Frequently asked questions

Yes - start with 3 full labs, no card required. Paid tiers are for learners who want broader and unlimited lab access, while the lessons, quizzes, review system, and learning paths make up the wider learning experience.

No. Every lab gives you a real virtual terminal on routers, switches, and hosts directly in the browser - there's nothing to install, and no home lab or licensed simulator required.

No. The catalogue spans Beginner through Advanced, so you can start with static routing and IPv4 addressing fundamentals and build toward more complex routing, switching, services, security, and troubleshooting practice.

Subnetica is a structured, interactive platform for learning computer networking. Lessons teach concepts, graded quizzes check understanding, virtual labs provide practical application, and spaced repetition helps you retain what you learn.

Yes. Learning paths and the curriculum start with networking fundamentals and build toward routing, switching, services, security, and troubleshooting. You can follow a guided path or explore individual topics.

Subnetica requires no local installation, device images, manual cabling, or lab setup. Labs open as prepared scenarios in the browser, regenerate addressing and starting conditions between attempts, and provide automatic feedback. Packet Tracer, GNS3, and CML offer broader topology-building or more complete Cisco-platform simulation, while Subnetica focuses on structured learning, repeated configuration practice, and realistic troubleshooting with immediate grading. Compare the platforms.

Every time you start a lab, its IP addresses, subnet ranges, and device configuration are regenerated from the template. The same lab template gives you a different addressing scheme and a different starting state each attempt, so you practice the process instead of recalling one answer key.

Subnetica grades whether the network meets the required outcomes rather than requiring one exact configuration. Checks verify expected connectivity and behavior, while additional constraints catch overly broad fixes - for example, allowing a required service without unintentionally exposing another network. Learners can rerun the checks as they work and see which objectives still fail.

The published labs cover routing (static and default routing, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, route selection, IPv4 and IPv6), switching (VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, router-on-a-stick and access ports), security (ACLs, stateful firewalls, packet filtering and segmentation), and services (DHCP, DNS, NAT and PAT). Coverage varies by lab.

Yes. The curriculum includes lessons, quizzes, practical labs, and published coverage mappings for relevant CCNA objectives. Subnetica is an independent platform and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Cisco.

For Network+, yes - the routing, switching, addressing, and troubleshooting material overlaps heavily, and Network+ is largely vendor-neutral. For Security+, the labs cover the network-security slice (ACLs, firewall rules, segmentation) but not cryptography, governance, risk, or incident-response theory, which need separate study.

Subnetica can provide a structured path for learning networking, including lessons, quizzes, practical labs, and spaced repetition. Certification candidates may still need complementary resources for physical hardware, wireless equipment, physical media, or other capabilities outside a virtual environment.

No. The networks run on FRRouting and Linux rather than Cisco IOS. Subnetica includes a compatibility layer that translates common Cisco IOS-style configuration and verification commands and presents supported output in familiar Cisco-style formats. This makes it useful for practicing common CCNA workflows, but it is not a complete IOS emulator, and unsupported or platform-specific behavior may differ.

Yes. Subnetica supports common Cisco IOS-style commands used for networking fundamentals, routing, switching, services, security, and troubleshooting. Supported commands are translated to the underlying live network, and common verification output is presented in a familiar Cisco-style format. Command coverage varies by feature, so Subnetica should be treated as a practical CCNA supplement rather than a replacement for every Cisco-specific simulator or device.

No. Profile and leaderboard visibility both default to private for every account. The public leaderboard only shows users who have explicitly opted in by switching their visibility to public in settings.

We don't run ads or third-party advertising trackers. We use a self-hosted, cookieless analytics system to understand aggregate site usage and improve Subnetica. It is not used to build advertising profiles. See the Privacy Policy for details.

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