The Cisco CCNA® Discovery curriculum provides foundational networking knowledge, practical experience, opportunities for career exploration, and soft-skills development to help students prepare for entry-level careers in IT and networking. Students learn the technical skills and soft skills needed to succeed in entry-level networking professions such as a network installer, help desk technician, pre-sales support technician, or network technician. CCNA Discovery also provides an introduction to advanced technologies such as voice, video, wireless, and security. The CCNA Discovery curriculum is composed of four courses, 70 hours each:

General English reading and understanding skills and basic PC skills. Previous working background and certifications in computer systems and networking is an advantage. The courses are delivered sequentially, and each course is a prerequisite for the next course.

The CCNA Discovery curriculum prepares students for two different Cisco certification exams. After completing the Networking for Home and Small Businesses and Working at a Small-to-Medium Business or ISP courses, a student can choose to complete the CCENT® (Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician) certification exam. Students who complete all four CCNA Discovery courses will be prepared for the industry-standard CCNA certification exam.

Here are some examples of the skills students will be able to perform after completing each course:

Networking for Home and Small Businesses
- Set up a personal computer system, including the operating system, interface cards, and peripheral devices
- Plan and install a small network connecting to the Internet
- Troubleshoot network and Internet connectivity
- Share resources such as files and printers among multiple computers
- Recognize and mitigate security threats to a home network
- Configure an integrated wireless access point and wireless client

Introducing Routing and Switching in the Enterprise
- Implement a LAN for an approved network design
- Configure a switch with VLANs and inter-switch communication
- Implement access lists to permit or deny specific traffic
- Implement WAN links
- Configure routing protocols on Cisco devices
- Perform LAN, WAN, and VLAN troubleshooting using a structured methodology and the OSI model

Working at a Small-to-Medium Business or ISP
- Understand the structure of the Internet and how communication occurs between hosts
- Install, configure, and troubleshoot Cisco IOS devices
- Plan a basic wired infrastructure to support network traffic
- Configure a server to share resources and provide common Web services
- Implement basic WAN connectivity using Telco services
- Demonstrate proper disaster-recovery procedures and perform server backups

Designing and Supporting Computer Networks
- Gather customer requirements
- Design a simple Internetwork using Cisco technology
- Design an IP addressing scheme to meet LAN requirements
- Create an equipment list to meet LAN design requirements
- Install and configure a prototype Internetwork
- Obtain and upgrade Cisco IOS software in Cisco devices