Cisco 2801 Router

traceyketraceyke Member Posts: 100 ■■□□□□□□□□
in CCNA & CCENT
Yesterday, my boss was charitable enough to give me a Cisco 2801 router that the company was no longer using. I've already ordered two Cisco 2950 switches and one Cisco 2611xm router. However, I've never seen/heard of anybody on here using a 2801 router for CCNA studies. Will this setup suffice for CCNA?

P.S.

This is my very first attempt at building a home lab and I must say that it is very fun (and wildly addictive) to shop/hunt for equipment! Why didn't I go this route earlier?!? lol
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  • MTciscoguyMTciscoguy Member Posts: 552
    These guys suggest having one for the CCNA along with 1841 routers, there is a pretty good write up about various parts and pieces for labs at this link.

    Cisco CCNA Lab Suggestions | CCNA Certification 200-120
    Current Lab: 4 C2950 WS, 1 C2950G EI, 3 1841, 2 2503, Various Modules, Parts and Pieces. Dell Power Edge 1850, Dell Power Edge 1950.
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  • Jon_CiscoJon_Cisco Member Posts: 1,772 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Find out what ios is on it and what it can be upgraded to. I am sure it will work out fine for CCNA study.

    Be careful it is extremely addictive to buy used equipment. You can learn a lot just from the hunt for good deals.

    Good Luck!
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  • MTciscoguyMTciscoguy Member Posts: 552
    The 2801 can be upgraded to the 15.1(4) IOS level and has 4 WIC slots for various card upgrades. It also supports voice.
    Current Lab: 4 C2950 WS, 1 C2950G EI, 3 1841, 2 2503, Various Modules, Parts and Pieces. Dell Power Edge 1850, Dell Power Edge 1950.
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  • traceyketraceyke Member Posts: 100 ■■□□□□□□□□
    MTciscoguy wrote: »
    The 2801 can be upgraded to the 15.1(4) IOS level and has 4 WIC slots for various card upgrades. It also supports voice.

    So according to you guys, I basically got an awesome router for free? This is great because I really want to get my CCNA Voice after I pass the CCNA!
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  • ZartanasaurusZartanasaurus Member Posts: 2,008 ■■■■■■■■■□
    It would be a great router for your studies. The reason you don't see it mentioned much is because people usually buy cheaper, older routers for their home labs. 28xx, 38xx would be great up to CCIE level. Would be good for Voice and Security tracks as well.
    Currently reading:
    IPSec VPN Design 44%
    Mastering VMWare vSphere 5​ 42.8%
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  • jkongbonmejkongbonme Member Posts: 17 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Hi,
    I'm currently using 2801,1841,2811 and 2960 for the home lab, for what I heard from many of professional guys stay current is the best because that is what the new IOS version with ISR functional version 12.2 or above considering to be compatible with the current exam. I hold the older version of CCNA since 2011 but looking to renewal or upgrade soon it expired.
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  • jkongbonmejkongbonme Member Posts: 17 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Yes, free is always good. I got my from eBay used still run around $65-135.
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  • MTciscoguyMTciscoguy Member Posts: 552
    I sure would not have turned it down! It should take you quite a ways.
    Current Lab: 4 C2950 WS, 1 C2950G EI, 3 1841, 2 2503, Various Modules, Parts and Pieces. Dell Power Edge 1850, Dell Power Edge 1950.
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  • roch_gregroch_greg Member Posts: 87 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I have 3 of those puppies in my home lab along w/3 3750's Switches. That lab setup got me through CCNET and CCNA R+S and will do more. They're not the latest and greatest but they aren't slouches either.
    Goals for 2014: Cisco ICND1[X], Cisco ICND2/CCNA R&S[X], Junos, Associate (JNCIA-Junos)[ ]
    Ain't Nothing Illegal til You Get Caught --> Tickle from Moonshiners TV Show.
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  • theodoxatheodoxa Member Posts: 1,340 ■■■■□□□□□□
    The 2800 Series (2801, 2811, 2821, and 2851) are good routers for CCNA/CCNP. They also have full voice support, so you should be good for CCNA: Voice. The only downside is that they can be a bit noisy. This is why I've been moving towards a mix of 1841's and 881's - much quieter and still run IOS 15 (15.1 for the 1841 and 15.4 for the 881). I will probably retain my 2811, though since it has 4 HWIC and an NME Slot.
    R&S: CCENT → CCNA → CCNP → CCIE [ ]
    Security: CCNA [ ]
    Virtualization: VCA-DCV [ ]
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  • traceyketraceyke Member Posts: 100 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Thanks for all the info guys! I'm currently waiting on my 2611xm router, two 2950 switches, and my console cable to ship and get here hopefully by this Friday. My budget is a little tight right now for me to go the whole "3 routers 3 switches" route, hopefully I should be able to get by with this setup until next checkicon_cool.gif

    The wait is killing me! Goodbye Packet Tracer, hello real world equipment! icon_cheers.gif
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  • roch_gregroch_greg Member Posts: 87 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I actually kept using Packet Tracer even with my physical setup. One reason was that may of the more complex labs for WAN Technologies and the routing protocols needed more routers than I had.
    Goals for 2014: Cisco ICND1[X], Cisco ICND2/CCNA R&S[X], Junos, Associate (JNCIA-Junos)[ ]
    Ain't Nothing Illegal til You Get Caught --> Tickle from Moonshiners TV Show.
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  • DefiledDefiled Member Posts: 14 ■□□□□□□□□□
    traceyke wrote: »
    Yesterday, my boss was charitable enough to give me a Cisco 2801 router that the company was no longer using. I've already ordered two Cisco 2950 switches and one Cisco 2611xm router. However, I've never seen/heard of anybody on here using a 2801 router for CCNA studies. Will this setup suffice for CCNA?

    P.S.

    This is my very first attempt at building a home lab and I must say that it is very fun (and wildly addictive) to shop/hunt for equipment! Why didn't I go this route earlier?!? lol

    For a bare minimum the set up should suffice, however it would be beneficial to have an extra router.

    Regards to the 2801, not many people use this for their CCNA studies since it's an ISR. It'd still be useful for the CCNA, and in the long run it'll save you money if you intend on specializing in one of the CCNA track certs, e.g. Voice, or Security
    Current:
    National Diploma | I.T (Systems Support & Networking)
    Working Towards:
    CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate | Routing & Switching | Security
    BSc (Hons) Computer Networks (Management | Security)
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