Should i change my CCNA Lab Routers?

Corona Radiata

I have the following setup:

2621 - 16 MB flash - 64 MB ram - nm8 a/s - wic1t s
2610xm - 16 MB flash - 16 MB flash - 32 MB ram - wic1t s - wic1b s/t
2620xm 16 MB flash - 32MB ram - wic1b s/t - 1nm4t
1801 - 32 MB flash - 128 MB ram

c2950 x2
c2924
3560G - 16 MB flash - 128 MB ram
As2509 Rj with transceiver

I'm noticing a lack of features/commands compared to Packet Tracer especially on the routers side.
It looks like i need to run IOS 12.4T at least on the 2600 series routers but as you can see i have limited resources(flash/ram).
Is there any IOS 12.4T that can run on 16 MB flash 64 MB ram?
If yes i can a take out 32 MB of DRAM from the 2620xm and give it to the 2610xm and buy a fresh 128 MB for the 2620xm?
Is gonna be enough to run 12.4 IOS?
Or should i consider to sell some routers and switches and buy just two 2621xm?
It looks like i have too much units and i'm not planning to go further CCNA.
What should i buy/sell/replace?
Anyway i would prefer to use real equipment rather that emulators/simulators.

NOC-Ninja

Go to cisco website > download section and look at the IOS file size.

clarson

What you need to know is what version of the ios that you need to be running. I've always used the advanced enterprise version of the ios. On a 2600xm, the latest version 12.4T requires 48mb of flash, the latest version 12.4 requires 32mb of flash. And, of course, 128mb ram for both.
I don't know about other versions of the ios having enough features to be appropriate for the ccna, such advance ip services or something else.
But, you will probably still need to upgrade the memory on the 2600xms.
What would be nice is if you could run version 15 of the ios on the 1801 if all you had to do is upgrade the flash card.
to do frame relay you need 3 routers with serial cards. the 2621 is only going to be able to run at the most 12.3 of the ios. But, you could use it as the frame relay switch. And, being the 1801 doesn't support any add on serial wics, you'll have to use something else and 2600 should work for you.
the c2924 should be recycled.
I'd check that 3560G for flash. I think all 3560Gs come with 32mb for flash.
and, that 2509 will be nice to have to use as a terminal server.
So, you need to find what version of the ios your going to be running.
then upgrade the memory on those 2600xm. compare the price of the memory to getting another one with the memory all ready in it.

OctalDump

1841's are the cheap 'go to' for CCNA routing. In this part of the world, you can also get 2800s (2821, 2851 etc) for under $100. The nice thing about those is that they take 'generic' RAM and Compact Flash, so aren't horrendous to upgrade. They will run IOS 15 also.

If you want to get seriously serious, then the ISR2's are the thing to look for. The cheapest I've seen is a 1941 for just under $200, typically they are $300+. Strangely on the 2nd hand market here, the 1921s are about the same as the 1941s but rarer. The default IPBase feature set is good enough for CCNA R+S and CCNP R+S, but you may need other feature sets for other streams (eg Security or Service Provider or Collaboration), and the ISR2's feature license is tied to the device, so it becomes harder to find.

The other thing is it's not just the ios versions, but also the feature set eg ip base vs enterprise services vs advance ip services vs security etc. And the more powerful feature sets are also more RAM and Flash hungry.

About your 26xx's, everything you'd want to know about upgrading is here. So, the flash can be upgraded to 48MB, I assume with a 32MB flash. You can find these on eBay, but can easily pay as much as you might for an already good enough 1841. RAM can be upgraded to 256MB using two 128MB DIMMs. Although they are SD-RAM, they are an unusual 100pin form, not the regular 168pin long dimm or the 144pin SO-DIMM. Which again means you can easily pay as much for RAM as you might for a whole 1841. The 2621 might also require a ROM upgrade to take more RAM.

You can probably swap the RAM around as you think, since they probably have only one DIMM installed and have 2 slots. Open it up and find out.

The Cisco feature navigator says that 12.4(25) IP Base requires 64 RAM 16mb Flash on the 2600xm series. Advanced IP Service (required for IPv6) needs 128MB RAM 32MB flash. Looking at the other feature sets, it looks like 128MB/32MB is the maximum minimum required.

EDIT: just realised that you are looking for 12.4T and yeah, that requires more - you basically bumping up to the max flash and either 192 or 256 RAM, if you want IPv6 (and you will for CCNA R+S) depending on feature set. Definitely I'd recommend getting a better router - it's going to be cheaper. Maybe mix and match with VIRL or GNS3, if you need to save some money.

Corona Radiata

Thank you for the replies guys.

Anyway i've checked that if i'm gonna upgrade the two "XM" routers it is gonna cost me like buying three 2811 Routers with 12.4T 256MB of RAM and 64 MB of flash.

So a new setup would be:

4 x 2811
2 x c2950
3560G
As2509
Questions:
What do you think about this setup?
Do i really need 4 routers for Frame Relay?
Can i add NM8-A/S; NM-4T; WIC-1T serial modules to the 2811's(still for Frame Relay Lab)?
Do i really need a L3 switch to cover all CCNA labs?

networker050184

Honestly if you have no plans on going past CCNA I'd just use Packet Tracer or GNS3 and not invest any money in a lab.

clarson

on a 2811 router, you should be running version 15 of the ios. And, to do that you need a minimum of 256/128 of memory.
For the ccna you only need 3. For the ccnp you will need 4.
the ccna doesn't cover any level 3 features on switches, just on routers. But, they sure do on the ccnp.
the nm8-a/s and wic-1t will work in a 2811
the nm4-t will not

OctalDump

clarson wrote: »

on a 2811 router, you should be running version 15 of the ios. And, to do that you need a minimum of 256/128 of memory.
For the ccna you only need 3.

This is correct. The Advanced IP Services image (which you need for IPv6 support) is just over 64MB, like 65MB. Fortunately, the compact flash is fairly cheap. I think about $10-15 each for 128MB.

RAM for the 2811 is pretty cheap also. I think I saw 256MB dimms for about $2. MUCH cheaper than for 2600s.

If you do continue to CCNP, then I'd recommend at least one ISR2 like the 1941, since there is some things that require IOS 15.2 or 15.4.

The switches look ok. I think the deal with the 3560s is if they have PoE then they might have 16MB flash, otherwise they should have at least 32MB and run IOS15.x

The 2950s are likely 'ok' for most of what you need, but ideally you should look for 3560s or 2960s that support IOS 15.x. Two of each would be good.