Huawei HCIP-Datacom study plan

Map the HCIP-Datacom exam blueprint into a personal checklist that lists every routing and switching topic area you must cover and rates your current confidence from 1 to 5 for each

Build a home lab of at least three routers and two switches in an emulator, and verify full reachability with static routes and a single IGP before the week ends

Configure and troubleshoot OSPFv2 in a single area, including neighbor adjacency formation, DR/BDR election, and cost-based path selection

Explain and demonstrate the OSPF packet types and LSA types that appear most often in troubleshooting scenarios, using packet captures to confirm each

Configure OSPF multi-area with ABRs, stub and NSSA areas, and verify inter-area route propagation and default route injection

Implement route summarization and authentication in OSPF, then deliberately break each and document the symptoms you observe

Configure IS-IS at Level 1 and Level 2 with an L1/L2 router, and compare its adjacency and database behavior against OSPF in a written note

Compare OSPF and IS-IS convergence and scalability characteristics well enough to justify a design choice in a short paragraph

Configure BGP peering (iBGP and eBGP) across at least four routers, and verify session establishment with correct source addresses and TTL handling

Apply and test at least six BGP path-selection attributes in order, changing one attribute at a time and recording which route wins

Implement route reflection and peer groups to solve the iBGP full-mesh requirement, and explain when confederation would be preferable

Configure prefix lists, AS-path filters, and route policies to control inbound and outbound advertisements

Configure MPLS L3VPN end to end with VRFs, MP-BGP VPNv4 address family, and RD/RT values on at least two customer sites

Verify label switching behavior with label stack output and explain the roles of IGP, LDP, and MP-BGP in the forwarding path

Deploy VXLAN with EVPN control plane in the lab, and compare it against the MPLS L3VPN design in terms of configuration and failure domains

Troubleshoot a deliberately broken VPN by isolating whether the fault lies in the underlay, the label distribution, or the BGP VPNv4 peering

Configure VLANs, trunk links, link aggregation, and Spanning Tree Protocol variants, then verify loop prevention and fast convergence behavior

Implement inter-VLAN routing with both router-on-a-stick and Layer 3 switching, and measure the difference in throughput or configuration complexity

Configure DHCP, NAT, and ACLs in a branch topology, and validate that each policy blocks or permits exactly the intended traffic

Diagnose a Layer 2 loop scenario using STP topology output and port state changes, and document the recovery sequence

Configure IPv6 addressing, OSPFv3, and IPv6 static routing, and verify dual-stack operation alongside the existing IPv4 design

Implement network automation using Python scripts against device APIs or NETCONF/YANG models to retrieve and push configuration

Use a controller-based or SDN-style workflow in the lab to provision a change, and contrast it with manual CLI provisioning

Apply QoS classification and queuing on a WAN link, and verify marking and scheduling with show commands

Complete a timed 60-question practice set covering routing, switching, VPN, and automation, and score each miss by topic area

Re-study the three weakest topic areas identified by the practice set, rebuilding each as a fresh lab exercise rather than rereading notes

Reconfigure one previously completed topology from scratch without notes to test retention, and time how long it takes

Review documentation for features you have not yet labbed and decide which to lab versus which to learn conceptually

Run two full timed mock exams under exam conditions, and record both raw scores and time remaining at completion

Revisit every missed question from both mocks and confirm you can explain the correct answer without referring to notes

Do a final pass over your week 1 blueprint checklist and confirm every item is rated at least 4 out of 5 confidence

Prepare exam-day logistics, including scheduling, identification requirements, and a one-page summary sheet of high-risk topics for last-minute review