Planning Home lab for CCNA training and self study

alexfamous

I am starting to prepare for my venture into Cisco CCNA. I already brought the Official Cert guide for ICND 1 and 2 and I am going to take a boot camp class for CCNA v3.0 training next spring. (I know the cert guide is set for v2.0 training but Cisco is ending testing on v2.0 in August 2016)

I am listening to a video from CBT nuggets about home lab setup, https://youtu.be/QAS5_Wzolfs. The video stated that you need about 3 routers, 3 switches and 2 servers/laptops. I was wondering if I could get away with one router and 1 switch? The video suggested getting the Cisco router 2621 xm router and Cisco 3750 Layer 3 switch for the home lab. Are there any other suggested cheap equipment I can use?

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks to all in advance.

GDaines

That's old kit. There's loads of threads on here about home labs so try the advanced search too.

General response is that you'll want 3 routers, I suggest you look for 2811, 2821 and/or 2851 as these are more than good enough to carry you beyond CCNA should you choose to continue your studies. 2900-series kit is newer and better, but you pay more because of that. Anything older than 2800-series may well be adequate for CCNA but if it's going to cost you (nearly) the same then why not buy something newer. While I can't speak for 2801's, the 1841 is also quite popular but as far as I can see it doesn't support IPv6 (maybe it's just the IOS version I'm running, can't be sure).

Try to get IOS 15 if you can, but chances are most kit for sale will be IOS 12 which again should be fine for CCNA, and look for something that has AdvancedEnterprise or AdvancedIPServices loaded as these are the IOS versions you want, but I suspect they'll come with IPBase. In both instances you can always upgrade later if you need to.

If it includes rack mounts and cables you'll save some money not having to buy them after. If you're going for the v3 exam rumour has it you'll no longer need serial modules for frame relay, but don't quote me on that. Routers with more than 128mb ram and 64mb flash which are standard amounts in the 2811 at least are a bonus if you're paying the same amount for them.

Same advice for switches as for routers, I suggest you try to find 60-series as you'll probably pay just as much for the older 50-series switches. If you want to go beyond CCNA then I suggest you look for 3560 layer3 switches but avoid the PoE ones as they cannot be upgraded to IOS 15 so look for WS-C3569-24TS-S or TT-L (or 48-port if you find some cheap). If CCNA is as far as you're going then one 3560 and a couple of 2960 layer2 switches should be just fine.

There are many reasons you need 3 or more devices, far too many to mention, but as your studies progress these reasons will become more clear. You can't do router discovery if you don't have additional routers to discover, or open shortest path first (OSPF) if you can't create multiple different paths between host A and host B, and how do you know host A can ping host B if you don't have a pair of host computers.

My lab originally consisted of the following:
1x 1841 Router
2x 2811 Router
1x 2960 L2 Switch
2x 3560 L3 PoE Switches.
4x old Core2 Duo computers running Windows 7.

Over time I've learned what's good kit and what's not so I'm waiting for ram and flash card upgrades to arrive at which point I'll have 4x 2811 Routers capable of running IOS 15 and going forward I'm highly likely to replace my switches with 3x non-PoE 3560's, probably selling the 1841 router, 2960 switch and at least one of the 3560 PoE switches. That'll leave me with 4x Routers and 4x L3 Switches.

alexfamous

Thank you for your response and input GDaines.

My one question, You mention that i should stay away from POE switches but in your lab inventory you have 2 3560 PoE switches. Are you having trouble training with them outside an enterprise environment? OR does the difference in IOS versions factor? I know you mention that you will be replacing them in due time.

I have not picked up on the programming and the IOS version yet but i guess it will be something to consider.

clarson

well it kinda depends on what your plans are. for the ccna, you can get by without any equipment that runs version 15 of the ios. But, the test is written to ios 15. Which means the ios command syntax is for version 15. The output of the command are for version 15. The difference are small. But, ccna is a timed test. The more time you spend determining the syntax/output differences is less time you have to answer questions. So, it is nice to have at least one router that runs version 15 for the ccna.
For the ccna security cert, you are going to have to have at least one router that runs version 15 of the ios. For the ccna voice cert it is recommended to have at least 2 routers that run version 15 of the ios. And, for the ccnp it is best that all your routers and switches run version 15 of the ios.

So, while you can get your ccna without any routers or switches running version 15, you are going to replace them all someday if you go for the ccnp. The trade off is that electronic equipment depreciates. What you buy today is going to be cheaper tomorrow. So, do you buy cheap non version 15 now or more expensive version 15 equipment. It depends on whether you going to go for the ccnp and when. if you plan on going for the ccnp a year from now, I'd get the cheap equipment with 1 router that runs version 15. if you are going for the ccnp in 3 months, buy all equipment that runs version 15 now. I know it is hard to tell what the future will bring. But, if you don't know if you will be studying the ccnp next year, why are you buying equipment now to study for the ccnp. My philosophy is if you don't need it, don't buy it.

The most important part of a home lab is the feature set of the ios that the equipment is running. Then next is does the equipment have enough memory/flash to run that feature set. Such as was mentioned above, the 3560 poe switches (or 3750 switches) don't have enough flash to load version 15 of the ios on them. So, if you want to run version 15 of the ios, don't buy 3560 poe switches.

clarson

Are there any other suggested cheap equipment I can use?

Yes, there are quite a few. But, I'm not going to spend hours detailing all the model, memory requirement, ios feature sets, ios version and combinations there of that will work. But, do a google search for cisco ccna home lab. Take a look at what equipment are in those labs. What is the memory, what is the ios feature set, what is the ios version. compare ebay with what is on amazon. find something you like, ask the forum for their opinion.

alexfamous

clarson wrote: »

Are there any other suggested cheap equipment I can use?

Yes, there are quite a few. But, I'm not going to spend hours detailing all the model, memory requirement, ios feature sets, ios version and combinations there of that will work. But, do a google search for cisco ccna home lab. Take a look at what equipment are in those labs. What is the memory, what is the ios feature set, what is the ios version. compare ebay with what is on amazon. find something you like, ask the forum for their opinion.

Clarson,

First off, thank you for your input. As I read, your saying is that I need at least one router and switch that runs IOS 15 for CCNA testing purposes.

Personally I am 85% sure that I am going to stay the CCNA into CCNP route. But if and when I go for the CCNP I need all my own equipment to have IOS 15 installed.

I am in my beginning stages in preparing for the CCNA. Any information I can get from you guys who have the CCNA will benefit me later. I plan to build my lab some time in the winter(16)/spring(17). I understand that I will have to google search others lab setups to get a better idea. I figured this forum is a great start in my research.

clarson

for the ccna it is nice to have at least one router that has version 15 of the ios.
for the ccnp it is recommend that all your equipment have version 15 of the ios and definitely for the ccie

and just doing a search on the forum for ccna home lab will give you lots of information. Just stick to recent posts. A lab from 4 years ago is outdated.

shanetech74

I would also strongly suggest GNS3. It is a virtualized lab and free. The one caveat is that you will have to find the correct IOSs. A few minutes of googling will help you get them. GNS3 will get you past CCNA, but when you go for CCNP, you should get the real gear... To do switching in GNS3 there are a few workarounds to give you the capabilities needed for CCNP...There are videos for you to go step-by-step on set up for GNS3. If you buy physical gear, it can be daunting for a beginner to get it up and going. (ie, confreg set to 0x2142,etc.).