The network breaks.
The clock starts.
You fix it.

Cisco certification training on a real network simulator, not a question bank. Build the topology, take it apart, fix it against a clock — and duel other people on the same questions.

The ITWars dashboard: predicted CCST score of 807, a 14-day streak, 4,870 XP and two weeks of activity charts

Two people. Eight questions. One clock.

A live ranked match in the ITWars arena: nullroute against packetwitch, three answers each, a charge meter part-filled, four sabotage options, and question four of eight on a fourteen second timer

What people actually use it for

Know what to study next

Every answer moves a per-domain rating, so your weakest topic is measured, not guessed.

Learn the CLI by typing it

A real console with tab completion. You enter the command; the device answers.

Work tickets like a NOC

A working network breaks behind your back. You get the symptom and a clock.

Compete instead of grinding

A ladder, a rating and streaks. Revision that behaves like a game gets done.

Study on a phone

Flashcards, speed drills and exams work on a bus. The queue never becomes a wall.

Practise against a cast

Fourteen named bots with their own pace and specialty. Not a difficulty slider.

How it works

1

Pick a track

CCT and CCST are free in full. CCNA, CCNP and CCIE come with Pro.

2

Open a lab or queue a duel

A live topology and console load in the browser. Nothing to install.

3

Get graded on what works

The server replays your commands and checks whether traffic actually flows.

Simple pricing

Start free and stay there if it covers you. Pro adds every track and takes the cap off ranked play.

Free

For trying it and for CCT / CCST

$0 forever
  • CCT and CCST tracks, in full
  • Every lab on them
  • Practice exams, flashcards, speed drills
  • 10 ranked arena matches a day
  • Readiness scoring and domain mastery
  • Streaks, leaderboard, public profile
Get started free →

Not a trial. No card, and it does not expire.

✦ MOST POPULAR

Pro

For CCNA and the professional tracks

$9.99 /mo
  • Everything on Free
  • CCNA, CCNP Enterprise and CCIE
  • Unlimited ranked arena matches
  • Every lab, all five tracks
  • Full match replays and command-log review
  • Faster AI readiness summaries

Frequently asked questions

The ones worth answering before you sign up.

How does ranked arena actually work?

You queue on a cert track and get matched by Elo rating against another player, or a bot if you opt into one. Same questions, same server-timed clock, and fog of war on your opponent's correctness until the final reveal. Answer streaks charge a sabotage meter — packet loss, latency, broadcast storm and a CRC error are all in play. Win or lose, your rating moves the moment the match ends.

Is this exam dumps?

No. Questions are written against Cisco's published exam objective topics, and the labs are graded by whether the network works rather than by matching a remembered answer. A dump teaches you one exam form; this is trying to teach you the job the exam is testing for.

Do I need to install anything?

No. The simulator is JavaScript and runs in the browser, which is also how you get instant feedback on a command. The same code runs on the server to grade your submission, so the two can never disagree. There is no virtual machine, no image to download and no client to keep updated.

What does the free plan actually include?

CCT and CCST in full — every lab, practice exam and study mode on those two tracks — plus readiness scoring, streaks, the leaderboard and ten ranked matches a day. It is not a trial and it does not expire.

How accurate is the simulator?

It models what the exams test: addressing, Layer 2 forwarding, static and OSPF routing, ACLs and VLANs. It is deliberately not a full protocol implementation — OSPF is shortest-path over enabled links rather than an adjacency state machine, and that ceiling is documented rather than hidden. For everything at CCNA level it behaves the way the real thing does.

Can I use it on a phone?

The study modes — flashcards, speed drills, practice exams and the arena — are built for it. The lab console wants a keyboard, so labs are better on a laptop. There is also an Android app for the admin panel if you are running the site.

Ready to fix something?

Make an account, open First Light, and you will have brought an interface up and proved it with a ping inside two minutes. No card, no download.

Start free → See pricing