2017 Hardware Recommendations

7anc3

Hi There,

I am planning going for the CCENT then the CCNA and the the voice and wireless after words. I was looking recommendations on good lab hardware for 2017. I am looking for 3 switches and 3 routers and trying to stay cost friendly, but also don't mind spending a little extra on a device if it is worth the cost. I found this link and was wondering if it is still relevant https://www.reddit.com/r/ccna/comments/3d3qec/what_do_you_really_need_for_your_ccnaccnp_lab/

clarson

that link's information is generally good and relevant.

But, most people are going about selecting the hardware incorrectly. Your not getting tested on a cisco exam on specific hardware. What your being tested on is how does the ios software work. In my opinion, people should be focusing on what ios software do they need. Then getting the hardware that will run that ios software.

Such as in your case, you want to study for the ccna test. a router running a late version of 12.4 is good enough. But, if you want to go on with security, you will need to study ccp and ccp only runs on version 15 of the ios. And, the last i looked the voice exam was using version 8.6 of the voice software, which only runs on version 15 of the ios. The same goes for the ccnp, you want version 15 of the ios.

So, you need to decide if you need version 15 of the ios. You could always buy what is good enough for the ccna. pass your ccna. Then sell your ccna hardware. then purchase equipment for your next cert. You will save some money as newer equipment is depreciating faster than older equipment. But, you have sell your hardware, and purchase more. You have to decide if that is something you want to do and is it worth your time to do.

Next is what feature set does the ios need to be. on a router for the ccna, ip base is good enough. but if you want to do security later, you'll need the advsecurity feature set. to do ipv6 and mpls, you will need the advipservices feature set, and for security and voice, you're going to need the adventerprise feature set. and the larger the feature set the more memory it takes. So, the router needs enough flash and ram to install and run the feature set.

So your looking to get version 15 of the ios with the adventerprise feature set. And, the router will need to support voice. And, I know that your looking to get a 2811 router. And, to do voice you'd prefer 512mb of ram and 128mb or larger cf card. And, two such routers would be better than one.

But, your probably not going to find that on ebay. They make more money by providing less customer service. So, your going to just see a 2811 router that was pulled from a working environment. They didn't check the ios version or the ios feature set or the amount of memory. And, they haven't even tested it to see if it works. So, it just has what was last used on the router. And, more then likely it is the minimum version and feature set of the ios that the owner wanted to pay. and the least amount of memory that would support it. So, if you don't ask, you won't know. And more than likely, it isn't going to be what you want.

7anc3

Thanks for the response. I ended up ordering 3 - 3750v2 switches and 3 - 2811.