Found a great deal on ebay!

inc0mplete

hello all! I found a good deal on ebay, and was compairing it to the http://www.ciscokits.com I was wondering if you think this equipment will help me get ready for the CCNA and if it's a good deal. I personally think it's better than the ciscokits, but the ciscokits comes with a longer warranty. Here we only have a 1 year.

Cisco 2500 2501 2503 2507 2514 Routers 2924 Switch CCNA - eBay (item 160350684751 end time Sep-20-09 14:00:11 PDT)

As for the frame relay. I think when it comes to studying that, I can purchase equipment for that down the line with the money saved. I am not scared of refurbished equipment as long as the warranty holds true.

Thank you.

ilcram19-2

GNS3 is a better deal

JockVSJock

That looks like a pretty good deal. Here is the guy that I bought from via ebay, if you want to shop around:

Cisco CCNA CCNP Lab 2610 2620 2610XM 2620XM 2900 2950 - eBay (item 280390734258 end time Sep-07-09 18:22:41 PDT)

If you were to go with this, looks like you'll pay way less then what I did.

mens

hey man!

There are only two routers and a crappy switch in that deal. Don't get fooled by they mentioning those other routers that they can provide.

Try to find a deal with atleast two 2950 switches and maybe a 3rd 2950, or a 2900xl if you wanna save like 10 bucks. 3 cheap 2500 routers should be enough for the routers. And then some cables, and you're set

inc0mplete

Rather than hands on? I have basic network understanding, but barely any Cisco equipment understanding. Did you aquire your CCNA with the GNS3? If you have gotten a job, with only GNS3, did you feel overwhelmed with actually touching the equipment? I'm still open to new suggestions, just trying to find a way to learn while staying economical.

dynamik

Those switches are junk. I can sell you some old 2500s if you're interested.

inc0mplete

Are those switches sufficient for the CCNA material Dynamik? I think I will do a hybrid of, GNS3 and the dual 2501 16/16 lab kit from ciscokits. Then I will slowly buy more hardware when I get the chance.

Are there any other things of importance? perhaps a small rack? should i need cooling equipment? a fan?

dynamik

No, you want 2950 or 2960s for switches.

Check out Skeletek racks: Dantrak Net *- New and Used Networking Equipment and Peripherals. Skeletek Racks and Accessories. there are a variety of sizes. Great quality and affordable.

You won't need any other cooling equipment.

Edit: Oh, and cables! www.monoprice.com

ilcram19-2

inc0mplete wrote: »

Rather than hands on? I have basic network understanding, but barely any Cisco equipment understanding. Did you aquire your CCNA with the GNS3? If you have gotten a job, with only GNS3, did you feel overwhelmed with actually touching the equipment? I'm still open to new suggestions, just trying to find a way to learn while staying economical.

no i've actually been working with cisco routers since i was 18, although once i spent 400dlls on 2 2500 and 2 1900 dlls almost 3 years ago when studieng for ccna, i was able to get my ccnp with GNS3 and a 2950 plus my job experiance, you can run the latest IOS on gns3 and run abour 6-10 router at the same time plus saving light, i end up selling my lab for 100dlls, i been using gns3 since then testing and everything else, if you going to spent that much money buy you and 2950 or a 3550 you can also plug the gns3 routers with the swithes that you buy

Mark Knutson

Looks like he sold me the last of his 1900 series switches, and the routers have more memory when I did it a few months ago for $150, so you would be getting a better deal.

Price the parts separately... the 2501 is not worth more than $20, so that's $40, and the switches, more of the same.

My mistake was that I didn't do enough reading and research before I bought my gear.

Look at the wendell odom certification gear series for sure...

CCNA Lab Main Post Summary | NetworkWorld.com Community

FWIW, I think the 2501 is an honorable device to get one's ccna on. Just max out the memory so you can get as new a release as possible on it. It has the serial port so you can practice the wan stuff and so on. It doesn't do everything, but it costs a lot more to get that sort of router. But again, wendell says it better than I can.

Mark Knutson

ilcram19-2 wrote: »

no i've actually been working with cisco routers since i was 18, although once i spent 400dlls on 2 2500 and 2 1900 dlls almost 3 years ago when studieng for ccna, i was able to get my ccnp with GNS3 and a 2950 plus my job experiance, you can run the latest IOS on gns3 and run abour 6-10 router at the same time plus saving light, i end up selling my lab for 100dlls, i been using gns3 since then testing and everything else, if you going to spent that much money buy you and 2950 or a 3550 you can also plug the gns3 routers with the swithes that you buy

I keep hearing that, and there is an entire web site devoted to folks who got their ccie with dynamips. It was almost too easy to install on my ubuntu box, and I feel I haven't really taken a close enough look at it and spend too much time thinking about real routers...

I did feel it was important to have the physical hardware for a bit to at least get comfortable with the things the simulators were simulating...

ilcram19-2

Mark Knutson wrote: »

I keep hearing that, and there is an entire web site devoted to folks who got their ccie with dynamips. It was almost too easy to install on my ubuntu box, and I feel I haven't really taken a close enough look at it and spend too much time thinking about real routers...

I did feel it was important to have the physical hardware for a bit to at least get comfortable with the things the simulators were simulating...

just think about the money you can save plus a 1900-2924 switch or a 2500-2600 do not work for ccnp, 2600xm and above i think now you have to buy something like a 1800 to be able to do all the good stuff not fun i used to think that way but i learned my lesson i even used to have 4 computers running at the sametime well that was before a good free virtualization software came out lol is all part of the fun

inc0mplete

Thanks for the post! i'm reading slowly, but I will read the article more in depth when i get home!

bgrablin

Can't go wrong with the Packet Tracer / GNS3 Combo.

Packet Tracer is even made by Cisco, so you know it works.

Mark Knutson

ilcram19-2 wrote: »

just think about the money you can save plus a 1900-2924 switch or a 2500-2600 do not work for ccnp, 2600xm and above i think now you have to buy something like a 1800 to be able to do all the good stuff not fun i used to think that way but i learned my lesson i even used to have 4 computers running at the sametime well that was before a good free virtualization software came out lol is all part of the fun

I know a 1900 isn't very useful--I was making a wry comment about how little I knew when I bought my first kit.

I have a 2950 and 3550 ei now--ready for ccnp work, and a 3640 as well which I am using as a home firewall. But, yeah, hitting the dynamips a bit more now...

Mark Knutson

bgrablin wrote: »

Can't go wrong with the Packet Tracer / GNS3 Combo.

Packet Tracer is even made by Cisco, so you know it works.

But no legal way to get ahold of it unless you are taking their classes.

Anybody tried the odom/cisco lab software? Have to assume it does the job, but don't recall hearing from a single person who has tried it. Wonder if its a commercially available version of packet tracer?

captobvious

I wouldn't even think about buying from someone that lists a 2924 in the listing but shows a picture of a 1900. Do they even have 2924's?

I made a sweet purchase of an auction for a lot of 5 3640's only to have the seller return payment and claim there was an "error in the listing".

Only a few examples of bad eBay sellers, many more are honest. Good luck in your search. Oh and GNS3 is perfectly ok for studies.

the_Grinch

Don't mean to hijack, but would two 2600 routers and 2950 switches be good for ICND2? Trying to get some hands on so I am fully prepared!

human151

my lab is in my sig. WHile I was studying for the 640-816 I used the lab minus the 3550 which is an add on for the BCMSN. I was able to do everything with my lab required for the CCNA except FR, which you could sufficiently study using the books, imo.

But I am planning on getting a 3640 as my FR switch in the future.

human151

the_Grinch wrote: »

Don't mean to hijack, but would two 2600 routers and 2950 switches be good for ICND2? Trying to get some hands on so I am fully prepared!

2850's are great! So are the 2600's. I used one 2621 in my lab, but if I had the chance to get three 2621's I would have.

A much overlooked router which you can find relatively cheap in the 1721, although not rackable, it is an awesome router for a CCNA lab, with 1 FA port and 2 WIC slots.

Bl8ckr0uter

human151 wrote: »

2850's are great! So are the 2600's. I used one 2621 in my lab, but if I had the chance to get three 2621's I would have.

A much overlooked router which you can find relatively cheap in the 1721, although not rackable, it is an awesome router for a CCNA lab, with 1 FA port and 2 WIC slots.

My lab has 3 of these bad boys, all with the 12.4 ios and a wic. The only thing I really want is a layer 3 switch for when I go for the CCNP. After that I will be set

Paul Boz

the_Grinch wrote: »

Don't mean to hijack, but would two 2600 routers and 2950 switches be good for ICND2? Trying to get some hands on so I am fully prepared!

Yes. I used the exact same setup and the equipment was useful through the CCNP.

Kaminsky

I guess what folks are saying is that the price is about reasonable for what they are offering BUT if you want to train higher, you would be better using that money with other equipment.

Search these threads a good few months back and there was a network world write up by Wendell Odum where he really goes into Lab equipment possibilities both for CCNA and later, for CCNP.



EDIT: Found it. Have a read through these pages ... then scroll down and read each pages comments.

CCNA
CCNA Lab Main Post Summary | NetworkWorld.com Community

And here's CCNP
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/27576

Get stuck in !

hypnotoad

GNS3/PacketTracer is great, but they say there's nothing like real equipment. To me this means you buy a router on ebay, find out you need to upgrade the IOS and RAM and interfaces -- before you can even use it how you want. This is half the battle. It's good to do these things in real life, even if they don't ask you about a router's features on the CCNA or CCNP.

You have to find out these little details of the product lines...you don't want to get to a company, recommend installing a 2610XM for example, and then find out the NM-2FE you planned on installing doesn't work with that model, or that most of the XM's can't do MPLS. Or that your 1811 really has a hard time keeping up with file transfers when IPS is enabled....Anyway, that's the idea.

beach5563

I was curious about how the GNS3 software works. I'm just beginning to start studying for CCNA again. I have Packet Tracer but I was wondering if I buy one 2600 XM router can I use that IOS in GNS3 and maybe create more routers in the software and maybe a couple of 2950 switches. Just curious. Also I heard that you have to have a powerful computer for GNS3 like a dual core processor. I heard of someone using a similare setup like that for CCNA and CCNP. I think he just added a 3550 switch later for CCNP cant remember off hand though.

alxx

For equipment I'd look at more recent posts.

For gsn3 it'll run on most pc's if you follow the recommended settings especially the idle settings.

For me it ran nicely on an old mac mini (core2 2GHz with 4GB) -three routers