CCNA Interview Ready: Tips, Tricks & Mock Questions

Explain Cisco discovery protocol, a wire-to-network discovery protocol on Cisco devices that shares neighbor information, including device ID, IP address, platform data, and interface data, at the data link layer.

Learn how LLDP, a vendor-agnostic discovery protocol, is similar to Cisco Discovery Protocol and Mikrotik MNDP and is supported by Juniper, Mikrotik, and Cisco devices.

Learn how Cisco switch port security prevents unauthorized devices by checking incoming MAC addresses, shutting down on unrecognized addresses, and re-enabling ports with interface and switchport commands, including sticky MACs.

Understand inter-VLAN routing, moving packets between hosts in different segments, and learn how to configure VLAN networks to connect VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 using a router or switch.

Learn how to enable VTP on Cisco switches and configure VTP modes (server, client, transparent), domain, and password. Practice with server and client configurations and verify VLANs using show commands.

Explore how a B-RAN, a virtual local area network, groups devices as a logical unit regardless of location to enhance security through segmentation and management.

Learn the native VRAM concept on a Cisco switch, where untagged traffic uses the native VRAM, which is VRAM1, and why you should change the default native VRAM for security.

Explain Raya-2 and Raya-3 switches: Raya-2 forwards traffic using MAC addresses with no routing; Raya-3 adds IP-based routing between VLANs or subnets.

Switching moves data within a network using MAC addresses, while routing moves data between networks using IP addresses.

Explain the spanning tree protocol (STP) and how it prevents loops in Ethernet networks by blocking redundant paths and enabling a backup path if the main path fails.

Explain how the VTP revision number governs changes to the VRAN database, starting at 0, incrementing with each change, including VRAN add and remove, and advertised to other VTP clients.

Learn how VTP transparent forwards VTP messages from other switches, and review VLAN ID ranges from 0 to 4095, including 2–1001 (default), 1002–1005, 1006–14094, and creating VLAN 4000.

Learn how error channel EtherChannel bundles multiple physical ethernet links into a logical channel to boost bandwidth and redundancy, with Cisco checks like speed, duplex, and PGP or LCP.

Summarize routing protocol types: distance-vector protocols with metrics (RIP, EGRP, IGRP); ring state protocols map networks to compute shortest paths; hybrids blend these approaches.

Discover what the show-ip-protocol command reveals about routing protocols, including enablers, autonomous system numbers, routing timers, networks being advertised, interface updates, and distance and metric information.

Explore distance vector protocols, hop count metrics in RIP, and OSPF cost and areas. Compare EGRP as a hybrid protocol, and review administrative distances: OSPF 110 and RIP 120.

Cover exam-focused VLAN troubleshooting and port configuration, including diagnosing VLAN mismatches, setting switch ports to access mode for specific VLANs, and handling unknown destination MAC addresses.

Examine port security on a switch, including limiting the number of MAC addresses per port and the restrict violation mode that drops unauthorized frames and sends alerts.