Cisco has published the next major CCNA blueprint, but the current exam does not disappear immediately. The current 200-301 CCNA v1.1 exam remains available through February 2, 2027. The refreshed v2.0 exam launches on February 3, 2027.
That creates a long transition window in which both blueprints matter. The useful question is not “Which CCNA is real?” Both lead to the CCNA certification. The useful question is which blueprint applies to the date you plan to test and which additional skills v2.0 expects.
Because the exam code stays 200-301 across the cutover, a third-party 200-301 CCNA practice collection may need an extra version check: confirm whether the material reflects the v1.1 objectives effective through February 2, 2027 or the v2.0 objectives effective from February 3. Cisco’s own published blueprint—not a third-party practice resource—determines the actual examination scope.
The refresh is a change in depth, not a replacement of networking fundamentals
Cisco describes v2.0 as the first major CCNA blueprint change since 2019, but not as a complete reset.
The core still includes Ethernet switching, IP addressing, routing, network services, security, and operations. If you are already building those fundamentals with a current CCNA 200-301 foundation, that work carries forward.
What changes is how the blueprint groups the skills and how practical the expected depth becomes. Cisco says the refresh places more emphasis on troubleshooting and real operational tasks, with security and AI woven through the certification.
The domain structure changes substantially
The current v1.1 exam uses six familiar domains:
- Network Fundamentals — 20%
- Network Access — 20%
- IP Connectivity — 25%
- IP Services — 10%
- Security Fundamentals — 15%
- Automation and Programmability — 10%
The v2.0 blueprint reorganizes them into five:
- Network Infrastructure and Connectivity — 25%
- Switching and Network Access — 25%
- IP Routing — 20%
- Network Services and Security — 20%
- AI, and Network Operations and Management — 10%
The change is not just cosmetic. Moving subjects changes the context in which Cisco expects candidates to apply them.
For example, security is less isolated as a standalone “fundamentals” bucket and appears directly alongside network services and throughout the broader troubleshooting mindset.
A useful way to read the new weights is to map old knowledge into the new operational buckets instead of assuming a topic disappeared because its old domain name disappeared. IPv4 and IPv6 addressing move into the infrastructure/connectivity and routing context; switching remains a major quarter of the exam; DHCP, DNS, NAT, ACLs, and security controls are grouped together; and automation now shares a domain with AI and operational management.
That reorganization matters for study planning because Cisco can test the same foundational concept through a more applied scenario. A candidate may still need subnetting knowledge, but v2.0 can place that knowledge inside an interface-diagnosis or routing problem rather than a standalone definition. The safest preparation method is to preserve the fundamentals and then practice using them in the new task-oriented context.
OSPF expands from OSPFv2 to OSPFv2 and OSPFv3
Current v1.1 requires single-area OSPFv2.
The v2.0 blueprint explicitly requires single-area OSPFv2 for IPv4 and OSPFv3 for IPv6, including neighbor adjacencies, point-to-point links, broadcast DR/BDR selection, and router ID.
That does not make existing OSPF fundamentals obsolete. The shortest-path logic, neighbor reasoning, router ID, and DR/BDR concepts still matter. The additional work is understanding how OSPFv3 applies those ideas to IPv6.
For candidates targeting v2.0, this is one of the clearest examples of a concrete technical gap to add to a v1.1 knowledge base.
Layer 2 security gains RA Guard and storm control
The current v1.1 Layer 2 security objective names DHCP snooping, Dynamic ARP Inspection, and port security.
V2.0 retains DHCP snooping, DAI, and port security and adds storm control and RA Guard.
The underlying security model remains familiar. DHCP snooping protects the trust boundary around address assignment, while DAI validates IPv4 ARP claims. RA Guard extends access-layer protection into IPv6 router discovery.
If your target date is still v1.1, RA Guard is useful future knowledge rather than a named current objective. If your exam date is February 3, 2027 or later, it becomes part of the published blueprint.
Troubleshooting becomes more explicit
V2.0 repeatedly uses verbs such as diagnose, troubleshoot, and configure where older objectives often emphasized describing or interpreting.
Examples in the new blueprint include:
- diagnosing interface and cable problems
- troubleshooting IPv4 and IPv6 addressing
- troubleshooting wired and wireless client connectivity
- troubleshooting DHCPv4 client, server, and relay behavior
- troubleshooting basic Layer 2/Layer 3 connectivity with show commands, ping, traceroute, and packet-capture output
- diagnosing DNS record problems
That direction matches Cisco’s public explanation of the refresh: practical assessment and troubleshooting are more important.
A useful supporting concept here is that DNS is no longer just “know what DNS does.” V2.0 explicitly names A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, and PTR records for diagnosis. A strong understanding of DNS records therefore becomes more operationally relevant.
The practical emphasis also changes how labs should be used. Instead of stopping after a configuration works, deliberately introduce a single fault and prove which output identifies it. Put the wrong VLAN on an access port, remove a VLAN from a trunk, create an addressing mismatch, change an OSPF parameter, or point a client at the wrong DNS information. Then use the smallest set of show commands, ping/traceroute results, or capture evidence needed to isolate that fault.
This style of preparation is more durable than memorizing a long command list because the same evidence can support many scenarios. An interface counter can distinguish a physical problem from a configuration problem; a neighbor state can narrow an OSPF failure; and a DNS response can distinguish name-resolution failure from IP reachability. The refreshed blueprint makes that diagnostic reasoning more explicit.
Rapid PVST+ remains, but the expected verb changes
Current v1.1 asks candidates to interpret basic Rapid PVST+ operations and explicitly lists Root Guard, Loop Guard, BPDU Filter, and BPDU Guard.
V2.0 asks candidates to configure operations of Rapid PVST+. It retains Root Guard, Loop Guard, and BPDU Guard in the published objective, while BPDU Filter is no longer explicitly named there.
That is a good illustration of why candidates should use the blueprint for their actual exam date instead of assuming every detail carries over unchanged.
The fundamental skill—understanding root election, port roles, PortFast, and loop protection—remains valuable in both versions.
Secure operations become more practical
The new Network Services and Security domain includes secure file transfer using SFTP/SCP, NAT/PAT configuration, IPv4 ACL configuration, and more explicit DNS troubleshooting.
This is another shift from knowing that a technology exists toward being able to use it in routine operations.
It also makes automation less of a separate novelty. V2.0’s final domain combines AI with network operations and management, covering agentic AI, generative-AI prompting for network operations, management approaches, SNMP, Ansible execution, and syslog interpretation.
Network automation remains relevant across CCNA versions, but knowing a REST endpoint or JSON field is not the same as validating a management operation. Compare the requested configuration, API response, device state and resulting telemetry before concluding the change succeeded. The practical skill is recognizing which observation confirms the intended network behavior, rather than treating an API success code as proof of correct forwarding.
The security changes follow the same pattern. V2.0 still expects foundational controls, but candidates should be prepared to reason about them as operational mechanisms: where an ACL is applied, what NAT/PAT changes in a packet path, why SFTP or SCP is preferable to an insecure transfer method, and how DHCP snooping, DAI, RA Guard, or storm control change access-layer behavior.
For automation and management, the objective is not simply “know that APIs, Ansible, SNMP, and syslog exist.” The new framing rewards knowing what kind of operational problem each tool addresses—structured automation for repeatable changes, telemetry for state and events, and AI-assisted workflows for tasks where prompts and data handling still need human judgment.
AI moves from awareness to an exam objective
Cisco introduced generative and predictive AI awareness in v1.1.
V2.0 goes further. The published blueprint includes the role of agentic AI in network operations and selecting an appropriate prompt for a generative-AI system based on data classification, output format, persona, and instructions.
Cisco has also said the refreshed certification is designed around modern network engineers acting more like orchestrators and using AI alongside traditional networking skills.
That does not reduce the importance of packet forwarding, switching, routing, or security. It changes the environment in which those skills are expected to be applied.
Which blueprint should you use?
Use the exam date, not the announcement date.
If you take 200-301 on or before February 2, 2027, Cisco says the current v1.1 exam is the active version.
If you test on or after February 3, 2027, prepare against the v2.0 blueprint.
There is no need to abandon networking fundamentals if you are already studying v1.1. Cisco itself says the refresh is not a complete overhaul. The efficient transition is to preserve the shared technical core and add the v2.0-specific depth—especially OSPFv3, new Layer 2 security controls, more explicit troubleshooting, secure operations, and the expanded AI/network-operations objectives.
A sensible transition plan has three layers. First, finish the shared core: Ethernet, VLANs and trunks, IPv4/IPv6 addressing, routing logic, DHCP/DNS/NAT, ACLs, wireless fundamentals, and basic security. Second, add the clearly published v2.0 deltas such as OSPFv3, RA Guard, storm control, expanded troubleshooting tasks, secure file transfer, and the updated AI/operations objectives. Third, practice those topics as integrated faults rather than isolated flashcards.