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CCNA v1.1 vs CCNA v2.0
The Complete Exam Comparison Guide
Note: The old Automation section (6.0) was not completely removed — Ansible, SNMP, and Syslog moved into the new
5.0 section. Terraform, REST APIs, JSON, and controller architecture details were removed entirely.
Created by Paul Browning — 101Labs.net & HowToNetwork.com Free to share. Last updated: May 22, 2026
Topics REMOVED in CCNA v2.0
Good news for current students — these topics are no longer on the exam.
NEW Topics in CCNA v2.0
Brand new content for the Feb 2027 exam — study these if targeting v2.0.
CHANGED Topics — v1.1 ® v2.0 These topics remain but with shifted focus — usually from 'describe' to 'troubleshoot'.
Labs You MUST Drill for CCNA v2.0
Hands-on configuration is now ~70% of the v2.0 exam focus.
(source 101labs)
The Complete Exam Comparison Guide
| KEY DATES & FACTS |
| New exam topics published | May 20, 2026 |
| Last day to take CCNA v1.1 | February 2, 2027 |
| First day to take CCNA v2.0 | February 3, 2027 |
| Exam duration | 120 minutes (unchanged) |
| Number of major sections | v1.1 = 6 ® v2.0 = 5 |
| Biggest addition | Brand new AI & Network Operations section |
| Biggest shift | From describe/explain ® troubleshoot/configure |
| Cisco's official advice | Keep studying — pass v1.1 before Feb 3, 2027 |
| SECTION WEIGHTING COMPARISON |
| CCNA v1.1 Section | Weigh t | CCNA v2.0 Section | Weigh t |
| 1.0 Network Fundamentals | 20% | 1.0 Network Infrastructure and Connectivity | 25% |
| 2.0 Network Access | 20% | 2.0 Switching and Network Access | 25% |
| 3.0 IP Connectivity | 25% | 3.0 IP Routing | 20% |
| 4.0 IP Services | 10% | 4.0 Network Services and Security | 20% |
| 5.0 Security Fundamentals | 15% | 5.0 AI, Network Operations and Management | 10% |
| 6.0 Automation and Programmability | 10% | — (partially merged into 5.0) | — |
5.0 section. Terraform, REST APIs, JSON, and controller architecture details were removed entirely.
Created by Paul Browning — 101Labs.net & HowToNetwork.com Free to share. Last updated: May 22, 2026
Topics REMOVED in CCNA v2.0
Good news for current students — these topics are no longer on the exam.
| Category | v1.1 Topic Removed | Section |
| Network Fundamentals | Role/function of network devices (routers, L2/L3 switches, NGFW/IPS, controllers, endpoints, servers, PoE) | 1.1 |
| Network Fundamentals | Topology architectures (two-tier, three-tier, spine-leaf, WAN, SOHO, on-prem/cloud) | 1.2 |
| Network Fundamentals | Compare physical interface and cabling types (SMF, MMF, copper) | 1.3 |
| Network Fundamentals | Compare TCP to UDP | 1.5 |
| Network Fundamentals | Describe private IPv4 addressing | 1.7 |
| Network Fundamentals | Describe IPv6 address types (global, unique local, link-local, anycast, multicast) | 1.9 |
| Network Fundamentals | Switching concepts (MAC learning/aging, frame flooding, MAC table) | 1.13 |
| Wireless | Cisco Wireless Architectures and AP modes | 2.6 |
| Wireless | WLAN physical infrastructure connections (AP, WLC, LAG) | 2.7 |
| Wireless | Wireless LAN GUI configuration (WLAN creation, security, QoS) | 2.9 |
| Wireless | Wireless security protocols (WPA, WPA2, WPA3) | 5.9 |
| Wireless | Configure WLAN GUI with WPA2 PSK | 5.10 |
| IP Services | NTP — client and server mode | 4.2 |
| IP Services | QoS (PHB, classification, marking, queuing, policing, shaping) | 4.7 |
| IP Services | TFTP/FTP capabilities (replaced by SFTP/SCP) | 4.9 |
| Security | Key security concepts (threats, vulnerabilities, exploits) | 5.1 |
| Security | Security program elements (training, physical access) | 5.2 |
| Security | Local password device access control | 5.3 |
| Security | Security password policy (complexity, MFA, biometrics) | 5.4 |
| Security | Compare AAA concepts (auth vs authz vs accounting) | 5.8 |
| Automation | Traditional vs controller-based networking | 6.2 |
| Automation | Controller-based architecture (overlay, underlay, fabric, APIs) | 6.3 |
| Automation | REST-based APIs (CRUD, HTTP verbs, data encoding) | 6.5 |
| Automation | Terraform — configuration management | 6.6 |
| Automation | Components of JSON-encoded data | 6.7 |
Brand new content for the Feb 2027 exam — study these if targeting v2.0.
| Category | New v2.0 Topic | Section |
| AI (NEW) | Role of agentic AI in network operations | 5.1 |
| AI (NEW) | Select prompts for generative AI — data classification, output format, persona, instructions | 5.2 |
| AI (NEW) | Network management approaches: device, cloud, controller, automation, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) | 5.3 |
| AI (NEW) | Evaluate output/recommendations from AI and digital network assistants | Exam intro |
| Virtualization | Hypervisors, virtual machines, and containers | 1.2 |
| Wireless | Band and channel selection | 1.5.a |
| Wireless | RF characteristics | 1.5.b |
| Wireless | Cause of wireless interference | 1.5.d |
| Troubleshooting | Troubleshoot wired AND wireless client connectivity (Windows, Mac, Linux) | 1.6 |
| DHCP | DHCPv4 server configuration (was client/relay only) | 1.7 |
| Switching | L2 port attributes for modern edge devices: IoT, VoIP, virtualized hosts | 2.2 |
| Troubleshooting | Packet capture output interpretation | 2.4 |
| Routing | OSPFv3 for IPv6 (was OSPFv2 only) | 3.3 |
| Routing | Specific HSRP and VRRP operational interpretation | 3.4 |
| Security | Local usernames + AAA client (TACACS+ / RADIUS) | 4.1 |
| Security | SFTP/SCP for secure file transfer | 4.2 |
| Security | Diagnose DNS records: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR | 4.4 |
| Security | Layer 2 security: Storm control | 4.7.c |
| Security | Layer 2 security: RA guard | 4.7.d |
| Cable Diagnosis | Signal levels, pin out, distance, cable types | 1.1 |
| Topic Area | v1.1 (Old) | v2.0 (New) |
| Interface & cable | Identify (collisions, errors, duplex/speed) | Diagnose (adds signal levels, pin out, distance, cable types) |
| IPv4/IPv6 addressing | Configure/verify + describe types | Troubleshoot config, assignment, subnetting |
| Wireless principles | Non-overlapping channels, SSID, RF, encryption | Band/channel selection, RF, security, interference |
| DHCP | Client and relay only | Client, server, AND relay on IOS devices |
| EtherChannel | L2/L3 EtherChannel (LACP) | Explicit LACP port-channel + SVI |
| Spanning Tree | Rapid PVST+ (incl. BPDU filter) | Rapid PVST+ (root guard, loop guard, BPDU guard) — guards emphasized |
| Routing table | Detailed components + forwarding decision | Interpret next hop (protocol, prefix, AD, metric) |
| Static routing | Configure/verify | Troubleshoot (default, network, host, floating) |
| OSPF | OSPFv2 only | OSPFv2 AND OSPFv3 for IPv6 |
| NAT | Inside source NAT (static + pools) | NAT/PAT on IOS XE routers |
| ACLs | Configure/verify ACLs | IPv4 ACLs (standard, extended, numbered, named) |
| Layer 2 security | DHCP snooping, DAI, port security | + Storm control + RA guard added |
| SNMP / Syslog / Ansible | Separate IP Services & Automation sections | All moved into new 5.0 Operations section |
| First hop redundancy | Describe purpose/functions (generic) | Interpret operational status of HSRP and VRRP specifically |
Hands-on configuration is now ~70% of the v2.0 exam focus.
| Section | Lab Topic | What to Practice | Priority |
| 1.0 Infrastructure | Cable & interface troubleshooting | Read 'show interface', identify collisions/errors/duplex mismatch | HIGH |
| 1.0 Infrastructure | IPv4 subnetting troubleshoot | Given misconfigured network, identify wrong subnet/mask and fix | CRITICAL |
| 1.0 Infrastructure | IPv6 + EUI-64 | Configure unicast IPv6, verify with 'show ipv6 interface' | HIGH |
| 1.0 Infrastructure | Wireless client troubleshooting | Diagnose IP/wireless security on Windows, Mac, Linux | HIGH |
| 1.0 Infrastructure | DHCPv4 server, client, relay | Configure all three roles on IOS router, test end-to-end | HIGH |
| 2.0 Switching | 802.1Q trunking | Configure trunks, verify with 'show interface trunk' | CRITICAL |
| 2.0 Switching | LACP EtherChannel + SVI | Build L2 and L3 port-channels, configure SVIs | HIGH |
| 2.0 Switching | VoIP / IoT / VM ports | Voice VLAN, virtual hosts, IoT port config | MEDIUM |
| 2.0 Switching | Rapid PVST+ guards | Root guard, loop guard, BPDU guard — test failures | HIGH |
| 2.0 Switching | Packet capture analysis | Use Wireshark or 'monitor capture' to interpret packets | HIGH |
| 3.0 IP Routing | Static routing — all 4 types | Default, network, host, floating static routes | CRITICAL |
| 3.0 IP Routing | OSPFv2 single area | Neighbor adjacencies, DR/BDR election, router ID | CRITICAL |
| 3.0 IP Routing | OSPFv3 for IPv6 | Same as OSPFv2 but for IPv6 — new in v2.0 | HIGH |
| 3.0 IP Routing | HSRP and VRRP | Configure both, read 'show standby' / 'show vrrp' | HIGH |
| 4.0 Services & Security | TACACS+ / RADIUS AAA | Configure local user + AAA client to external server | HIGH |
| 4.0 Services & Security | SFTP/SCP file transfer | Securely copy IOS config files using SCP | MEDIUM |
| 4.0 Services & Security | NAT/PAT on IOS XE | Configure NAT + PAT, verify translations | HIGH |
| 4.0 Services & Security | DNS record diagnosis | Test A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR from CLI | MEDIUM |
| 4.0 Services & Security | IPv4 ACLs | Numbered AND named ACLs, troubleshoot deny statements | CRITICAL |
| 4.0 Services & Security | Layer 2 security suite | Port security, DHCP snooping, DAI, storm control, RA guard | CRITICAL |
| 5.0 AI & Operations | AI prompt engineering | Write prompts using persona, data classification, output format | HIGH |
| 5.0 AI & Operations | Ansible playbooks | Run simple playbook to configure Cisco device | MEDIUM |
| 5.0 AI & Operations | Syslog interpretation | Read syslog messages, identify severity (0-7) and facility | HIGH |
| 5.0 AI & Operations | SNMP polling and traps | Configure SNMPv2c/v3, verify with polling tool | MEDIUM |
(source 101labs)