Top 50 Questions & Answers for CCNA Interviews

From the time you decide to enter the world of Network and Security, the one thing that will come under your vision is to achieve the CCNA certification. The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification is an entry-level Cisco Certification designed to validate an individual's understanding of networking fundamentals, cybersecurity, and Cisco technologies.

After qualifying for the test and getting that CCNA certification, you will also need to pass the interview process to join your dream company. Preparing for the interview is a very important process of job preparation as interviews are the final test for every company.

Here we have researched and compiled the 50 most frequently asked CCNA interview questions. Big IT giants Cisco Systems, AWS, Microsoft, AT&T, etc. ask CCNA concepts in interviews. We have provided the CCNA interview questions with answers for optimal preparation.

CCNA Interview Overview

In preparation for CCNA interviews, candidates should familiarize themselves with common technical questions related to the OSI model, TCP/IP protocols, subnetting, and VLANs. Interviewers often assess both technical knowledge and practical experience, so candidates should be ready to provide real-world examples of how they have applied their skills.

Based on your experience the questions asked can be different. There are 2 levels of CCNA interviews i.e. freshers and experienced.

CCNA interview questions for beginners may include questions related to:

1. Routing

2. OSI Model Layers

3. Hub vs. Switch

4. Subnetting

5. IP Addressing

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CCNA Interview Questions for Experienced may include questions related to: 

1. OSPF (Open Shortest Path First)

2. VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks)

3. Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)

4. NAT (Network Address Translation)

5. Network Troubleshooting Techniques 

Top 50 CCNA Interview Questions with Answers

Here are all the CCNA interview questions for beginners and experienced professionals.

Q1) What is the IPX access list?

Answer: Standard, Extended

Q2) How do hold-downs work?

Answer: It is to prevent regular update messages from reinstating downed by a link

Removing that link from the update message

Q3) Expand DLCI?

Answer: Data Link Connection Identifiers.

Q4) What are the types of the password used in CISCO routers?

Answer: Five types of password

Secret, virtual, Terminal, Console, Auxillary

Q5) Mention the clock rate?

Answer: Clock rate the routers or DCE to communicate appropriately.

Q6) How many types of RIP message?

Answer: Two types of message request and response.

Q7) Expand BGP?

Answer: Border Gateway Protocol.

Q8) What is the difference between the STP and RSTP?

Answer: STP to prevent the loop address; RSPT is almost the same as STP to reduce the port forwarding time.

Q9) The CISCO IOS firewall feature act as a stateful or stateless packet filter?

Answer: The CISCO IOS firewall is a stateful filter.

Q10) What are the two key features of URL filtering?

Answer: Predefined URL categories, Malware protection

Q11) Define DMZ?

Answer: Network as the inside and everything else as an outside Will be in the firewall.

Q12) What type of port is in the STP?

Answer: Root port, Designated Port, Blocking port

Q13) Expand the term MTU.

Answer: MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Control Unit.

Q14) What are the different types of memories in CISCO Router?

Answer: NVRAM, DRAM, Flash Memory

Q15) Expand the term EIGRP.

Answer: EIGRP stands for Enhanced Interior Gateway Protocol.

Q16) What Is Administrative Distance?

Answer: Administrative Distance is used for finding a trusted routing protocol.

Q17) Which router command enables IPV6?

Answer: UNICASTING ROUTING.

Q18)  What are the major states in Switch?

Answer: Disabled, Blocking, Listening, Learning, Forwarding

Q16) What are the major functions of SNMPV3?

Answer: The major functions of SNMPV3 are Authentication, Encryption and Message Integrity.

Q17) Write the expanded form of NTP.

Answer: NTP stands for Network Time Protocol.

Q18) Write the command used for displaying the NVRAM contents.

Answer: The Router command used for displaying the NVRAM contents is-

SHOW START/SHOW START –CONFIG

Q19) What do you mean by the term SYSLOG?

Answer: SYSLOG is used for storing log files for popular servers.

Q20) What are the types of ACL?

Answer: STANDARD ACL, EXTENDED ACL, NAMED ACL

Q21) What are the types of VTP?

Answer: SERVER MODE, CLIENT MODE, TRANSPARENT MODE

Q22) Name the two ports of Switches.

Answer: Access Port, Trunk Port

Q23) What is the administrative distance of OSPF?

Answer: The Administrative distance of OSPF is 110.

Q24)  What do you mean by Distance Vector?

Answer: Distance vector is the protocol used for sending Periodic updates after every 30 seconds.

Q25) What are the two types of cables?

Answer: Straight Cable, Cross Cable

Q26) Enlist the major functions of the Transport Layer.

Answer: Segment Fragmentation, Numbering Segment, Multi-Tasking & Flow control.

Q27) State the two types of address available.

Answer: IPV4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) & IPV6 (Internet Protocol Version 6)

Q28) What is AAA?

Answer: AAA stands for Authentication, Authorization and Accounting.

Q29) What are the different load balancing methods for VRRP?

Answer: The different load balancing methods for VRRP are: Round-Robin, Host-dependant and weighted.

Q30) Are HSRPv1 and v2 compatible?

Answer: HSRPv1 and v2 are not compatible.

Q31) What is the CISCO proprietary protocol for link aggregation?

Answer: PAgP is the CISCO proprietary protocol for link aggregation.

Q32) What is the Aging timer of the MAC address table?

Answer: The Aging timer of the MAC address table is 300s.

Q33) How many seconds is the blocking period of a switch port?

Answer: 20s is the blocking period of a switch port.

Q34) STP elects the root bridge on a basis of what?

Answer: Bridge priority is the basis to select Root Bridge.

Q35) Does VTP version 2 support Private VLANs?

Answer: No, VTP version 2 doesn’t support Private VLANs.

Q36) What is the native VLAN ID by default on a CISCO switch?

Answer: VLAN 1 the native VLAN ID by default on a CISCO switch.

Q37) Where is the VLAN configuration stored on a CISCO switch?

Answer: The VLAN configuration is stored on a CISCO switch in the “VLAN.DAT” file.

Q38) What is the default Local Preference value of a BGP router?

Answer: 100 is the default Local Preference value of a BGP router.

Q39) What is BGP’s loop prevention mechanism?

Answer: If you see your own AS number in the AS path you don’t accept it since you have a loop.

Q40) What is the External AD value for EIGRP?

Answer: The External AD value for EIGRP is 170

Q41) What is a Router ID with respect to OSPF?

Answer: Unique ID for the Router in the OSPF topology is known as the Router ID.

Q42) Which router generates LSA type 7 in OSPF?

Answer: The router that generates LSA type 7 in OSPF is ASBR.

Q43) What is AS?

Answer: AS Routers having the same administration and policy are in the same autonomous system and it indicates the same number.

Q44) What are the types of Network?

Answer: The types of Network are: Point to point, Broadcast & Non-broadcast

Q45) What is PREEMPT in HSRP?

Answer: If the active router goes down then the backup router will become active and when the active router comes up by PREEMPT command it will remain in an inactive state.

Q46) What is native VLAN?

Answer: Untagged VLANS are known as native VLANs.

Q47) What is BPDU Guard?

Answer: When an attacker is trying to send a BPDU packet with ‘0’ priority values by any tool then the port will consider it as an error invisible state. This is the working of the BPDU Guard.

Q48) How to elect Root Bridge in the switch?

Answer: These are the steps to choose Root Bridge in the switch:

Lowest priority value

Lowest MAC address

Lowest port in the switch

Q49) What is VLAN?

Answer: VLAN is used to isolate the network or it can divide the network into a single broadcast to multiple broadcasts.

Q50) To which layer does the NetBIOS protocol belong to is the OSI model?

Answer: Session layer.

Tips to Answer CCNA Interview Questions

1. Master the fundamentals: Ensure you have a strong grasp of core networking concepts like the OSI model, TCP/IP, routing protocols, switching, and security. Solid fundamentals will help you answer questions confidently.

2. Use real-world examples: Illustrate your answers with relevant examples from your own experience. Discussing how you applied CCNA concepts in practical situations will make your responses more compelling and memorable.

3. Be specific and concise: When answering technical questions, provide precise and to-the-point responses. Avoid rambling or going off on tangents. Stick to the key points the interviewer is looking for.

4. Practice, practice, practice: Prepare for a wide range of CCNA interview questions using online resources, books, and mock interviews. The more you practice, the more comfortable and confident you'll be during the actual interview.

5. Highlight your skills: When answering behavioral questions, emphasize the skills and experience that make you a strong candidate. Discuss how your CCNA knowledge and hands-on work have prepared you for the role you're interviewing for.