Today, we’re excited to announce the release of CCNA 2026, delivering groundbreaking innovations that will transform how IT professionals, network engineers, and organizations design, implement, and maintain their network infrastructure. This major update introduces powerful AI-assisted networking capabilities, extended reality workflows, and enhanced automation that significantly boost efficiency while maintaining the reliability and security that networking teams demand.
AI-Powered Network Assistant: Your Intelligent Networking Partner
The centerpiece of CCNA 2026 is our revolutionary new Network Assistant, an AI-powered tool that understands networking principles and helps automate configuration, troubleshooting, and optimization tasks while ensuring compliance with security regulations.
“Network Assistant represents the biggest leap forward in networking productivity since the introduction of software-defined networking,” says Dr. Miguel Rodriguez, Senior Director of Cisco Certification Programs. “It works alongside network engineers, learning from their approaches and preferences to become an increasingly valuable infrastructure partner.”
Intelligent Network Analysis
Network Assistant analyzes your network topology and can automatically identify potential bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities, and optimization opportunities based on traffic patterns, device configurations, and industry best practices. As you manage your infrastructure, the system recognizes unusual activities and can intelligently flag suspicious traffic, unauthorized access attempts, or performance issues that warrant immediate attention.
Natural Language Network Commands
CCNA 2026 introduces a powerful natural language interface that allows you to describe networking objectives in plain English. Simply type or speak commands like “configure a secure VLAN for the marketing department with appropriate ACLs” or “optimize QoS settings for video conferencing traffic across the enterprise,” and watch as the system translates your intent into proper configuration commands.
Automated Compliance Verification
The new intelligent compliance system automatically checks your network against security frameworks like NIST, ISO, and CIS, ensuring configurations meet industry standards and regulatory requirements throughout the implementation process.
Extended Reality for Enhanced Network Operations
CCNA 2026 takes network visualization to new dimensions with features designed for immersive monitoring and field troubleshooting.
AR/VR Network Operations Center
Teams can now enter a virtual reality environment for comprehensive network monitoring, navigating through a digital twin of the infrastructure to identify bottlenecks, evaluate connectivity, and make real-time adjustments to network configurations. The AR mode allows field technicians to overlay network topologies and device status onto actual site conditions for enhanced troubleshooting.
Holographic Network Briefings
Network managers using mixed reality headsets can see holographic overlays of performance data, security alerts, and remediation protocols directly in their field of view, reducing response times and improving tactical decisions.
Mixed Reality Infrastructure Management
Combining 3D scanning with augmented reality, teams can visualize network equipment placement, cable paths, and physical infrastructure constraints in real-time, streamlining installations and modifications.
Enhanced Network Automation and Integration
Advanced Infrastructure Integration
Our next-generation network management system now supports direct integration with over 40 major infrastructure platforms, including cloud providers, SD-WAN solutions, and IoT ecosystems. The system coordinates hybrid deployments for comprehensive multi-domain management.
Smart Traffic Analysis and Optimization
CCNA 2026 introduces AI-enabled traffic analysis that identifies and classifies application flows, user patterns, and service dependencies across multiple network segments. The system maintains consistent performance through predictive resource allocation, eliminating bottlenecks in your infrastructure.
Automated Incident Resolution
The new remediation engine uses AI to understand the context of network events and automatically generates troubleshooting guides, configuration changes, and resolution documentation that meet operational requirements. The system learns from user feedback to continuously improve resolution quality.
Integration and Performance Breakthroughs
Cloud-Based Network Management
Multiple networks can now be managed simultaneously through a unified cloud platform with real-time synchronization. The system intelligently handles configuration management and policy deployment, enabling true enterprise-wide network visibility.
Advanced Anomaly Detection
CCNA 2026 pro-actively identifies unusual patterns before they become network incidents. As you monitor, the AI system detects statistical anomalies in traffic, resource utilization, or security events and suggests optimal investigation approaches.
Performance Optimization
Our new network analysis engine delivers 10x faster diagnostics when working with complex multi-vendor environments or large-scale deployments, handling thousands of devices while maintaining smooth operation and instant response.
Early Adopters Share Their Experience
Organizations participating in our beta program have already seen impressive results with CCNA 2026.
Global Enterprises, a leading managed service provider, reports significant productivity gains. “The AI-powered Network Assistant has reduced troubleshooting time by approximately 65%,” says Sarah Johnson, Operations Director at Global Enterprises. “This allows our network engineers to focus more on strategic initiatives rather than routine maintenance tasks.”
Metropolitan University highlights the visualization improvements. “The extended reality capabilities have transformed how we deploy and maintain our campus network,” notes Richard Chen, IT Director at Metropolitan University. “We’ve seen implementation times reduced by 35% and significantly better documentation of network changes.”
Availability and Certification Paths
CCNA 2026 certification will be available starting June 15, 2025:
- Available in Foundation, Associate, and Professional tracks
- Flexible self-paced and instructor-led training options
- Included in Cisco Learning Network subscriptions
- Special upgrade paths for existing certification holders
Current CCNA certification holders will receive a simplified upgrade path to CCNA 2026 as part of their continuing education options.
Getting Started with CCNA 2026
To help professionals quickly master the new curriculum, we’re providing comprehensive resources:
- Online courses through Cisco Learning Network
- Industry-specific training webinars for enterprise, service provider, and public sector
- Regional compliance guides for different regulatory jurisdictions
- Migration assistance and network assessment services
Looking Forward
“CCNA 2026 represents our vision for the future of networking certification that seamlessly blends human expertise with artificial intelligence while extending capabilities beyond traditional management interfaces,” says Rodriguez. “We’re empowering networking teams to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and reliability while maintaining the security posture that modern infrastructures demand.”
This release marks the beginning of an exciting new era for Cisco Networking Academy, with our development team already working on additional AI capabilities, expanded cloud services, and deeper integration with the Cisco Secure Network ecosystem.
CCNA 2026 Training Course
Join us to explore CCNA 2026 Course, the most advanced version of our industry-leading networking certification. This comprehensive course is designed to help IT professionals, network engineers, and infrastructure specialists master cutting-edge concepts like AI-powered analytics, natural language commands, automated troubleshooting, and extended reality workflows. Whether you’re managing enterprise networks, service provider infrastructures, or multi-cloud environments, you’ll learn how to optimize your operations using intelligent tools that boost reliability, reduce manual tasks, and improve collaboration across technology teams. With real-world scenarios and hands-on labs, this course ensures you’re fully equipped to harness the power of CCNA 2026 in your daily networking operations.
