1924-a vs 1924-en

vex

Can someone give me a quick comparison on these 2 switches? Is the difference hardware or software? Can the 1924-a be upgraded to be a 1924-en? What exactly cannot be done on the 1924 that can be done on a 2950?

Thanks in advance

jsond

There are many more knowledgeable board memebers who can, and will, answer your questions.

All I can say is forget anything about the 1900 series it is outdated and not on the ccna exam.

I failed the CCNA the 1st time and it was because I did not have an in-depth knowledge of switching/VLANS/STP. Know those topics well.

TheShadow

The 1900A is menu based only and I don't think it can do vlans. The 1900en is menu based and command line based and does vlans. It boots to a menu and you select K to drop to command line mode.

The 1900en command syntax for vlans is sufficiently different from the 2900 series that if you do not study on both then you will probably confuse yourself. There are several books that compare the commands of both the 1900en and the 2900's side by side. There is a reason other than port speed that the 1900en is $100 and the 2950 is $300-$600 on ebay.

A lot of people get suckered into cheap 1900A's for under $100 . While it is obviously a good managed switch (it was sold new until 5 years ago) it is not good for studying the switching section of the exam for reasons mentioned. However, they are just fine for use in advanced routing configs so is a hub . I don't know what is required to upgrade a 1900A but it is possible if you believe ebay sellers. I tried loading cat1900en.bin on a 1900A once but it failed. I tried two different versions of standard firmware and it worked so it was not procedure.

Maybe someone with more knowledge will chime in.

vex

I guess I will keep looking for a deal on a 2950

Thanks for the info

TheShadow

I pulled up some notes out of my hand held. Here is a scenario on both switches. If you have the enterprise version you could practice to learn about vlans and then practice the command differences on a simulator. I just checked ebay and the cheapest 2950 is going for $225 with buy it now. A simulator is cheaper.

Configuring VTP on a 1900
SwitchA(config)#vtp transparent domain springfield
SwitchA (config)#int fa0/26
SwitchA (config-if)#trunk on desirable
SwitchA (config-if)#exit
SwitchA (config)#exit
SwitchA #show vtp
SwitchA #show trunk A

Configuring VTP on a 2950
SwitchA(config)#vlan database
SwitchA (vlan)#vtp server
SwitchA (vlan)#vtp domain shelbyville
SwitchA (vlan)#vtp password lovejoy
SwitchA (vlan)#vtp pruning
SwitchA (vlan)#snmp-server enable traps vtp
SwitchA (vlan)#exit
SwitchA #show vtp status
SwitchA #show interface Fa0/1 switchport

On the Catalyst 1900, the two Fast Ethernet ports are interfaces fa0/26 and fa0/27.

Configuring a VLAN on a 1900
SwitchA #config t
SwitchA (config)#vlan 7 name springfield
SwitchA (config)#int fa0/26
SwitchA (config-if)#vlan-membership static 7
SwitchA (config-if)#trunk on
SwitchA (config-if)#exit
SwitchA (config)#exit
SwitchA #show vlan7
SwitchA #show vlan-membership
SwitchA #show spantree 7

Adding a VLAN on a 2950
SwitchA #vlan database
SwitchA (vlan)#vlan 7 name Springfield
SwitchA #exit
SwitchA #config t
SwitchA (config)#int fa0/1
SwitchA (config-if)#switchport access vlan 7
SwitchA (config-if)#exit
SwitchA #show vlan brief
SwitchA #show interface fa0/1 switchport
SwitchA #show spanning-tree vlan 7

Configuring a VLAN Summary
• VTP advertises and synchronizes VLAN configuration information.
• The three VTP modes are server (the default), client, and transparent.
• VTP messages include a configuration revision number. When a switch receives a higher
configuration number, it overwrites its configuration with the newly advertised one.
• VTP pruning restricts flooded traffic to some trunk lines.
• VLAN 1 is the default VLAN configuration on the Catalyst 1900 switch.
• To configure a VLAN, you must enable VTP, create VLANs, and assign those VLANs
to ports.

TheShadow

I felt this was still a little incomplete so being off today I spent a little time to solidify it in my mind if a 1900a could be made usable. You may or may not be interested in what I found. Retrieving a junk 1900a (WS-C1924-A) i.e. old one, that I had in the garage, I went looking for an enterprise file. Cisco said not available to my surprise but two standard versions were there. Relying on friend google after about 20 minutes I found
cat1900EN.9.00.06.bin
cat1900A.9.00.07.bin
cat1900EN.9.00.07.bin

cat1900A.9.00.04.bin was currently on it and missing the command line option being standard IOS. Fired up solarwinds tftp server, set the options on the cat1900a and installed cat1900en.9.00.07.bin. After 30 seconds it came back and a show version gives the following
junk 1900 switch>show version
Cisco Catalyst 1900/2820 Enterprise Edition Software
Version V9.00.07 written from 010.001.001.240
Copyright (c) Cisco Systems, Inc. 1993-1999
junk 1900 switch uptime is 0day(s) 00hour(s) 02minute(s) 38second(s)
cisco Catalyst 1900 (486sxl) processor with 2048K/1024K bytes of memory
Hardware board revision is 5
Upgrade Status: No upgrade currently in progress.
Config File Status: No configuration upload/download is in progress
27 Fixed Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 interface(s)
Base Ethernet Address: 00-06-D7-D7-BA-40
junk 1900 switch>

On to see if a now 1900-en worked like a 1900C-en I tried the vlan command and got an error.. wth. Back to menu mode and I find the vlan command is not of the menu either but bridge groups is where it should be. thinking... thinking... and two swallows of coffee later. Ahh select the system menu item, select the T option to turn on VLAN in place of Bridge, Unit reboots and all is well. Everything works as advertized.

So the answer is get a cat IOS upgrade and you are in business except for the slight command syntax differences between it and a 2950.
cheers

bbel121

Hi,

The 1900a version can be upgraded to the enterprise ios. If you have a straight 1900 it cannot be(the striaght 1900 is about 14 inches deep compared to 7 inches for the 1900a or 1900en.).

The 1900s will not cover every command. I think it is ok if you have a very limited budget to get you exposure to see how vlans really work and stp too. However, as noted above, some of the IOS commands are not exactly the same as on the test. I would rec. you go for a 2912 or 2924 as they use the same commands as the 2950 but are cheaper. Just my two cents. But if you have the bucks, you can go for a 2950.

john

-=zheka=-

jsond wrote:

All I can say is forget anything about the 1900 series it is outdated and not on the ccna exam.

Still, I am not sure whether I have to drop any information regarding 1900 switch as obsolete preparing for CCNA?

suprchgtnt

keep in mind ISL is only supported on the 19xx and 292x ,It no longer used on the 2950 and above- not sure if ISL is on the test or not?

Jiggsaww

-=zheka=- wrote:

jsond wrote:

All I can say is forget anything about the 1900 series it is outdated and not on the ccna exam.

Still, I am not sure whether I have to drop any information regarding 1900 switch as obsolete preparing for CCNA?

yep i didn't get it on my exam........like he said know ur switching/vtp/vlan/mac table commands and know them well

jefflarson

HIYA ALL

THE 1900s speak a little diferent language then the later switches but still can be used for your
ccna training

i think if you load the ios cat1900en.9.00.06.bin it may be a little closer to the new stuff

by the way if anyone has or knows where i can get that ios gime a holler

i have about 30 days till cisco 11-06-07 stops giving intro and icnd-ccna

i have passed intro got 30 more days to ready for incd

networker050184

keep in mind ISL is only supported on the 19xx and 292x ,It no longer used on the 2950 and above- not sure if ISL is on the test or not?

ISL is still used on Cisco switches "above" the 2950 and is still tested on the exam.

i have about 30 days till cisco 11-06-07 stops giving intro and icnd-ccna i have passed intro got 30 more days to ready for incd

You can take the old intro with the new ICND, don't rush it.


I'd also suggest the 2950 or simmilar switch. The 1900 will confuse you for the exam if you don't have experience. Also learn how to configure VLANs in global configuration mode as well as VLAN data. Cisco is moving away from VLAN database. If you continue on in your certifications you will be configuring everything from global config mode, not VLAN database.