CCNA, Security+ and A+ Study Plan Generator: Week by Week to Your Exam Date
Built by Mani Poopal, CCIE, lead networking instructor at CISNET with over 20 years in enterprise networking, with A+ pacing from Qazi Irfanullah, CompTIA A+ instructor.
In the CCNA cohorts I have taught at CISNET, the students who fail are almost never the ones who found subnetting hard. They are the ones who started six weeks out with no schedule, spent four of those weeks on addressing because it felt productive, and met automation and wireless properly for the first time the week of the exam. Pick your certification and exam date below and this builds a week-by-week plan across the published exam blueprint, giving every domain a share of the calendar in proportion to its exam weight. Export it to your calendar when it looks right.
How the weeks are allocated
Every vendor publishes a blueprint saying what percentage of the exam each domain carries. Cisco weights IP Connectivity at 25 percent of the CCNA 200-301 exam and IP Services at 10 percent; CompTIA weights Security Operations at 28 percent of SY0-701 against 12 percent for General Security Concepts. The generator turns those percentages into calendar time by largest remainder allocation: each block takes its proportional share of your weeks, with a floor of one week so no domain disappears, and leftover weeks go to the largest fractional remainders. A 25 percent domain gets roughly a quarter of the calendar, not the single week a 4 percent domain gets.
With fewer weeks than study blocks the plan merges neighbouring blocks rather than dropping any, so nothing on the blueprint vanishes. The exception is CompTIA A+, whose per domain weighting for 220-1201 and 220-1202 is not reproduced here, so that split follows CISNET classroom effort and the table says so.
Adding the plan to Google Calendar or Outlook
Add to calendar downloads a standard .ics file with one all-day event per study week plus your exam date. Import it into Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. Each event uses a stable identifier built from the certification and the week number, so re-importing an updated plan replaces the old events instead of stacking duplicates. Every event description carries its blueprint domain and weight, so the reason a block runs three weeks is visible in your calendar.
Blueprint weights and the default schedule, by certification
These are the blueprints the generator schedules against, and the plan each produces at its default length. Where the week counts stop being even, that is the blueprint percentage doing the work.
Cisco CCNA 200-301 study plan: 12 weeks to exam day
Cisco publishes six domains for the 200-301 exam with a percentage against each, and the week split follows those percentages rather than giving every topic an equal week. Self-study default: 12 weeks, floor 4. See the Cisco CCNA certification page or the taught CISNET Cisco CCNA course over 8 weeks.
| Blueprint domain | Exam weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Network Fundamentals | 20% | Cables and media, IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, subnetting, switching and routing concepts, wireless principles. |
| 2.0 Network Access | 20% | VLANs, trunking, EtherChannel, Spanning Tree, wireless LAN and controller access. |
| 3.0 IP Connectivity | 25% | Routing table anatomy, administrative distance, static routes, single area OSPFv2, first hop redundancy. |
| 4.0 IP Services | 10% | NAT, NTP, DHCP, DNS, SNMP, syslog, QoS concepts, SSH, TFTP and FTP. |
| 5.0 Security Fundamentals | 15% | Threat mitigation, device hardening, ACLs, Layer 2 and wireless security, AAA. |
| 6.0 Automation and Programmability | 10% | Controller based networking, REST APIs, JSON, configuration management tooling. |
| Weeks | Study block | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Router basics and IOS | Device modes, basic commands, Packet Tracer setup. Blueprint: Network Fundamentals (20%). |
| Week 2 | IP addressing and subnetting | Classes, subnet math, VLSM. Drill until it is automatic. Blueprint: Network Fundamentals (20%). |
| Week 3 | OSI and TCP/IP models | Encapsulation, what lives at each layer. Blueprint: Network Fundamentals (20%). |
| Weeks 4 to 5 | IP routing | Static routes, administrative distance, OSPF, EIGRP. Blueprint: IP Connectivity (25%). |
| Weeks 6 to 7 | LAN switching | VLANs, trunking, STP, EtherChannel. Blueprint: Network Access (20%). |
| Week 8 | ACLs, NAT and DHCP | Wildcard masks, NAT overload, DHCP relay. Blueprint: IP Services (10%). |
| Week 9 | IPv6 and services | Address types, shortening rules, SLAAC. Blueprint: Network Fundamentals (20%). |
| Weeks 10 to 11 | Wireless, security and automation | WLAN basics, port security, REST APIs and SDN concepts. Blueprint: Security Fundamentals (15%) and Automation and Programmability (10%). |
| Week 12 | Exam review and practice tests | Timed papers, weak-domain drilling. Review block. |
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 study plan: 8 weeks to exam day
CompTIA publishes five weighted domains for SY0-701, and the CISNET modules map one to one onto them. Self-study default: 8 weeks, floor 4. See the CompTIA Security+ certification page or the taught CISNET CompTIA Security+ course over 8 weeks.
| Blueprint domain | Exam weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 General Security Concepts | 12% | Control categories, CIA triad, zero trust, change management, cryptography and PKI. |
| 2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations | 22% | Threat actors, social engineering, attack surfaces, application and hardware vulnerabilities, indicators of compromise. |
| 3.0 Security Architecture | 18% | Cloud, on premises and hybrid models, secure network design, data protection, resilience. |
| 4.0 Security Operations | 28% | Hardening, vulnerability management, monitoring, identity and access management, incident response, forensics. |
| 5.0 Security Program Management and Oversight | 20% | Governance, risk management, third party risk, compliance, security awareness. |
| Weeks | Study block | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | General security concepts | CIA triad, control types, change management. Blueprint: General Security Concepts (12%). |
| Weeks 2 to 3 | Threats, vulnerabilities and mitigations | Attack types, indicators, mitigation techniques. Blueprint: Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations (22%). |
| Week 4 | Security architecture | Zero trust, network design, data protection. Blueprint: Security Architecture (18%). |
| Weeks 5 to 6 | Security operations | Monitoring, incident response, hardening, IAM. Blueprint: Security Operations (28%). |
| Week 7 | Governance, risk and compliance | Risk management, audits, frameworks. Blueprint: Security Program Management and Oversight (20%). |
| Week 8 | Acronyms and exam review | Acronym drilling, timed papers, PBQ practice. Review block. |
CompTIA A+ 220-1201 and 220-1202 study plan: 10 weeks to exam day
A+ is two exams, Core 1 (220-1201) and Core 2 (220-1202), each with its own domains. The per domain percentages are not reproduced here, so this split follows CISNET classroom effort. Self-study default: 10 weeks, floor 5. See the CompTIA A+ certification page or the taught CISNET CompTIA A+ course over 8 weeks.
| Blueprint domain | Exam weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Core 1 Mobile Devices | Not published here | Laptop and mobile device components, configuration and synchronisation. |
| Core 1 Networking | Not published here | Ports and protocols, network hardware, wireless standards, SOHO setup. |
| Core 1 Hardware | Not published here | Cables and connectors, RAM, storage, motherboards, CPUs, power supplies, printers. |
| Core 1 Virtualization and Cloud Computing | Not published here | Cloud service and deployment models, client side virtualization, virtual machines. |
| Core 1 Hardware and Network Troubleshooting | Not published here | The CompTIA troubleshooting methodology for hardware, storage, displays and networks. |
| Core 2 Operating Systems | Not published here | Windows editions, features and tools, command line, macOS and Linux. |
| Core 2 Security | Not published here | Malware, social engineering, wireless and workstation security, data destruction. |
| Core 2 Software Troubleshooting | Not published here | Windows and application issues, mobile OS problems, malware removal. |
| Core 2 Operational Procedures | Not published here | Documentation, change management, backup, safety, communication and professionalism. |
| Weeks | Study block | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 2 | Core 1: hardware | Components, storage, power, cables and connectors. Blueprint: Core 1 Hardware. |
| Week 3 | Core 1: mobile devices | Laptop components, mobile configuration, synchronisation. Blueprint: Core 1 Mobile Devices. |
| Weeks 4 to 5 | Core 1: networking | Ports, protocols, wireless standards, SOHO setup. Blueprint: Core 1 Networking. |
| Week 6 | Core 1: virtualization, cloud and troubleshooting | Cloud models, VMs, the troubleshooting methodology. Blueprint: Core 1 Virtualization and Cloud Computing and Core 1 Hardware and Network Troubleshooting. |
| Week 7 | Core 2: operating systems | Windows, macOS, Linux, install and configure. Blueprint: Core 2 Operating Systems. |
| Week 8 | Core 2: security | Malware, social engineering, workstation hardening. Blueprint: Core 2 Security. |
| Week 9 | Core 2: software troubleshooting and procedures | OS issues, documentation, safety, communication. Blueprint: Core 2 Software Troubleshooting and Core 2 Operational Procedures. |
| Week 10 | Two-exam review | Separate timed papers for Core 1 and Core 2. Review block. |
CCNP ENCOR 350-401 study plan: 10 weeks to exam day
Cisco publishes six weighted domains for the 350-401 core exam. Infrastructure at 30 percent is the largest, which is why routing and switching gets the most weeks. Self-study default: 10 weeks, floor 6. See the CCNP ENCOR certification page or the taught CISNET CCNP ENCOR course over 10 weeks.
| Blueprint domain | Exam weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Architecture | 15% | Enterprise design, high availability, SD-Access and SD-WAN, QoS. |
| 2.0 Virtualization | 10% | Device virtualization, VRF and GRE data path virtualization, overlay concepts. |
| 3.0 Infrastructure | 30% | Layer 2 and Layer 3 at depth, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, wireless architecture and roaming. |
| 4.0 Network Assurance | 10% | Diagnostics, SNMP, syslog, NetFlow, SPAN, IP SLA. |
| 5.0 Security | 20% | Device access control, AAA, ACLs, control plane policing, 802.1X. |
| 6.0 Automation | 15% | Python, JSON, REST APIs, EEM, Ansible and Puppet, controller APIs. |
| Weeks | Study block | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Enterprise network architecture | Design models, high availability, redundancy. Blueprint: Architecture (15%). |
| Weeks 2 to 3 | Advanced routing and switching | OSPF and EIGRP at depth, BGP basics, STP tuning. Blueprint: Infrastructure (30%). |
| Weeks 4 to 5 | Virtualization and wireless | VRF, GRE, overlays, WLAN architecture and roaming. Blueprint: Virtualization (10%) and Infrastructure (30%). |
| Weeks 6 to 8 | Infrastructure security and assurance | ACLs, CoPP, AAA, device hardening, SPAN, IP SLA and NetFlow. Blueprint: Security (20%) and Network Assurance (10%). |
| Week 9 | Automation and programmability | REST APIs, JSON, Python, Ansible, NETCONF. Blueprint: Automation (15%). |
| Week 10 | Exam review | Blueprint sweep, timed practice. Review block. |
CCNP ENARSI 300-410 study plan: 12 weeks to exam day
Cisco publishes four domains for the 300-410 concentration exam. Layer 3 Technologies alone is 35 percent, so EIGRP, OSPF and BGP take about a third of the schedule. Self-study default: 12 weeks, floor 6. See the CCNP ENARSI certification page or the taught CISNET CCNP ENARSI course over 10 weeks.
| Blueprint domain | Exam weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Layer 3 Technologies | 35% | EIGRP, OSPFv2 and OSPFv3, BGP, route maps, prefix lists, redistribution. |
| 2.0 VPN Technologies | 20% | MPLS Layer 3 VPN, DMVPN phases, GRE and IPsec tunnelling. |
| 3.0 Infrastructure Security | 20% | ACLs, control plane policing, device access control, AAA, uRPF. |
| 4.0 Infrastructure Services | 25% | DHCP, syslog, SNMP, Flexible NetFlow, IP SLA, streaming telemetry, NTP. |
| Weeks | Study block | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Routing fundamentals, ACLs and route maps | Prefix lists, route maps, policy routing. Blueprint: Layer 3 Technologies (35%). |
| Week 2 | EIGRP, introduction and advanced | DUAL, feasible successors, summarisation, stub. Blueprint: Layer 3 Technologies (35%). |
| Week 3 | OSPF, introduction and advanced | LSA types, areas, virtual links, filtering. Blueprint: Layer 3 Technologies (35%). |
| Week 4 | BGP, introduction and advanced | Path selection, attributes, route reflectors. Blueprint: Layer 3 Technologies (35%). |
| Week 5 | IPv6 routing | OSPFv3, EIGRP for IPv6, dual stack. Blueprint: Layer 3 Technologies (35%). |
| Weeks 6 to 7 | VRF, MPLS and DMVPN | VRF lite, MPLS VPN, DMVPN phases. Blueprint: VPN Technologies (20%). |
| Weeks 8 to 9 | Infrastructure security | ACLs, CoPP, AAA, device access control, uRPF. Blueprint: Infrastructure Security (20%). |
| Weeks 10 to 11 | Infrastructure services and telemetry | DHCP, syslog, SNMP, NetFlow, IP SLA, streaming telemetry. Blueprint: Infrastructure Services (25%). |
| Week 12 | Exam review | Multi-protocol troubleshooting under time. Review block. |
What I would change about the default plan
Two things, from watching this play out in class. First, subnetting sits inside Network Fundamentals, 20 percent of the CCNA exam shared across four blocks, so the generator gives it about one week. That is enough to learn the method and not enough to make it automatic, so keep a subnetting drill running for fifteen minutes at the start of every session instead of treating it as a week that finishes. Second, Automation and Programmability is 10 percent of the CCNA and it is the domain experienced engineers skip, because REST and JSON feel like someone else's job. It is the cheapest ten points on the blueprint.
The same pattern shows up on Security+: candidates over-rotate on Threats and Vulnerabilities, the interesting material, then lose the exam in Security Operations, which carries six more points. Run practice questions or the Security+ acronym drill from week two so a weak domain surfaces while there is still calendar left to fix it.
How to use the plan
- Book the exam first if you can. An unbooked exam drifts.
- Generate the plan and check the weekly load against your actual week.
- Export to your calendar so each week shows up alongside everything else you do.
- Use practice questions from week two onward. Finding a weak domain early is the whole point.
- Keep the final week for timed papers and review rather than new material.
- Read alongside the schedule: the CCNA study guide, the Security+ study guide and the subnetting guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I study for the CCNA?
Most candidates with some IT background need eight to twelve weeks of consistent study, at roughly ten hours a week. CISNET teaches the CCNA as a structured eight week course because that pace is sustainable alongside a job. Below about four weeks you are relying on prior networking experience rather than learning the blueprint, and subnetting needs repeated practice across weeks rather than one intensive push.
How long should I study for Security+?
Six to eight weeks at around ten hours a week is the realistic range for Security+ SY0-701, and CISNET runs it over eight. Security+ is broad rather than deep, so the risk is five domains that each need a pass rather than one hard topic: Security Operations alone is 28 percent of the exam and General Security Concepts is 12 percent, so an even split across the five wastes weeks. Four weeks is the floor, and only if you work in security operations already.
Can you pass the CCNA in 30 days?
Yes, but only if you already configure switches and routers at work, because 30 days is roughly four weeks and four weeks is where this tool starts warning you. In a four week plan the generator merges blueprint areas rather than dropping them, so subnetting, OSPF and VLANs share weeks instead of owning them. Without hands on exposure a 30 day attempt usually means paying for a second voucher, which costs more than moving the date.
How long does the CompTIA A+ take to study for?
Plan on eight weeks for both A+ exams together, Core 1 (220-1201) and Core 2 (220-1202), which is how CISNET schedules it, with five weeks as the floor. A+ is two separate exams and each needs its own timed practice paper, so the plan reserves a review block rather than assuming one pass covers both. Beginners with no IT support background should budget the full eight weeks, and expect hardware and operating systems to take the longest.
How many hours a week should I study for an IT certification?
Ten hours a week is the number every plan on this page is built around, split as four or five weekday evenings of an hour or two plus one longer weekend lab session. That is what a working adult can hold for eight weeks without burning out, and consistency beats intensity: two hours on five days retains far more than one ten hour Saturday. If you can only give five hours a week, double the weeks rather than compress the material.
What if my exam is sooner than the recommended time?
The plan still generates, and it tells you plainly that the timeline is tight rather than pretending otherwise. It merges topics to fit the weeks you have. Moving the date, where you can, is usually cheaper than a failed attempt plus a retake voucher. If you cannot, take the heaviest-weighted domains first and use practice questions early to find weak spots rather than saving them for the end.
Should I book the exam before I start studying?
Booking first is generally the better move, because an unbooked exam tends to drift indefinitely and a fixed date turns study into a schedule with a deadline. The commitment is smaller than it looks: Pearson VUE lets you reschedule a CompTIA or Cisco exam free up to 24 hours before your appointment, and inside that 24 hour window you forfeit the voucher. Book far enough out that your plan fits, then treat the 24 hour rule as your safety valve rather than your plan A.
Or let someone else hold the schedule
A self-study plan works right up until the week it slips. CISNET runs live, instructor led courses on a fixed weekly schedule with hands on Packet Tracer labs and exam prep, which is the same plan with someone keeping you on it.
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