Is certification valuable Absolutely. The Cisco CCNA certification can open more doors in your career field than you ever thought possible. The CCNA certification teaches you the "nuts and bolts" of Cisco devices, the Cisco IOS, and big picture network concepts.

...but is there more to it than just the CCNA Absolutely. This has been the driving force behind this one-of-a-kind series. Cisco CCNA Labs: Cisco for the Real World teaches you everything that you need to know that may or may not have been directly certification related. It's just not possible to write exam questions that covers these types of concepts!

So join us in this student-driven, real-world journey through Cisco networking technology, building a network from the ground up!

23 Labs Total

CCNA Labs: Introduction
Welcome to CCNA Labs! In this brief introduction, Jeremy describes the purpose of the series, the GNS3 foundations, and the best approach you could take.
00:15:38

Phase 1: Identifying Requirements, Assembling the Network
Before you configure routing...before you configure your first router...even before you connect your first Ethernet cable, much planning has to take place. In this nugget, Jeremy walks you through the process of meeting with management, creating a requirements document, and project planning the network implementation.
00:39:45

Phase 1: Identifying Requirements, Assembling the Network, Part 2
You'll want to make sure you're distraction-free on this one! Jeremy continues to walk through a real-world network design and covers topics such as ordering equipment, visualizing the subnets/VLANs, designing Layer 3 switching, and documentation best practices!
01:15:03

Physical: Rack-and-Stack
If you stay in the Cisco world, there will be plenty of times where you'll have to drop into the Physical layer and start doing some cabling! This nugget explores the process of wiring a building for network connectivity (patch panels, switches, tools, racks, etc), understanding fiber optic connections, mounting wireless access points, and Cisco Stackwise technology.
00:43:51

Logical: VLANs and Spanning-Tree
We now venture into what Jeremy calls, "one of the most important network concepts of our time": Virtual LANs (VLANs). This nugget reviews the key VLAN concepts then applies them to the NuggetLabs branch office design. As a bonus, Jeremy discusses the concept of server virtualization (using VMWare ESXi or Microsoft Hyper-V) and how it impacts the Cisco switch configuration.
00:48:40

Logical: VLANs and Spanning-Tree, Part 2
It's time to face your fears and conquer the infamous Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). Jeremy takes a very real-world approach and discusses how to best understand and design STP and Rapid STP (RSTP) for the branch office network.
00:27:52

Phase 2: Layer 2 Configuration, Part 1
It's time to get into the active configuration of our NuggetLabs Branch Office network! In this nugget, Jeremy sets up the base configuration on the switches including hostname, logon banners, SSH, management VLANs, and more!
00:41:32

Phase 2: Layer 2 Configuration, Part 2
The Layer 2 configuration continues as we add VLANs to the necessary switches and enable Etherchannel configurations.
00:25:34

Phase 2: Layer 2 Configuration, Part 3
The lab continues to build as Jeremy adds in the configuration of trunk ports, routed ports on multilayer switches, client and voice VLANs, and wireless access ports.
00:58:02

Phase 2: Layer 2 Configuration, Part 4
In this final piece of the Layer 2 configuration, Jeremy configures Layer 3 switching, the Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP), and tests the configuration (get ready for some troubleshooting here!).
00:47:38

Phase 2 Bonus: Converting to a Router on a Stick
While Layer 3 switching is "the way of the world," the CCNA certification exam focuses on the Router-on-a-Stick as a core topic. In this nugget, Jeremy walks through the conversion of the Layer 3 switched network into a Router-on-a-Stick configuration.
00:22:19

Routing: Internet Connectivity
Being connected to the Internet is a massive requirement in today's business world. This nugget discusses the Internet connectivity options you can choose to use for an organization including: Cable, DSL, Satellite, Leased Lines, Fiber Optic / Metro Ethernet, Line of site WIFI, ISDN, and Dial-up (for those on the cutting edge).
00:24:40

Routing: Internet Connectivity, Part 2
Understanding public and private addressing is a massive part of bringing up your Internet Connection successfully. In this nugget, Jeremy discusses this topic and then dives into an overview of security and the design of your Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
00:31:33

Routing: Virtual Private Networks
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) was one of the most requested topics for this series based on your feedback! In this nugget, Jeremy does a masterful job giving a high-level overview of VPN technology that will coincide with the VPN configuration in the upcoming Phase 3 lab.
00:33:47

Phase 3: Configuring the Internet Connection and VPN Tunnel
Get yourself ready for some routing! This nugget explains the concept of using a "cloud" to connect GNS3 to a real network, provides a base configuration for NL_B1_RT1, and configures a default Internet route.
00:30:57

Phase 3: Configuring the Internet Connection and VPN Tunnel, Part 2
It's time to bring Network Address Translation (NAT) onto the scene! In this nugget, Jeremy configures NAT to from the branch office to a pool of Internet addresses as well as sets up Static NAT for an internal email server.
00:42:09

Phase 3: Configuring the Internet Connection and VPN Tunnel, Part 3
Brace yourself! Based on student feedback, Jeremy has assembled a "cram-it-all-in" nugget focusing on the configuration of a site-to-site VPN between the branch and corporate offices. These types of connections are hugely popular in the "real world" (which is why it has been added here). However, those focused on only the CCNA exam will want to skip past this nugget.
01:10:08

Phase 4: Configuring Routing using OSPF
Routing protocols are the lifeblood of your Cisco network and OSPF happens to be the most popular routing protocol on the planet. In the lab, Jeremy performs the initial deployment of OSPF across the network in a multi-area configuration.
00:43:29

Phase 4: Configuring Routing using OSPF, Part 2
Okay, you've implemented enough in OSPF to meet your CCNA exam requirements...want to go a little beyond This nugget is dedicated to the overachiever and covers OSPF default information origination, OSPF summary routes (at the ABR), DR election, and Hello timer tuning.
00:30:03

Phase 5: Configuring Routing using EIGRP
Much to your dismay, the organization has decided to tear out your existing OSPF design and implement EIGRP! Good thing you bill by the hour! This nugget builds on the previous OSPF concepts and applies them using the EIGRP routing protocol. You'll learn topics such as EIGRP base configuration, authentication, route summarization and tuning.
00:46:18

Phase 6: Configuring DHCP Services and Security
It's time to put the icing on the cake. This nugget is focused around understanding DHCP helper addresses, DHCP options for IP Phones and configuring the L3 switch as a core DHCP server.
00:31:29

Phase 6: Configuring DHCP Services and Security, Part 2
It's a security smackdown! In this final nugget, Jeremy walks through the access-list configuration for the NuggetLabs branch facility.
00:47:37

Bonus: Configuring WIFI with VLANs
By popular demand! Jeremy received a number of inquiries throughout this series asking about configuring WIFI with VLANs (as posed in the NuggetLabs scenario). In this quick nugget, Jeremy walks through a solid overview of WIFI including SSID configuration, channel selection, security, and (of course) VLAN tagging.
00:17:23


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