Cisco Newbie

CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
in CCNA & CCENT
Hi, im new to the forum and going to start my CCNA certification in the coming months - starting with CCENT. I would like some help please when it comes to buying books, routers/switches etc and im sure this place is the place to be! I have read all the guides you have for CCNA labs and they have been a big help! I do have one question I hope someone can help me.

I have just bought 2 routers a 1721 router and is running 12.2(11)T2 and a 2620 running 12.4 - my question is do these router support 802.1q or not? The cisco website says it does the/ and on other parts it doesnt - maybe i dont know the website too well! icon_wink.gif 802.1q i gather is important so do all my routers need the ability to run it?

If someone could help me find out if these routers do or dont support it!

Thank you for the help in advance! icon_cool.gif
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  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    The best place to Check for supported features is the Cisco Feature Navigator.

    The 1721 does support 802.1q and I believe the 2620 does as well. I do not believe the 2620 will run the 12.4 though. Someone who knows will be a long shortly to clear that up though icon_wink.gif

    As long as you have on router that you can do router on a stick with you should be good to go!

    Welcome to the forums!
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    networker050184 wrote: »
    The best place to Check for supported features is the Cisco Feature Navigator.

    The 1721 does support 802.1q and I believe the 2620 does as well. I do not believe the 2620 will run the 12.4 though. Someone who knows will be a long shortly to clear that up though icon_wink.gif

    As long as you have on router that you can do router on a stick with you should be good to go!

    Welcome to the forums!

    Well it runs 12.4! icon_cheers.gif I tried but i cant seem to find the right info. I did find that is depends on the IOS that you are running?
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Router(config-subif)#encapsulation ?
    dot1Q IEEE 802.1Q Virtual LAN

    Im guessing if i can run this command then surely it supports it on the 1721?
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  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    The 1721 will support it but the 1720 does not so keep that in mind if you decide to grab some more of the 1700s.
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
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  • EdTheLadEdTheLad Member Posts: 2,111 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Now that you have a couple of physical routers you dont need anymore,check out Dynamips,it will emulate afew routers on you PC.You can even connect your real routers to the emulated routers via your pc nic.
    Networking, sometimes i love it, mostly i hate it.Its all about the $$$$
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    networker050184 wrote: »
    The 1721 will support it but the 1720 does not so keep that in mind if you decide to grab some more of the 1700s.

    Thanks for the heads up! So should i stick with the IOS i have or try upgrade it? icon_rolleyes.gif
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    EdTheLad wrote: »
    Now that you have a couple of physical routers you dont need anymore,check out Dynamips,it will emulate afew routers on you PC.You can even connect your real routers to the emulated routers via your pc nic.

    Ill ask you one thing - when the time comes to implement a network - will Dynamips work? I tried it and i spent 3 days trying to configure it! I prefer having the real deal in front of me even if it might cost me a little. icon_cool.gif
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  • mamonomamono Member Posts: 776 ■■□□□□□□□□
    You'll want to pick up a switch if you can, a 2950 should be good enough. Best of luck! :)
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  • EdTheLadEdTheLad Member Posts: 2,111 ■■■■□□□□□□
    CiscoGreek wrote: »
    Ill ask you one thing - when the time comes to implement a network - will Dynamips work? I tried it and i spent 3 days trying to configure it! I prefer having the real deal in front of me even if it might cost me a little. icon_cool.gif

    Yes, do you think routers are configured onsite or would you expect them to be configured and managed from a central remote site.
    Dynamips will run a more current version of ios than the routers you have, 1700s,2600s are end of life, better to be emulating a 7200 if you ask me.

    You have a couple of routers now, thats gives you the hands on touchy stuff you need, now if you have a couple of nic cards or usb/eth adapters you can connect the routers to afew virtual routers on your pc.
    Anyway each to there own.
    Networking, sometimes i love it, mostly i hate it.Its all about the $$$$
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    EdTheLad wrote: »
    Yes, do you think routers are configured onsite or would you expect them to be configured and managed from a central remote site.
    Dynamips will run a more current version of ios than the routers you have, 1700s,2600s are end of life, better to be emulating a 7200 if you ask me.

    You have a couple of routers now, thats gives you the hands on touchy stuff you need, now if you have a couple of nic cards or usb/eth adapters you can connect the routers to afew virtual routers on your pc.
    Anyway each to there own.

    Well the problem is i never managed to get it to run properly! But i think maybe i might connect them up.

    So far is have a 2620 as mentioned with 12.4 on it
    a 1721 as mentioned above
    and a 2924xl

    So brings me to the next question - suppose i stick to the real deal - 2600/1700 possibly an XM - what is the ideal port layout? Eg how many ethernets on each router and how many serial? Right now i have atleast one ethernet and one serial on each - what would be the ideal to have for each router - i havent ever found the answer to that! icon_twisted.gif
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  • EdTheLadEdTheLad Member Posts: 2,111 ■■■■□□□□□□
    You're best bet is to build your lab around a required topology.For instance you could buy one of the practical studies books which have many scenarios, then work out how many routers and interfaces are required to replicate whats in the book.
    Networking, sometimes i love it, mostly i hate it.Its all about the $$$$
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    EdTheLad wrote: »
    You're best bet is to build your lab around a required topology.For instance you could buy one of the practical studies books which have many scenarios, then work out how many routers and interfaces are required to replicate whats in the book.

    Well typically what does one need? icon_rolleyes.gif i could buy the book at a later stage but right now im trying to get the kit together before i can tackle it in the summer. :)
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  • dynamikdynamik Banned Posts: 12,312 ■■■■■■■■■□
    If you're going to use dynamips/dynagen, you're probably good for routers. To see all the switching in action, you'll ideally need three, but you could get by with less.
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    dynamik wrote: »
    If you're going to use dynamips/dynagen, you're probably good for routers. To see all the switching in action, you'll ideally need three, but you could get by with less.

    So 3 switches.. if one could be 2950 and the others 2924xls? And routers 2 Eths and 1 serial alright?
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  • hypnotoadhypnotoad Banned Posts: 915
    CiscoGreek wrote: »
    So 3 switches.. if one could be 2950 and the others 2924xls? And routers 2 Eths and 1 serial alright?

    The XL switches kind of suck. I dont remember why exactly. The preferred CCNA and CCNP config is 2x2950 and 1x3550.

    Routers with 2 eth and 1 serial are ok. Remember, you can always buy more routers later!

    If you're looking at books and training, the standards are:
    - the Sybex book
    - the Cisco Press book by Wendell Odom
    - the videos by Chris Bryant
    - transcender
    - CBT Nuggets.
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    thanks for all the info!!
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  • mamonomamono Member Posts: 776 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Should really hold off on the 3550 switch until CCNP, you won't need it for CCNA.
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    mamono wrote: »
    Should really hold off on the 3550 switch until CCNP, you won't need it for CCNA.

    To be honest its way too expensive as well. How much of an advantage is it to get 2950s over 2924xls? Because even if i get 2 2950s ill still have a 2924 in there... icon_wink.gif
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Sorry for bringing this thread back up! I previously asked which would be better to have on the routers - 2 serial or 2 Ethernet.. i had originally thought 2 Ethernet would have been a better option but after looking through the CCNA exam guide today it seems i am WRONG? it would be a better idea to have to serial ports instead?

    What are your thoughts on this please?

    Thanks in advance for your help!
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  • tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    CiscoGreek wrote: »
    To be honest its way too expensive as well. How much of an advantage is it to get 2950s over 2924xls? Because even if i get 2 2950s ill still have a 2924 in there... icon_wink.gif
    The Catalyst 2900XL series switches are old and have a slightly different set of commands. The way you setup VLANs for example. You can have them in your network as a 2nd or 3rd switch.

    Don't bother buying a Catalyst 1900 series switch because they're even older than the 2900XL switches and don't run IOS at all. The "enterprise" version of a 1900 has a IOS like CLI but it still isn't IOS.

    It is just easier to learn from a Catalyst 2950 or newer because that is what the exams are based on.
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  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    CiscoGreek wrote: »
    Sorry for bringing this thread back up! I previously asked which would be better to have on the routers - 2 serial or 2 Ethernet.. i had originally thought 2 Ethernet would have been a better option but after looking through the CCNA exam guide today it seems i am WRONG? it would be a better idea to have to serial ports instead?

    What are your thoughts on this please?

    Thanks in advance for your help!


    It depends on what you want to do with them. For the CCNA one serial and one ethernet is fine. If you get a frame switch you can build multiple PVCs and make multiple point-to-point sub interfaces to substitute for the lack of more serial interfaces.
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
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  • tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    CiscoGreek wrote: »
    Sorry for bringing this thread back up! I previously asked which would be better to have on the routers - 2 serial or 2 Ethernet.. i had originally thought 2 Ethernet would have been a better option but after looking through the CCNA exam guide today it seems i am WRONG? it would be a better idea to have to serial ports instead?
    You want serial links to study the WAN portions of the CCNA.

    Having extra ethernet interfaces makes it more versatile for labs later on however.
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  • mikej412mikej412 Member Posts: 10,086 ■■■■■■■■■■
    While I a have a few routers in my home lab with dual LAN ports, I usually stick with a single LAN port and at least 2 WAN ports.
    :mike: Cisco Certifications -- Collect the Entire Set!
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Thing is i went through the whole guide looking at the labs - yes there was an instance an extra ethernet was needed but more or often it was 2 serial - its a tricky situation building a CCNA lab on a budget - and i dont want to go the simulation way i prefer doing stuff in real.

    Switch info has been noted!! :)
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    mikej412 wrote: »
    While I a have a few routers in my home lab with dual LAN ports, I usually stick with a single LAN port and at least 2 WAN ports.

    exactly - very rarely use the 2nd one.. or did i miss something? icon_redface.gif
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  • tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    CiscoGreek wrote: »
    exactly - very rarely use the 2nd one.. or did i miss something? icon_redface.gif
    Its nice to have but not essential.
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  • tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    What routers are you considering anyway? Most of them are modular now.
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    So i should rather spend money on a WIC-1t than a WIC-1ENET? and damm those prices for nm-1Es are high!! icon_sad.gif big mistake not buying a 26*1 router....
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  • tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    CiscoGreek wrote: »
    So i should rather spend money on a WIC-1t than a WIC-1ENET? and damm those prices for nm-1Es are high!! icon_sad.gif big mistake not buying a 26*1 router....
    You got a 2600? If so then a WIC-1ENET won't work.

    You want WIC-1T or WIC-2T anyway.
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  • CiscoGreekCiscoGreek Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    tiersten wrote: »
    You got a 2600? If so then a WIC-1ENET won't work.

    You want WIC-1T or WIC-2T anyway.

    no no im talking about adding extra ethernet ports - the 2600 router i have is a 2620 and the 1700 router i have is a 1721 they each have a serial and ethernet port.. so i am now going to add another serial in each. The WIC-1ENET was refering to an additional ethernet port for the 1700 routers
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