David Bombal

Two Cisco training veterans break down how to know you are ready for the CCNA exam, what changes in CCNA 2.0, and whether the CCNA is still worth it in 2026.

Brian Bays has been teaching official Cisco classes since 2000. Michael Aldridge has been writing practice exam content since 2001. In this interview they answer the questions I get asked constantly: how long should I study, do I need physical equipment, should I do Network Plus first, and is AI going to take these jobs away?

Short answer on that last one: they have heard this before. Automation was going to end tech jobs. Then virtualization. Then cloud. Every time, it just made good engineers more productive. Junior engineers become senior engineers, and we cannot function without senior engineers.

We also cover what is coming in CCNA 2.0, including more troubleshooting woven through every section, a dark mode option, a full screen CLI, and the ability to send a command to every device in a lab at once.

This video is not sponsored. I have known Brian and Michael for years and I recommend them because I rate them, not because anyone paid for this.

Get CCNA Certified with Boson’s comprehensive training solutions: https://boson.com/certifications/ccna/

// Bryan Baize SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / bbaize

// Michael Aldridge SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / michael-aldridge-48125338a
Reddit: / bosonmichael

// Boson LinkedIn //
LinkedIn: / boson

// David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF //
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal

// SPONSORS //
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com

// MENU //
0:00 - Coming up
01:01 - Introductions
03:55 - When will you be ready for the CCNA exam?
08:34 - Overwhelming exam resources
11:14 - Do you need physical equipment for the CCNA exam?
13:52 - Mistakes preparing for the exam
16:56 - The learning never stops
17:57 - CCNA vs Network+
19:52 - What is Boson NetSim?
20:53 - What is Boson ExSim?
21:37 - NetSim vs Packet Tracer
22:37 - Why trust Boson?
24:46 - Tips for passing the CCNA exam
25:37 - How long should you study for the CCNA exam?
27:34 - New CCNA exam expectations
29:27 - Mistakes when taking the exam
31:52 - Topics students struggle with
33:26 - Important resources
35:23 - Conclusion

Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.
#boson #ccna #networkengineer

Agentic AI is putting a 400x load on enterprise networks. Cisco and NTT Data experts reveal why only 13% of leaders successfully scale AI, the nightmare of quantum threats, and how to secure your infrastructure.

Big thank you to NTT DATA for sponsoring this video.

Book an AI Infrastructure Readiness Assessment using one of the following links:
https://services.global.ntt/en-us/cam...

or

https://services.global.ntt/en-us/cam...

// Vikesh Gumpalli’s SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / vgumpalli

// Vance Baran’s SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / vancebaran


// Website REFERENCE //
https://www.nttdata.com/global/en/
https://www.nttdata.com/en-us/2026-gl...

// David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF //
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal

// SPONSORS //
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com

// MENU //
0:00 - Coming Up
01:09 - Introduction
03:04 - Enterprise AI Adoption: The Board-Level Challenge
05:02 - How AI Agents Are Reshaping Network Infrastructure
07:22 - AI Agent Access, Sensitive Data and Security Risks
10:24 - Cybersecurity at Machine Speed and Modernising Security
14:08 - AI Budgets, ROI and Business Readiness
15:00 - AI’s Impact on Jobs and an Insurance Case Study
19:08 - Data Sovereignty and Custom AI Models
22:18 - AI Factories, Edge Deployment and Public-Sector Use Cases
26:31 - Preparing for Quantum-Safe Security
28:43 - Managing Multi-Vendor Environments and Security Readiness
32:09 - Live Protect and Hybrid Mesh Firewalls
34:04 - Splunk, Galileo, AI Observability
36:33 - Where to Learn More


Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.

Big thanks to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live EMEA and for changing my life and the lives of many other people.

// Joe Clarke SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / joeclarke2

// YouTube video REFERENCE //
MCP Demo using Python, AI and a self healing network (Model Context Protocol): • MCP Demo using Python, AI and a self heali...
Do you know what this weird IP address is about? (192.0.0.2): • Do you know what this weird IP address is ...

// David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF //
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal

// SPONSORS //
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com

// MENU //
0:00 - Coming Up
01:11 - Introduction
02:34 - The Backup Network Operation Center (NOC)
04:30 - The Security in the NOC
07:38 - Joe Clark Shares a Story
10:23 - Improvements with MCP
12:50 - Equipment Demonstration
16:16 - Physical Security & Physical Separation
17:53 - IPv6 & Other Updates
19:56 - Why IPv6?
22:42 - The Interface Dashboard Monitors
24:53 - Tips & Tricks
25:49 - Conclusion & Outro

Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.

#noc #network #cisco

Big thanks to Cisco for sponsoring this video and sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Vegas.

Cisco has officially announced a major update to the CCNA, moving from version 1.1 to the new CCNA 2.0 blueprint. Recorded live at Cisco Live, David Bombal sits down with Cisco certification insiders Hank and Quinn to dissect exactly what these changes mean for your career, what entry-level networking topics have been completely removed, and how the test is shifting heavily toward hands-on performance-based testing lablets.

Learn why traditional, shallow network automation topics were pulled to make room for 2026 enterprise priorities like Agentic AI, digital network assistants, and secure device management (including mandatory AAA, secure copy protocols, and client-side security). The team breaks down the structural consolidation from six domains down to five, including the revamped 25% weight on Switching and Network Access and the newly introduced AI Network Operations and Management domain. Whether you are currently studying for your exam or just beginning your networking journey, this comprehensive breakdown explains how to align your lab practice using free tools like Cisco Packet Tracer and Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) to become truly job-ready.

// Hank Preston SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / hpreston

// Quinn Snyder SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / qsnyder

// Website REFERENCE //
https://u.cisco.com/tutorials
https://www.netacad.com/

// David's SOCIAL //
Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF //
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal

// SPONSORS //
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com

// MENU //
0:00 - Coming Up
0:58 - Intro
03:51 - What Are 'Verbs'?
05:08 - New Blueprint Tasks
09:03 - Is Automation Important?
12:46 - AI in the CCNA Blueprint
15:15 - New Blueprint Additions and Changes
18:49 - Old and New Domains
25:21 - Hands-On Practice
29:18 - What is the 'Diagnose' verb?
30:50 - What is the 'Validate' verb?
32:11 - What is the 'Interoperate' verb?
33:13 - When Should You Take The CCNA?
35:42 - Do You Need Hardware to Study?
36:40 - Available Study Materials
40:03 - How To Cope with Studying for CCNA
42:22 - Conclusion

Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.
#ccna #cisco #cml

Big thanks to Cisco for sponsoring this video and sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Vegas 2026.

Network engineers, are you ready for 2026? Learn how to deploy an AI agent directly into your CLI using Cisco MCP and Claude to automate network configurations safely. In this tutorial with Karim from Cisco, we explore how to build a custom AI skill (Iris) using Anthropic's Claude Code and Cisco's Model Context Protocol (MCP). Watch how an agent can live in your terminal to automatically read ServiceNow tickets, discover network topologies, propose BGP/firewall changes, and execute commands while keeping a "human in the loop" to prevent hallucinations. Perfect for CCNA/CCIE candidates and anyone looking to learn agentic AI without adopting complex Python programmability.

// Kareem Iskander’s SOCIAL //
LinkedIn: / kiskander
X:Chttps://x.com/kareem_isk


// Repo Link REFERENCE //
https://github.com/kiskander/iris


// Website REFERENCE //
https://u.cisco.com/tutorials


// David's SOCIAL //

Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb
Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal
Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co
TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal
YouTube: / @davidbombal
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE...
SoundCloud: / davidbombal
Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

// MY STUFF //
https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal

// SPONSORS //
Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com

// MENU //
0:00 - Coming Up
0:39 - Intro
01:57 - Why Network Engineers Are Returning to the CLI
03:24 - The Real Cost of AI Token Usage
04:10 - What Is an Agent Skill?
05:17 - Network Automation Use Case: AWS to On-Prem Connectivity
07:40 - Building Iris, an AI Network Agent
09:17 - Setting AI Safety Rules and Defining the Workflow
12:17 - Security, Local Models and Private AI Environments
15:16 - Using Existing Automation Playbooks with AI
16:34 - Live Demo: Running Iris in the CLI
18:34 - Using AI to Analyse CLI Commands and Logs
20:11 - Using Iris to Read ServiceNow Tickets and Plan Network Changes
22:06 - AI, CCIE Skills and Firewall Recommendations
25:18 - Getting Iris from GitHub, Safety Concerns and Learning Resources


Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel!

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only.
#ai #claudeskills #aiautomation