The 200-301 CCNA v1.1 is a 120-minute exam that tests network fundamentals, network access, IP connectivity, IP services, security fundamentals, and automation and programmability. That single sentence answers the three questions most candidates ask first: what it covers, how long it runs, and which version is current. One pass earns the Cisco Certified Network Associate credential, and the exam costs $300 with no formal prerequisites, so you can register whether or not you have ever held a Cisco certification before.
What the CCNA exam covers
Cisco publishes the official topic list as a PDF, and the six domains are not weighted equally. IP Connectivity is the largest block of the exam, while two smaller domains still demand real study time because they introduce vocabulary that candidates from purely routing-and-switching backgrounds often have never used.
The official exam topics weight the six domains as follows: Network Fundamentals 20%, Network Access 20%, IP Connectivity 25%, IP Services 10%, Security Fundamentals 15%, and Automation and Programmability 10%.
| Domain | Weight | What it emphasizes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Network Fundamentals | 20% | Components, topologies, cabling, IPv4 and IPv6 addressing and subnetting, TCP vs UDP |
| 2.0 Network Access | 20% | VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, wireless architectures and AP modes |
| 3.0 IP Connectivity | 25% | Routing table interpretation, static routing, OSPFv2, first-hop redundancy |
| 4.0 IP Services | 10% | NAT, NTP, DHCP, DNS, SNMP, quality of service basics |
| 5.0 Security Fundamentals | 15% | Threat concepts, ACLs, Layer 2 protections, AAA, wireless security including WPA3 |
| 6.0 Automation and Programmability | 10% | Controller-based networking, overlays and underlays, REST, northbound and southbound APIs |
Read the weights as a budgeting tool. If you have ten weeks of preparation, roughly two and a half of them belong to IP Connectivity alone, while Automation deserves at least one dedicated week even though it is the smallest domain, because its concepts are the least likely to overlap with on-the-job experience.
Cost, prerequisites and validity
The exam costs $300, has no prerequisites, is graded pass/fail with results online within 48 hours, and the CCNA certification itself stays valid for 3 years.
A few practical details follow from that. Because scoring is pass/fail, Cisco does not publish the exact cut score per delivery, and chasing a precise number is wasted effort; prepare to dominate each domain rather than to clear a known bar. Payment can also be made with Cisco Learning Credits if your employer has bought them, which is worth checking before you charge a personal card. To recertify after three years, you can retake the exam or accumulate Continuing Education credits, so the $300 is a one-time cost only if you plan to move on to specialist certifications that themselves refresh the associate credential.
Compared with other associate-level infrastructure exams, CCNA sits in the middle of the price range while covering an unusually broad syllabus. If you are weighing it against a cloud-focused alternative, the Terraform Associate 004 exam format and study plan is a useful contrast: narrower scope, similar cost structure, very different day-to-day skills.
How to schedule with Pearson VUE
All Cisco proctored exams are delivered through Pearson VUE, either at a test center or from home. All written, proctored Cisco certification exams can be taken online with OnVUE, except the 400-007 design expert qualifying exam, and OnVUE delivery is not available in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan or Slovenia.
When you register, have your legal name exactly as it appears on government ID, your Cisco Certification ID if you have taken Cisco exams before, and a payment method ready. In the United States and Canada you can schedule up to six weeks ahead or as late as the same day, depending on seat availability. If you fail, you must wait five calendar days before booking a retake, which means a failed first attempt can slot into the same study cycle rather than forcing a full restart.
Home delivery adds its own rules that have nothing to do with networking knowledge: a closed room, a clean desk, a working webcam and a stable connection, checked during an onboarding process before your exam starts. Cisco’s proctoring support is available only in English and Japanese, which matters if you plan to test in another language from home. Our full checklist of OnVUE online proctored exam rules walks through every requirement line by line, and reading it before booking prevents the most common day-of disqualifications.
A 10-week study plan
The schedule below allocates weeks by domain weight, leaving buffer time for labs and a full review. Adjust the calendar, not the proportions.
- Weeks 1-2: Network Fundamentals. Subnet IPv4 until it is reflexive, then repeat with IPv6 prefixes. This is the foundation every later domain assumes.
- Weeks 3-4: Network Access. Build VLANs, trunks and EtherChannels in a lab such as Cisco Modeling Labs, and configure wireless AP modes until you can describe each one from memory.
- Weeks 5-7: IP Connectivity. The largest domain gets three weeks: static routes, OSPFv2 neighbors and adjacency states, and reading a routing table line by line.
- Week 8: IP Services. NAT with static and pool configurations, NTP client and server modes, and the roles of DHCP, DNS and SNMP.
- Week 9: Security Fundamentals and Automation. ACL syntax, DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, port security, then controller-based architectures and northbound versus southbound APIs.
- Week 10: Full review. Timed practice questions, one end-to-end lab rebuild from a blank configuration, and rest before exam day.
Final week checklist
- Confirm the exam appointment, ID requirements and, for home delivery, the room setup rules.
- Run one full-length timed practice session at 120 minutes to calibrate pace.
- Re-read only your own mistake log, not new material, in the last two days.
- Verify which exam version your study resources target; v1.1 is the current one.
Passing CCNA is less about memorizing trivia and more about being able to configure and verify the basics quickly under time pressure. Weight your weeks like the exam weights itself, keep a lab running from week one, and the 120 minutes on exam day feel like a demonstration of what you have already practiced.
Sources
- Cisco 200-301 CCNA exam page
- Cisco CCNA certification overview
- Official 200-301 CCNA v1.1 exam topics PDF
- Pearson VUE Cisco exam delivery information