Building a Home Lab

Agent47

Hello,

I know there are threads on here about others who have shown pics & specs of their lab. Eventually, I would like to get my hands on some of my own equipment. I have looked at sites that provide kits etc etc but most people say to look up parts and build piece by piece (which I prefer right down to the cable so that I can practice how to wire those up too).

I want to ask how do you know what models to get for both the router and switch? How do you learn what combinations work? I understand that there are certain IOS versions that support specific commands, models and functionality but I still don't feel confident just buying parts.

I saw this video and Im thinking, why does he have that combination? Thanks for any input.
[video=youtube_share;DlazMBvkQbo]http://youtu.be/DlazMBvkQbo?t=11s[/video]

JeanM

You don't need very much for CCNA labs, there are many threads on this that also explain why certain models are popular.

In a nutshell, 26xx and 2950 are popular because they are CHEAP, plentiful and get the job done with 90% of the stuff you need. They don't let you run 15.x code, rest you can do just fine for CCNA on 12.4.

1841 or 1811 are also popular because they are also smaller, and not expensive, and can run newer code.

You don't need L3 switches for CCNA, but you'll need L3 for CCNP and up.

alxx

JeanM wrote: »

You don't need very much for CCNA labs, there are many threads on this that also explain why certain models are popular.

In a nutshell, 26xx and 2950 are popular because they are CHEAP, plentiful and get the job done with 90% of the stuff you need. They don't let you run 15.x code, rest you can do just fine for CCNA on 12.4.

1841 or 1811 are also popular because they are also smaller, and not expensive, and can run newer code.

You don't need L3 switches for CCNA, but you'll need L3 for CCNP and up.

+1

1760 and 1751's are also cheap and same as 26xx - don't let you run 15.x
but have slots for vwics . 1721-32f

18xx and 17xx as they use less power and take up less space
just avoid 1701 and 1720 and 1721's without 32f as limited to older versions of ios as not enough flash to store them.
28xx's are getting cheaper as well , same for 3745 router.

You don't need to buy L3 switches, can get away with using one of the online labs.

Trick is to look for local pickup items on ebay in your area and to take your time - don't be in a rush.

Deathmage

this guys labs official dwarfs mine... but gosh I was in love the whole video....

I would love though to get my hands on one of those serial cards with those splicer dongles.... that would make my lab so much more neat/clean...were ot find them though.

theodoxa

The 1700 series is probably the cheapest option. The 1760 is rack mountable. The rest are standalone (make sure a power supply/adapter is included when buying online). If you have the money, I would definitely go with 1841s. They're really coming down in price and can run IOS 15.1. They're small, rackmountable (the ears run about $10-12), and alot quieter than the other ISR options. I replaced my noisy 2800 series (2801, 2811 and 2821) with 4 x 1841s for CCNA: Security and CCNP studies. The only thing they won't be able to do is voice. Don't bother with the 2600XM series. The 1841 isn't that much more.

As for switches, the 2950 series are dirt cheap. I snagged a couple of 2960s for $50/each about a year ago and wish I'd grabbed a few more when I had the chance (they run $75/each now). Layer 3 switches (3550, 3560, 3750) are awesome and will be useful for CCNP and beyond. The 3550 is the cheapest (basically the Layer 3 version of the 2950). 3560s and especially 3750s are still expensive ($125 for the 3560 and $150 for the 3750).

alxx

For ccnp 3550's can't do private vlans

also compared to 3560 don't have advanced qos or ipv6 but not needed for ccnp