Cisco Certified Network Associate 200-301 Exam

Network Fundamentals

• The CCNA 200-301 exam has a passing score of 800, a time limit of 120 minutes, and is divided into 6 sections: Network Fundamentals, Network Access, IP Connectivity, IP Services, Security Fundamentals, and Automation and Programmability.
• Route types:
  • Network route: used to reach host 10.10.13.10/32
  • Host route: used to reach a specific host
  • Default route: used to reach destinations not in the routing table
• File-transfer protocols:
  • FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
  • SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol)
  • TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol)
• Frame Check Sequence (FCS) errors:
  • Increment the input error counter
  • Increment the CRC error counter
• IPv6 address types:
  • Link-local: provides communication between devices on the same link
  • Unique local: provides communication between subnets and cannot be routed on the Internet
  • Global unicast: publicly routable and can be routed on the Internet
  • Multicast: forwards packets to a group of devices
• Switching:
  • Late collisions occur when a collision is detected late in the transmission process
  • Frame flooding: sends frames to all ports in the same VLAN except the originating port
  • Spanning tree: prevents switching loops and broadcast storms
• Wireless networking:
  • Wireless LAN Controller (WLC): provides centralized management and configuration of wireless networks
  • Lightweight AP: uses the WLC to manage and configure wireless networks
  • Autonomous AP: does not use a WLC and is managed and configured locally

Network Access

• Link Aggregation:
  • Requires two or more ports to be configured
  • Provides increased bandwidth and redundancy
  • Can be configured in "mode active"
• SSH (Secure Shell):
  • Requires a k9 (crypto) IOS image
  • Requires the ip domain-name command to be configured
  • Provides secure remote access to network devices
• Spanning tree:
  • PortFast: minimizes spanning tree convergence time
  • BPDU (Bridge Protocol Data Unit) messages: used to detect and prevent switching loops
  • Root port: the port that is closest to the root bridge

IP Connectivity

• IPv4 subnetting:
  • The most efficient subnet is one that minimizes wasted addresses
  • Subnets can be summarized to reduce the number of routes in the routing table
• IPv6 address configuration:
  • EUI-64 (Extended Unique Identifier 64-bit) address: uses the MAC address of the interface
  • SLAAC (Stateless Address Autoconfiguration): allows hosts to configure their own IPv6 addresses

IP Services

• DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol):
  • Provides IP addresses and other network settings to hosts
  • Can be used to reserve IP addresses for specific devices

Security Fundamentals

• Network security:
  • Private IP addresses: cannot be routed on the Internet
  • NAT (Network Address Translation): translates private IP addresses to public IP addresses
• Access control:
  • Passwords: can be used to authenticate and authorize access to network devices
  • SSH: provides secure remote access to network devices

Automation and Programmability

• Network automation:
  • Can be used to simplify network configuration and management
  • Can be used to reduce errors and increase efficiency### Network Access
• QoS Profile in a Voice over WLAN deployment: Platinum
• After a switch configuration, a ping test fails between PC A and PC B due to a native VLAN mismatch
• In a WLAN deployment, a Local Mode AP will continue to serve wireless clients even after losing connectivity to the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller
• EtherChannel can be configured between two switches without a negotiation protocol by using the "on" mode

IP Connectivity

• OSPF router-ID is the highest IP address on the router, or the IP address configured using the router-id command
• OSPF selects a route based on the lowest cost, calculated by dividing the reference bandwidth of 100 Mbps by the actual bandwidth of the exiting interface
• A floating static route with a higher administrative distance than the primary route is used as a backup route
• OSPF network types: point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, broadcast, nonbroadcast; default type is broadcast for Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
• Administrative distance is used to select the best path when two or more different routes to the same destination exist from two different routing protocols (e.g. OSPF vs EIGRP)
• EIGRP route selection process: advertised distance, feasible distance, reported distance
• HSRP provides first hop redundancy using a shared virtual MAC and virtual IP address
• OSPFv2 neighbor adjacency parameters: hello interval, dead interval, area ID, authentication, MTU

Routing Protocols

• OSPF: uses cost as the metric, default reference bandwidth is 100 Mbps, default Hello and Dead timers are 10 and 40 seconds, respectively
• EIGRP: uses bandwidth and delay as the metrics, administrative distance is 90
• BGP: uses AS Path as the metric, administrative distance is 20
• OSPFv2: uses IP address, area ID, and authentication for neighbor adjacency

Network Troubleshooting

• To troubleshoot OSPF issues, use the show ip ospf interface command
• To troubleshoot EIGRP issues, use the show ip eigrp neighbors command
• To troubleshoot routing table issues, use the show ip route command### IP Connectivity
• There are two types of communication: point-to-point and point-to-multipoint.
• VRRP virtual address is 0000.5E00.010a.
• To allow communication between Atlanta and Washington routers, ipv6 routes need to be configured on both routers.
• EIGRP router uses the metric parameter to select the best path.
• In OSPF, a designated router is verified by the "Full" state.
• A router selects the best route based on the longest prefix match.
• A static default route can be configured using the command "ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 ".
• To forward packets to a specific destination, a static route needs to be configured.
• The administrative distance of a route determines the preference of the route.
• A floating static route can be used for fallback static routing when the dynamic routing protocol fails.
• To enable OSPFV2, an active interface needs to have an OSPF process ID and an OSPF area configured.

IP Services

• NAT translations allow one IP address to be translated to another.
• Syslog is used to send messages about events that occur on a network device.
• NTP client mode is configured using the command "ntp server ".
• SNMP is used for network management and monitoring.
• DHCP client mode is configured using the command "ip address dhcp".
• SNMP agent responds to requests from the NMS (Network Management System).
• DHCP server assigns IP addresses dynamically and offers the ability to exclude specific IP addresses from a pool of IP addresses.
• NTP server mode is configured using the command "ntp master".
• Syslog is used to send notice-level messages to a syslog server.

Security Fundamentals

• DHCP snooping is used to prevent DHCP spoofing attacks.
• Wireless encryption protocols include WPA2 with AES-256 in preshared key mode.
• Site-to-site VPNs use IPsec for the transport of user data.
• Threat-mitigation techniques include access control lists, firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems.
• Password encryption is enabled using the command "service password-encryption".
• AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) is used for user authentication and authorization.
• WPA2 PSK can be configured in hexadecimal or ASCII format.
• Unused switch ports should be administratively shut down and placed in an inaccessible VLAN to prevent unauthorized access.

Prepare for the Cisco Certified Network Associate 200-301 exam with 160 questions. Covers network fundamentals, access, IP connectivity, services, security, and automation.