Your 8-Month CCNA Plan

Starting January 2026

Before you start in January, make three important decisions:

Choose your main study material
(Cisco Press book, video course, or NetAcad — pick ONE main source)
Choose what videos you will follow
(Jeremy’s IT Lab, Neil Anderson, or David Bombal)
Choose what practice exams you will use
(Boson, Pearson, or free practice tests)

Once you make these three decisions, stick to your material and follow this plan.
If you stay consistent, everything will go well for you.

This plan assumes you begin Monday, January 5, 2026 — the first full week of the year.
It carries you month-by-month until August 2026, when you’re ready to take the exam with confidence.

January 2026 — Month 1: Warm Up & Build Your Foundation

January is the month to start slow, steady, and relaxed.
It’s your get comfortable with networking phase.

You learn:

What networks are
How devices talk
IPv4 & IPv6 basics
Subnetting (very light for now)
Basic Cisco IOS navigation

Your only job in January: Get familiar with the environment and build confidence.

Small labs:

Ping between two PCs
Assign an IP address
Use basic show commands

You’re building momentum — not rushing.

Tools: Packet Tracer
Try creating these labs on your own:

Basic device navigation (enable, show, config t)
Build a small LAN (PC → Switch → PC)
Assign IP addresses
Ping and ARP test
Save configs

Goal: Get comfortable with IOS and basic networking.

February 2026 — Month 2: Subnetting + VLANs + Trunking

Now you start feeling like a network tech.

You learn:

Subnetting (daily short practice)
VLANs
Access ports vs trunk ports
Router-on-a-stick
Basic wireless concepts

Your goal for February: I can build a small network from scratch.

Labs:

Create 3 VLANs
Configure trunking
Enable inter-VLAN routing

This month your skills jump fast — and it feels amazing.

Tools: Packet Tracer
Try creating these labs on your own:

Create VLANs
Assign ports to VLANs
Configure trunk links
Router-on-a-stick
Subnetting practice network

Goal: Build multi-VLAN networks with confidence.

March 2026 — Month 3: Routing Basics

March is the month where you begin to think like a router.

You learn:

Static routes
Default routes
IPv6 routing
How routers choose next hops

Your goal for March: I understand how packets find their way.

Labs:

Build a 3-router line
Add static routes
Break the network and fix it

You will feel your confidence grow a lot this month.

Tools: Packet Tracer
Try creating these labs on your own:

3-router static route lab
Default routes
IPv6 static routes
Routing table exploration

Goal: Understand how routers choose paths.

April 2026 — Month 4: OSPF, the Heart of the CCNA

April is your OSPF month — the most important routing protocol for CCNA.

You learn:

OSPFv2 & OSPFv3
Neighbor states
Costs & metrics
How OSPF reacts to link failures

Your goal for April: I can configure and troubleshoot OSPF without fear.

Labs:

Multi-router single-area OSPF
Adjust cost values
Test convergence

This month transforms you from beginner to real network student.

Tools: Packet Tracer
Try creating these labs on your own:

Basic OSPF single-area setup
OSPF neighbor states
OSPFv3 (IPv6)
Change interface cost
Link failure test

Goal: Feel confident configuring and fixing OSPF.

May 2026 — Month 5: Real-World IP Services

May is when you start feeling like a professional.

You learn:

NAT (PAT, static, dynamic)
DHCP server & relay
NTP
Syslog
SNMP
Basic QoS

Your goal for May: I finally understand services used in real companies.

Labs:

DHCP pools
NAT overload (PAT)
Syslog with timestamps

Everything you learn here appears often in CCNA exams.

Tools: Packet Tracer
Try creating these labs on your own:

DHCP server + relay
NAT/PAT
Static NAT
Syslog
NTP
DNS basics

Goal: Learn services used in real networks.

June 2026 — Month 6: Security + Automation

June strengthens your engineering mindset.

Security topics:

Standard & extended ACLs
Port security
DHCP snooping
Dynamic ARP Inspection

Automation topics:

JSON basics
REST APIs
SDN controllers (conceptual)

Your goal for June: I can protect and automate basic parts of a network.

Labs:

ACLs to filter traffic
Port-security sticky MAC
DHCP Snooping

Great month for hands-on practice.

Tools: Packet Tracer + DevNet Sandbox
Try creating these labs on your own:

Standard ACLs
Extended ACLs
Port-security
DHCP Snooping
Dynamic ARP Inspection

Free automation labs:

Basic API call (DevNet Always-On)
JSON output exploration

Goal: Protect and automate simple networks.

July 2026 — Month 7: Full Review + Exam Muscle

July is your training camp.
You don’t learn new topics — you polish what you already know.

You do:

1 practice exam each week
Identify weak spots
Rebuild main CCNA labs
Review routing, VLANs, NAT, ACLs

Your goal for July: I can answer CCNA questions quickly and calmly.

Tools: Packet Tracer
Try creating these labs on your own:

Full branch network (VLANs + OSPF + NAT + ACLs)
Troubleshooting lab
Build a network from scratch
Subnetting challenge network

Goal: Mix everything and gain speed.

August 2026 — Month 8: Final Prep + Exam Time

August is your final step.
This is where you sharpen your timing and build confidence.

Tasks:

2 practice exams per week
Subnetting drills (10 min/day)
Light labs to stay fresh
Schedule exam for the last week of August

Your goal for August: Yes. I am ready to pass CCNA.

Tools: Packet Tracer
Try creating these labs on your own:

Timed 30-minute configuration drills
OSPF + NAT + ACL final challenge
Switching rapid review
IPv6 quick labs

Goal: Be fast, calm, and ready for the exam.

A final message for you, starting January 2026

January is not just the beginning of a year — it’s the beginning of your CCNA journey.

You don’t need to rush.
You don’t need to know everything.
You just need to show up, week after week.

By August 2026, you will look back and think: I started in January knowing almost nothing… and now I can configure real networks.

And that feels incredible.

Questions, comments, or just wanna drop a ‘hey’?
Email: fromzerotoccna@gmail.com

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