router and switches

i know this quest has prob been asked a thousand times but i just wanted some clarification

i looked through the lab posts on what u need so far as routers and switches but my concern is that those posts were made 2 years ago i dont know if that would be a factor

but i wanted to ask... what should i get for a small lab enough for ccna, that has ssh and all the new up to date features. packet tracer is not working well with me bec many of the things i need are just not in those switches. i was thinking more in the line of 2 switches and 2 routers. any suggestion on what i need how many and what model #s? thansk in advance

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Comments

shednik

I haven't taken the new exam but if you can get ahold of I'd say atleast 3 routers running 12.4 and 2-3 switches that should work well. The nice part is that all that will work well if you move onto the CCNP, just make sure the switches are 2950s or better you should be good to go. I always recommend buying in pieces on ebay.

networker050184

shednik wrote:

I always recommend buying in pieces on ebay.

I agree with ebay. The package deals are usually pricey and come with outdated switches.

Kaminsky

With the new exams, does anyone know if the hardware / os the exams are based on has changed ?

Also, what are the recommended router / switch models for ccna ?

hypnotoad

The 2600 series is probably the all-time favorite. Switches, 2950's seem to be the best for CCNA. Avoid the XL models.

If CCNP is on the horizon, go for 2600XM switches.

mikej412

There is a link to a table of routers that support SDM in the [url=chttp://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7268]CCNA FAQ[/url] -- you'd want at least 1 of those. And if the router you use for SDM supports 802.1q trunking -- you've got the major considerations when buying routers covered.

Then you can fill in with the routers that fit into your budget and future plans.

Kaminsky

Thanks for the replys... That got me hunting ebay a bit more armed. My Krikey, some of those things get really expensive from CCNA onwards. (I could buy a very nice used car for some of the CCIE labs on offer)

Why avoid the XL models and why go for the XM instead ?

Also, what is the difference between "catalyst" and non "catalyst"

I looked at those SDM routers (then worked out exactly what SDM meant) but I think a web portal to configure is probably not the best way right now especially if the exams are going to measure me on commands and the syntax of those commands. Later on I can see that becoming invaluable.

A little to offer back on this point....
</tip on>
I did fork out (ish) on full on terminal emulator software called "Smarterm" which I used to roll out for my user's access to terminal/mainframe software when I was a PC Support manager for a large hospital. Really nice features including binding your own scripts to an on screen button that will push whatever text to the device as if you typed it at the keyboard there and then. Really usefull tool. Standard Windows software and you can specify the port your using to connect to whatever the device.

Very well worth any networking person looking into especially for anyone currently using a basic notepad type comms front end. I've used progressive versions of it for at least 15 years or so in various jobs and especially now with my study. </end tip>

Rather than trawling through the entire cisco product portfolio, does anyone know where I could find out what different benefits all these different types of Cisco model / series versions of routers/switches offer ? It is a complete technobabble blur to me!