Exam Domains and Weights
Key Takeaways
- IP Connectivity (25%) is the single heaviest domain — routing is your top priority.
- Network Fundamentals (20%) and Network Access (20%) together make up 40% of the exam.
- Security Fundamentals (15%) spans ACLs, AAA, Layer 2 hardening, VPN concepts, and wireless security.
- IP Services and Automation each carry 10%; do not skip Automation despite its low weight.
- Questions appear in random order, not grouped by domain, so you must context-switch constantly.
CCNA 200-301 v1.1 Domains and Weights
The blueprint splits into six domains with fixed percentage weights. Cisco does not reveal exact per-domain question counts, but weights map closely to how many items you will see, so they drive study allocation. Memorize these six numbers — they sum to 100%.
| # | Domain | Weight | Approx. items (of ~100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Network Fundamentals | 20% | ~20 |
| 2 | Network Access | 20% | ~20 |
| 3 | IP Connectivity | 25% | ~25 |
| 4 | IP Services | 10% | ~10 |
| 5 | Security Fundamentals | 15% | ~15 |
| 6 | Automation & Programmability | 10% | ~10 |
Domain 1 — Network Fundamentals (20%)
The conceptual bedrock. High-yield subtopics:
- Device roles: routers, Layer 2/3 switches, next-gen firewalls, IPS, access points, WLAN controllers, endpoints, servers, PoE.
- Topologies: two-tier (access/distribution+core collapsed), three-tier, spine-leaf, SOHO, WAN, on-prem vs cloud.
- Cabling/interfaces: single-mode vs multimode fiber, copper UTP categories, when to choose each.
- TCP vs UDP: connection-oriented handshake/sequencing vs connectionless; know which apps use each.
- IPv4 subnetting and RFC 1918 private ranges (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16).
- IPv6: global unicast (2000::/3), unique local (FC00::/7), link-local (FE80::/10), multicast (FF00::/8), EUI-64, SLAAC.
- Wireless RF: non-overlapping 2.4 GHz channels 1, 6, 11.
- Virtualization: VMs, containers, type-1 vs type-2 hypervisors.
Study Tip: Subnetting lives here but bleeds into every domain. Master it first; routing, VLAN design, NAT, and ACLs all assume instant subnet math.
Domain 2 — Network Access (20%)
Layer 2 switching and wireless:
- VLANs across multiple switches, access ports, default/data/voice VLANs, inter-VLAN routing.
- Trunking: 802.1Q tagging, native VLAN (untagged — a classic mismatch trap), DTP awareness.
- Spanning Tree: RSTP (802.1w), root-bridge election by lowest bridge ID, port roles/states, PortFast, plus the v1.1 hardening features root guard, loop guard, BPDU guard, BPDU filter.
- EtherChannel: Layer 2/3 bundles, LACP (open standard) vs PAgP (Cisco) vs static "on".
- Discovery: CDP (Cisco) and LLDP (open standard).
- Wireless: autonomous, lightweight/split-MAC with a WLC, cloud-managed APs; basic WLAN/GUI setup.
Common Trap: A native-VLAN mismatch on a trunk does not drop the link — it silently merges VLANs and triggers CDP/STP warnings. Expect a troubleshooting item on exactly this.
Wireless management questions also frequently contrast deployment models: an autonomous AP holds its own config, while a lightweight/split-MAC AP offloads control to a WLC via CAPWAP, centralizing policy. Know that LACP and LLDP are the open-standard halves of their respective pairs (PAgP and CDP are Cisco-proprietary) — Cisco loves a "which is vendor-neutral" item.
Domain 3 — IP Connectivity (25%) — Highest Weight
Routing and the forwarding decision. Spend the most time here.
- Routing table anatomy: prefix, mask, next hop, administrative distance (connected 0, static 1, OSPF 110, RIP 120, EIGRP internal 90), metric, route source code, gateway of last resort.
- Forwarding logic: longest-prefix match wins first; ties broken by lowest AD, then lowest metric.
- Static routing: default (0.0.0.0/0), network, host (/32), and floating static (higher AD as backup).
- OSPFv2 single-area: router ID selection (manual > highest loopback > highest active interface), neighbor adjacency states, DR/BDR election on broadcast networks, cost = reference-bw / interface-bw (default reference 100 Mbps).
- First-hop redundancy: HSRP, VRRP, GLBP — concepts and roles only, not configuration.
| Route source | Default AD |
|---|---|
| Connected | 0 |
| Static | 1 |
| EIGRP (internal) | 90 |
| OSPF | 110 |
| RIP | 120 |
Worked example: A router learns 10.1.1.0/24 via OSPF (AD 110) and 10.1.1.0/26 via RIP (AD 120). It installs both — longest-prefix match means the /26 is preferred for 10.1.1.0–63 regardless of the higher AD, because AD only breaks ties between identical prefixes.
Domain 4 — IP Services (10%)
The "easy points" if you drilled them:
- NAT/PAT: static NAT, dynamic NAT pools, PAT overload (many private to one public via port translation).
- DHCP: DORA (Discover, Offer, Request, Ack), relay/ip helper-address, pools.
- NTP stratum hierarchy; DNS forward/reverse; SNMP v2c vs v3 (v3 adds auth/encryption), GET/SET/TRAP.
- Syslog severity 0–7: Emergency, Alert, Critical, Error, Warning, Notice, Informational, Debug — mnemonic "Every Awesome Cisco Engineer Will Need Ice-cream Daily."
- QoS: per-hop behaviors, DSCP marking, queuing basics.
Domain 5 — Security Fundamentals (15%)
- Concepts: threat vs vulnerability vs exploit; common attacks (MAC flooding, ARP spoofing, DHCP starvation).
- Device hardening: enable secret, service password-encryption, SSH over Telnet.
- ACLs: standard (1–99, source only) vs extended (100–199, source+dest+port); implicit deny-all at the end.
- Layer 2 defense: port security, DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection.
- AAA: TACACS+ (TCP 49, full command authorization, Cisco) vs RADIUS (UDP, combines auth+authz).
- Wireless security: WPA2 vs WPA3, 802.1X/EAP, PSK.
Domain 6 — Automation & Programmability (10%)
- Controller-based vs traditional networking; control plane vs data plane; overlay/underlay/fabric.
- Northbound APIs (controller to apps, often REST/JSON) vs southbound APIs (controller to devices).
- REST verbs GET/POST/PUT/DELETE; reading JSON key/value and arrays.
- Ansible (agentless, YAML, push) and Terraform (declarative IaC); plus v1.1 AI/ML in operations.
On the Exam: Items are shuffled across domains, never grouped. A subnet question, a WPA3 question, and an OSPF sim can appear back-to-back, so practice rapid context switching.
Two routes to the same destination prefix are available: one via OSPF and one via EIGRP internal. Which does the router install, assuming default settings?
Which domain carries the single highest weight on the CCNA 200-301 v1.1 exam?
What was added to the Network Access domain in the v1.1 (August 2024) revision?