gear for a Cisco lab

Xennon

hi all,
Im thinking about doing a cisco course to get me up to speed with their kit. What would you suggest as a lab. Ive seen some packages of cisco routers and switches on adverts, but they tend to vary in models.

Any and all suggestions welcome.

thanks

rmacm

Hi

What certification are you thinking of doing? I've started studying for the CCNP myself recently. I got myself a lab on Ebay that has 3 routers and 2 switches. 2*2611's and 1 3620 and 2*2900XL switches.

If you want more details on the actual hardware feel free to ask, so far I've found it adequate for my studies.

Snaga

If your just into the CCNA then see if you can get your hands on the PacketTracer application - it really is excellent. Its part of the Cisco Network Academy training resources.

If a physical lab is a better way for you to learn (I'm the same) then a couple of 2611XM's and a couple of catalyst 2950's would make a good CCNA lab.

The reason I would choose the 2611xm's is the fact that they come with 2 Fast Ethernet ports on board. You can also get a serial network module for them to work on your frame relay stuff too. (They will also be useful in a CCNP lab if you progress further).

The reason I say at least two switches is for Spanning-tree labs, you cant do a lot of fiddling with just one switch

The CCNA - even though it is the entry level exam - does have quite a lot in it so if you are just starting out then you can take the certification in two parts - makes the required learning curve longer but more manageable.

Best of luck!

Webmonkey

Snaga wrote: »

If your just into the CCNA then see if you can get your hands on the PacketTracer application - it really is excellent. Its part of the Cisco Network Academy training resources.

If a physical lab is a better way for you to learn (I'm the same) then a couple of 2611XM's and a couple of catalyst 2950's would make a good CCNA lab.

The reason I would choose the 2611xm's is the fact that they come with 2 Fast Ethernet ports on board. You can also get a serial network module for them to work on your frame relay stuff too. (They will also be useful in a CCNP lab if you progress further).

The reason I say at least two switches is for Spanning-tree labs, you cant do a lot of fiddling with just one switch

The CCNA - even though it is the entry level exam - does have quite a lot in it so if you are just starting out then you can take the certification in two parts - makes the required learning curve longer but more manageable.

Best of luck!

While Packet Tracer was good, it does have limitations. For example, OSPF multi area etc.

I found GNS3 thats powered by Dynamips to be excellent when outside college when I had no access to hardware.

Nothing beats having the real hardware in front of you though.

Xennon

Thanks guys I'll look into them.

Nothing beats having the real hardware in front of you though.

Always useful when you have a hammer on standby

barglee83

If you just want to pass CCNA in minimum time I would recommend Packettracer. I have taught CCNA and many students have used this resource ALONE and passed the exam.

Obviuosly having the equipment is great for real world experience but I would argue that Packettracer is actually a better learning tool.
you can trace packets and really get an understanding of what is happening in the network

remember the exam is based on simulator too!