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My Lab...is it enough down the road?

Nafe92014Nafe92014 Member Posts: 279 ■■■□□□□□□□
Hey all,

just taking a study break and looking at my lab and rack, I was wondering if the equipment and rack size will be enough for my CCNP down the road. Picture is attached.

PS: yes I know I need to dust it off. :P
Certification Goals 2020: CCNA, Security+

"You have enemies? Good, that means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." ~Winston S. Churchill

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    SpetsRepairSpetsRepair Member Posts: 210 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Looks great, what kind of rack is that? Startech?

    What kind of access terminal are you running? Where'd you find it
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    Nafe92014Nafe92014 Member Posts: 279 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Looks great, what kind of rack is that? Startech?

    yes it is. 25U rack.
    Certification Goals 2020: CCNA, Security+

    "You have enemies? Good, that means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." ~Winston S. Churchill
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    Net_GenuisNet_Genuis Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Your got a descent size rack for home lab. What devices have you got stacked there ?
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    Nafe92014Nafe92014 Member Posts: 279 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Net_Genuis wrote: »
    Your got a descent size rack for home lab. What devices have you got stacked there ?

    From top to bottom:

    1x Startech 8 outlet PDU surge protector
    1x RJ-2509 Terminal Server (used to access each device)
    1x C2960 24 port switch
    2x 2811 ISR with 2 serial interfaces
    1x C2960 24 port switch
    1x Epson WF-2630 printer
    Certification Goals 2020: CCNA, Security+

    "You have enemies? Good, that means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." ~Winston S. Churchill
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    TechGuru80TechGuru80 Member Posts: 1,539 ■■■■■■□□□□
    Probably will need another router, and I believe layer 3 switches for CCNP. So probably 3 - 3550s or 3560s and lose the layer two switches. The nice thing is that on the CCNP you have pieces of technology split up...routing, switching, and troubleshooting...so you can buy equipment slowly.
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    Net_GenuisNet_Genuis Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Yes, I agree with TechGuru. 1 or 2 routers and 1 or 2 L3 of switches, then you have a solid professional home lab
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    james43026james43026 Member Posts: 303 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Yeah, I would recommend at least 1 layer 3 switch, and 1 more router. Maybe another layer 2 switch.
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    theodoxatheodoxa Member Posts: 1,340 ■■■■□□□□□□
    For CCNP, you'll need at least 2 Layer 3 Switches. The 3550 is cheapest, but won't do Private VLANs, IPv6, or VTPv3. To do all the topics, you'll want 3560 or 3750 switches. If you plan on doing CCIE, I'd go with 3560-24TS, 3560-48TS, or one of the newer 3560E/3560G/3560V2 switches that support IOS 15 (the latter options are quite expensive).

    As for routers, I would suggest all 1841s, unless you plan on doing Voice/Collaboration.

    My CCNP Lab:

    5 x Cisco 1841
    1 x Cisco 2811 (Frame Relay Switch)
    2 x Cisco 3560-24TS (Distribution Switches)
    2 x Cisco 3750-24TS (Access Switches)
    1 x Cisco ASA 5505 (This wasn't technically part of the lab, but sat between my home and lab networks. I exchanged routes with it using BGP and used VPN to connect to my lab remotely)

    I used the TSHOOTv1 Topology
    R&S: CCENT CCNA CCNP CCIE [ ]
    Security: CCNA [ ]
    Virtualization: VCA-DCV [ ]
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    MTciscoguyMTciscoguy Member Posts: 552
    That can't be a lab, the cabling is way to neat!

    icon_lol.gif
    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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