What CCNA v2.0 changes, and how to reshape your study plan
CCNA v2.0 has five domains and 29 topics. Network infrastructure and switching rise to 25 per cent each, routing falls to 20, and AI plus operations holds 10. New or newly named are troubleshooting across the list, OSPFv3, HSRP and VRRP, agentic AI and prompts for generative AI. NTP, QoS, REST APIs and JSON are no longer listed topics.
The new version does not ask you to learn a different subject. It asks you to find faults, not only configure.
The domains side by side
| v2.0 domain | v2.0 weight | Mostly replaces (v1.1) | v1.1 weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network Infrastructure and Connectivity | 25% | Network Fundamentals | 20% |
| Switching and Network Access | 25% | Network Access | 20% |
| IP Routing | 20% | IP Connectivity | 25% |
| Network Services and Security | 20% | IP Services; Security Fundamentals | 10% and 15% |
| AI, and Network Operations and Management | 10% | Automation and Programmability | 10% |
Infrastructure and switching together now carry half the exam. Routing loses five points but is still a fifth of your score, and OSPF is still the topic most candidates meet in a simulation.
What is new
Troubleshooting runs through the list. Topics now begin with verbs such as diagnose and troubleshoot: cable and interface issues, IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, client connectivity, DHCPv4 on IOS devices, and Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity. Topic 2.4, troubleshooting Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity with show commands, ping, traceroute and packet capture, has no v1.1 match.
OSPFv3 joins OSPFv2. Topic 3.3 names single-area OSPFv2 and OSPFv3, so IPv6 routing is examined directly.
First hop redundancy gets named. Topic 3.4 asks you to read HSRP and VRRP status: which router is active and why.
Two AI topics arrive. Topic 5.1 covers agentic AI in network operations, and topic 5.2 covers choosing prompts for generative AI that return useful and safe answers about network tasks. Cisco notes that candidates may need to judge output from AI tools.
What no longer appears as a listed topic
NTP, QoS, REST APIs, JSON and wireless controller GUI configuration are not listed in v2.0. A listed topic can still touch them, so they may still appear in passing. But you should stop giving them a full week each. If a v1.1 topic is not listed in the v2.0 exam topics, learn what it is in a sentence and spend your hours elsewhere.
A re-split for 150 hours
| Domain | Hours |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure and Connectivity (25%) | 38 |
| Switching and Network Access (25%) | 38 |
| IP Routing (20%) | 30 |
| Services and Security (20%) | 30 |
| AI and Operations (10%) | 14 |
Fourteen hours covers management approaches, syslog and the two AI topics. Do not skip them: the domain is ten per cent of the exam.
Add one habit to every week
Build one small network early, break it on purpose and fix it from the show commands. That single habit practises topics 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, 1.7 and 2.4 together. The old routine of configuring from notes is no longer enough.
A caution about old courses
A cheap v1.1 video course can be wasted money for a v2.0 candidate. One candidate in the book spent three weeks on NTP and QoS, then met a simulation asking him to find why a client could not get an address from a router. He knew every command in the course. He had never been asked to find a fault.
Before you buy any material, check that it names the v2.0 topics, and rate yourself from 1 to 5 on every topic. Your five lowest scores are your first targets.
Where the full table lives
Rate yourself on all 29 topics before you buy another course.
Questions readers ask
Is v2.0 harder than v1.1?
Do I need to study AI for CCNA v2.0?
Where do I find the official topic list?
This article is independent and is not endorsed by Cisco. Facts change: confirm them on the official page before you act.