Need a good Simulator

jocampo

HI fellas.

This is the all day question on this forum (i guess) but please forgive me 'cause i'm really new on CCNA. I have my MCSA and Net+ but i'm studying hard to get my CCNA cert.

I'm pretty sure nothing can replaced hands on pratice... but i need a good recommendation for a CCNA lab.

I'm using RouterSim and Packet Tracer 3.2. How good are they? Do you know any other good Network Simulator? ...

Thanks in advanced. Any input will be very appreciated.

JC.

mikej412

Been covered many times, including some recent posts......

... but to recap my positon on this.....

There is no such thing a good simulator -- yet. But they are better than nothing -- if you don't waste time trying to get them to do things they can't.

The least-bad simulator that will do enough to get you through the CCNA is Boson's NetSim. Their pre-configured labs usually work (but if you type the same configurations yourself, they may not).

I haven't tried RouterSim v5 (that's the latest, right?) -- I wasted enough time on previous versions.... but it should also let you do the minimum hands on things to pass (if you also study the books enough)

The eLabs in the Cisco Network Academy are also "good enough" to pass the CCNA exam..... and they might have the flash lab to do password recovery (which the real simulators don't seem to do).

Packet tracer is also "functional" for fake "hands-on" practice.

If you study enough and memorize the commands -- you can probably do the sims on the exam without ever touching a router.

jocampo

Thanks for reply.

100% agree with you that handsome is better than anything else.

But .... I personally did not find a waste of time and money use simulators, in fact...i think they are a good alternative for those which can not afford real CISCO routers. And yes! there are some places where could be very expensive to get one. I live at PR, USA and shipping costs make no so cheap to buy a real router or switch instead a simulator.

mikej412

jocampo wrote:

i think they are a good alternative for those which can not afford real CISCO routers.

I agree with that -- that's why I say they are better than nothing.

The real routers and switches are preferred, but you have to make due with what you have or can afford..... and you have to be aware of the limitations and problems when you use the simulators.

See this current topic for a "NetSim gone Bad" example:
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=80901#80901

jocampo

mikej412 wrote:

jocampo wrote:

i think they are a good alternative for those which can not afford real CISCO routers.

I agree with that -- that's why I say they are better than nothing.

The real routers and switches are preferred, but you have to make due with what you have or can afford..... and you have to be aware of the limitations and problems when you use the simulators.

See this current topic for a "NetSim gone Bad" example:
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=80901#80901

With all respect ... your input is not so useful for me. I think most people already know real hardware can not be replaced for netsimulators but what i asked for was for names... simulator's names ...

Again, you're right, simulators are not the best choice but for those who can not afford anything else it's the only one choice. So, saying they are bad.... you solve nothing and give no help to those who are still looking for a good one ...

mikej412

jocampo wrote:

With all respect ... your input is not so useful for me. I think most people already know real hardware can not be replaced for netsimulators but what i asked for was for names... simulator's names ...

You might have missed it from my original post

mikej412 wrote:

The least-bad simulator that will do enough to get you through the CCNA is Boson's NetSim.

I'll try again ALL BOLD -- MAYBE ALL CAPS -- and I'll underline the IMPORTANT PART so you don't have to read the entire sentence
THE LEAST-BAD SIMULATOR THAT WILL DO ENOUGH TO GET YOU THROUGH THE CCNA IS BOSON'S NETSIM

gabrielbtoledo

I have Netsim and it's decent (not excellent).
Packet Tracer didn't get along with me (lol, maybe opposite). So, I won't recommend.
Yes, Cisco E-Labs are awesome. It helped me a lot to pass my class.

jocampo

gabrielbtoledo wrote:

I have Netsim and it's decent (not excellent).
Packet Tracer didn't get along with me (lol, maybe opposite). So, I won't recommend.
Yes, Cisco E-Labs are awesome. It helped me a lot to pass my class.

Gracias por tu comentario, es de valiosa ayuda!

gabrielbtoledo

Lol, that is one of my advantages over other candidates (in a job hunt). I am trilingual. However I didn't come from a country that speaks Spanish as native language.
Anyway, glad to help.

jocampo

gabrielbtoledo wrote:

Lol, that is one of my advantages over other candidates (in a job hunt). I am trilingual. However I didn't come from a country that speaks Spanish as native language.
Anyway, glad to help.

I'm bilingual, i speak spanish and english...and yes, its a great advantage over other people specially on some south and north USA states. Would like to learn portugues and italian...working on that ...

Deadmaster200

There really should be a new condition before being allowed to register as a user on an internet forum.

There should be a short, simple reading test. After all, if you can't read, you have no business mucking up some TEXT-based medium.

Mike, why do you even reply!?!?!?