cisco 3640 - worth owning for a lab? a few questions

Hi, i spotted this on a website and i just wanted to check if all the statements are true, as they seem to be quite cheap!

can you plet me know if all of the following are true

4 Modules
Does VOIP
Does MPLS CE AND PE
Does all the security you can do until you move into PIX/ASA territory
Price competitive compared to 2600XM's and 2800 ISR's both of which you still have to buy modules / WIC's for anyway if you want to be doing more than just a little bit of Ethernet Networking.
Still runs the latest IOS.

if this is the case - why do people tend to reccomend the 2610xm,

also is it worth me investing in one! - i intend going down a voice route - i currently have a 2610xm and a 17(10?) router - no switches atm but i intend getting 3 2950's

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Comments

GT-Rob

The problem with the 3640 chassis is by default it has zero interfaces. No ethernet, no serial, etc, which alone could cost more than the router itself. The 2600xm at least comes with something.

The 3600 is a good lab router. One thing you need to watch out for is how much memory it comes with. Sure it could run the latest IOS and VoIP and Security features, but does it even have enough memory to do any of those? And when they say VoIP, im pretty sure they just meed running voice interfaces, not running CME.

So again, just because a router for sale 'could' do somethings, it may cost 5 times the cost of the router to actually get it there.

mikem2te

Not sure if you have found these documents yet but worth a look for router comparisons-

Portable Product Sheets - Partner Central

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps5855/prod_brochure0900aecd8019dc1f.pdf

These some good ones comparing router memory and performance.

knewbold wrote: »

Hi, i spotted this on a website and i just wanted to check if all the statements are true, as they seem to be quite cheap!

can you plet me know if all of the following are true

4 Modules
Does VOIP
Does MPLS CE AND PE
Does all the security you can do until you move into PIX/ASA territory
Price competitive compared to 2600XM's and 2800 ISR's both of which you still have to buy modules / WIC's for anyway if you want to be doing more than just a little bit of Ethernet Networking.
Still runs the latest IOS.

if this is the case - why do people tend to reccomend the 2610xm,

also is it worth me investing in one! - i intend going down a voice route - i currently have a 2610xm and a 17(10?) router - no switches atm but i intend getting 3 2950's

knewbold

the reason i ask is a work collegue of mine has one for sdale for £30, which sounds cheap to me!
comes with 2E 2W & WIC 1B S/T

ColbyG

GT-Rob wrote: »

The problem with the 3640 chassis is by default it has zero interfaces. No ethernet, no serial, etc, which alone could cost more than the router itself. The 2600xm at least comes with something.

The 3600 is a good lab router. One thing you need to watch out for is how much memory it comes with. Sure it could run the latest IOS and VoIP and Security features, but does it even have enough memory to do any of those? And when they say VoIP, im pretty sure they just meed running voice interfaces, not running CME.

So again, just because a router for sale 'could' do somethings, it may cost 5 times the cost of the router to actually get it there.

3640s can run CME.

I love them, before moving to Dynamips my lab those are the routers I used the most. They're cheap, and once you max out the memory and flash, they can do everything.

joey74055

I love my 3640

You can add a lot to it and do alot with it.

knewbold

looks like im buying one then - does £35 for a 3640 with 2E 2W & WIC 1B S/T sound good to you?

GT-Rob

How much memory does it have? Thats a decent price either way (not familiar with UK markets), but if you ARE looking to run the fancy stuff, memory can get expensive.

knewbold

the way i see it, is i can buy the hardware for the "lower courses" and if i do continue i can upgrade then

chrisone

joey74055 wrote: »

I love my 3640

You can add a lot to it and do alot with it.

I agree, the 3640 is a great lab router! you can use it for almost anything! and they are cheap. Just find one with max memory and max flash. Then you can load almost any type of modern IOS on it, depending on the release, including CME for voice!

Definetly buy one or two. The modules these days on ebay are not that expensive.

tiersten

knewbold wrote: »

Still runs the latest IOS.

A 3600 or 2600XM won't run anything past 12.4.15T. This includes the latest 15.0 mainline train.

If you want 15.0 then it'd have to be a newer 800, ISR, ISR2 or a 7200/7300.

knewbold

what is the max memory for this beast!

mikem2te

knewbold wrote: »

what is the max memory for this beast!

Checkout a link posted earlier, there a document in there saying the memory limits of all the routers. Post 3 I think

Forsaken_GA

Since the CCIE Lab exam still uses 12.4(T) versions, the inability to upgrade to 15.0 isn't really a concern for me. Pricing these out, it'll be a couple hundred bucks cheaper to purchase a fully loaded 3640 and an NM-2FE2W as opposed to an 1841, so I'll probably end up doing that. I may buy one 1841 anyway, but yeah, 3640's are a great way to get functionality on the cheap

Kaminsky

What is the hype about the 1841 for home labbing ?

They regularly go for £200 + in ebay UK. If ccnp uses 12.4 and the 26XMs & 1721s can run that with max memory, why are these still highly prized ? The 26XMs & 1721s are peanuts in comparison on ebay. Specially the 1721 that went for £1.30 ( 80 cents ) not including a very low delivery last week.

mikej412

Kaminsky wrote: »

What is the hype about the 1841 for home labbing ?

There fine for someone who has the money to spend now -- and wants routers that may still be useful and capable of running the exam versions of the IOS in a few years.

For people who'd rather spend the same money on a more complete lab, rather than a single router, then the 2600XM and 1700s (and 3600, 2600s and even the 2500s) probably make more sense.

Forsaken_GA

Well, the 1841's are popular because that's what Cisco has moved to in the R&S lab. For me the big difference is the ability to do MPLS, which the 1700 and 2600 series (XM or not) cannot do, at least not running 12.4 (if I'm wrong, someone please correct me). That's why I like 3640's, they can do MPLS running the IOS versions used in the lab.

Using INE's lab blueprint, I can basically put together the lab for ~$2k US, sans the 3560's if I substitute 3640's for the 1841's, and that's my current plan. Not quite sure what I'm going to do about the 3560's, I imagine I'll have to rent some racktime for them, as they are still quite pricey