The PingLabz CCNA Labs are 60 hands-on build labs covering the entire Cisco CCNA 200-301 exam blueprint, organized into five pillars that match the official exam domains. Every lab starts from a clean configuration and walks you through building, verifying, and understanding one topic at a time, with the real show output you will see when it works. This is the build series of the PingLabz labs library: you learn each technology here, then fix it under ticket pressure in the Troubleshooting Labs, script it in the Automation Labs, and put the whole blueprint together in the CCNA Mega Lab.
Five of the 60 labs are free with no signup required, including the entry point into each pillar. The rest are part of PingLabz Pro at $4.99/month or $49.99/year.
How the CCNA labs work
Each lab follows the same loop: import the topology, build one feature from a clean config, verify it with the commands you would use on a real network, and read the captured output to understand what "working" looks like. No fabricated CLI dressed up as evidence - every capture comes from a live Cisco Modeling Labs topology running Cisco IOS XE 17.x.
Three reusable base topologies cover the entire series, all sized to fit inside CML Free (5-node cap; unmanaged switches do not count). Every lab ships a downloadable topology .yaml and a starter config bundle, so there is no "set up these 12 interfaces" busy work: you import, you start, you type along. And because the whole library shares the standardized PingLabz lab IP scheme, the addressing you learn in the OSPF lab is the same addressing you will see in the NAT lab, the troubleshooting tickets, and the Mega Lab.
The five pillars at a glance
The 60 labs are grouped into five pillars, one per CCNA 200-301 exam domain. Lab IDs carry the pillar prefix (nf, na, ipc, ips, sec), so you always know where a lab sits in the blueprint.
Domain 6 (Automation and Programmability, 10% of the exam) is covered hands-on by the separate Automation Labs series.
Pillar 1: Network Fundamentals (12 labs)
The foundation pillar. IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, VLSM subnetting, static routing, ARP, GRE tunneling, PPP/CHAP, and the diagnostic discipline that localizes faults by climbing the OSI stack. This is also where you set up your lab environment: the free CML quick-start lab (nf-01) walks through installing Cisco Modeling Labs Free and importing the base topology end to end. Two free preview labs.
Pillar 2: Network Access (14 labs)
The Layer 2 switching pillar. VLANs, 802.1Q trunks, VTP, DTP hardening, EtherChannel (LACP and PAgP), Rapid-PVST, PortFast + BPDU Guard, inter-VLAN routing two ways, and a wireless architecture overview. If your switching is shaky, this pillar is where hands-on practice pays off fastest on the exam. One free preview lab.
Pillar 3: IP Connectivity (14 labs)
The routing-protocol pillar and the largest weighted domain on the exam. Static routes, RIPv2, OSPF from single-area through multi-area with authentication, EIGRP named-mode, and the three first-hop redundancy protocols (HSRP, VRRP, GLBP). One free preview lab.
Pillar 4: IP Services (10 labs)
The operations pillar. DHCP server and relay, three flavors of NAT (static, dynamic pool, PAT), NTP, syslog, SNMPv2c vs SNMPv3, and QoS with LLQ + CBWFQ. These are the services that make a routed network usable and observable. All ten labs are Pro.
Pillar 5: Security Fundamentals (10 labs)
The hardening pillar. Modern password discipline (scrypt enable secrets), standard and extended ACLs, port security, DHCP snooping + Dynamic ARP Inspection, SSH hardening, AAA with local fallback, and 802.1X. One free preview lab.
Try five labs free
Five build labs are free with no signup and no card: the environment setup lab, the foundational subnetting walkthrough, and an entry point into switching, routing, and security.
What's inside every lab
Every lab in the series follows the same structure, so once you have done one, you know how to work all 60. You get the objective and the blueprint items it maps to, the topology with a downloadable .yaml and starter configs, a step-by-step build with the reasoning behind each command (not just the keystrokes), verification at every stage with real captured show output, and a Troubleshooting Matrix listing the common failure modes for that specific lab and the command that exposes each one.
The verification steps are the point. Plenty of study material teaches you to type the config; the exam (and the job) tests whether you can read the output and decide if the network is actually doing what you intended. Each lab tells you what to look for in the capture and why, so "it works" becomes a conclusion you can defend rather than a guess.
How to sequence the 60 labs
The pillars are ordered the way the blueprint builds: addressing before switching, switching before routing, routing before services, and security hardening woven through a network that already exists. If you are starting CCNA prep from scratch, work the pillars in order from Lab nf-01; each lab names the labs it assumes, so you always know whether you can skip ahead.
If you are brushing up on one topic, jump straight to the relevant pillar page and pick the lab. Every lab starts from a clean config, so you can run any lab in isolation as long as you are comfortable with its prerequisites. Plan on 60 to 100 hours for the full series; most students spread it across 6 to 12 weeks of evening study.
Where this fits in the library
The CCNA Labs are series 1 of 4 in the PingLabz labs library. The natural progression is build, break, automate, integrate: learn each technology here, then practice fault isolation in the Troubleshooting Labs (each troubleshooting lab names the build labs it assumes), pick up the Automation Labs once you can navigate IOS without thinking about it, and sit the CCNA Mega Lab as your capstone before the exam.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a paid CML license?
No. All 60 labs are sized to fit inside Cisco Modeling Labs Free (5-node cap; unmanaged switches do not count). CML Personal at ~$200/year lifts the cap to 20 nodes if you want room to extend the labs, but it is not required for anything in this series.
Do I need real hardware?
No. Everything runs virtually in CML, and the IOS XE images in CML behave like the real thing because they are the real thing. If you have physical gear, the configs transfer directly; the labs note the rare places where virtual and physical behavior differ (for example, hardware-dependent QoS queuing).
Which labs are free?
Five of the 60: nf-01, nf-04, na-03, ipc-04, and sec-02 (the table above links all five). They are full labs, not teasers, and they include their downloadable topologies. The remaining 55 are part of PingLabz Pro.
Are the labs aligned with the current CCNA 200-301 blueprint?
Yes. The five pillars match exam Domains 1 through 5, and each pillar page maps individual labs to specific blueprint items. The labs were authored against the 2024-2026 blueprint and are updated when Cisco revises the exam. Domain 6 is covered by the Automation Labs.
What if I get stuck on a lab?
Every lab has a Troubleshooting Matrix listing its common failure modes, and Lab nf-11 teaches a general seven-step escalation drill. Still stuck? Email contact@pinglabz.com; I respond within 2 business days.
Ready to start?
Start with the free CML quick-start lab - it gets Cisco Modeling Labs installed and your first topology running in about 30 minutes, and it costs nothing. From there, work the pillars in order or jump to the topic you need: Network Fundamentals, Network Access, IP Connectivity, IP Services, or Security Fundamentals.
Ready for the other 55? Sign up for PingLabz Pro at the founding member price - $4.99/month or $49.99/year, locked for life (pricing rises for new members at 100 paid members). Cancel any time, 7-day money-back guarantee on your first subscription.