New CCNA 640-802

Manglian

Hi everyone as you know new CCNA form has following new topics



• Secure Device Manager
• Virtual Private Networks
• IPv6 (my favorite!)
• 2960 Switches • Cisco Network Assistant
• Advanced EIGRP and OSPF
• Introduction to Wireless networks
• More security
• Lots of troubleshooting
reference: Todd Lammle

Could someone please tell me if can we still use 2950 switch to get know about 2960 ?. Is it gonna be much difference between two series?

dtlokee

Everything they expect for the 640-802 can be done on the 2950 with the latest IOS, there are topics on PVRSTP and MST, also configuring the switch for SSH which requires a crypto image.

Manglian

dtlokee Thanks for reply, what about routers, I know cisco 2516 will not be in use any more after ISDN elimination. what about 2501 series which is in my home lab ?

dtlokee

Well, the lab setup calls for the 2811, but you can do about 95% of the required tasks with a couple of 2501 routers when it comes to the routing protocols, dhcp, ppp, frame relay, and IPv6 (with the correct feature set). For the other parts you can use Dynamips to simulate a better router to practice some of the other features you can't do with the 2500, like SDM and VPN.

It would be nice to have newer equipment, but I have been through the curriculum 3 times so far and I see no reason why you can't use 4-5 2500's to practice, and to pass.

mgeorge

As for the wireless portion of the new CCNA exam, this can all be done with a Cisco Aironet 1200 series 802.11B, which you can get on ebay for less then 100 bucks.

The 1231G's will run about 200-300 dollars.

With this you'll be fimular with several wireless security topics as well as have experince on the web interface of aironet class access points. These AP's do have a console port so you can do command line configuration but some of the commands are extremely long!!!

dtlokee

You do not need an access point for the CCNA at all. It tests on the theory behind wireless, no configuration. As long as you know the different standards (a,b,g) the concepts behind wireless including ad hoc and infrastructure, and best practices when it comes to administration (like not allowing administration through the wireless interface) you'll be fine.