Cisco Pix 506e FW and 2600 Seriers router

94jedi

Hey all, I'm a cisco newb just starting out studying for the CCNA so please forgive my noobishness. anyway, I have access to a Pix 506e and a 2600 series router. I'd like to set up a lab at my home so I can start getting some hands on experience w/ this equipment. I also have access to a Dell 2624 switch. Is this enough for a home lab? What else would I need? I'm guessing I should go ahead and get a Static IP for my comcast connection as well? I'd like to maybe even try creating some VPN tunnels to another 506 (yes, I have two lol).

any help would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

cisco_trooper

You will want to get a couple Cisco 2950s with the Enhanced Image. You can probably find these on ebay....The Dell switch won't do you much good for the Cisco test, but you can still use it for connectivity if you need to. You won't need the PIX for the CCNA, but you can use it provide yourself with a VPN connection to your lab.

mikej412

Check out the CCNA FAQ

There are also a couple recent good home lab router/switch threads in the CCNA Forum within the last few weeks....

Setting up a home lab that can be accessed via the internet seems to be a popular goal for lots of people.... and it would be a learning experience (hopefully not a bad one if you don't secure it properly). VPN Access is THE WAY to do it (if you must ).

I suggest 4 routers & 3 switches for a home CCNA Lab. You need a router that support 802.1q trunking and SDM (links are in the FAQ). You'll want a router you can setup as a frame relay switch. If you're not planning/spending now for a future CCNP lab, you can "go cheap" for the "rest of the routers." If you want to build a CCNA Lab that turns into a CCNP Lab, include a router now that supports MPLS and add another one later. And a router that you can also use as an terminal server is nice to have (like the 2509 or 2511).

Two 2950 switches and a 2924-XL-EN is about the minimum I'd go with... but you could probably survive with just 1 2950 and 2 2924-XL-EN switches.

mgeorge

I've heard of people running 8.0(4) on the 506e with 256MB DRAM and 16MB flash and they even replaced the Celeron with a p3 600mhz. But of course Cisco does not support it and officially the max ram for the 506e is 32MB.

I've seen a few posts online where people are able to run the ASA image on the 506e's even. I don't know how credible these allegations are but apparently it involves quite a bit of work.

Figured i'd just mention that