What is New in CCNA V3?

Read the below helpline to new coming CCNA exams from reddit post.  The new exams are numbered 100-105, 200-105 and 200-125. The last day for 100-101 and the combined 200-120 is August 20th 2016. For the 200-101, you get until September 24th 2016 (or 21st according to some emails from Pearson). Here’s a summary of what changed in the new version.

100-105 – ICND1

Right off the bat, the new topics are much clearer, much easier to understand and are quite similar to the old 100-101 topics.

• No more bridges and hubs, replaced by a basic understanding of firewalls, wireless controllers and access points.
• LAN switching is the same as usual, nothing really new in there.
• Routing stays pretty much intact. RIPv2 is the only thing tested on at the ICND1 level, along with static routes in IPv4 and IPv6. No more OSPF.
• IP services. You need to know how to configure NTP and NAT.

All in all, it’s minor changes on this exam, but the topics list is much clearer and better organized.

200-105 – ICND2

This is where there are major changes. Some good (no more Frame-Relay!) and some scarier for most people (single-homed eBGP). Yes, there is now some basic BGP config at the CCNA level.

• LAN switching topics are much more detailed. It covers pretty much the same stuff as ICND1 and ICND2 used to, but it’s listed properly. Major addition are switch stacking and chassis aggregation benefits. Some security features are also present : 802.1x, DHCP snooping, nondefault nativve VLAN, but nothing major on that side.
• Routing topics are pretty much the same : Router on a stick, SVI, Link-state vs Distance vector, Interior vs Exterior, OSPFv2 and v3, EIGRP IPv4 and IPv6.
• WAN technologies. No more Frame-Relay, rejoice my friends! However, you now get PPP, MLPPP, PPPoE and GRE tunnels. WAN topologies are the same, but WAN connectivity is now updated with MPLS, MetroE, Broadband PPPoE and VPNs.
• Major change in WAN technology : Configure and verify single-homed branch office connectivity using eBGP IPv4 (limited to peering and route advertisement using Network command only). This will scare some people, but it’s not that hard. Only a few commands to learn, basic understanding of BGP, and a great addition to your knowledge.
• Infrastructure services, configure and verify basic HSRP is there. Additions are Cloud related topics, traffic path to internal and external services, virtual services, etc. Basic QoS is also present in there, along with ACLs. New addition to the ACLs : Verify ACLs using the APIC-EM Path Trace ACL analysis tool. Todd Lammle covers that in his new videos according to his recent posts here.
• Infra Maintenance, SNMPv2 and v3, IP SLA, SPAN, AAA, all that is still there. Major change here with the addition of network programmability, function of a controller, northbound and southbound APIs.

So, you no longer need to know about Frame-Relay, but you now need to know basic BGP and SDN stuff at the CCNA v3 level. As usual, Cisco is keeping it’s exams up to date with current trends and technologies. The exam seems to get slightly harder with the addition of SDN topics because finding “the cisco answer” might be somewhat difficult. Cisco has a very particular approach to SDN.

200-125 – CCNAX

For the composite exam, since it’s just the ICND1 and ICND2 mashed up together, the changes pretty much follows what is listed above. As usual, make sure to check the blueprint before going for your exam in case they snuck a little something I didn’t see in there.

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Hope this helps, don’t forget to grab the new blueprints on Cisco’s website and good luck! Important to Note : If you are CCENT certified (you passed ICND1) you can then pass either 200-101 or 200-105 to get your CCNA v3. Straight from Cisco : Existing CCENT certified individuals can achieve CCNA R&S certification by passing either ICND2 (200-101 or 200-105) or CCNA composite (200-120 or 200-125) exams.Source