Hardware and Location for CCNA

Hi there

Just wondering what kit and simulations ye used for CCNA - are these available on ebay?

I hope to set up a lab and just looking for reasonble priced kit so if anyone is selling please let me know

Also have any of ye used or the likes:

Cisco CCNA & Cisco CCNP courses | CommSupport Networks

Seen some good reviews

Im based in ireland so a major city would be best for flight etc

Many Thanks
Noel

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Comments

thenjduke

Noel,
What kind of IT expierence do you have? I would self study. Use CBT Nuggets, Train Signal, Cisco Press books, Lammle books, and whole lot of practice with subnetting and labs. As far as labs go I have
2 x 2501 max ram and dram
2x 2620xm max ram and dram
1x 3640 max ram and dram
2x 2905 switches.

I have all this on a desktop rack under my desk. This should be enough for me for time being. Once onto CCNP it will change a little bit. Look into ebay can get some nice deals.

thenjduke

I also was thinking of going to class for CCNA but I went and check out the class and dam was it going to be slow pace for me. I been in field for many years so I understand alot of the technology.

jbrad95706

CBT Nuggets and Train Signal are great, it's more or less a boot camp that you can watch over and over if needed.

The only down side is that there is no instructor to ask questions, but then there are sites like this.

With the money that someone would spend on a boot camp, they could get both of these video's and a home lab. (At least going by the prices I have seen...)

Bootcamps are for people that just want to cram and get a cert - there is no way someone is going to learn and retain all of the knowledge that it takes to get a CCNA in a week. I could only see going this route is someone else was paying for it (work), and I just needed a refresher before the test.

noel123ie

thenjduke wrote: »

Noel,
What kind of IT expierence do you have? I would self study. Use CBT Nuggets, Train Signal, Cisco Press books, Lammle books, and whole lot of practice with subnetting and labs. As far as labs go I have
2 x 2501 max ram and dram
2x 2620xm max ram and dram
1x 3640 max ram and dram
2x 2905 switches.

I have all this on a desktop rack under my desk. This should be enough for me for time being. Once onto CCNP it will change a little bit. Look into ebay can get some nice deals.

Im mcsa certified and have a diploma in IT support so know basics of networking and did Net+ as part of diploma so should be fine

Ill maybe give home study and go and see

Noel

thenjduke

Noel,
Do home study you will be better off.. Boot camps suck and are not worth it. You want to retain what you learn. No better way to do it then on your own because then you have more gradification when you finish.
Earl

laidbackfreak

hya, I did a course with them as a re-fresher to re-certify my ccna.
The course was good, but you are expected to know a fair bit before the class, for me it was ideal it brought my focus back to what was needed to pass the ccna.

That said, I've used cbt's (plus kit\labs) since then to pass my ccna voice and qos. I would recommend doing that route before any others.
There are plenty of resources out there, including here, where you can field questions about areas your uncertain.
For the money you'd spend doing the course, plus flights and accomodation you'd be able to put a decent lab together (I know you get kit from the course, but you'd be better buying your own and saving flight\accomdation),

just my 2p's worth

thenjduke

laidback exactly a good concept. These places are more refreshers then anything. Like riding a bike never forget just got to get back on and start doing it again.

laidbackfreak

yep I'd agree with that, especially saying more of a refresher course

interestingly I didnt mind the pace so much, I found it fairly steady(relaxed) but there were others who struggled and found it too fast !
What I didnt notice where when it came to break fix labs, my scenarios became increasingly more difficult as I was initially solving them within minutes lol

One guy didnt last the course, to be honest tho I'm not surprised he had NO prior IT experience, despite him saying he did. Found out late this consisted of pluging printers into floor ports !

captobvious

I'd stay away from kits, they seem to have older equipment and are way overpriced. If you are diligent, you can get a good setup off Ebay.

I would also suggest doing self-study. You seem to have a good background in IT. I used Cisco Press, Odom, books and CBT nuggets.

Good Luck!

citinerd

captobvious wrote: »

I'd stay away from kits, they seem to have older equipment and are way overpriced. If you are diligent, you can get a good setup off Ebay.

I agree. I was able to get 2 x 2621xm 1 x 2611xm and 2 x 2950 cables and wic1t's and 2t's for $350. and for $20 more I got a table top Rack. I think I found good deals and these are certainly a good start for the CCNP lab I will need.