CCNP ENCOR Labs: BGP, Multi-Area OSPF and HSRP, Broken on Purpose
At CCNP level the configuration is rarely the hard part - the hard part is the network that almost works: a backup router carrying traffic, a route-map that exists but does nothing, an area that never reaches the backbone. These are 3 ENCOR 350-401 scenarios built from exactly those faults, running in your browser.
In short: 3 live Cisco IOS-style networks for CCNP ENCOR - HSRP first hop redundancy, multi-area OSPF and eBGP best-path policy - with 7 different faults between them. Each run hides one. You diagnose it from the console on every device, repair it, and the network grades the repair, so any valid fix counts.
The HSRP scenario is free with the free ENCOR exam code, in the browser, with no CML or GNS3 install.
Open the free scenario: First Hop Redundancy: The Wrong Router Is Active
The code that unlocks the free full-length ENCOR practice exam also opens this scenario: 6 devices, two routers sharing a virtual gateway, and traffic leaving through the wrong one. About 25 minutes.
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In This Guide
Why ENCOR practice needs networks you did not build
Infrastructure is 30% of ENCOR 350-401 v1.2, the heaviest domain, and most of it is configure-level: EtherChannel and spanning tree, OSPF with multiple areas, eBGP and its best-path algorithm, NAT/PAT, first hop redundancy. Configuring those on your own lab proves you remember the syntax. It does not prove you can tell, from show ip bgp or show standby brief, why a network that looks configured is doing the wrong thing - which is what exhibit-based items ask.
The 3 CCNP ENCOR scenarios
First-hop redundancyFree scenario
First Hop Redundancy: The Wrong Router Is Active
Two routers share one virtual gateway for the office LAN. Hosts can reach the internet, but the traffic is leaving through the backup router and the uplink it uses is the slow one. Make the intended router active and keep it that way.
Multi-area OSPF
Multi-Area OSPF: An Area That Never Reaches the Backbone
Three areas meet at two border routers. Area 0 is healthy and area 10 is healthy, yet nothing in area 20 appears anywhere else in the domain. Work through the adjacencies, the areas on each interface and the inter-area routes until the whole domain agrees.
BGP policy
BGP Policy: The Wrong Provider Is Carrying the Traffic
An enterprise buys transit from two providers. The contract says everything leaves through Primary and only falls back to Secondary. Both sessions are up and the prefix is learned twice, yet the traffic is going out of the cheap link. Read the path attributes and make the policy match the contract.
7 faults between them, a different one each run. The First Hop Redundancy scenario is free; the rest come with the ENCOR pack. See them in the scenario library.
Blueprint map (ENCOR 350-401 v1.2)
| Scenario | Exam topic and verb |
|---|---|
| First Hop Redundancy: The Wrong Router Is Active | configure3.3.c First hop redundancy protocols, such as HSRP and VRRP |
| Multi-Area OSPF: An Area That Never Reaches the Backbone | configure3.2.b Simple OSPFv2/v3 environments, including multiple normal areas, summarization and filtering |
| BGP Policy: The Wrong Provider Is Carrying the Traffic | configure3.2.c eBGP between directly connected neighbours (best path selection algorithm and neighbour relationships) |
From Cisco's published 350-401 v1.2 exam topics (effective 19 March 2026). The two troubleshoot topics, 3.1.a and 3.1.b, are not among these scenarios yet.
What the console shows when it works
Real output from the scenarios' engine, after a correct repair. On the BGP edge router, the path through the primary provider wins on local preference 200 - set by an inbound route-map - rather than on a tie-breaker:
Edge#show ip bgp
BGP table version is 4, local router ID is 10.0.0.1
Status codes: s suppressed, d damped, h history, * valid, > best, i - internal,
r RIB-failure, S Stale
Origin codes: i - IGP, e - EGP, ? - incomplete
Network Next Hop Metric LocPrf Weight Path
*> 192.168.90.0/24 0.0.0.0 0 32768 i
*> 198.51.100.0/24 203.0.113.2 0 200 0 65010 65030 i
* 203.0.113.6 0 0 65020 65030 i
If that route-map exists but is not applied, LocPrf is blank for both paths. Both AS paths are two hops long, so the decision falls to a later tie-breaker - the network works, just through whichever provider the tie-breaker picks, not the one the contract names.
On the multi-area OSPF network, the core router learns the far area's LAN as an inter-area route once the border router forms its adjacency:
Core#show ip route ospf
Codes: L - local, C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2
i - IS-IS, su - IS-IS summary, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2
ia - IS-IS inter area, * - candidate default, U - per-user static route
o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route, H - NHRP, l - LISP
a - application route
+ - replicated route, % - next hop override, p - overrides from PfR
Gateway of last resort is not set
10.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 3 subnets, 2 masks
O IA 10.0.11.0/30 [110/2] via 10.0.10.2, 00:00:23, GigabitEthernet0/1
O IA 10.0.21.0/30 [110/2] via 10.0.20.2, 00:00:23, GigabitEthernet0/2
O IA 10.20.0.0/24 [110/3] via 10.0.20.2, 00:00:00, GigabitEthernet0/2
What else to lab ENCOR on
Scenarios train diagnosis on networks someone else built; you still need somewhere to build. Prices read from each vendor in September 2026:
| Tool | Price | Good for at ENCOR level |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Modeling Labs | CML-Free $0 (5 nodes) · Personal $199/yr (20 nodes) | Real Cisco images; the closest thing to production |
| Boson NetSim for ENCOR | $179/yr or $59/3 months, auto-renew | A guided curriculum of 77 ENCOR labs |
| EVE-NG / GNS3 | Free (Community / open source), your own images | Large multi-vendor topologies |
| Cisco Packet Tracer | Free (NetAcad account) | CCNA-level topics; thin at CCNP depth |
| FigigExams Troubleshooting Practice | One scenario free · all 3 in the $39 one-time ENCOR pack | Graded fault-finding in the browser |
For the CCNA version of this comparison, with more detail on each tool, see the best CCNA lab simulators.
What is free, and what the ENCOR pack adds
- Free with
CCNP-EXAM-FULL: the First Hop Redundancy: The Wrong Router Is Active scenario (one fault) and a full-length ENCOR 350-401 practice exam with an explanation on every question. - The ENCOR pack, $39 once: all 3 scenarios and their 7 faults, plus every ENCOR practice exam (3 exams, 305 questions) - for life, including future versions of the exam. No subscription.
Redeem it and start with HSRP
Create a free account with the code and you land in the First Hop Redundancy scenario. The full ENCOR practice exam is waiting on the same code.
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CCNP ENCOR infrastructure practice questions
Five questions on the routing topics these scenarios drill.
The wrong router is Active. Find out why.
Two routers share one virtual gateway for the office LAN. Hosts can reach the internet, but the traffic is leaving through the backup router and the uplink it uses is the slow one. Make the intended router active and keep it that way. Read up first with HSRP troubleshooting explained.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there free CCNP ENCOR labs online?
Yes. The First Hop Redundancy scenario is free with the free ENCOR exam code (CCNP-EXAM-FULL): six devices, one HSRP fault to find and fix from a Cisco IOS-style console, in the browser. Cisco also offers CML-Free, a no-cost edition of Cisco Modeling Labs that runs up to five nodes, if you want to build your own topologies.
What should I use to lab for CCNP ENCOR?
Something that runs real or realistic IOS at CCNP depth for building - Cisco Modeling Labs (CML-Free or CML Personal at $199 per year), EVE-NG or GNS3 with your own images, or Boson NetSim for ENCOR ($179 per year, 77 guided labs) - plus practice on networks you did not build. Troubleshooting scenarios cover the second part.
Is Packet Tracer enough for CCNP ENCOR?
Not on its own. Packet Tracer serves the CCNA well, but much of ENCOR - multi-area OSPF design, BGP best-path policy, SD-Access and SD-WAN, automation - goes beyond what it models comfortably. Most ENCOR candidates move to CML, EVE-NG or GNS3.
Does the ENCOR exam have labs?
ENCOR 350-401 is the written core exam for CCNP Enterprise and the qualifying exam for the CCIE Enterprise lab; the eight-hour hands-on lab belongs to CCIE. ENCOR items still lean on exhibits - show output, configuration snippets - where reading the output is the question, which is exactly what fault-finding practice trains.
Which ENCOR topics are hands-on?
Infrastructure (30% of the exam) holds the configure-level routing and switching topics: EtherChannel and spanning tree, multi-area OSPF, eBGP best path, NAT/PAT and first hop redundancy - and ENCOR's only two troubleshoot verbs, 3.1.a (802.1Q trunking) and 3.1.b (EtherChannel). The FigigExams ENCOR scenarios drill 3.2.b, 3.2.c and 3.3.c.
How is a scenario graded?
On the network's state: is the right router Active, do both BGP sessions stay up, does the inter-area route appear, does the host reach the service. "Must stay" checks catch a fix that breaks something else. Any valid repair passes; Check is free and grades exactly what Submit will.