subnet IP networks to create efficient address hierarchies and optimize network design. You'll learn binary conversion, subnet mask calculation, network and broadcast addresses, and how to determine usable host ranges for any subnet requirement. Through extensive subnetting practice, you'll subnet networks of any size, calculate the exact number of subnets and hosts needed, work with CIDR notation and variable-length subnet masks, and design addressing schemes that minimize waste. You'll subnet networks in your head, design scalable IP schemes for enterprise deployments, and pass one of the most challenging sections of the CCNA exam.
11

Skill 12 - Segmenting Networks With VLANS

Segment networks using VLANs to reduce broadcast domains, improve performance, and enhance security. You'll learn VLAN concepts, trunk configuration, inter-VLAN routing, and how to design VLAN structures for real organizations. Through switch configuration exercises, you'll create VLANs, assign ports to VLANs, configure trunk links between switches, route traffic between VLANs, and troubleshoot VLAN misconfigurations. You'll design and deploy VLAN architectures that scale to hundreds of users while maintaining performance and security boundaries.
12

Skill 13 - Deploying Spanning Tree protocol Loop Prevention

Prevent network loops and ensure redundancy with Spanning Tree Protocol. You'll learn how STP detects loops, elects root bridges, blocks redundant paths, and maintains network stability while keeping backup links ready. Through STP configuration and verification, you'll influence root bridge election, adjust port costs and priorities, monitor STP convergence, and understand PVST+, Rapid PVST+, and modern STP variants. You'll build redundant networks that stay online during failures without creating the broadcast storms that destroy network performance.
13

Skill 14 - Increasing Bandwidth Using EtherChannel

Aggregate multiple physical links into a single logical connection using EtherChannel. You'll learn link aggregation protocols including PAgP and LACP, load balancing methods, and how to configure port channels for maximum bandwidth. Through EtherChannel configuration, you'll bundle interfaces together, verify channel operation, troubleshoot mismatched settings, and understand how traffic distributes across member links. You'll maximize bandwidth between switches and eliminate the waste of having redundant links sitting idle.
14

Skill 15 - Deploying the OSPF Routing Protocol

Deploy dynamic routing protocols that automatically adapt to network changes and failures. You'll learn OSPF configuration, route advertisements, metrics, areas, and how dynamic protocols detect topology changes and reroute traffic. Through OSPF implementation, you'll configure routing processes, advertise networks, verify neighbor relationships, monitor route propagation, and understand convergence behavior. You'll build self-healing networks that route around failures automatically and scale to enterprise-level complexity.
15

Skill 16 - Deploying First Hop Redundancy Protocols

Implement First Hop Redundancy Protocols to eliminate single points of failure at the default gateway. You'll learn HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP, understand virtual IP addresses, priority settings, preemption, and automatic failover. Through FHRP configuration, you'll set up redundant gateways, configure priority and tracking, verify failover behavior, and test failure scenarios to confirm users maintain connectivity. You'll design networks where gateway failures are invisible to users and downtime becomes a thing of the past.
16

Skill 17 - IPv6 Addressing & Routing

Transition to IPv6 and prepare for the future of internet addressing. You'll learn IPv6 address structure, address types including unicast and multicast, autoconfiguration methods, and dual-stack operation alongside IPv4. Through IPv6 configuration exercises, you'll assign IPv6 addresses, enable IPv6 routing, verify connectivity, and understand the differences between IPv4 and IPv6 behavior. You'll deploy IPv6 in production environments and future-proof your networks as the world transitions away from IPv4 address exhaustion.
17

Skill 18 - Using Access Control Lists

Control network traffic using Access Control Lists that permit or deny packets based on source, destination, protocol, and port. You'll learn standard and extended ACLs, wildcard masks, ACL placement, and how to apply ACLs to interfaces. Through ACL configuration, you'll write access lists for various security scenarios, apply them inbound and outbound, verify traffic filtering, and troubleshoot ACL logic to identify why traffic is blocked or permitted. You'll implement traffic filtering that protects networks, segments access, and forms the foundation of router-based security policies.
18

Skill 19 - Network Security Overview

Understand network security concepts, threats, and defense strategies that protect modern networks. You'll learn about common attack vectors, security frameworks, defense-in-depth strategies, authentication, authorization, encryption, and monitoring. Through security concept exploration, you'll identify vulnerabilities, understand threat landscapes, and learn industry-standard approaches to network hardening. You'll think like a security professional and understand the principles that guide every security decision in network design and operations.
19

Skill 20 - Layer 2 Port Security, DHCP Snooping, and DAI

Apply cybersecurity principles to protect systems and data from attacks. You'll learn threat identification, risk assessment, security policies, and practical defenses including firewalls, intrusion prevention, and endpoint protection. Through cybersecurity analysis, you'll understand attack methodologies, defense mechanisms, security operations, incident response, and the frameworks that guide security professionals. You'll integrate security into every network decision and understand the cybersecurity landscape well enough to specialize or lead security initiatives.
20

Skill 21 - CDP and LLDP

Discover and map network topology using CDP and LLDP protocols that reveal connected devices and their capabilities. You'll learn how CiscoDiscovery Protocol and Link Layer Discovery Protocol work, what information they share, and the security implications of running neighbor discovery protocols. Through hands-on configuration, you'll enable and disable CDP and LLDP on interfaces, use show commands to identify neighboring devices, gather hardware details and IP addresses, and build network diagrams from discovery data. You'll troubleshoot connectivity by verifying physical connections, identify misconfigurations by checking neighbor information, and understand when to disable these protocols for security hardening.
21

Skill 22 - NTP, DNS, SSH, and DHCP

Configure essential network services that keep enterprise networks running smoothly and securely. You'll learn how NTP synchronizes time across devices for accurate logging and authentication, how DNS resolves hostnames to IP addresses, how SSH provides encrypted remote access to replace insecure Telnet, and how DHCP automatically assigns IP addresses to eliminate manual configuration errors. Through service configuration exercises, you'll set up NTP clients and servers to maintain accurate timestamps, configure DNS servers for name resolution, enable SSH with proper authentication and encryption, and deploy DHCP scopes with reservations and options for automatic network provisioning. You'll troubleshoot time drift issues, resolve DNS failures, secure remote access with key-based authentication, and manage IP address pools that scale across your entire network.
22

Skill 23 - SNMP and Syslog

Monitor and manage networks using SNMP and Syslog for comprehensive visibility into device health and events. You'll learn SNMP versions, MIBs, OIDs, polling, traps, syslog severity levels, and facility codes. Through monitoring configuration, you'll enable SNMP on network devices, configure syslog servers, collect data, analyze logs for troubleshooting, and understand what metrics to track and how to respond to alerts. You'll maintain full visibility into your network infrastructure and detect problems before users notice them.
23

Skill 24 - Quality of Service

Prioritize network traffic using Quality of Service to ensure critical applications get the bandwidth they need. You'll learn classification, marking, queuing, shaping, policing, DSCP values, traffic classes, and QoS models. Through QoS configuration, you'll classify traffic, apply policies, verify QoS operation, measure results, and configure priority queuing for voice and video while managing bulk data transfers. You'll deliver consistent application performance even during network congestion and meet service-level requirements for business-critical traffic.
24

Skill 25 - Wireless Networking

Design and deploy wireless networks using 802.11 standards and enterprise best practices. You'll learn wireless technologies, RF principles, channel planning, roaming, security protocols, and wireless site surveys. Through wireless implementation, you'll configure wireless controllers, set up multiple SSIDs, implement wireless security, optimize coverage, and troubleshoot wireless performance and connectivity issues. You'll deploy wireless networks that users actually want to connect to and maintain the wireless infrastructure that modern businesses depend on.
25

Skill 26 - Network Automation

Automate network configuration and management using modern tools and APIs. You'll learn Python for network automation, REST APIs, NETCONF, configuration management tools, and how to automate repetitive tasks at scale. Through automation exercises, you'll write scripts to configure multiple devices, retrieve operational data programmatically, maintain configuration consistency, and understand when automation adds value and how to implement it safely. You'll manage hundreds of devices as easily as one and join the movement toward programmable infrastructure.

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