CCNA lab $1000 budget

Satcom

i have a combined budget of $1,000 dollars how would you build your kit for a CCNA setup possibly some CCNP study in there as well.. I am on an extremely slow connection n afghanistan could you guys help me cuz searching is really slow... not sure if cisco kits is the way to go.. pls excuse my broad questiong of a 1,000 dollar cisco kit.. LMK!!! thanks!

CCNA in november going to take in dubai....btw ill be back!!!!!!!!

Bl8ckr0uter

Satcom wrote: »

i have a combined budget of $1,000 dollars how would you build your kit for a CCNA setup possibly some CCNP study in there as well.. I am on an extremely slow connection n afghanistan could you guys help me cuz searching is really slow... not sure if cisco kits is the way to go.. pls excuse my broad questiong of a 1,000 dollar cisco kit.. LMK!!! thanks!

CCNA in november going to take in dubai....btw ill be back!!!!!!!!

Im in a similar situation and here is my lab:

3 2950s
1 2610 (non-xm) Frame Relay
2 2620xm
Back to back cables, wic, rack etc

Total it has (and will) cost me about 240. The 2620xm's will probably make the price go up to about 440.

I can't speak for the CCNP but I know I would like to have a 3550 switch, possible a 25xx for terminal server (not required) and maybe 2 3640's.

Obviously there are more people on here other than me and alot of them know more than I do, I just thought this might help..

mens

I'm not too sure about the prices, but here's my bet for a CCNP rack:

4 routers 4x 2610/11xm 400$
+ AS 2509 100$
3 switches (two 2950 EMI, one 3550) 300-400$
3 wic-1t 100$
1 NM-4t for FR or whatever fits a 2600 series 50$
cables

Try to get fully loaded xm's, maybe wait with the 3550 if it's too steap. You'll get a long way with 3 routers too I guess (maybe use the 2509 with a tranceiver). You don't really need an access server either btw. How you're supposed to get it over to Afghanistan I don't know though

dynamik

I'd put my money into switches and use dynamips/dynagen/gns3 for the routing portion.

jbrad95706

dynamik wrote: »

I'd put my money into switches and use dynamips/dynagen/gns3 for the routing portion.

This ^

1x3550PWR/EMI
1x3550EMI
2x2950EI

1x2509/2511 Term Server

And spend the rest on Cables / Rack / Etc...

Mark Knutson

dynamik wrote: »

I'd put my money into switches and use dynamips/dynagen/gns3 for the routing portion.

So, how do you set this up? Do you have one pc emulating one router and hooked up to the switches, or a bunch of routers going in the simulation environment and separate lab activities for the switches?

jbrad95706

Mark Knutson wrote: »

So, how do you set this up? Do you have one pc emulating one router and hooked up to the switches, or a bunch of routers going in the simulation environment and separate lab activities for the switches?

You can have the emu running a bunch of routers, and tie it into your lab. (There are tons of gns3 tutorials) It also does Pix emu, and I am told you can do some voip with it - but I'm not that far along yet.

Mark Knutson

jbrad95706 wrote: »

You can have the emu running a bunch of routers, and tie it into your lab. (There are tons of gns3 tutorials) It also does Pix emu, and I am told you can do some voip with it - but I'm not that far along yet.

I have it up and running at home, I was just wondering how people are incorporating it with the hardware.

dynamik

I was. My USB NICs aren't compatible with Vista/Win7 though, so I haven't for awhile

billscott92787

Mens recommendation seems to be very good. I know that when I built my lab I would have to add a 3550 in order to make it a CCNP lab. I would highly recommend this configuration, it should carry you through the CCNP. $1,000 is a GREAT budget. You can definitely built a good lab with that. I spent about $700 or so and I got (1) 2611xm, (2) 2650xm's, (1) 1721 router, 5 WIC-1T cards, 5 back to back cables, (1) 2950 switch, and a few other cables. I still want to get another 2950. Then once I get passed the CCNA add a 3550

wbosher

$1000 is a good budget but you need to take into account where you are in the world. I don't know about Afghanistan, but here in New Zealand, Cisco gear is VERY expensive. $1000 would only get you a couple of old 2600 series routers and maybe a switch. If you need WIC 2T cards and extra memory, youre looking at another few hundred dollars.

Things are very cheap on eBay, but when you add the international shipping costs on top of that the price goes up VERY sharply.

You guys in the U.S. have got it sooo good, I'm very jealous!!

billscott92787

Come over and join us LOL. Just kidding. We definitely do. It's always good for us to realize that sometimes too. A lot of people take it for granite.

wbosher

If I ever did go over, I would probably stick a few Routers in my suitcase for the ride home.

billscott92787

LOL. That is an excellent idea Hopefully they wouldn't think they were a bomb. LOL. I remember when they searched my suitcase coming back into the US, from Cancun, Mexico. Searching for alcohol and all kind of things that, I guess people bring back from there normally.

wbosher

Yeah...alcohol...

Mark Knutson

wbosher wrote: »

$1000 is a good budget but you need to take into account where you are in the world. I don't know about Afghanistan, but here in New Zealand, Cisco gear is VERY expensive. $1000 would only get you a couple of old 2600 series routers and maybe a switch. If you need WIC 2T cards and extra memory, youre looking at another few hundred dollars.

Things are very cheap on eBay, but when you add the international shipping costs on top of that the price goes up VERY sharply.

You guys in the U.S. have got it sooo good, I'm very jealous!!

I guess we are fortunate in many respects, and this is one of them. If shipping costs are eating you alive, might want to buy better gear in lesser quantities. Also, take advantage of software simulators to the extent you can. As someone with a few 2500s laying around, I am already thinking about what I need to do to get rid of them after I pass the ccna, and with less junk there is less hassle later on...

New zealand is probably not too bad, but I found you simply cannot ship to mexico because there is so much theft in the shipping business that you can't get it insured. I sold something to a dude who had to drive 4 hours to arizona to pick it up, due to this very problem. NZ probably is simply expensive, but at least workable.

PS. Am I right in suspecting that I am not the only one here who has a lot more fun shopping for equipment than sitting down and studying? Now I have everything I need, and its kind of a let-down.

wbosher

I'm quite lucky that I work for a large (by NZ standards) Telco who had a lot of old stock laying around, and I was able to score three 2600 series routers for nothing. I had to upgrade the memory and IOS but other than that it was great.

Prior to doing that I checked prices on eBay and the like and was blown away how cheap things were until I factored in the shipping. We have a local site called Trade Me which is a bit like ebay, only a LOT smaller. There are some routers and switches on there but the sellers price things as if they were bought from overseas (they probably would have been originally), so we can't win either way. I'm not complaining though, I got lucky.

I do get a little annoyed when people on this forum complain about having to pay $50 for a router though.

kalebksp

Mark Knutson wrote: »

PS. Am I right in suspecting that I am not the only one here who has a lot more fun shopping for equipment than sitting down and studying? Now I have everything I need, and its kind of a let-down.

Ha, while I enjoy both buying equipment and doing labs, ebaying can become rather addictive. Now my equipment sits quiet next to my desk since I do most everything in dynamips.

My recommendation to Satcom would be buy one or two cheap 1721s (which are excellent all around lab routers) and put the rest into switches and a dynamips machine. The reason I recommend the 1721s is for some real hands on with the cards and cables, plus the couple things that can't be done in dynamips (reloading, rommon, configuration registers). In my opinion this is the best way to start out in Cisco without breaking the bank.

dynamik

If any of you have a hot sister, mom, etc. that you'd want to send out here for a week or so, I'd definitely let her pack up and take as much gear home as she wanted.

You can always count on me to look out for our international members

wbosher

Hmmm...my mother's in her late 60's, still keen?? I'll put my order in now.

wbosher

I take it that's a resounding NO.

Oh well, back to the drawing board...

optixgate

Satcom wrote: »

i have a combined budget of $1,000 dollars how would you build your kit for a CCNA setup possibly some CCNP study in there as well.. I am on an extremely slow connection n afghanistan could you guys help me cuz searching is really slow... not sure if cisco kits is the way to go.. pls excuse my broad questiong of a 1,000 dollar cisco kit.. LMK!!! thanks!

CCNA in november going to take in dubai....btw ill be back!!!!!!!!

My Lab

R1: 2621XM 128D/32F 12.4 IOS WIC-1T Module with SDM
R2: 2620 64D/16F 12.3 IOS WIC-1T Module
R3: 2620 64D/16F 12.3 IOS WIC-1T Module
R4: 2610 64D/16F 12.3 IOS WIC-1T Module ( Running DHCP )
R5: 1760-V 256D/48F 12.4 IOS VIC-2FXO, VIC-2FXS, CME 4.1
R6: 2501 16D/16F ( FRAME-RELAY SWITCH )

SW1: C-2950-24 Switch
SW2: C-2950-24 Switch
SW3: C-2950-24 Switch
SW4: c-3524-PWR-24 Switch with Inline Power For VoIP Phones

costs around $1,100 Canadian. I have already passed my CCENT, will be writing my CCNA in a few weeks then ill be starting on my CCNA Voice.

Hope this helped!

Satcom

i have not read everyones post yet i just skimmed it. I might even spend up to 1500 price really is not an issue. Shipping and Handling charges are not an issue either because the address would be going to a U.S apo. I will be out here for a year +.. This kit my also double as the main control for a live network. Me and a coworker are going to order our own VSAT terminal because we are fed up with the slow / overcrowded network on this camp. Luckily we have a satcom background and setting up a satlink to the internet would be a piece of cake. We could use this lab to practice our ccna\ccnp and also double as distribution to several users who want faster internet access....

again thanks for the help.... i will read more through the posts later

Satcom

still going for a kit.. so far im looking at these 2... im thinking option 1 is the way to go... i didnt want to buy from cisco kits.. as i hear they sell you overpriced stuff.... as in option 2 but i could be wrong...
still doing my research.. if i was smart i probably would follow advice on using the emulators....

option 1) CISCO CCNA LAB NETWRKNG ACADEMY ACTUAL LABS CCNP 2611XM - eBay (item 110427780939 end time Sep-23-09 15:57:24 PDT)

option 2) Cisco 2611XM/2620XM/2500/2950/3550 CCNA CCNP Lab Kit - eBay (item 370253802579 end time Sep-10-09 23:11:30 PDT)

thanks for the help people... and happy networking

wastedtime

They both look kind of expensive. I was able to pull a decent CCNA Lab with 2 2950-12, 2950T-24, 2620, 2611XM, 2610XM, NM-4T, 2 WIC-1T, 2 3' DTE-DCE cables for about $750 after shipping. You could still get a 2509 as an access router. By no means is this the cheapest out there. If you are looking at buying stuff and don't want to deal with the bidding look at some of the eBay stores. Also I have gone to other sites:
Candela Network - Pretty good prices and lots of shipping options. There packing and time to ship isn't the greatest. I also don't understand how they price stuff (maybe the owner flunked 2nd grade math). They ship APO.
Horizon Datacom Solutions - buy and sell used network equipment - Cisco, Foundry, Extreme & More - Some stuff is kind of pricey but there are some deals here. Friendly and fast to ship but navigating the website to find equipment is terrible. They ship APO although you may have to contact them about it.
Welcome to Gulfstreamdata.com - don't go to the site just go to their eBay store. This was one of the companies that sent free M&Ms, if I remember right. I don't know if they will ship APO.

That sums up the ones that I can think of right now that haven't been talked about. Cisco Kits is decent I would just pick and choose the stuff they got cheaper than the rest. Also I personally think a minimal CCNA lab could consist of 2 2950, 1 2900, 2 2610, 1 2620 and a 2509 if you wanted.

Well that is just my thoughts and experiences.

Satcom

wastedtime wrote: »

They both look kind of expensive. I was able to pull a decent CCNA Lab with 2 2950-12, 2950T-24, 2620, 2611XM, 2610XM, NM-4T, 2 WIC-1T, 2 3' DTE-DCE cables for about $750 after shipping. You could still get a 2509 as an access router. By no means is this the cheapest out there. If you are looking at buying stuff and don't want to deal with the bidding look at some of the eBay stores. Also I have gone to other sites:
Candela Network - Pretty good prices and lots of shipping options. There packing and time to ship isn't the greatest. I also don't understand how they price stuff (maybe the owner flunked 2nd grade math). They ship APO.
Horizon Datacom Solutions - buy and sell used network equipment - Cisco, Foundry, Extreme & More - Some stuff is kind of pricey but there are some deals here. Friendly and fast to ship but navigating the website to find equipment is terrible. They ship APO although you may have to contact them about it.
Welcome to Gulfstreamdata.com - don't go to the site just go to their eBay store. This was one of the companies that sent free M&Ms, if I remember right. I don't know if they will ship APO.

That sums up the ones that I can think of right now that haven't been talked about. Cisco Kits is decent I would just pick and choose the stuff they got cheaper than the rest. Also I personally think a minimal CCNA lab could consist of 2 2950, 1 2900, 2 2610, 1 2620 and a 2509 if you wanted.

Well that is just my thoughts and experiences.

thanks thanks..... i am still putting this together i think im gonna take the time.. and re-read this thread and actually take the time to piece this stuff together....

.. i have 53 days until im taking this test....

Satcom

sorry to keep bumping this thread.... someone is piecing this for me.. what ya think....

Routing
* 3x Cisco 2611 16F/64D w/ 12.3.26 IOS (two ethernet and 4 serial ports each)
3x NM-4A/S
* 1x Cisco 2620 16F/64D w/ 12.3.26 IOS (one fast ethernet and one serial port)
* 1x WIC-1T

* Switching
* 3x Cisco 2950-12 Enhanced Software
1x 3550-SMI EI Enhanced EMI IOS

* Labs
* CD w/ full collection of current and past CCNA and CCNP labs

* Cables
* 4x DTE/DCE Serial Crossover Cables
* 8x Ethernet straight-thru cables
* 6x Ethernet crossover cables
* 8x Power Cords
* Console cable kit

Total $1059.00

or


* Routing
* 3x Cisco 2611XM 32F/128D w/ 12.4 IOS
* 6x WIC-1T (two serial interfaces per 2611XMs and one on the 2620)
* 1x Cisco 2620 16F/64D w/ 12.3.26 IOS
1x NM-4A/S


* Switching
* 3x Cisco 2950-12 Enhanced Software
1x 3550-SMI EI Enhanced EMI IOS

* Labs
* CD w/ full collection of current and past CCNA and CCNP labs

* Cables
* 4x DTE/DCE Serial Crossover Cables
* 8x Ethernet straight-thru cables
* 6x Ethernet crossover cables
* 8x Power Cords
* Console cable kit

Total $1295.00



* Administration (optional)
* add $295.00 for the following equipment:
Cisco 2511 Access Server
* 2x Octal Cable
* AUI Transceiver

if he is making a little profit i dont care....... i believe in helping stimulating the economy

wastedtime

If you are looking at just CCNA I would say the first one (I would even drop the 3550 and one of the routers). If you are looking at doing CCNP in the future I would say the second one. If you really aren't worried about price the 2511 would be nice for that much equipment and allow expansion later on.

Satcom

wastedtime wrote: »

If you are looking at just CCNA I would say the first one (I would even drop the 3550 and one of the routers). If you are looking at doing CCNP in the future I would say the second one. If you really aren't worried about price the 2511 would be nice for that much equipment and allow expansion later on.

thanks wasted time... not sure if i am going for CCNP i dont have desire too but if i have a lot of down time.. why not...

wastedtime

No problem, I have been buying stuff over the last few years to do some lab work. I have a small subset of my lab over here that I work on a bit.

mgeorge

2650XM 128D/32F; - $100 shipped
Cisco 2650XM Router 32F/128D Qty Available - eBay (item 220469223897 end time Sep-19-09 09:11:07 PDT)

Cisco 2950-24SI - $70.00 shipped
Cisco 2950 Series 24 Port Ethernet Switch, WS-C2950-24 - eBay (item 370258823454 end time Oct-11-09 04:25:05 PDT)

Lot of 6x WIC-1T - $147 shipped ($24.50 a piece)
LOT 6x Cisco WIC-1T Serial WIC 1T module for 2600 3600 - eBay (item 230374146575 end time Oct-03-09 12:00:17 PDT)

Cisco 2620 64D/32F w/ NM-8A/S - $155 shipped
CISCO NM-8A/S + 2620 router 32/64 CCIE CCNP 2522 WIC-1T - eBay (item 190330105323 end time Sep-20-09 19:32:14 PDT)

so lets see;

4x 2650XM
3x 2950-24
lot of 6x wic-1t's
2620 w/ nm-8a/s
total $912

You have 88 bucks left for cabling.

Of course this does not include a terminal server but they run about 100 bucks for a 2509.