CCNA home lab

[Soybomb]

Well in about a year I'll be finished with my degree, and one area where I would like to "bulk up" a bit is on my router/switch knowledge. CCNA would go nicely with my work experience, degree, and goals. I figure I'll get a sim to play with, but I also would't mind putting together a decent little home lab to play with either. What would you get to tinker with as you prepare for a ccna?

In a related note, anything spiffy or fun I could do with a 2501?

 

[randal]

You can do a lot with a 2501. there are still thousands of them out there, running the internet. I think we've got 12 of them running around, doing various things (I work at an ISP, see sig).

randal

 

[Soybomb]

Originally posted by: randal
You can do a lot with a 2501. there are still thousands of them out there, running the internet. I think we've got 12 of them running around, doing various things (I work at an ISP, see sig).

randal

I work at an isp too, they just don't let me play enough 😀

How about spiffy things I could play with one on my home lan for 😀

 

[ITJunkie]

you can always play with Access Lists. They're always good to bone up on.

 

[adlep]

I would strongly recomend you to setup your own lab.
You don't really need a switch for CCNA
(there are only few switch specific questions in CCNA and you can answer them based on the theoretical knowlege and or using a router simulator)
You should be able to pickup two 2501 for about $300.00 off the e-bay.
Do not forget to pickup a transciever, maybe some extra FP Memory for it, and ensure that the router is running at least 12.0 IOS...(This is optional. I have a copy of 12.0 IOS I can send you, for educational purposes)
See my IOS thread
And two 2501s interacting with each other are more than enough to gain enough practical knowlege for CCNA.

 

[Macro2]

I recommend cisco 2514 routers, better portage. You don't need a switch but it really helps. VLans are all over the CCNA test.

Mac