Cisco CCNA notes -- Tech Note

Cisco CCNA Check List - Training Notes updated June 2009

KCC CCNA FastTrack pdf version of guide

These notes cover the current 640-802 examination as the ‘single

exam option for CCNA’ and the two stage examination track
consisting of a basic ‘ICND-1’ examination (641-822) for CCENT
certification and ‘ICND-2’ examination (640-816) to complete the
CCNA certification.

The following notes may help narrow the study topics to the relevant areas.
The 'Study Summary' for each section highlights the main items covered by
the examination. *** This information is not supported or endorsed by Cisco
Systems, Inc. *** please report any errors/comments.

NOTE the actual Vue/Pearson examinations DO NOT ALLOW you to go

back and change or mark any questions, as many other demo and training
examinations do. AND not all questions are multiple choice and may require
you to fill in the blank, drag & drop responses, telnet simulation or input your
response to a diagrammatic exhibit (for a demonstration see the Cisco CCNA
simulation demo on CCO). The simulation questions will accept the usual
abbreviated commands (sh = show, int = interface etc..) but will not allow
many of the help commands as seen on the real hardware (?, show? etc.).
Be prepared to configure an interface, setup a routing protocol and diagnose
problems with interface and routing configuration without the use of the
Cisco context help system found in the real routers and switches. Long gone
are the protocols of Novell, IPX/SPX, Appletalk, and several items from LAN
switching replaced by the requirements for increased depth of knowledge
required on the OSI model, basic WiFi, some VPN, security, basic IP version 6
and updated WAN technologies etc.

see also CCNA example questions, IOS Configuration Examples,

If you have study materials from the old 640-801 exam - Compare exam versions
640-801 to 640-802 (change over was November 6th 2007)
The Vue / Pearson tests can be booked online via www.vue.com/cisco
(since Cisco changed from Thomson/Prometric to Vue/Pearson there seems
to be less testing centers available outside of the US, so check on their web site
for centers and schedules in your area)

Cisco IOS Study Summary

The new examinations use a syllabus based upon extracts from IOS
commands and basic knowledge of the current ‘small enterprise’ network
devices including the 29xx Catalyst series switches, 26xx /18xx/28xx
‘standard IOS’ routers. The 2500 and 2600 are still excellent training routers
and are available at very low cost, but any of the low end Cisco routers can be
used provided they will run a full IOS. Any IOS version above 12.1 will
provide 90% of the commands you need (SDM functionality and some of the
manager commands will be missing). Any of the low end Catalyst switches
can also be used to become familiar with the CCNA requirements for VLANs,
VTP and trunking etc. The following document is used as checklist within
the KCC CCNA FastTrack Course;

• Switch and Router differences and connections via Console, Auxiliary

and Telnet options (rollover cables, cross cables, serial setup etc.)

• Router configuration, (memory use and functions… RAM, FLASH, ROM,

NVRAM)

• Router and Switch CLI (Command Line Interface) and exec mode
basics for ;

o key sequences for edit and recall etc. {lab #1}

o basic boot system commands {lab #3}

o file system commands and tftp functions [NOTE... the CCNA

exam ignores the use of FTP for IOS file transfers on larger
routers and states only tftp can be used for IOS file transfer]
{lab #1}

o system messages commands for logging etc. {lab #1}

o interface configuration and monitoring {all labs}

o CDP functions {all labs}

o setup menu commands etc. {lab #1}

 o hostname, banner, prompts etc. {lab #1}

BASIC IOS FUNCTIONS REQUIRED BY CCNA; (PRACTICE !)

FUNCTION COMMAND (may be abbreviated to first

few non-ambiguous characters of each command)

go into enable (privileged mode) enable

exit from enable mode disable
logoff (leave the router) quit or exit or logoff
previous command from history <up arrow> or <Ctrl-P>
next command from history <down arrow> or <Ctrl-N>
move forward one character <right arrow> or <Ctrl-F>
move back one character <left arrow> or <Ctrl-B>
auto completion of command <tab>
break (default) <shift-Ctrl-6> <x>
stop ping/trace <shift-Ctrl-6>
refresh console line <Ctrl-L>

BASIC IOS ADMIN FUNCTIONS REQUIRED BY CCNA;

(PRACTICE !)
FUNCTION COMMAND (may be abbreviated to first few non-
ambiguous characters of each command)

enter terminal configuration mode

Router # configure terminal
(from the enable mode)
Router (config)# <Ctrl-Z> or exit (each
exit terminal configuration mode
level of context)
Router (config-int)# exit
drop back one level of context
within config
Router (config)#
copy config from tftp server to
Router # copy tftp running-config
RAM
save/copy running-config (RAM) Router # write memory or copy running-
to NVRAM config startup-config
copy file from tftp server to flash
Router # copy tftp flash
memory
copy file from flash to tftp server Router # copy flash tftp
delete start-up (NVRAM) Router # write erase or erase startup-
configuration config
view IOS version information Router > show version
Router # show running-config or write
view current configuration (RAM)
terminal
Router # show config or show startup-
view saved (startup) configuration
config
view basic files system (flash) Router # show flash (or dir)
view router utilization Router # show processes
disable CDP for entire router Router (config) # no cdp run
disable CDP on an interface Router (config-int) # no cdp enable
show interfaces and ip addressing Router > show ip interface brief
show routing table Router > show ip route
show routing protocols for ip Router # show ip protocol
show ip arp table Router # show ip arp

NOTE:CCNA makes use of 'standard catalyst' 29xx switches and

‘standard IOS’ routers (26xx,18xx,28xx etc)

see also IOS Configuration Examples, configuration register settings for

password recovery

OSI Reference Model Study Summary

o OSI Reference model & examples (table below)

o Connectionless and connection oriented protocols

o Data Link protocol functions (Arbitration, Addressing, Error Detection

& Types)

o Layer 3 protocol address structures (IP, OSI), network/host field sizes

o Frames, Packets and Segments (layer 2,3 & 4)

o Flow control methods (buffering, congestion avoidance and

windowing)

• MAC address functions (NIC, LAA, Unicast, Multicast, Broadcast)

NETWORK LAYER UTILITIES;

REMEMBER

ARP Address Resolution Protocol will resolve a mac address from a given ip
address. A device may send an ARP broadcast to ask every station on it’s
network for the mac address of a given IP address. REMEMBER HOW the
ip address and mask dictate if the device should send traffic to it’s local
network or to it’s gateway.

DNS Domain Name System will resolve domain names to IP addresses. So a

device looking for cisco.com will request a domain lookup from it’s DNS
server to be able to send traffic to the IP address of cisco.com ( and then using
ARP to resolve the IP address of cisco.com to a mac address in order to send
it’s traffic)

DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol can be used to supply IP

addresses to any device either via static configuration (mapped to mac
address) or via a pool of addresses. DHCP can also provide much more
information to the end device such as multiple DNS server addresses and
TFTP server addresses etc.
OSI MODEL AND EXAMPLES;

OSI Layer Name Description Example

Application / user
interface Telnet, HTTP, FTP, SMTP,
Application layer 7
(including user SNMP, VoIP, POP3, FTP
authentication etc)
Data translation JPEG, EBCDIC, ASCII,
Presentation layer 6 /presentation / GIF, MPEG, MIDI,
encryption Encryption....
Session control, op systems, SQL, NetBIOS,
Session layer 5
allocation/tracking DECnet
Multiplexing /control,
Data delivery using
Transport layer 4 flow control and error TCP, UDP, SPX
recovery &
segmentation etc
logical addressing and
Network layer 3 path determination IP, IPX, AppleTalk, X.25
(routing)
frame construction, mac
addressing, error 802.2/802.3, VTP, HDLC,
Data Link layer 2 detection using frame ATM, PPP, Frame Relay,
check sequence Ethernet, CDP......
(switching)
Electrical connections &
Cables specifications; RJ45,
Physical layer 1 signals… physical
V.35, EIA232, Ethernet
media

THERE ARE ALWAYS SEVERAL QUESTIONS ON THE OSI MODEL !!

TCP/IP Layer Name Description Example
Application / user
interface / Presentation
Telnet, HTTP, FTP, SMTP,
Application and session control)
SNMP, VoIP, POP3, FTP
maps to Layers 5, 6 & 7 of
OSI
Multiplexing /control,
Data delivery using
Transport flow control and error TCP, UDP
recovery etc .. maps to
Layer 4 of OSI
logical addressing and
Internet path determination IP
maps to layer 3 of OSI
Maps to Layer 1 & 2 of
OSI model = mac 802.2/802.3, PPP, Frame
Network Access
protocols & physical Relay, Ethernet, CDP......
media etc

REMEMBER;

CONNECTIONLESS TFTP, UDP, 802.3, 802.5.... (most layer 3)

CONNECTION ORIENTED (i.e. requires end to end communications)

LLC2, 802.2, TCP/IP, SPX, X.25, Frame Relay, ATM, PPP, xDSL.....

‘SAME-LAYER INTERACTION ON DIFFERENT COMPUTERS’ = two

computers using the same protocol to communicate

‘ADJACENT-LAYER INTERACTION ON SAME COMPUTER’ = a single

computer making use of the protocol stack where one layer provides a service
to an adjacent layer within the OSI model
Bridges/Switches, LAN Design Study Summary

• Protocol Type Fields and header formats – basic knowledge

• Ethernet Standards (mac specifications, cable lengths & types)

KNOW the definitions of ; collision domain, broadcast domain and

network segment !

• Spanning Tree basic functions (now including RSTP 802.1w and

PVSTP) – no need to know the timing and protocol details, but essential to
know the port naming, election procedure, bridge ID and basic
spanning tree functionality.

• VLANs overview inter-vlan routing, collision domain / broadcast

domain and segments

• Trunking/Tagging Protocols & VTP basics (VTP modes, tagging

specifications ISL/802.1q)

• switching methods (see table below)

• Switch port security – know the methods and configuration commands

Switching Methods;

Store and Forward Switch port fully receives all bits in the frame before
forwarding the frame. The switch checks the FCS in the Ethernet trailer
before forwarding the frame.
Cut Through Switch performs an address lookup as soon as the destination
field header has been received. The first bits in the frame can be sent out
before the final bits of the incoming frame are received, therefore the FCS can
not be checked.
Fragment Free Switch acts in the same way as cut through switching, but
waits for 64 bytes to be received before forwarding to ensure collision errors
did not occur. The FCS is not checked.

NOTE fortunately, the CCNA no longer requires knowledge of the 'odd'

1900 switches etc. ;

Catalyst 29xx and other low-end catalyst switches now tend to use a more
'standard' Cisco operating system (we no longer need the strange 1900). All
have a separate VLAN-database configuration mode in addition to the 'config'
mode and use an IOS format. {LAB #9} Larger switches such as Catalyst
6500 etc. use can CatOS or a Hybrid combination of IOS/CatOS on the
switching processors and some have separate IOS on the layer-3 routing
processors - fortunately, the CatOS is no longer required for CCNA .

REMEMBER: VTP MODES on all Cisco Catalyst switches (flooded every

5mins & when ever there has been a change);

Function Server Client Transparent

source VTP messages yes yes no
listen to VTP messages yes yes no
create/edit/delete VTP
yes no local
messages
save VTP messages yes no local

TRUNK/TAGGING DETAILS;

o Cisco's ISL encapsulation (adds 30 bytes overhead) tagging for VLAN

identification for Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet links only

o 802.1Q is the IEEE standard (subset of Cisco's ISL) for VLAN tagging
adds a 4 byte shim

o 802.10 tagging on FDDI

o LANE tagging on ATM

o DISL is Cisco's first generation trunk establishment protocol

o DTP is Cisco's second generation of trunk establishment protocol

o VTP is Cisco's method for distribution of VLAN configuration

information

o VTP pruning increases available bandwidth by restricting flooded

traffic to contain only the required/configured VLANs for that trunk
and not sending all available VLAN information

see also VLAN Overview

Network Protocols Study Summary

• TCP/IP (RFC 793, UDP, port numbers and type numbers (RFC 1700),
DNS, ARP, ICMP)
• IP Addressing and classes (subnet masking before VLSM), default
routes … ESSENTIAL YOU CAN CALCULATE VLSM ADDRESSING
FAST !!!!!
• Classful addressing and VLSM & CIDR (basic knowledge)
• Encapsulation in IP
• IP and MAC addressing flow
• DNS, DHCP and general WEB traffic flow
• NAT addressing terms (very basic knowledge)
• FTP TFTP (basic knowledge of commands and functions)
• IOS commands (CCNA sub-set of commands – see below)
• SSH (know the steps to configure SSH on a switch and the principal of
RSA public/private key exchange)
• Basic Network Management functions (SNMP version1 and version2)
• KNOW CDP and what it can show, how it can help fault finding

common IP configuration commands; (practice these commands !)

show ip protocol view routing protocols in use for ip

view controller for interface (check
show controller {serial|ethernet|...}
cable type etc)
show debug view current debug setting
view config register, device spec and
show version
current IOS etc
configure an IP address on to an
ip address ip-address mask {secondary}
interface
debug ip packet diagnose & view all IP packets
ip domain-lookup configure use of dns
ip netmask-format {bitcount | decimal | format configuration for interface
hexadecimal} address view
show ip arp {mac} view IP arp table
ip host name {tcp-port-number} address1
configuration of host table
address2...
ip route prefix mask {next hop | output
configure static route
interface}
ip name-server server address1 {server
configure name server(s) for DNS
address2...}
switch OFF DNS lookups from this
no ip domain-lookup
device for management (default is ON)
show clock view date and time setting
clock set {HH:MM:SS DD MMM YYYY} set date and time for this device
show ip interface {brief} view IP interface details
show ip route {subnet} {protocol} view IP routing table

see also IOS Configuration Examples, well known tcp port numbers, NAT &
PAT

WiFI – CCNA NEED TO KNOW;

WiFi WLAN Mode Description Cisco exam ‘phrase’

Two devices
communicate directly Independent Basic Service
Ad hoc (peer to peer)
without the use of an Set (IBSS)
AP
Basic Service Set
Infrastructure mode Single AP – single LAN
(BSS)
Multiple AP – one
Infrastructure mode Extended Service Set
wireless LAN allowing
with more than one AP (ESS)
roaming
IEEE STANDARD Description Channels available
802.11a (OFDM) 54Mbps using 5GHz 12 non-overlapping
802.11b (DSSS) 11Mbps using 2.4GHz 3 non-overlapping
802.11g (OFDM) 54Mbps using 2.4GHz 3 non-overlapping

REMEMBER - WiFi is effected by metal filing cabinets, DECT wireless telephones

and building structures. (270 to 300 feet line of sight range)

SECURITY STANDARD Description Encryption Level

Static key,
WEP weak authentication, weak
no user authentication
Dynamic key,
Device authentication,
Cisco proprietary TKIP good
802.1x user
authentication support
Static & Dynamic key,
WPA (WiFi Protected Device authentication,
TKIP good
Access) 802.1 x user
authenticationsupport
802.11i (WPA2) As above AES excellent
ROUTING Study Summary

• Know the functions and basic differences between RIP 1, RIP2, IGRP,
EIGRP and OSPF - which are distance vector, classful/VLSM, link state….
• Know the defaults for the various routing protocols (hello times, split
horizon, poison reverse, admin-distance, metric types) – sequences for
failed routes etc…
• Comparison of routing protocols optimization (brief overview)
• very brief knowledge of BGP - see table below
• Tunneling (basic knowledge - GRE, IPv4 & IPv6)
• basic router IOS commands for configure and manage the routing
protocols (be able to configure and troubleshoot)
• NOTE – CCNA level ignores the use of 31 bit masks
• NO NEED FOR detailed IPv6 routing knowledge, just basic IPv6 addressing

See also the CCNA Routing Reminder guide

CCNA required details (in RED);

PROTOCOL RIP 1 RIP 2 IGRP EIGRP OSPF BGP

BALANCED
TYPE DISTANCE VECTOR DISTANCE VECTOR DISTANCE VECTOR LINK STATE PATH VECTOR/DV
HYBRID/DV
DIJHSTRA SPF
HOLDDOWN, SPLIT HOLDDOWN, SPLIT HOLDDOWN, SPLIT DUAL/FEASABLE
LOOP PREVENTION ALGORITHUM + AS PATH
HORIZ HORIZ HORIZ/DUAL SUCCESSOR ..
TOPOLOGY DATABASE
VLSM SUPPORT NO YES NO YES YES YES
summary=5 internal=200
ADMIN DIS 120 120 100 internal=90 110
external=170 external =20
UPDATE 30 sec 30 sec 90 sec triggered triggered and 30mins config
med, local pref, weight,
METRIC hops hops BW + DELAY BW + DELAY cost
AS-Path .... etc. LOTS !
HOLDDOWN 180 sec 180 sec 280 sec 3 x hello (max age = 1 hour) config
FLASH UPDATES NO NO YES YES YES YES
HELLO NO NO 5 to 60 sec 5 to 60 sec 10 to 30 sec keepalive
INFINITY 16 hops 16 hops 4M (+255 hops) 64M (+255 hops) 64k config
AUTO SUMMARY FIXED FIXED FIXED default = auto default = no auto config
multicast 224.0.0.9 UDP multicast 224.0.0.10 (IP multicast 224.0.0.5/6 (IP
CONNECTION broadcast UDP port 520 broadcast IP protocol #9 TCP 179
port 520 protocol #88) protocol #89)
RFC 1058 1723 Cisco 1247, 1583 1771
1-16 (default = 4) load 1-16 (default = 4) load
1-6 (default = 4)equal 1-6 (default = 4)equal balancing over non-equal balancing over non-equal
1-16 (default = 4)equal
MAX PATHS costs only1-16 costs only1-16 paths also using paths also using config
costs only1-16 (default = 4)
(default = 4) (default = 4) VARIANCE 1-16 VARIANCE1-16
(default=4) (default=4)
AUTHENTICATION NO YES NO YES YES YES
REMEMBER:

• STATIC ROUTES have admin distance of 1 by default

• FLOATING STATIC ROUTES are configured to have an admin distance just
above dynamic routing protocol admin-distance-value in use to make them
less desirable than a dynamically available route and therefore available as a backup
route
• CONNECTED ROUTES have admin distance of 0
• It is worth remembering the main values (in RED) from the above table

PRACTICE SUB-NET CALCULATIONS !!! There are ALWAYS several questions

involving sub-net masks, gateway and addressing where you have to calculate the network,
sub-net and quantity of addresses available within the sub-net etc…

WAN Protocols,

• Point to Point leased lines, cabling standards, interface standards

(V.35,RS232,X.21), line speeds….DS0=64kbps, DS1=1.544Mbps=T1 (24 x DS0),
DS3=44.736Mbps=T3, J1=E1=2.048Mbps (32 x DS0), E3=34.064Mbps,
• PPP (authentication, Multilink, multi-protocol, error detection) WAN
• Very brief overview of , xDSL, dialup and cable modems etc.
• Frame Relay Terms & Concepts (DLCI, LAPF, RFC 1490/2427) LMI
functions and encapsulation types (FECN, BECN)
• HDLC (Cisco default) remember Cisco protocol type field

PPP NOTES TO REMEMBER;

PPP was designed for multiprotocol interoperablity and provides several

features in addition to synchronization and framing

Function LCP feature

description

allows load balancing

Multilink Support multilink ppp over multiple lines
(bundles)
PPP can take a link out of
circuit based upon the
percentage of errors
LQM (Link Quality detected. LQM provides
error detection
Monitoring) error percentages based
upon lost packets over
packets sent (in both
directions)
 each end of the link sends
'magic numbers' and can
Looped Link Detection magic numbers recognize it's own magic
number should the link
be looped
Password Authentication
Protocol (clear text) and
Authentication PAP and CHAP Challenge Handshake
Authentication (MD5
encrypted)
STAC ,Predictor and three compression
Compression
MPPC options

Summary of access lists required by CCNA;

Command Configuration & use

access-list {1-99} {permit | deny} global command for STANDARD
source-address {source mask} NUMBERED IP ACCESS LIST
access-list {100-199} {permit | deny}
protocol source-address {source mask} global command for EXTENDED
{options} destination-address NUMBERED IP ACCESS LIST
{destination mask} {options}
access-list {200 - 299} {permit | deny} protocol type access lists
ip access-group {number | name} in | interface sub-command to activate ip
out list on interface
ip access-list {standard | extended}
name global command for named show access-list {list-number} view all (or
access-lists selected) access lists and hits

show {ip | ipx | appletalk} access-list view single protocol access lists
Type of Access List Matching
functions available
IP STANDARD ACCESS LISTS Source IP address or portions of source
(1 - 99) address
as above plus; destination IP address, portion
of destination address, protocol type (TCP,
IP EXTENDED ACCESS LISTS
UDP, ICMP etc..), source port, destination
(100 - 199)
port, established (checks only first time), IP
TOS, IP precedence
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