Cisco CCNA 200-301 Labs Only Don't Just Be A Paper Cert.

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Understand the purpose of routers and switches, compare ports and models, and see how multilayer switches can function as both switch and router in small networks.

Explore utp unshielded twisted pair cabling types for network devices, including straight-through, crossover, and rollover console cables, their uses, pinouts, and practical setup for routers and switches.

Learn the differences between broadcast domains and collision domains, why hubs are obsolete, and how switches and routers shape traffic with VLANs, MAC filtering, and separate broadcasts.

Learn how a multilayer switch combines switching and routing by enabling IP routing, compare it with a regular switch, and note PoE and port differences for phones and access points.

Compare hubs and switches to understand how collision domains and bandwidth are managed, then explore VLANs, Layer 2 versus multilayer switches, and how to achieve routing with a multilayer switch.

Explore TCP/IP classes from A to E and how IP addresses map to hosts on LAN and WAN, with emphasis on IPv4, IPv6, four octets, and decimal-to-binary conversions.

Explore tcp/ip class addressing; identify a, b, c ranges, why d and e are reserved for multicast and research, differentiate unicast, multicast, and broadcast while applying subnet masks and cidr.

Examine class C IP addressing, where 192 to 223 defines the network, with a default 255.255.255.0 mask and slash 24, yielding 254 hosts per network.

Identify class B networks using the first two octets for the network, and the last two for the host. With 255.255.0.0 (slash 16), allow up to 65,534 hosts.

Explore class A addressing: networks vs hosts via first octet and last three octets, with /8 masking, excluding loopback 127, and two to the power of 24 minus two hosts.

Examine class d multicast and class e research in CCNA labs, compare pay-per-view multicast to government-only usage, and review multicast routing with RIP and OSPF, plus classful network basics.

Explore how TCP and UDP differ in connection orientation and error handling, and examine port numbers, sockets, well-known ports, and how DHCP, NAT, and private versus public IPs interact.

Explore how tcp and udp ports differ by observing open connections with netstat, identify key ports like 3389, 445, and Kerberos 88/464, and learn basic port security practices.

Change the RDP port from 3389 to 5555 via registry edit and restart, then verify with netstat. Learn TCP vs UDP port differences and how subnetting helps secure remote access.

Master the router CLI, move from user mode to privileged, global configuration, interface, and line modes. Configure interfaces and subinterfaces, use console access, and view status with show commands.

Configure the enable password and enable secret to switch from user mode to privileged mode, with the enable secret encrypted by default and overwriting the enable password.

Learn to configure a Cisco router by changing its host name in global configuration mode and adjusting date, time, and time zone with clock commands and privileged mode.

Learn to view and adjust command history on Cisco devices, from the default ten entries to a configured size up to 256, using show history, terminal commands, and show terminal.

Explore how Cisco routers store data: RAM holds the running config, NVRAM stores the startup config, and flash hosts the EOS; learn saving, erasing, and viewing configs.

Configure a switch by setting the hostname, enable secret, time, and history; no ip domain lookup, and compare layer 2 mac-address switching to layer 3 ip routing.

Learn switch configuration by connecting devices, shutting down unused ports for security, and setting port speed, duplex, and descriptions, then verify with show commands.

Discover how a switch updates its mac address table by dynamically learning mac addresses from devices across ports, enabling per-port communication without collisions.

Examine switch storage types—RAM for running config, nvram for startup config, and flash for the iOS and VLAN data—and learn how to save and restore configurations.

Configure a router interface by assigning a static ip address and description, then bring the interface up with no shutdown. Verify status with show ip interface brief.

Set up a network time protocol (ntp) time server on port 123 to synchronize routers, switches, and firewalls. Verify ntp status, stratum, and synchronized time across devices.

Configure a domain name and a name server on Cisco devices, set an ip name server for dns resolution, and disable ip domain lookup to speed command-line work.

Learn to access a Cisco router via the console line for direct connection using a rollover cable and Putty, configure console password and enable secret, and set a console timeout.

Set up remote access by assigning an ip to the gigabit0/0 interface, enabling telnet, and configuring a dhcp pool and vty passwords with timeouts; ssh will follow.

Configure router access by creating usernames for console and telnet, assign privilege levels (including 15), enable login local, and verify with vty lines.

Enable service password encryption in global configuration mode to encrypt passwords on Cisco devices, then save the configuration and learn SSH as a secure alternative to telnet.

Configure ssh on a router by setting hostname, domain name, and generating rsa keys for ssh version 2. Disable telnet and restrict vty access to ssh only with login local.

Set up a banner message of the day on a Cisco router and configure a DHCP pool, local user accounts, and login settings, then test access with telnet.

Configure a switch console connection with a rollover cable, PuTTY, and serial access, covering hostname, enable secret, line console 0, login, and service password encryption.

Configure and test remote switch access via telnet by assigning a VLAN interface IP, enabling VTY lines, setting a login password, and noting why telnet is insecure compared to SSH.

Configure usernames for a switch console and vty lines, use secret passwords and login local to enforce username authentication, and prepare for ssh by disabling telnet.

Configure the switch for secure remote access by enabling ssh on vty lines, disabling telnet, generating rsa keys with sha256, and setting domain udemy.edu and usernames admin two and ssh.

Configure a banner on the switch using global configuration, the banner command, and a message of the day with delimiters, save the config, and verify access with a login prompt.

Configure a centralized tacacs+ aaa server to handle authentication, authorization, and accounting for Cisco routers and switches, detailing console and vty access and comparing tacacs+ with radius.