CCNP Physical Lab help

100k

I have been searching the forum but cant seem to find exactly what I am looking for. I will be starting my CCNP studies soon and would like to put a physical lab together. I know lots of people use GNS3 for their studies but since I have only a little hands on experience with the physical equipment I would like to setup my own. I saw some already put together labs on ebay for $500 but not sure of the contents. So my question is what do I need to take me through the CCNP? What routers, switches and how many of each? If there is anything else that I need please let me know as I will be ordering all the equipment this week.

OfWolfAndMan

For ROUTE, depending on your financial allocations, you can buy three or four 2600 series routers for around 75-80 bucks used. If you've got more money, get the 1841s. They will last you up to the IE. As for SWITCH, again, if you're looking to save money, buy a couple 2950s and a couple 3550s. If you've got a little more, a couple 2950s and a couple 3750s or 3560-8PC-S will suffice. 3560-PC-S support version 15. 3750s do not support ver 15 (unless it's a 3750x, 3750v2, or 3750G), but they do support Stackwise (Self explanatory. You can stack multiple physical switches to create one logical switching unit).

100k

I was actually looking at this lab and thinking about just adding a couple 3550 switches to it. What do you think?
Cisco Premium Home Lab Kit for CCNA CCNP 1 Yearwarranty | eBay

OfWolfAndMan

You can go with that, or play it a little cheaper by purchasing the parts seperately. Whatever hits your fancy. If you want to upgrade any of the IOSs and have the images on hand, you can also setup a local tftp server from your desktop to upgrade them that way. Pretty easy. Type #copy tftp flash:. Specify the IP of the TFTP server (Your computer's IP), the image name, and the image name destination. Keep in mind you will probably have to delete the old flash file. Just do a #dir flash and delete the file name of the old file listed. Then after you've uploaded the new IOS, do a #boot system flash:[new IOS name]. Verify with #show boot to make sure it's showing up and reload. I'd advise a mountable power strip as well.

Amazon.com: American Dj Pc-100A Rack Mount Power Switcher: Musical Instruments

Here's a decent price for the 3550s:

Cisco Catalyst WS C3550 24 SMI 3550 Series 24 Port Ethernet Switch 251 0746320674384 | eBay

100k

Thanks for the advise. I have not been able to really use my CCNA knowledge at work so this lab will bring me back up to speed and get me ready for my CCNP. Just graduated and getting my resume ready for some great jobs I see posted. Thank again this is exactly what I need +1 to you sir.