Need help building home lab for CCNA cert

I am sort of new

. I had an account here but can't remember if I ever posted anything. Hi everyone. I have been a Help Desk Analyst for 3 weeks. I want to pursue becoming a Network Administrator and eventually become an Information Security Analyst. I have no certs and a bachelor's in computer science. I have been looking into building a home lab for the CCNA cert as I am broke and going the self-study route. Is this a good home lab for the CCNA exam?

3 of these switches WS C2950 24 Cisco Catalyst 2950 24 Port Ethernet Switch iOS 12 1 22 EA11 0746320454498 | eBay

and 3 of these routers Cisco 2600XM Multiservice Router Model 2610XM Lifetime Warranty 746320661247 | eBay

I do not know what cards, cords, software, drivers, etc I should have. Do I need this stuff and if so, how many of each:

WIC-2A/S Two PortSmart Serial Modules
Smart Serial to Smart Serial Back to Back Cables
Power Cables
Console cable kit
Ethernet Crossover Cables
Etherent Patch Cables

I looked at a few sites for guidance

including certificationkits.com. They have CCNA home lab kits but they are pricey. I was hoping to buy a functional home lab piece by piece to save some bucks but I want to have what I need to do well on the CCNA exam too.

I am definitely willing to learn. I am looking to those more experienced/knowledgeable to point me in the right direction. I will pay it forward to others as I continue to learn. Any and all advice and help greatly appreciated

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Mooseboost

A lot of people pay the premium and buy their first lab from a place like certificationkits and then later when they are more knowledgeable add to the lab later from other places (ebay, etc); You can find some good deals around if you hunt. There is a user here, Clarson, who I would hit up if you need a well priced lab.

clarson

The 2950's are good switches for studying for the ccna. But, you should try to get a c/g/t version of the switch. they cost about the same and have more features than the version of the switch in the ebay ad.
2 switches are enough for the ccna. You can always buy more if you need them. Most think a 4th router is more helpful than a 3rd switch for the ccna.

3 routers are good for the ccna. the 2600xm is the low end of what is usable. And, you can get a 2800 for about $20 more. it is good to have at least one 2800 or a router that can run version 15 of the ios. you will need a such a router to do ccna voice or security certs. And, are a must have for ccnp. So, if you go for a cert after the ccna your going to need one(and probably more).

you will need at least one router that has two ethernet ports for doing nat/pat. the ones in the ebay ad only have one.

The most critical item on a router is the version of ios that it is running. Because the version of ios dictates how memory that is necessary for it to run. In general, if they don't list which version of the ios that is loaded, or not how much memory is installed, your going to need to buy more memory.

There are probably lots of ios versions that will work for the ccna with different requirements of memory. Just go for the most capable ios, advanced enterprise and the latest version available, which will require a lot of memory. But, your going to be able to do everything you need.

there are various serial wics that you can purchase. each take their own style of cable. and of course you need a back to back version of the cable for use in a lab. I use the dsu t1 wics that use rj45 connectors. You can make your own cables a lot cheaper than you will be able to purchase cables for the other style wics. You'll need at least one wic for each router and two wics for at least one router. I put two wics in each router to be able to have more complicated labs.

most kit builders just give you one ethernet crossover cable. I think two or more is better to see how stp works. buy a crimper and some plugs and make as many as you want.

i think you should have a straight through cable for each ethernet port on each router. and, of course, one to connect to your what your using for a tftp server and another to the computer your using to console/ssh into the equipment with if it is different from your tftp server

for the ccna, a couple of console management cables should be good. might need a usb adaptor to connect to your computer.

And, i could put together a lab with better equipment, wics, cables, etc., all tested for about what those ebay items are priced at.

koz24

If you're broke then why are you looking into purchasing real equipment when everything on CCNA R&S can be virtualized? PacketTracer and IOU/IOL are free.

MTciscoguy

When I was studying, I had 3 1841 routers, 2 2500 routers and 5 2950 switches, I made all of my own cables and I still had less than $500 into the whole set up. I also used GNS3 and Packet Tracer, but I much preferred to work on the real equipment over the simulators. Some of us, just don't do well using simulations, I like the real things, of course that is why I have been married for 30 years now!

kendr1ck

I would check out GNS3 software before shelling out for real-world equipment if it's just for a home lab. It's pretty much like packet tracer, on crack. I use it all the time at work for testing deployments and just building out potential designs. You can even integrate VMs into the topologies, which is very cool.