Cisco looks fun...

in CCNA & CCENT
Just quickly skimming through my ICND1 book today which I will be starting shortly, I am assured of two things:
1) Even though I passed Net+ by a wide margin, I know next to NOTHING about networking.
2) It actually looks like I'll have a lot of fun learning this material, which is something I can't really say about Microsoft tests. Learning every single nuance about NTFS, share, printer permissions, etc., can get very dull.
Does anyone else feel the same way? Or is it just me?
1) Even though I passed Net+ by a wide margin, I know next to NOTHING about networking.
2) It actually looks like I'll have a lot of fun learning this material, which is something I can't really say about Microsoft tests. Learning every single nuance about NTFS, share, printer permissions, etc., can get very dull.
Does anyone else feel the same way? Or is it just me?

Comments
CCNA:S
Don't be a dumper!
The CCENT is fun because:
1) It's different
2) It has immediate but different practical benefits. In Microsoft's world, you focus mostly on end-point clients and servers but with Cisco you focus on making them talk.
--Will Rogers
That's EXACTLY how I felt about the Microsoft exams, go for it I enjoyed the journey as you can see through my blog Shawn Moore's Cisco Trek
Don't Forget to Add me on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnrmoore
CCNA:S
Don't be a dumper!
And yes, Cisco is a LOT of fun. Having the hardware makes it even more fun. It's nice to have a home network that is better than a lot of buiness networks! Enterprise grade equipment in a home network. Nice. I am finishing my MCSA, but am still studying for my CCNA. I find that the Cisco stuff is a lot less dry, more hands on and just, like you said, FUN! I like doing things with it, and studying isn't a chore. I'll just play with the equipment and do new things, not even formally studying, just goofing around. I guess I'm kind of a nerd....
Sims are nice. Especially if you're strapped for cash. But IMO,if you have the money to burn, real equipment is the only way to go. Makes it a lot more fun and a much better learning experience.
BTW, what would be the LEGAL ways of obtaining new images. My 2520s are stuck with 11.3 and I want to upgrade them to 12.3. They have 16/16, so they're capable.
That's funny because when Bill Gates and Paul Allen originally ported BASIC to the Altair, they actually tested it by writing an Intel 8080 emulator and running it in Harvard's computer lab (they weren't 100% sure it would work when Allen went over to test it on the actual machine).
For the old stuff like the 2500 series routers, make sure you buy at least 1 router with 16meg flash and one of the last 2 popular IOS images (a 12.3 IP Plus or a 12.2 Enterprise Plus).
While a 2nd hand router may come with an IOS image, it isn't licensed for use -- but what happens in your home lab stays in your home lab, so don't resell your old equipment to a side job customer as a "business solution."
I have a few physical routers and switches that I use for the smaller labs, but for the more complex ones, I use GNS3 to build all or part of the network without having to scale the scope of the lab down to the limitations of my equipment.
I did a bit torrent search and came up with some interesting results. But I won't get into that.
I also have a 2620XM, 2621XM, and 2 2950s so I'm pretty much set for CCNA. It's just these 2520s with the outdated IOS that I need to fix.
There is no right or wrong on this topic. Doctors work on cadavers and pilots work with flight simulators. For me, I didn't see the point to buying equipment for my house. I use and have access to routers and switches at work. After all, you are using an actual IOS image with Dynamips. More and more folks are using these tools all the way through the CCIE, so for my CCNA, Dynamips was great.
I don't even see the need for GNS3, Dynamips/Dynagen works just fine without the pretty graphical interface.