CCNP Course

Lesson 1 • Layer 2 Switching Fundamentals Review

Revisits MAC learning, VLANs, trunking, and STP as the Layer 2 foundation for advanced switching topics in later chapters. Identifies common misconfigurations to avoid.

Lesson 2 • Cisco IOS CLI Proficiency

Builds speed and accuracy with IOS command-line navigation, configuration modes, and verification commands. Proficiency here accelerates all subsequent lab work.

Lesson 3 • CCNP Exam Structure and Study Strategy

Covers the ENCOR and concentration exam blueprints, scoring, and scheduling. Connects exam objectives to real-world job roles to motivate structured study.

Lesson 1 • Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol

Covers MST region configuration, instance mapping, and interaction with PVST+. Enables load balancing across VLANs using multiple spanning tree instances.

Lesson 2 • STP Optimisation and Protection Features

Teaches BPDU Guard, Root Guard, Loop Guard, and UDLD to harden STP deployments against misconfigurations and unidirectional link failures.

Lesson 3 • Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol Deep Dive

Explains RSTP port roles, link types, and rapid convergence mechanisms that replace classic STP. Connects RSTP behaviour to network stability outcomes.

Lesson 4 • EtherChannel Configuration and Troubleshooting

Configures LACP and PAgP EtherChannel bundles for bandwidth aggregation and redundancy. Addresses common bundle formation failures and load-balancing methods.

Lesson 1 • Multi-Area OSPF and LSA Types

Explains LSA types 1 through 7, area types, and the role of ABRs and ASBRs in controlling routing information flow across areas.

Lesson 2 • OSPFv3 for IPv6 and Dual-Stack

Configures OSPFv3 address families for IPv6 and dual-stack environments, highlighting differences from OSPFv2 in authentication and link-local usage.

Lesson 3 • OSPF Fundamentals and Neighbor Formation

Reviews OSPF packet types, neighbour states, and DR/BDR election to establish a solid base for advanced topics. Identifies parameters that prevent adjacency formation.

Lesson 4 • OSPF Route Filtering and Summarisation

Applies distribute lists, prefix lists, and area range summarisation to reduce LSDB size and control route advertisement between areas and ASBRs.

Lesson 1 • BGP Path Selection and Attribute Manipulation

Applies the BGP best-path algorithm and manipulates Weight, Local Preference, AS Path, and MED to achieve deterministic traffic engineering.

Lesson 2 • Route Redistribution Between Protocols

Redistributes routes between OSPF, EIGRP, and BGP using route maps and tags to prevent routing loops and control metric assignment.

Lesson 3 • Policy-Based Routing and IP SLA

Implements PBR to override routing table decisions and uses IP SLA probes to trigger route changes based on reachability or performance thresholds.

Lesson 4 • BGP Peering and Session Establishment

Establishes iBGP and eBGP sessions, configures authentication, and explains the BGP finite state machine for reliable session management.

Lesson 1 • QoS Classification and Marking

Classifies traffic using NBAR, ACLs, and DSCP values, then marks packets at the network edge to enforce consistent treatment across the path.

Lesson 2 • IP Multicast Routing Fundamentals

Explains multicast addressing, IGMP snooping, PIM sparse mode, and RP placement to deliver efficient one-to-many traffic flows.

Lesson 3 • First-Hop Redundancy Protocols

Compares HSRP, VRRP, and GLBP, then configures active/standby roles, preemption, and object tracking for gateway redundancy.

Lesson 1 • VPN Technologies: IPsec and DMVPN

Configures site-to-site IPsec VPNs and DMVPN Phase 1, 2, and 3 for scalable hub-and-spoke and spoke-to-spoke encrypted connectivity.

Lesson 2 • Layer 2 Security Mechanisms

Deploys port security, Dynamic ARP Inspection, DHCP snooping, and IP Source Guard to prevent Layer 2 attacks in campus environments.

Lesson 3 • Cisco Firewall and Threat Defense Concepts

Introduces stateful firewall operation, zone-based policy firewall on IOS, and Cisco Firepower threat defence architecture for perimeter security.

Lesson 4 • AAA and Device Access Security

Configures TACACS+ and RADIUS for centralised authentication, authorisation, and accounting on network devices to enforce role-based access.

Lesson 1 • Python and Ansible for Network Automation

Applies Python scripts with Netmiko and Ansible playbooks to automate configuration deployment, data collection, and compliance checking.

Lesson 2 • Infrastructure as Code and Version Control

Uses Git for network configuration version control and introduces CI/CD pipeline concepts applied to network change management workflows.

Lesson 3 • Cisco SD-WAN Architecture Overview

Describes vManage, vSmart, vBond, and vEdge components and their roles in policy-driven WAN connectivity and centralised management.

Lesson 4 • Network Programmability and APIs

Introduces REST APIs, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and YANG models as the programmatic interfaces used by modern network controllers and automation tools.

Lesson 1 • ENCOR Exam Simulation and Review

Executes timed full-domain practice exams, analyses weak areas, and applies targeted review to achieve consistent passing scores before exam day.

Lesson 2 • High Availability and Network Resilience

Configures NSF, SSO, BFD, and graceful restart to minimise downtime during hardware failures and routing protocol reconvergence events.

Lesson 3 • Network Virtualisation Technologies

Covers VRF, GRE tunnels, VXLAN, and device virtualisation concepts that enable logical network segmentation over shared physical infrastructure.

Lesson 4 • Enterprise Wireless Architecture

Explains centralised, FlexConnect, and mesh wireless deployment models, WLC operation, and RF fundamentals required for the ENCOR wireless domain.