Cisco cut the CCNA from six domains to five, dropped the topic count from 53 to 29, and rewrote most of what’s left so it asks you to troubleshoot instead of describe. The exam number stays 200‑301, the exam stays 120 minutes, and the switch happens on February 3, 2027. If you sit before February 2, you get v1.1. If you sit on or after February 3, you get v2.0. There’s no overlap window.
I already wrote about whether to test now or wait. This one is the side-by-side: what moved, what got cut, what’s new, and which parts of your current study plan still count.
What Are the CCNA v2.0 Domains and Weights?
Here are the five v2.0 domains next to the six v1.1 domains, with the weights Cisco published on the Cisco Learning Network v2.0 exam topics page. The rows don’t map one to one, so read the right column as “where most of this content went.”
| v1.1 domain | Weight | v2.0 domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Network Fundamentals | 20% | 1.0 Network Infrastructure and Connectivity | 25% |
| 2.0 Network Access | 20% | 2.0 Switching and Network Access | 25% |
| 3.0 IP Connectivity | 25% | 3.0 IP Routing | 20% |
| 4.0 IP Services | 10% | 4.0 Network Services and Security | 20% |
| 5.0 Security Fundamentals | 15% | ||
| 6.0 Automation and Programmability | 10% | 5.0 AI, and Network Operations and Management | 10% |
The headline: switching and infrastructure now carry half the exam. IP Services and Security Fundamentals merged into one 20% domain. Automation got folded into a new operations domain that also holds the AI content.
The weights matter less than the topic count, though. Going from 53 numbered topics to 29 doesn’t mean the exam got smaller. Each v2.0 topic covers more ground and expects you to do something with it.
What Did Cisco Remove From the CCNA?
Several v1.1 topics are gone or no longer named in the v2.0 blueprint:
- QoS concepts (classification, marking, queuing, policing, shaping)
- NTP client and server modes
- TFTP and FTP
- REST APIs, JSON data, and Terraform
- Controller-based versus traditional networking comparisons
- Configuring a WLAN from the wireless controller GUI
- TCP compared to UDP as a standalone topic
- The softer security concepts, like security program elements and password policy
The JSON and REST API removal surprised me the most. Cisco spent years pushing programmability into the associate exam, and Ashley wrote a whole piece on why the CCNA focused on Python and JSON. Under v2.0, the automation content shifts from reading data formats to running tools, which I think is the right call for a cert aimed at people who will be on a CLI their first year.
One caution. Cisco calls the topic list a general guide and says related topics can still appear. TCP and UDP didn’t stop existing. You can’t troubleshoot an ACL that filters on port 443 without knowing what runs over TCP. “Removed from the blueprint” means “not tested as its own objective,” not “safe to never learn.”
What’s New on the CCNA v2.0 Exam?
The additions cluster in three places.
Services and security. DNS record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR) are named for the first time. You also get local users combined with AAA using TACACS+ and RADIUS, SFTP and SCP, storm control, and IPv6 RA guard. DHCPv4 moves from client and relay to client, server, and relay on IOS.
Routing and switching. OSPFv3 joins OSPFv2, so IPv6 OSPF is back on the menu. First hop redundancy shifts from describing the purpose of FHRPs to reading the operational status of HSRP and VRRP. EtherChannel is now explicitly LACP feeding a port channel with an SVI. Spanning tree keeps Rapid PVST+ but leans harder on root guard, loop guard, and BPDU guard.
Operations and AI. The new domain 5.0 covers the role of agentic AI in network operations, choosing generative AI prompts, infrastructure as code, SNMP, syslog severity levels, and running commands with Ansible. Hypervisors, VMs, and containers also show up in domain 1.0.
The AI piece is 10% of the exam. I covered why Cisco added AI to the CCNA back in March, and the v2.0 wording confirms what I expected: you’re being tested on judging AI output and knowing where it fits in operations, not on building models.
How Much More Troubleshooting Is on CCNA v2.0?
A lot more. In v1.1, exactly one topic asked you to identify a problem: interface and cable issues like collisions, errors, and duplex mismatches. In v2.0, eight topics ask you to troubleshoot or diagnose.
You can see the shift in the verbs. v1.1 said “configure and verify” static routes. v2.0 says troubleshoot default, network, host, and floating static routes. v1.1 asked you to describe routing table components. v2.0 asks you to interpret how the router chose the next hop by protocol, prefix length, administrative distance, and metric. Cisco’s own announcement calls troubleshooting and problem solving the core skills, not add-ons.
This is the change that should shape your study plan. Watching a video about OSPF neighbor states won’t cut it. You need to have broken an adjacency on purpose and figured out why it won’t come up. If your lab habit is building a topology, confirming it pings, and moving on, flip it. Build it, then break one thing and make yourself find it from show output alone.
Does My v1.1 Study Still Count for v2.0?
Most of it, yes. Subnetting, VLANs and trunking, STP, OSPFv2, NAT and PAT, ACLs, DHCP, port security, and DHCP snooping all carry forward. Those were the hard parts of v1.1 and they’re still the hard parts of v2.0.
What you’d need to add if you studied v1.1 and then slipped past the deadline:
- OSPFv3 configuration and verification
- HSRP and VRRP show output
- DNS record types and resolver behavior
- Storm control and RA guard
- AAA with TACACS+ and RADIUS on the device side
- Ansible basics and the agentic AI topics
- A lot more lab time spent fixing things instead of building them
That’s a few weeks of work for someone already deep into v1.1, not a restart. Our existing explainers on DHCP troubleshooting and EtherChannel failures already lean toward the v2.0 style, so they apply to both versions.
Should I Take CCNA v1.1 or Wait for v2.0?
If you can realistically be ready by late January 2027, take v1.1. Cisco’s own advice to people already studying v1.1 is to finish it. The cert you earn is the same CCNA either way, with the same three year validity.
Don’t schedule for February 1 or 2, though. Leave yourself a retake window. If you fail on January 30, you’re waiting out the retake period and then sitting a different exam. I’d aim for the first half of January at the latest.
If you’re starting from zero today and you work full time, v2.0 is the more honest target. Our study timeline breakdown lands most working adults in the three to six month range, which puts a November start right at the edge for v1.1.
Are CCNA Study Materials Updated for v2.0 Yet?
Some are, many aren’t. The Official Cert Guide editions on shelves today cover v1.1, and a v2.0 edition will take time after the cutover. Video courses are moving faster. A few providers updated their CCNA courses for v2.0 in the fall of 2026, and Cisco opened early access to updated official training on Cisco U. at no cost.
The exam code doesn’t help you here, since both versions say 200‑301. When you buy anything, look for “v2.0” or the February 2027 date in the product description. If it only says 200‑301, assume v1.1. Cisco also keeps a certification roadmap page that lists scheduled exam changes, and it’s worth checking before you buy anything expensive.
Key dates: v2.0 topics published May 20, 2026. Last day to test on v1.1 is February 2, 2027. v2.0 goes live February 3, 2027. Same 200‑301 exam number, same 120 minute length, $300 USD base exam fee before tax.
Before you book anything, pull the official topic list for whichever version you’re sitting and check every line against your notes. Cisco publishes both the v1.1 topics and the v2.0 topics, and that document beats any blog summary, including this one.
Senior Network Engineer | CCNP Enterprise | CCIE Candidate
Trave Hurd is a senior network engineer with over a decade of experience designing and managing enterprise Cisco environments. Holding multiple Cisco and industry certifications, he writes about the full arc of a networking career, from passing your first exam to building the skills that get you to the top of the field.
