r/ccnp

I know there’s post everywhere of no luck with it jobs in general. Not to get into politics but not sure if it’s just because of economy, or IT is dying.
But it really has me gloomy because I see a lot of people are struggling out here with interviews but no luck.

My job is like completely spiraling downward, everyone is jumping ship. I’ve mentioned it to a few co-workers and they’re also talking about leaving as well…

I take my CCNP ENCOR (hopefully next month) but I feel like it’s almost going to be useless.

I’m going to ride it out, and apply to different jobs in the mean time and just quiet quit at work. My backup plan is just automation technician because I feel thats more AI proof…

Any thoughts / opinions?

My CCNA and the exam I passed, 300-710 Securing Networks with Cisco Firepower (SNCF) expire 8/22/2026.

I'm studying for and trying to take the 350-701 Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies (SCOR) exam before they expire so I can complete CCNP-Security.

Can I take them on 8/22/2026 or is that too late?

I want to maximize study time because I fell asleep at the switch and I'm trying to cram everything before the test.

Hey everyone! I was just curious, how you were scoring on boson prior to taking the ENARSI? I just took my first of 4 practice exams and got a 65.5% (one lab I just fat fingered and the rest was mainly MPLS for multiple choice) I have focused my studies but was curious if I am on a good track for my Sep 1st exam date? Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm actively preparing for 350-401 ENCOR 1.2 from original v1.0 book and wanted to hear some feedback from someone who recently took the exam? what kind questions and labs? how difficult they are and how difficult is to shift from v1.0 to v1.2?

Thanks

Hi everyone,
I’m troubleshooting an authentication issue with Cisco routers/switches using \*\*Microsoft NPS as the RADIUS server\*\*.
\*\*Environment:\*\*
Cisco routers/switches
RADIUS authentication
Microsoft NPS
Trying to authenticate using an AD account
RADIUS communication appears to be working between the Cisco device and NPS
User credentials have been verified and are correct
\*\*Issue:\*\*
When I try to perform an administrative login to the Cisco router/switch using RADIUS/NPS, authentication fails with \*\*NPS Reason Code 66\*\*.
The same issue occurs on multiple Cisco devices.
I have already checked:
AD username/password
RADIUS server configuration
RADIUS shared secret
Cisco aaa configuration
NPS Network Policy
NPS connection request policy
Connectivity between the Cisco device and NPS
RADIUS ports
I’m still getting the authentication rejection.
\*\*Cisco configuration is roughly:\*\*
aaa new-model
aaa authentication login default group radius local
aaa authorization exec default group radius local

radius server NPS
address ipv4 <NPS-IP> auth-port 1812 acct-port 1813
key <shared-secret>
NPS is receiving the authentication request, but it is rejecting it with \*\*Reason Code 66\*\*.
Does anyone know what specifically causes \*\*NPS Reason Code 66\*\* when authenticating Cisco IOS/IOS-XE devices against Microsoft NPS?
What should I check next — NPS Network Policy conditions, authentication method (PAP/CHAP/MS-CHAPv2), AD permissions, or something specific on the Cisco side?
Any troubleshooting steps or examples would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Installed tailscsle directly on CML2, and it’s working great. I’m able to access my labs from anywhere and I can run the breakout tool locally on my laptop and use MobaXterm for console access. My lab environment looks and feels exactly like my production work environment now.

I am thinking about setting up Apache Guacamole so I can hit the lab from any browser anywhere. Anyone else had luck doing it?

I'm working the Boson ExSim-Max and I notice it's heavy on OSPF and BGP sims but not EIGRP. I'm wondering from those that took the 350-401 test if that's indeed the case?

Weirdest thing happened to me yesterday. I purchased a premium INE subscription and created an account at checkout. I was able to check out and start watching some videos without issue. Studied for a couple of hours, logged out, and called it a day.

Later that evening I tried signing into my account again but was met with username/pw errors. Tried resetting my pw but emails never came. Then I tried digging through any welcome emails and realized I never got any when I signed up. So I opened up my Work laptop (where I was still signed into INE), and confirmed my email/pw were correct. I reset my PW on there > it logged me out > and now I can't access the account again.

I've tried calling INE support and have gotten no responses and also tried emailing them but haven't heard anything back. Just wondering if they're normally this slow to respond or if there are other preferred methods of contacting them.

I’m studying for CCNP Encor and I like the idea of having a job where I need to know all of this, but right now I work in a smaller network with about 100-125 Cisco nodes using EIGRP over MetroE And On-Prem “Datacenter“ with EXSi hosts and nexus9k’s. basically enterprise gear in a medium sized business. (overkill for what we have and need honestly). DMVPN to the branch locations. There’s nothing wrong with the setup, and it works, it’s just not as advanced as most of the topics covered in CCNP. I’m wondering if I should spend the time focused on enterprise routing and switching to this depth or switch up to a broader plan, move to CCNP Secuorty or Automation? Try to get ahead of the AI curve? No idea really. For now I’ll keep plugging away at ENCOR, but if any of you had to quit CCNP, what would you go to instead?

My company pays for the certs and likes for us to always being pursuing one, but isn’t super picky about which one we go for. I have CCNA, CompSci degree, 10 years Exp In IT. About 4 in networking.

Hello everyone! I got my CCNA in April and have worked a little bit in the industry. I unfortunately am unable to work further for a couple months due to some personal issues but I want to put the down time to use by studying for my CCNP ENCOR.

For my CCNA, the whole study process was free: I used Jeremys IT Lab, packet tracer and Anki flashcards.

I understand that I will need CML to lab for CCNP and also might have to buy a full course because Jeremys CCNP course isn’t complete.

I need advice on how best I can study for this for free, I’m basically unemployed right now and I would love a free solution, thank you.

Can anyone point me in the direction of any resources for any of the CCNP Wireless certifications, WLCOR, WLSI or WLSD. There seems to be no official cert guides out yet but I’m keen to push on with the wireless track.

Need more RAM for EVE-NG/GNS3 labs? I built an on-demand cloud lab workflow

Large network labs eventually hit the same problem: laptop limits, homelab hardware limits, or paying for compute that sits idle most of the time.

I built a workflow that deploys EVE-NG or GNS3 in your own GCP account, lets you run the lab when needed, then removes the cloud resources afterwards.

Current workflow includes:

• automated EVE-NG/GNS3 deployment
• private access through GCP IAP
• preflight checks
• archive/restore so the lab can resume from its last saved state
• rebuild and destroy lifecycle

I’m looking for a few EVE-NG/GNS3 users to try it with real topologies and give feedback.

What size labs are you running today, and what is your current hardware limit?

EVE-NG workflow:
https://docs.hybridops.tech/ops/runbooks/platform/blueprints/hyops-blueprint-eve-ng/

Project / research context:
https://github.com/hybridops-tech/hybridops-core

The repo also contains the wider work around lifecycle management, validation and recovery for infrastructure operations.

Open to feedback, issues and contributions.

I am trying to start up an SD-WAN Lab, as I have a 64GB RAM server with 16vCPUs available for me. However, after downloading the images and starting the nodes, everything comes up except for the Manager. There error message states:

*container_management: refusing to open log file /var/log/nms/controller_management.log (ENOENT): aborting"

Any tips? Its been running for about an hour.

I’m a 3rd year student from a tier 3 college, and honestly the on-campus placements at my college aren’t great.

I’m really interested in Computer Networks and I’m seriously considering Cisco as a target for internships/jobs.

I’m not starting from zero, so I wanted some advice from people who have actually gone through the process:

* How should I prepare?
* What topics should I focus on?
* How important are DSA, CN, OS, DBMS, etc.?
* Are there any mandatory certifications?
* What kind of projects would actually help?
* How do you get shortlisted for Cisco if your college doesn’t have great opportunities?
* And how is the work/life at Cisco?

Would really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have interned or currently work at Cisco.

Pls help a fellow student out 😭

have my CCNA. I’m also working toward my Associate degree in Network Management graduating Spring 2027. I want to stay on the networking path long term and I’m trying to figure out the best way to approach this with no IT experience behind me.

Ideally I want to find a job before finishing school, but should I wait until I graduate? I’ve also read that you should have some real work experience before going for CCNP so I’m not sure if I should start studying for that now or hold off.

What’s next for someone with no IT experience after CCNA? And what can I do right now to build some real experience while I’m still in school?

Any advice appreciated.

From NetCad.

Enjoy.

Hi

I have situation where macsec is configured beetwen two huwaei ce device
Now we want to add nexus nxos in beetwen

Does nxos transparentlty forward macsec frame or like ios it depends on ios version

Also what version os nxos is suitable ?