The hardest part of studying for the CCNA was never the material. It was showing up every single day.
So for this round of updates, I built the tool that makes showing up the easy part.
THE LEAD: A DAILY CCNA HABIT, NOT A CRAM
The new Daily CCNA Drill is exactly what it sounds like — six fresh practice questions every day covering subnetting, IOS commands, and troubleshooting. Grade instantly, see the breakdown, keep your streak alive, and come back tomorrow.
Zero Friction: 100% free, no signup, and your progress saves instantly in your browser.
The Psychology: A streak counter so missing a day actually stings a little.
The Cohort Effect: It’s the exact same six questions for everyone each day — so we're all drilling the same set together.
It's the lowest-friction way I know to keep CCNA reps going when your motivation runs dry. The habit always beats the cram.
THE TECH DESK: NEW TOOLS + CLEAR ANSWERS
Command Lookup Tool — Forgot the exact syntax for
switchport mode trunk? Type the action you're trying to perform, and get the exact command instantly. Built for speed during intensive lab sessions.Your Student Dashboard — Every drill you run now feeds a personal "student terminal" directly on the CCNA Study Hub. Track your streak, drills graded, accuracy, and best subnetting score — all localized entirely to your browser.
Plain-English Explanations — Short, no-fluff guides for the architectural concepts that trip everyone up early:
What is Router-on-a-Stick (RoaS)? (Plus 7 more — all fully cross-linked so one answer seamlessly leads you to the next logical concept.)
SYSTEM MAINTENANCE: SITEWIDE UPGRADES
If you've visited the platform recently, you'll notice things run a lot smoother now. I've rolled out a site-wide search engine, clear breadcrumbs so you never get lost in a directory, and a guided CCNA Study Path that sequences your progression.
Pro Tip: You can now install the site directly as a PWA (Progressive Web App) on your phone for one-tap daily drilling on the go.
FROM MY DESK (The Personal Bit)
Straight honesty: I didn't ship every feature I promised in the last issue. Life moved incredibly fast over the last few weeks — I recently got picked up by a tech startup (which I'll be announcing here soon) — and between onboarding, CCNA prep, and marathon training, the development queue took a back seat for a minute.
But it’s a trade-off I’ll happily take, because I am writing the CCNA exam this Sunday. Everything built on this site — the Daily Drill, the calculators, the networking deep-dives — is the exact infrastructure I've been living in to prepare. Turns out, the same discipline that gets me out the door for a 20km long run is exactly what carries me to exam day: show up, do the reps, and don't negotiate with yourself.
I'm studying right alongside you, not lecturing from the safe side of a certification. I'll tell you exactly how it goes in the next issue. Wish me luck.
IF YOU ONLY HAVE 5 MINUTES THIS WEEK: Go run today's Daily Drill, lock in Day 1 of your streak, and bookmark the page.
WHAT'S NEXT More daily questions, more plain-English breakdowns, and a couple of major infrastructure projects still cooking in the background that I'll share when they're fully tested.
Hit reply and tell me the exact networking concept that is messing with your head right now. I read every single response, and your feedback tells me what tools to code next.
— Dylan Burlington, ON
P.S. — Know someone else grinding through their Cisco studies? Forward this newsletter their way. The Daily Drill is a lot more fun when you have a buddy's streak to defend.