CCNA v2.0 Exam Topics: The Five Domains, 29 Objectives, and What Is New Since v1.1

Cisco's v2.0 outline runs to three pages and is easy to skim. Read slowly, it tells you three things: where the points are, which skills Cisco now expects you to apply rather than recite, and what quietly dropped off the list since v1.1.

CCNA v2.0 domains, weights and objective counts

The v2.0 exam topics PDF, checked on October 27, 2026, applies to exams from February 3, 2027, the first v2.0 test date on Cisco's Learning Network:

The last column is Passy's division (25 ÷ 7 ≈ 3.6, and so on). Cisco doesn't say how weight is shared inside a domain, so treat it as a rough signal. It still shows something useful: an average IP Routing objective carries about three times the weight of an average objective in the AI domain.

Cisco calls the topics "a general guide" and says additional related topics may be included in any exam. The list is the map, not a fence. If you want practice that follows the same split, you can see how the planned CCNA question bank divides 800 questions across these five domains.

Domain 1.0 Network Infrastructure and Connectivity (25%)

Seven objectives, four of them troubleshooting and one diagnosis:

• 1.1 Diagnose interface and cable issues, copper and fiber: collisions, errors, mismatched duplex, speed, distance, interface, signal levels, pin out and cable types
• 1.2 Describe hypervisors, virtual machines and containers
• 1.3 Troubleshoot IPv4 address configuration, assignment and subnetting, public and private
• 1.4 Troubleshoot IPv6 address configuration, assignment and prefix sizing, unicast and modified EUI-64
• 1.5 Describe wireless principles: band and channel selection, RF characteristics, security protocols and causes of interference
• 1.6 Troubleshoot wired and wireless client connectivity (IP configuration, reachability and wireless security parameters) on Windows, macOS and Linux
• 1.7 Troubleshoot DHCPv4 client, server and relay on IOS devices

Subnetting now sits inside a troubleshooting objective. Cisco's CCNA FAQ names subnetting as one of the hardest topics for people without IT experience, so this domain rewards early drill time.

Domain 2.0 Switching and Network Access (25%)

Five objectives, the highest average weight per objective along with IP Routing:

• 2.1 Configure switch-to-switch and switch-to-router links: Layer 2 and Layer 3 physical interfaces, 802.1Q trunks, LACP port-channel or EtherChannel, and SVIs
• 2.2 Configure edge-host port attributes (VLAN, PoE, port channel and LACP) for desktops, printers and IoT appliances, standalone and controller-based access points, VoIP phones, virtualized hosts and network appliances
• 2.3 Validate network documentation using CDP and LLDP
• 2.4 Troubleshoot basic Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity with show commands (including show logs), ping, extended ping, traceroute and packet capture output
• 2.5 Configure Rapid PVST+: root port and root bridge (primary and secondary), port states and roles, PortFast, and root guard, loop guard and BPDU guard

Compared with v1.1, Rapid PVST+ moves from "interpret basic operations" to "configure operations," and BPDU filter, named in v1.1, isn't listed.

Domain 3.0 IP Routing (20%)

Four objectives:

• 3.1 Interpret a routing table to identify the next hop: routing protocol, prefix and mask, administrative distance, metric and default route
• 3.2 Troubleshoot IPv4 and IPv6 static routing: default, network, host and floating static routes
• 3.3 Configure single-area OSPFv2 for IPv4 and OSPFv3 for IPv6: neighbor adjacencies (excluding authentication), point-to-point, broadcast with DR/BDR selection, and router ID
• 3.4 Interpret the operational status of HSRP and VRRP

OSPFv3 is new to the list. First hop redundancy changes from v1.1's "describe the purpose" to reading the status of two named protocols.

Domain 4.0 Network Services and Security (20%)

Seven objectives, most of them hands-on:

• 4.1 Configure local usernames and AAA client settings with TACACS+ and RADIUS for management
• 4.2 Manage device configuration and software files with SFTP and SCP
• 4.3 Configure NAT and PAT on IOS XE routers
• 4.4 Diagnose DNS record issues (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS and PTR) for hosts, web applications and mail servers
• 4.5 Describe IPsec remote access and site-to-site VPNs, including protocols and transport modes
• 4.6 Configure IPv4 ACLs: standard, extended, numbered and named
• 4.7 Configure Layer 2 security: DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, storm control, RA guard and port security

Cisco's Learning Network post on the new exam says security is woven throughout rather than studied last. This domain is where most of it is configured.

Domain 5.0 AI, and Network Operations and Management (10%)

Six objectives for the smallest weight:

• 5.1 Describe the role of agentic AI in network operations
• 5.2 Select a prompt to send to a generative AI system, considering data classification, output format, persona and instructions
• 5.3 Describe network management approaches: device-based, cloud-based, controller-based, automation-based and infrastructure as code
• 5.4 Describe the function of SNMP
• 5.5 Use configuration management tools such as Ansible to execute commands
• 5.6 Interpret syslog message content, severity levels and facilities

The exam description adds that you may need to evaluate output and recommendations from agentic AI and digital network assistants during operations and troubleshooting. The PDF names the four prompt components but doesn't define them further, so study them as Cisco's own training presents them.

Two Domain 5 topics aren't new in name: v1.1 already asked you to explain generative and predictive AI (6.4) and to recognize Ansible and Terraform (6.6). v2.0 makes them applied tasks: choosing prompts, evaluating AI output, and using Ansible to execute commands.

Cisco's Learning Network post shortens the domain name to "AI and Network Operations." The PDF's full name is the one above. Original practice for this domain is planned too: AI prompt scenarios sit alongside the other v2.0 domains in CCNA prep planned for launch.

The verbs: 8 of 29 CCNA v2.0 objectives ask you to troubleshoot or diagnose

Counting the first verb of each numbered objective:

In the v1.1 PDF, none of the 53 objectives starts with Troubleshoot or Diagnose. The nearest is 1.4, "Identify interface and cable issues." The shift matches Cisco's stated aim: the Learning Network post says the blueprint elevates diagnostics and problem resolution across every domain. In practice, that means studying from symptoms (a host that can't reach its gateway, an OSPF neighbor stuck before full) as well as from configuration steps.

v1.1 topics the CCNA v2.0 outline no longer names

These appear in the v1.1 PDF but not in the v2.0 objectives, by Passy's comparison:

• TCP compared with UDP
• The roles of network components and topology architectures such as two-tier, three-tier and spine-leaf
• Switching concepts such as MAC learning and aging, frame flooding and the MAC address table
• VRFs
• Cisco wireless architectures and AP modes, and WLAN configuration in the GUI, including WPA2 PSK
• NTP client and server mode
• QoS per-hop behavior
• TFTP and FTP (v2.0 names SFTP and SCP instead)
• SSH remote access as its own objective
• Key security concepts (threats, vulnerabilities, exploits), security program elements and password policy
• Controller-based and software-defined architecture: overlay, underlay, fabric, and northbound and southbound APIs
• REST API characteristics, Terraform and JSON-encoded data

"No longer named" isn't the same as "never on the exam." Cisco's note about related topics applies, and some of these, such as TCP and UDP behavior or how a switch learns MAC addresses, sit underneath the troubleshooting objectives anyway. Cisco has said it plans to give Networking Academy learners an outline of which topics are new.

Turning the CCNA v2.0 weights into a study split

Weights translate directly into hours. With 100 study hours, a weight-proportional split gives 25, 25, 20, 20 and 10 hours by domain. The per-objective column above then warns against one trap: Domain 5 has six objectives but only 10% of the exam, so it can absorb far more time than it returns if you let it.

The study-time guide shows how to size total hours from your own pace. The free CCNA study planner applies the 25/25/20/20/10 split to your exam date, and the 20 free CCNA practice questions give a first look at each domain. When full prep opens, you'll be able to practice one v2.0 domain at a time. Testing before February 3, 2027? The CCNA v1.1 vs v2.0 guide explains which outline applies.