What do I need for an affordable home lab?

RedGaiter

Hi guys, just wondering what I need to setup an affordable home lab. Right now I only just have the wireless router my ISP gave me. Can I swap that out for a Cisco wireless router, and if so, which one? Also, what Cisco switch should I buy?

theodoxa

For Home use, I would look into the 800 Series. The 881 and 891 will run IOS 15.4. The 891 is still expensive , but you can score an 881 (without wireless) for under $100. The wireless model will run a bit more. For a lab, you'll need a few routers with WIC/HWIC slots for serial connections (Frame Relay, PPP, HDLC). The 1841 will run IOS 15.1 and is also under $100 with 2 HWIC slots. You'd need a router that can handle 3 or more Serial connections to use as a Frame Relay switch. Look for something with an NM Slot or 3+ WIC/HWIC slots. For switches at the CCNA level, the 2950 would suffice. At the CCNP level, you'll need a couple of L3 switches (Ideally 3750).

Jon_Cisco

We need to know what your studying for.
If your talking about CCNA then I think I would get two 1841 routers and two 2950 switches.

They are affordable and you could probably resell them to recoup some of the cost if needed. Affordable means something different to everyone.

Good Luck!

Blue_Calx

GNS3 1.0 beta and some L2 and L3 IOU images is all you need really.

ImYourOnlyDJ

What exactly are you intentions with this lab? Sounds like you want something to learn on that will also support your home network? That is what I did and started with a 2621xm, a 2950 switch, and then used the existing Wireless N router as an access point. I am looking at upgrading to a 881w in the near future though.