Lab switch Input

Nik 99

I'm thinking about getting 2 or 3 switches for my lab since GNS3 can't really do switching well at all. That Etherswitch module doesn't really cut it.

Been browsing some of the switches on ebay and would just like to know if these 2 would be suitable for a lab.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cisco-2960-24-S-with-IOS-15-Catalyst-WS-C2960-24-S-24-Port-Switch-CCNA/272119333500?epid=15003299036&hash=item3f5b93827c:g:rKcAAOSwDmBY5vI2

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cisco-Catalyst-WS-C3560-48PS-S-48-Port-PoE-1U-Managed-Switch/202145724651?epid=2164376630&hash=item2f10d2f8eb:g:FeUAAOSwnCFaL9~S

I recall reading that all switches should been IOS 15, I think? Also does the feature set matter much on a switch for lab purposes? Thanks for any help!

Welly_59

Gns3 works perfectly fine for switching. The latest iOS images even support VACLS

clarson

Yes those are suitable. But you could do better.

the 2960 does have enough memory to run version 15 of the ios. But the -S models run a feature set that just makes it a layer 2 switch. It is better to get a model with a -L. That feature set has limited layer 3 capability.

on the 3560, the PS models only have 16 mb of memory and can not run version 15 of the ios. A TS model has 32mb and can run version 15 of the ios. The PS models has POE. The TS models do not have POE

huntert

rene molenaar from networklessons.com recommends the cisco catalyst 3550 switch i saw one at certificationkits.com for 75.00

Cisco Inferno

Welly_59 wrote: »

Gns3 works perfectly fine for switching. The latest iOS images even support VACLS

yep! People used to use the L2 IOU but it couldnt support PVLAN/VACLs and a few other things.

Look into the L2 version of iOSV. its the virtual VIRL version of the Layer 2 image. It is the image that is loaded with Cisco's VIRL; just extracted and used in GNS3 i believe. It is recommended to create a GNS3VM(free) with Virtualbox/VMWare/Hyper-V. It'll run cleaner and not mess with your system resources. Once you get that, you create a QEMU(virtual) instance in GNS3 and load it up in the GNS3VM you just created.

This is clearly not legal by any means except if you have a VIRL account. I just heard that it is possible.


GNS3 switching has somewhat of a weird history. Goes kind of like this.

1. Router image that uses an etherswitch module. (TONS OF CPU usage, like no more than 3-5 devices), then IOU came out.

2. IOU image which was an internal cisco training image running on linux(unix) natively vs hardware emulation. (Can do like 50 devices on a 256mb virtual machine with BARELY any cpu usage). Once again, its running on a Unix vm. Therefore uses almost no resources! There is a L2 and L3 version. Extremely well for CCNA and most of CCNP. It lacked advanced switching features on the L2 image. Then IOSV came out.

3. IOSV image which is the VIRL Version. The CPU load is closer to that of IOU than the original IOS emulation. It will require a little CPU power in your VM to run these. Also uses much more RAM from your VM. Besides the medium CPU usage, it requires about 512mb of dedicated ram per device for bootup. You make this setting in GNS3 when importing the image. This must be within your GNS3VM Server's max RAM allocated by your hypervisor. When starting devices you could just do them one at a time or all at once and just let GNS3VM's CPU max out for a few minutes and then lower to normal. So if you use this, bump up your GNS3VM to maybe 2GB ram and match virtual cpu cores to your cpu. This image has the most switching features though and can work for CCNP. Also, comes in both L2 and L3 version.


Hypothetically, One would use a Layer 3 IOU Image with GNS3VM server (it is actually a linux vm, therefore it runs NATIVELY and does not need any CPU to emulate). For Layer 2, L2 IOU works amazing for CCNA, its just some CCNP topics won't work and require one to use the L2 IOSV QEMU method.

For CCNA, and the absolute lowest system load, one would use a L2 IOU and a L3 IOU image.
For CCNP, i think L3 IOU and L2 IOSV is the best option.

I did not mention what I heard about L3 IOSV because using a L3 IOSV is kind of a pain in the ass. It does not support serial interfaces so keep that in mind. Crucial stuff to learn routing and WAN. It also uses way way more CPU than IOUL3.

No need for real gear unless you like heat and noise. or havent seen one before.


I hope that wasnt confusing.

Nik 99

Thanks for your responses guys. So L2 / L3 IOU can cover everything for switching in ccna topics?

I think I'm going to have to give this some thought and look into the options a bit more before I commit to anything.

Welly_59

Nik I bought a bunch of physical for ccna but never used it once since i got gns3 working. Its been more than enough for ccnp as well

Cisco Inferno

Nik 99 wrote: »

Thanks for your responses guys. So L2 / L3 IOU can cover everything for switching in ccna topics?

I think I'm going to have to give this some thought and look into the options a bit more before I commit to anything.

Yep absolutely. You are going to have to be a Cisco employee (or a really, really, really good googler)

theodoxa

huntert wrote: »

rene molenaar from networklessons.com recommends the cisco catalyst 3550 switch i saw one at certificationkits.com for 75.00

For $75, you can get a 3560 (TS support 15, PS don't) that can run IOS 15 on eBay. In fact, I've even seen 3560v2 switches cheap now. I believe all 3560v2 support IOS 15. A 3550 will not support IOS 15.

I would suggest getting a couple of Layer 3 switches that support IOS 15 (3560-24TS, 3560-48TS, 3560v2, 3750v2) for anyone thinking they may continue on to CCNP or CCIE. They work just fine for CCNA and you will need them for CCNP and CCIE labs. The 3750v2 will also do Stackwise, but its not that big of a topic that you really have to lab it.

CCNP

2 x IOS 15 L3 Switches (3560-24TS, 3560-48TS, 3560v2, 3750v2)
2 x IOS 15 Switches (2960-*-L or two more of the above)
5 x IOS 15 Routers or Virtualized

CCIE

4 x IOS 15 L3 Switches (3560-24TS, 3560-48TS, 3560v2, 3750v2)
10 or 20 x ISR G2 Routers (1900/2900/3900 Series) or Virtualized

For Virtual Routers, I like CSR-1000V. It is a Virtual IOS-XE router. IOS-XE and IOS are virtually identical command wise. The main difference is XE uses a Linux kernel running IOS as a daemon instead of running directly on the hardware like IOS. Unlike VIRL, older versions (some releases up to 3.15) of CSR-1000V are available for free. Officially, you can run it on ESXi, Hyper-V, KVM, or XENServer.