Starting down the cisco path..

joe48184

Howdy folks,
I start ICND1 shortly and have also ordered the the recommended books.
However, it's also equipment time.. I do plan to go at least to CCNA level and everything I have read says to get some gear to truly underesand and know the subject matter. With all that said, I seen this posted on E-bay.. I've never purchased a thing from there but it sounds like lots of folks have had good luck doing so. Keeping CCNA in mind.. here is the gear..

$279us is the price.. Thoughts? and Thanks

origional link - COMPLETE LABS CISCO CCNA LAB 2600 ROUTER CCNA CCNP 2520 - eBay (item 110445960871 end time Nov-13-09 21:26:11 PST)

[*]Routing
[*]1x Cisco [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode,sans-serif]2610 w/ 12.3.26 IOS (Absolute top of the line IOS for this model)[/FONT]
[*]1x NM-4A/S (Use as the center router in a three router topology as well as a Frame Relay Switch)
[*]2x Cisco [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode,sans-serif]2612 w/ 12.3.26 IOS (Absolute top of the line IOS for this model)[/FONT]
[*][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode,sans-serif]2x WIC-1T (One Ethernet and One Serial Interface per 2610 Router)[/FONT]
[*][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode,sans-serif]2x WIC-1DSU-T1 (Providing the second Serial Interface for EACH 2610 Router!)
[/FONT]
[*]Switching
[*]2x Cisco C2924M-XL-EN Enhanced Software fully compatible with Cisco Academy Labs

[*]Labs
[*]CD w/ collection of CCNA and CCNP labs


[*]Cables
[*]2x DTE/DCE Serial Crossover Cables
[*]1x Cat5 T-1 Serial Crossover Cable
[*]4x Ethernet straight-thru cables to connect your LAN to the various lab networks as per Cisco Academy Labs
[*]4x Ethernet crossover cables to be used for VLAN Trunking between switches as well as router to router connections
[*]5x Power Cords
[*]Console cable kit

elegua

Hi joe48184

First welcome to this forum,

Its true that eventually you will need cisco routers and switches for CCNA, in my opinion that's not the right cisco kit for you and i'm will tell you why,

You will need at least 1 2950 switches (2 are better), you can find them for around $30-$50us each on ebay.

If you planning to continue your studies to the next level, like CCNA Security and CCNP those routers are not the one you need, you can get on ebay couple of 2600Xm series for $80-$90 each (i just bought 4 2650xm for $75 each and one 2611xm for $9), the 2600xm series you can upgrade the IOS and run 12.4 line and run SDM, but you have to shop.

For frame relay you can get a 2520 / 2521 with 4 serial interfaces, or a 2610 with a NM-4A/s, if you look you can get these (2610 option) for around $60-$80.

This is a basic setup but enough to complete your CCNA.

Hope this help.

Turgon

I recommend you try out some hired rack time first before you shell out on equipment. Get yourself 50 dollars of rack hire and see if you use the time up in short order.

Alternatively just buy a couple of used 2500's for little money.

joe48184

Hi Elegua,
Thanks for the welcome and the feed back.. Given what you said, it sounds like you've had decent luck getting equipment online, has it all come from e-bay or a few pieces of it anyway? I'm just a bit nervous buying from someone I have no experience with..

I've read a great many posts with lots of thoughts on equipment needed at various levels of certification, and when you're starting out purchasing the wrong gear can be a real bummer.

Thanks again.

joe48184

Hi Turgon,
I'm from Michigan (South east).. So I can probably tell you the unit rate of an assembly line per hour. Unfortunatly folks near me think rack space is a place you hoist your car onto.

Really though, its a good idea and thanks.

Turgon

joe48184 wrote: »

Hi Turgon,
I'm from Michigan (South east).. So I can probably tell you the unit rate of an assembly line per hour. Unfortunatly folks near me think rack space is a place you hoist your car onto.

Really though, its a good idea and thanks.

Blue collar man? Like myself in the UK. No problem Joe. Honestly I think remote rack hire is worth a punt before you buy this gear. A lot of folks find its not for them and it goes back on ebay, after about a year when it hasn't been switched on and has been stuck in the attic. Worth much less by then.

Try graded labs for rack hire.

CCIE Rack Rentals, Mock Labs, Poly Labs & Learning Capsules

A rack session gives you 4 x switches and 6 x routers to destroy. No harm done. Just set something up off the Cisco website or from a Cisco Press book.

Cheers.