🌐 Cisco Networking Lab Portfolio

malaika-azhar

A hands-on collection of Cisco Packet Tracer and Windows troubleshooting labs, organized into three tracks — core networking, network security, and IT support/troubleshooting. Every lab documents the topology, the configuration, the verification, and the gaps, not just the happy path.

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📑 Table of Contents

1. At a Glance
2. About This Portfolio
3. Portfolio Structure
4. The Method
5. Tools & Technologies
6. 01 — Networking
7. 02 — Network Security
8. 03 — IT Support & Troubleshooting
9. Coverage Snapshot
10. Skills Demonstrated
11. Repo Structure

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📊 At a Glance

🌐 Networking	🔒 Network Security	🖥️ IT Support	📁 Total Labs
11	6	9	26

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📖 About This Portfolio

This repo is split into three tracks that build on each other:

• 01 — Networking: core routing, switching, and enterprise addressing fundamentals
• 02 — Network Security: hardening those same networks — ACLs, AAA, VPNs, port security
• 03 — IT Support & Troubleshooting: Windows-side helpdesk scenarios — diagnosing and fixing real fault conditions

Each completed lab has its own folder and its own full README — topology, step-by-step configuration, verification, challenges, and a screenshot index.

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🗺️ Portfolio Structure

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    ROOT --> N["🔷 01 Networking<br/>11 labs"]:::net
    ROOT --> S["🔺 02 Network Security<br/>6 labs"]:::sec
    ROOT --> I["🖥️ 03 IT Support<br/>9 labs"]:::sup
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Three tracks under one portfolio — each folder holds its own set of fully documented labs.

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🧭 The Method

How a lab goes from a blank topology to a documented, proven result

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timeline
    title The Method — One Loop, Every Lab
    Design : Plan the topology or fault scenario
    Configure : Build it one layer at a time
    Break / Test : Stage a realistic fault
    Diagnose : Isolate the root cause
    Fix : Apply the correction
    Verify : Prove it with command output
    Document : Screenshots and lessons learned

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Every lab in this portfolio follows this same loop, so the evidence trail is consistent no matter the topic.

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🛠️ Tools & Technologies

Category	Tools
🖥️ Simulation	Cisco Packet Tracer
🚪 Hardware modeled	Router 2911, Switch 2960
🪟 OS	Windows 10/11 Pro
⌨️ Command-line	CMD, PowerShell
🗝️ System internals	Registry Editor, Group Policy Editor, Event Viewer, WinDbg
🔀 Switching	VLANs, 802.1Q trunking, VTP, port security, STP loop prevention
🔵 Routing	OSPF (single & multi-area), EIGRP, RIP, static, redistribution, NAT/PAT, HSRP
🔒 Security	AAA, standard & extended ACLs, SSH hardening, IPsec site-to-site VPN
🖧 IT Support	Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, email, RDP/VPN, print services, SFC/DISM, minidump analysis

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🔷 01 — Networking

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    A["Addressing<br/>VLSM/CIDR"]:::seen --> B["VLANs<br/>& DHCP"]:::seen --> C["Inter-VLAN<br/>Routing"]:::seen --> D["Routing Protocols<br/>OSPF·EIGRP·RIP"]:::unseen --> E["NAT/PAT<br/>& HSRP"]:::unseen --> F["Syslog<br/>Logging"]:::unseen
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#	Lab	Focus	Status
01	Enterprise IP Addressing, VLSM & CIDR	172.16.0.0/20 split via VLSM across 3 buildings + 3 WAN links, OSPF Area 0	✅ Complete
02	DHCP Multi-VLAN Deployment	3 VLANs, Router-on-a-Stick, per-VLAN DHCP pools	✅ Complete
03	VLAN & Inter-VLAN Routing	VTP sync, InterVLAN routing, SSH, port security, ACL	🔄 In Progress
04	VLAN/InterVLAN Troubleshooting	Diagnosing VLAN/InterVLAN routing faults	⏳ Planned
05	OSPF, EIGRP, RIP, Static Routing	Multi-protocol routing comparison	⏳ Planned
06	OSPF Single-Area Routing	Single-area OSPF deployment	⏳ Planned
07	Multi-Area OSPF	Multi-area OSPF design and summarization	⏳ Planned
08	OSPF/EIGRP Redistribution	Redistributing routes between OSPF and EIGRP	⏳ Planned
09	NAT/PAT Translation	NAT and PAT configuration	⏳ Planned
10	HSRP Redundancy & Failover	First-hop redundancy	⏳ Planned
11	Syslog Multisite Logging	Centralized logging across an enterprise topology	⏳ Planned

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🔺 02 — Network Security

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    A["AAA<br/>Authentication"]:::unseen --> B["ACLs<br/>Std/Extended"]:::seen --> C["Port Security<br/>& STP"]:::unseen --> D["SSH<br/>Hardening"]:::unseen --> E["IPsec VPN<br/>Site-to-Site"]:::unseen
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#	Lab	Focus	Status
01	AAA Local Authentication	Local AAA authentication	⏳ Planned
02	Extended ACL — Telnet/Ping	Extended ACLs controlling Telnet and ICMP	⏳ Planned
03	IPsec VPN Site-to-Site	Site-to-site IPsec VPN tunnel	⏳ Planned
04	Port Security & STP Loop Prevention	Port security plus STP loop prevention	⏳ Planned
05	SSH Hardening	Replacing Telnet with SSH v2	⏳ Planned
06	Standard ACL Implementation	Numbered → named ACL, host-based deny/permit	✅ Complete

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🖥️ 03 — IT Support & Troubleshooting

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    SYMPTOM(("🗣️ User-reported<br/>symptom")):::start
    SYMPTOM --> LOGIN["🔑 Login/AD"]:::unseen
    SYMPTOM --> NET["🌐 No connectivity"]:::unseen
    SYMPTOM --> APP["📧 App/print/email"]:::mixed
    SYMPTOM --> SLOW["🐢 Slow/crash/BSOD"]:::seen
    LOGIN & NET & APP & SLOW --> ROOT(("🎯 Root cause<br/>identified")):::good
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#	Lab	Focus	Status
01	AD User Account Issues	Diagnosing AD account/login problems	⏳ Planned
02	DNS Troubleshooting	DNS resolution failure diagnosis	⏳ Planned
03	Email Troubleshooting	Email client/server issue diagnosis	⏳ Planned
04	Gateway IP Conflict Resolution	Resolving duplicate gateway IPs	⏳ Planned
05	LAN/Wi-Fi Diagnostics	Wired and wireless connectivity troubleshooting	⏳ Planned
06	Printer & Network Print Troubleshooting	Network print failure diagnosis	⏳ Planned
07	Remote Desktop & VPN Troubleshooting	6 RDP faults staged/fixed — firewall, service, registry, GPO	✅ Complete
08	System Diagnostics & Desktop Support	High CPU/RAM, driver faults, app crashes, BSOD, SFC/DISM	✅ Complete
09	Windows Update & Patch Management	Service repair, DISM/SFC, PSWindowsUpdate fix	✅ Complete

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🌟 Coverage Snapshot

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    N["🔷 01 Networking"]:::n --> NP["✅ 2 of 11 complete"]:::ok
    S["🔺 02 Security"]:::s --> SP["✅ 1 of 6 complete"]:::ok
    I["🖥️ 03 IT Support"]:::i --> IP["✅ 3 of 9 complete"]:::ok
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🧠 Skills Demonstrated Across the Portfolio

• Enterprise IP addressing, subnetting, VLSM and CIDR optimization
• VLAN segmentation, 802.1Q trunking, VTP, Router-on-a-Stick and native inter-VLAN routing
• OSPF (single- and multi-area), EIGRP, RIP, static routing, and route redistribution
• NAT/PAT translation and HSRP first-hop redundancy
• AAA authentication, standard & extended ACLs, SSH hardening, port security, STP loop prevention
• Site-to-site IPsec VPN configuration
• Active Directory & DNS troubleshooting, Windows service/registry/GPO repair
• SFC/DISM image repair, BSOD and minidump analysis
• Firewall rule inspection and management via netsh advfirewall
• Cross-verification of system state using both CMD and PowerShell

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📁 Repo Structure

Cisco-Networking-Lab-Portfolio/
|-- README.md
|-- LICENSE
|-- 01-Networking/                   (11 labs)
|-- 02-Network-Security/             (6 labs)
`-- 03-IT-Support-Troubleshooting/   (9 labs)

📶 Cisco Packet Tracer · 🪟 Windows Server Docs · 🔀 OSPF Overview