CCNA/CCNP Lab equipment

[imported_nerve]

Can anyone suggest equipment for an ideal CCNA/CCNP Lab setup.

I would like to setup a lab in my house.

Thanks!

 

[tyanni]

A bunch of people will probably tell you to search, as its been covered elsewhere. However, I've searched and no where does someone explain exactly what equipment to get. As far as actual equipment is concerned, if you go to www.ciscokits.com, they have a few recommended kits, although they are expensive (but include all of the cables you'd ever need). I'd also check ebay for kits, as most people sell theirs once they attain the cert. Ebay is MUCH cheaper than a place like Cisco Kits, but I also got a 1 year warranty on all of my routers\switches.

I am no expert as my work bought a kit for me a few days ago, but I looked at a lot of articles by a guy named Chris Bryant, who is a CCIE and runs a network consulting firm. Check out the following link for some suggestions on equipment, although I went with newer stuff since some of the CCNP exam requires more expensive equipment -

http://www.thebryantadvantage.com/CCNACCNPFreeHomeLab.htm

 

[imported_nerve]

thanks, tyanni

 

[tyanni]

no problem - let us know what you end up getting...

 

[spidey07]

3 switches and two routers are really all you need.

The 3 switches are for spanning-tree and understanding switching. The two routers are for routing.

 

[netsysadmin]

Spidey...what would be some good models to buy?

John

 

[spidey07]

Heck, we're throwing away 3500 XL series. Should be able to find them super cheap although they are limited features wise.

3550s should foot the bill and include routing.

2600 series routers can be had for cheap as well.

 

[p0lar]

Originally posted by: nerve
Can anyone suggest equipment for an ideal CCNA/CCNP Lab setup.

I would like to setup a lab in my house.

There's also a decent emulator if you can get your hands on Cisco IOS images. Nothing beats a physical router since that's what you'll be working with 90% of the time (unless you're mostly remote).

Boson, et al are horrible, but this one shows MUCH promise:

Cisco 7206VXR (et al) emulator
Latest Versions and blog

Don't count on this for any kind of performance or replacement for the actual product, but you can emulate a relatively wide range of hardware and features that the other simulators can't come close to. CLI configuration takes some work to understand, but there's an add-on program called dynagen that simplifies it considerably.

I personally recommend the 2691 routers for home labs now as opposed to the 26xxXMs or even plain 2600, 2610, 2620,2650 for a few reasons:
[*]Extremely close in feature sets/operation/design to 3725/3745
[*]High performance compared to the rest of the 26xx[xm] lines
[*]Low cost (relatively - can be had for ~$500 on fleabay now!)
[*]Uses CompactFlash (generic works fine) for upgrades (I verified up to 1G)
[*]Uses PC133 RAM (generic works fine) for upgrades (256MB)
[*]Supports Advanced Enterprise Services
[*]Supports IPIPGW images
[*]Supports extensive Voice featuresets
[*]Supports CME + CUE (NM/E-CUE/-EC, AIM-CUE)


While this router was never a flagship product outside of the 26xx line, it iconifies the flexibility and extensibility that Cisco offered (and still offers) with great software support and solid documentation. The 3725 does all the same things even better, but...triple the price. I won't get into the absurd pricing on the 28xx and 38xx. Ok, I'm OT..

Yes, I keep a spare 2691 or two in the closet just in case my car breaks down.

 

[imported_nerve]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Does anyone recommend a rack I can put these in that is relatively small?
48" Open Relay..?

Dont know where to buy..

 

[spidey07]

you don't need a rack. Just put them on top of each other.