Now What?! Don't know what im doing....

Hello,

I am complete newbie...but hopefully not for long.
I have bought/built my CCNA Lab, which consist of: 3725 router, 1761, router, 2801 256/64 router, 1841 router, (2) 3550 switches, and a 2950-e switch

I have all the cat5e straight through cable I could need as well as cross-over cables.
The only thing is I have no idea how to actually run any labs with my newly purchased equipment. Do i need to download any programs? How do i get into the command prompt screen? How to i view what the equipment is doing/saying? do i need to buy more devices/nodes to connect to my switches to get comms? or is what?

I bought ccna courses on udemey but they don't provide this information.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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netsysllc

A quick google search turns up a bunch of labs you can go through Let me google that for you There are also sites like https://www.cybrary.it/

clarson

on your computer your going to need a terminal emulator and a tftp server. I use teraterm as a terminal emulator and solarwind's tftp server. There are literal 100's of free terminal emulator and tftp server programs that are available. Just google them and get something that you want to use.
If you don't one or two console management cables, you will have to get some. They are usually a light blue in color.
here i video about connecting the cable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajy2wFJsp-k
That is a start. And, ask for more help if you need it.

ITsubced

Do you have a console cable? If not, you should get one
Also, you may need a DB9 to USB cable with it.

Imo, you should do the following:

1) Learn how to use a terminal emulator (like Putty) with a console cable;
2) Power on all of this, to check if it's working or not;
3) Check the specification and the IOS version using show version command;
4) Check if they meet all the requirement (hardware/software) needed for CCNA studies;
5) Use the lab with the courses, practicing the basic (copy a config file and so on...);
6) Get a book or website to use your lab in a scenario (for example : https://www.freeccnaworkbook.com/).

v1ral

You need to buy a console cable and plug it into the console port of your equipment. you may also need to buy an adapter like this since most desktops/laptops will most likely not have a serial port.

http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-TU-S9-USB-Serial-Converter/dp/B0007T27H8

I would also draw out and diagram your network layout to keep everything organized and so you will have a visual on the role of different devices.

theodoxa

You will want PuTTY (Free) or better yet Super PuTTY (Supports Tabs). If you don't have an access server, you will probably need a USB to RS-232 convertor (Very few computers come with RS-232 Serial Ports anymore which is a shame). You would connect the USB end to your PC and install whatever drivers come with it. Hopefully, you get one that works correctly. You will connect the other end to a Cisco Console cable (RS-232 end) and the other end of the Console Cable to the Console Port on the Router or Switch.

You will need to find out what COM port it assigned. On Windows 10, just type "Device Manager' into the search bar at the bottom left. In Windows 8.x, I believe you can just type this on the Tablet style Start Menu. You will need to find the convertor. It will be under a section labelled COM, Serial, or some such.

When you open PuTTY, select Serial and enter the COM Port (COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, etc...). The default settings on a Cisco device are 9600-8-N-1, which are already set in PuTTY by default, so no need to change anything other than the COM port (which defaults to COM1) number.

Once you get used to connecting to the Console Port, you might want to look into an Access Server. I have a Digi CM32 and it works great. Basically, what an Access Server does is allow you to connect all the console ports to it and then it connects to your home network, allowing you to connect to any of the Routers or Switches connected to it using Telnet or SSH.

[EDIT] On a side note, some newer routers (Moderately expensive) and switches (Very expensive) come with a USB Console Port. I have a Cisco 1921 Router with one. It makes the job of connecting a lot simpler. You would just need a USB A-Male to Mini-B cable and a driver available from Cisco. Only downside is the Mini USB (like on the Razr V3 back in the day) has been replaced in most Smartphones by Micro USB...so finding one in a store won't be easy (or cheap). Amazon is your friend.

Renbro02

Thanks thedoxa. Thanks what i couldn't figure out. None of the CCNA Labs that i bought mentioned putty or superputty or that i need a terminal emulator. Appreciate the help Thanks.

theodoxa

Renbro02 wrote: »

Thanks thedoxa. Thanks what i couldn't figure out. None of the CCNA Labs that i bought mentioned putty or superputty or that i need a terminal emulator. Appreciate the help Thanks.

Back in the day (Before 2006), Windows came with a program called HyperTerminal, which was a Terminal Emulator. It could also be used for Text Based Dial Up Internet Services, such as BBSes and our Local Library (whose Card Catalog, etc... could be accessed via their own Dial Up Service). This latter use was its primary purpose and since Dial Up BBSes went the way of the dinosaurs, Microsoft removed it from Windows starting with Vista if I remember correctly. Now, you need to provide your own program.