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JNCIA-DC study materials
JNCIA-DC study resources

JNCIA-DC study plan

JNCIA-DC · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Data Center Architecture and Networking Fundamentals & Junos OS Fundamentals and User Interfaces

  • Define the data center architecture layers (spine, leaf, access, aggregation) and explain why a Clos-based fabric provides predictable east-west throughput

  • Sketch from memory a two-tier spine-leaf topology with four leaves and two spines, labeling every link and explaining why each leaf connects to every spine

  • Distinguish control-plane, data-plane, and management-plane functions and map each to specific Junos processes

  • Identify the Junos OS product families relevant to the data center (EX, QFX, MX, SRX, vSRX, vQFX) and state one deployment role for each

  • Set up a lab habit: install a virtual lab or reserve access to virtual Junos devices and confirm you can reach the CLI

Your checkpoint

A one-page hand-drawn and then digitized spine-leaf topology diagram with a written annotation of oversubscription ratio and plane responsibilities for each device

Week 2

Junos OS Fundamentals and User Interfaces

  • Navigate the Junos CLI in operational mode and configuration mode, and explain the difference between the two prompt styles

  • Use the help system effectively: complete commands with Tab, list options with ?, and explain the difference between partial and full command completion

  • Configure and commit a change using commit, commit check, commit confirmed, and rollback, and explain when each is appropriate

  • Locate and interpret the candidate configuration, the active configuration, and the rescue configuration

  • Practice entering configuration mode, editing a hierarchy, deleting a stanza, and confirming the resulting diff with show | compare

Your checkpoint

A lab log of 15 CLI commands with a one-line explanation of each, plus a successful commit confirmed followed by a rollback, evidenced by pasted terminal output

Week 3

Junos OS Fundamentals and User Interfaces

  • Explain the Junos configuration hierarchy and the role of the [edit] tree, interfaces, protocols, and routing-options stanzas

  • Use configuration groups and apply-groups to reuse common settings across multiple interfaces

  • Create and use login classes with permissions and allow/deny commands to model role-based access

  • Configure user authentication basics (local users, encrypted passwords) and describe how RADIUS or TACACS+ integration would be added

  • Compare Junos upgrade and recovery paths: request system software add, request system snapshot, and booting from an alternate slice

Your checkpoint

A committed configuration that uses one apply-group for common interface settings across at least three interfaces, plus a login class with restricted permissions demonstrated by attempting a denied command

Week 4

Data Center Architecture and Networking Fundamentals & Data Center Configuration Basics and Monitoring

  • Configure a Layer 2 switching baseline: access and trunk ports, VLAN assignment, and native VLAN handling

  • Configure and verify link aggregation (LACP) between two virtual switches and explain the hashing behavior for traffic distribution

  • Configure a basic Layer 3 interface and an IRB so that a VLAN can be routed, then verify reachability

  • Enable and interpret interface monitoring output: show interfaces extensive, show ethernet-switching table, and show lacp interfaces

  • Explain spanning-tree's role in a data center fabric and when a loop-free spine-leaf design reduces reliance on it

Your checkpoint

A working lab scenario with two switches, an LACP bundle, two VLANs, and an IRB, plus captured output proving the bundle is up and both VLANs can route through the IRB

Week 5

Data Center Configuration Basics and Monitoring

  • Configure static routes and verify the resulting forwarding table with show route and show route forwarding-table

  • Enable and tune OSPF on a small topology, verify adjacencies, and read the link-state database output

  • Use BGP for a simple two-AS peering and explain the difference between eBGP and iBGP session establishment

  • Diagnose a deliberately broken adjacency by reading log messages and protocol trace output

  • Use monitoring commands such as monitor traffic, show log messages, and show system uptime to build an incident picture

Your checkpoint

A troubleshooting write-up for one intentionally broken routing adjacency, including the symptom, the three commands used to isolate it, the root cause, and the fix

Week 6

Routing, Policy, and Firewall Filters

  • Write a routing policy with match conditions and actions, and explain the default action when no term matches

  • Apply a policy to redistribute static routes into OSPF and verify the result with show route protocol ospf

  • Write a stateless firewall filter that permits SSH and ICMP from a management subnet and discards everything else

  • Apply a firewall filter to a loopback interface and prove its effect with a blocked and an allowed test

  • Explain the evaluation order of firewall filters and routing policies and where each is enforced

Your checkpoint

A committed configuration containing one routing policy and one firewall filter, plus before-and-after command output showing the redistribution change and the filter blocking disallowed traffic

Week 7

Routing, Policy, and Firewall Filters & Data Center Architecture and Networking Fundamentals

  • Combine routing policy and firewall filters in a single lab scenario where a filter protects a loopback and a policy controls route advertisement

  • Explain how a data center underlay and overlay differ, including the role of VXLAN encapsulation and an EVPN control plane at a conceptual level

  • Describe how a firewall or security device fits into a data center design and where policy enforcement is placed

  • Review weak areas from weeks 1 through 6 and re-run the labs that produced the lowest-confidence results

  • Time yourself on a 25-question mixed practice set and log every missed topic

Your checkpoint

A scored practice-set report listing each missed question, the domain it belongs to, and the specific lab or command you will redo to close the gap

Week 8

Data Center Architecture and Networking Fundamentals & Junos OS Fundamentals and User Interfaces & Data Center Configuration Basics and Monitoring & Routing, Policy, and Firewall Filters

  • Re-run every deliverable lab from weeks 1 through 7 without notes and record completion time for each

  • Build a one-page command cheat sheet organized by domain and verify each command against a live device

  • Complete two timed mixed practice sets and compare scores against the week 7 baseline

  • Review the weakest two domains identified by practice scores and redo targeted configuration exercises

  • Confirm exam-day logistics: test the virtual lab environment, verify account access, and schedule the exam

Your checkpoint

A final readiness packet containing the command cheat sheet, both timed practice scores, and a written list of remaining weak areas with the specific commands to review

Milestones

Week 2: Without notes, enter configuration mode, change a description on an interface, run commit check, commit, and roll back to the prior configuration, explaining each step aloud

Week 4: Demonstrate a live LACP bundle carrying traffic across two VLANs with a working IRB, and explain the output of show lacp interfaces line by line

Week 6: Write from scratch a firewall filter and a routing policy that both commit cleanly on the first attempt, and predict their effect before applying them

Week 8: Score at or above your target on two timed mixed practice sets and complete every week 1 through 7 lab deliverable without referring to notes