CCNA Simulator!!!

Hi,

Can anybody tell me i want to practice for CCNA Labs. Which latest simulator should i use for it that provides configuring switches, Routing and all that stuff and from where it is available????

Plz help me...

Alexander16

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Plazma

None... save your money and buy real gear

jbriggy

If real gear is not available or not affordable, i recommend Packet Tracer 5.0. Very easy to setup, and has been able to support at least 95% of everything i've needed to learn for the ICND1 and ICND2.

Another good bet would be GNS3/Dynamips which runs actual IOS images. The latter is a beast to set up, so you'll spend a lot of time reading instructions and tutorials, but once you get the hang of it, it also will become very helpful to you (NOTE: GNS3 cannot natively support switch IOSes, only routers)

Turgon

alexander16 wrote:

Hi,

Can anybody tell me i want to practice for CCNA Labs. Which latest simulator should i use for it that provides configuring switches, Routing and all that stuff and from where it is available????

Plz help me...

Alexander16

Alexander

I wouldn't use a simulator these days. When I started way back a 2501 would cost at least 700 dollars on ebay. Back then a lot of candidates missed out on essential hands on practice simply due to the high cost of used equipment. Today you can pick a 2501 for about 50 dollars and it will teach you most of what you need to know. There's really no excuse on grounds of cost not to invest in equipment these days. Get a couple and start your lab work.

Diminutive

Turgon wrote:

alexander16 wrote:

Hi,

Can anybody tell me i want to practice for CCNA Labs. Which latest simulator should i use for it that provides configuring switches, Routing and all that stuff and from where it is available????

Plz help me...

Alexander16

Alexander

I wouldn't use a simulator these days. When I started way back a 2501 would cost at least 700 dollars on ebay. Back then a lot of candidates missed out on essential hands on practice simply due to the high cost of used equipment. Today you can pick a 2501 for about 50 dollars and it will teach you most of what you need to know. There's really no excuse on grounds of cost not to invest in equipment these days. Get a couple and start your lab work.

Its not necessary for CCNA honestly, you'll get things done quicker with Packet Tracer.

Turgon

Diminutive wrote:

Turgon wrote:

alexander16 wrote:

Hi,

Can anybody tell me i want to practice for CCNA Labs. Which latest simulator should i use for it that provides configuring switches, Routing and all that stuff and from where it is available????

Plz help me...

Alexander16

Alexander

I wouldn't use a simulator these days. When I started way back a 2501 would cost at least 700 dollars on ebay. Back then a lot of candidates missed out on essential hands on practice simply due to the high cost of used equipment. Today you can pick a 2501 for about 50 dollars and it will teach you most of what you need to know. There's really no excuse on grounds of cost not to invest in equipment these days. Get a couple and start your lab work.

Its not necessary for CCNA honestly, you'll get things done quicker with Packet Tracer.

You may well be right about that and as I haven't used packet tracer can't comment on that specifically. I still think you are better off with real equipment though for CCNA and beyond in the field. Nothing beats the real thing in the long run and these days used equipment is much more affordable. But that's just my opinion.

networker050184

Diminutive wrote:

Its not necessary for CCNA honestly, you'll get things done quicker with Packet Tracer.

A sim may be faster and enough to pass, but you should really be taking the time to learn and not just enough to get by quickly IMO.

What happens when you get the CCNA only using a sim and you show up for a new job and they ask you to actually wire some real hardware? Or ask you to install a WIC card? Your sim isn't going to help you much there.....

A sim should be your last option and with the price of equipment on ebay these days its easier and cheaper to build your own lab. Boson Netsim for CCNA costs $250! You could invest that money and start building a lab that can last you not only for CCNA but also take you through the CCIE.

Diminutive

networker050184 wrote:

Diminutive wrote:

Its not necessary for CCNA honestly, you'll get things done quicker with Packet Tracer.

A sim may be faster and enough to pass, but you should really be taking the time to learn and not just enough to get by quickly IMO.

What happens when you get the CCNA only using a sim and you show up for a new job and they ask you to actually wire some real hardware? Or ask you to install a WIC card? Your sim isn't going to help you much there.....

A sim should be your last option and with the price of equipment on ebay these days its easier and cheaper to build your own lab. Boson Netsim for CCNA costs $250! You could invest that money and start building a lab that can last you not only for CCNA but also take you through the CCIE.

somehow I don't think of wiring or installing WICs as a big deal. I do have a 2600 and a 1600 but both of those sit there powered off while I set up networks in Packet Tracer with more than 2 devices.

networker050184

You may not think its a big deal, but its the fundamentals. You should always get a ground up understanding of any topic you wish to master IMO.

Diminutive

The tactile sensation of doing your own (pre-molded) cabling or sliding a WIC in does not justify spending hundreds of dollars over GNS3/Dynamips.

I can imagine at some point needing a real lab but at CCNA level its by no means necessary..

networker050184

I guess that is where we differ. I think the fundamental learning you get with your own lab should be something you learn early in your studies rather than waiting for some point in the future.

Agree to disagree.

dynamik

I know that several other members as well as myself have gotten hung up on some really stupid layer-1 problems. I am extremely thankful to have started out with actual equipment. That is something you do not want to be exposed to for the first time in an interview or on the job. Equipment prices have plummeted, and home labs really aren't that cost-prohibitive any more. Plus, unlike a cheaper sim, you can resell the equipment and get a lot of your money back. GNS3 is pretty cool. I've actually switched over to it for wrapping up my ICND2 studies for the sake of convenience (i.e. studying at a coffee shop), but you do need a decent machine and access to IOS images. There's pros and cons to every approach, but I wouldn't outright discourage a home lab.

wbosher

Here's a compromise...get an old 1900 series switch and some stone aged router for a grand total of about $20 to practice the layer 1 stuff. Then, use a Sim to practice the command line stuff...simple.

I happen to have an old 1900 series Enterprise switch with a command line, if any one is interested.

Slowhand

I can't help but think I've seen this thread somewhere before. . . or maybe it's just deja vu.

jimmyd4ng3r

I'd recommended using the guides/labs from RouterAlley.com and practising them with Packet Tracer. This has all the functionality you need for the CCNA.

Good Luck

human151

I have this:

http://www.routersim.com/CCNA6_home.html

and I really like it.

Cisco Press is also comming out with one, but not until next month.

looky here:

http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=1587202166

I also have my own equipment but I really like the sims and have learned more from using my router sim at this point becayse the SIM has labs that have me practice stuff where as with my equipment I have only done stuff with my real lab after I have practiced it with my sim, needless to say, the equipment does not come with and labs or practice material.

in the long run its better to have your own equipment but when your just starting out SIMS are fine.

Glynixx

My network engineer at work said to try and get a pair 2505's because they have built in serial interfaces and some hub ports. You can connect them straight together and get "alot of milelage for the buck" - his words.

hope this helps.

gorebrush

Isn't Dynamips/GNS illegal though? Because you are breaking the EULA by not running the Cisco IOS's as they are intended..

Personally, even though there are tools like Dynampis/GNS/Packet Tracer.. If I was an employer, I would need someone who has physical experience of these devices.

Sims are not enough. As others have mentioned, you spend all your time on a sim, how do you know how the physical end of it works?

Also, I think building labs of networks is really cool and geeky, and anyone who doesn't enjoy that probably shouldn't be doing Cisco

dynamik

gorebrush wrote:

Isn't Dynamips/GNS illegal though? Because you are breaking the EULA by not running the Cisco IOS's as they are intended..

That's a gray area. The EULA is clearly in place to protect their intellectual property and prevent commercial use their software on non-Cisco hardware. They're well aware dynamips/dynagen/gns3's existence. It probably wouldn't take too much effort for them to kill those projects if they wanted to. I think they realize that they're a valuable learning tool. That's just my observation.

tiersten

dynamik wrote:

gorebrush wrote:

Isn't Dynamips/GNS illegal though? Because you are breaking the EULA by not running the Cisco IOS's as they are intended..

That's a gray area. The EULA is clearly in place to protect their intellectual property and prevent commercial use their software on non-Cisco hardware. They're well aware dynamips/dynagen/gns3's existence. It probably wouldn't take too much effort for them to kill those projects if they wanted to. I think they realize that they're a valuable learning tool. That's just my observation.

It'd be hard for them to make it disappear. The source and binaries are available and mirrors will just spring up if they shutdown the main site.

My guess is that they're just ignoring it for now and won't do anything unless it really impacts them. You'd be insane to actually use it for anything other than a lab. If somebody managed to make it into a viable platform for production use then I'm sure Cisco would stamp down on it hard.

gorebrush

dynamik wrote:

gorebrush wrote:

Isn't Dynamips/GNS illegal though? Because you are breaking the EULA by not running the Cisco IOS's as they are intended..

That's a gray area. The EULA is clearly in place to protect their intellectual property and prevent commercial use their software on non-Cisco hardware. They're well aware dynamips/dynagen/gns3's existence. It probably wouldn't take too much effort for them to kill those projects if they wanted to. I think they realize that they're a valuable learning tool. That's just my observation.

Fair point, but then why don't they release something themselves?

tiersten

gorebrush wrote:

Fair point, but then why don't they release something themselves?

I guess its down to them prefering you buy real hardware for the extra $$$.

I was going to say it would make cloning the hardware harder but they could just make a build of IOS that only runs on their emulator and not on real hardware.

gorebrush

tiersten wrote:

gorebrush wrote:

Fair point, but then why don't they release something themselves?

I guess its down to them prefering you buy real hardware for the extra $$$.

I was going to say it would make cloning the hardware harder but they could just make a build of IOS that only runs on their emulator and not on real hardware.

Yes, but then most students only buy 2nd hand equipment for their labs - Cisco already has had the full retail value of the money back when the 1st time that piece of equipment was bought...

Anywho, Dynamips, from what I've read, is pretty limited speed wise because there is no way it can keep up speed wise to a real hardware router.

All Cisco would have to create is a crippled software one that people couldn't try and implement in a hardware environment

dynamik

gorebrush wrote:

Anywho, Dynamips, from what I've read, is pretty limited speed wise because there is no way it can keep up speed wise to a real hardware router.

That's probably one of the main reasons they allow it to exist. It's really only good in a lab; it really isn't a threat to their hardware sales. Also, Cisco depends on their certified professionals quite a bit, and it might create some tension if they kill this off.

wbosher

Also, Cisco depends on their certified professionals quite a bit, and it might create some tension if they kill this off.

I agree with dynamik, if it wasn't for people like us using their IOS's for lab environments, Cisco would run out of qualified engineers!! It's definately in their best interest to turn a blind eye to this.