CCNA LAB VS. Simulator?

jrosen1987

Hey all,

I am currently pretty new to the CISCO format, planning to take my CCNA as soon as I am ready.

I am a Linux admin, So some of the Networking is old hat to me... Just not the Cisco parts.

My question:

What would you recommend as a CCNA lab? What equipment?

Or should I just go with a simulator for the moment?

I don't have a whole lot of money to spend.

What do you think?

Thanks

DevilWAH

if you go simulator then look up GNS3 to get your head round.

however if you are very new to CISCO then if you can get it CISCO PACKET TRACER 5 may be a better starting place

And if you can afford some real kit then that is by far the best route. for a LAb you need

a few routers (3600 series will do the CCNA just fine)
a few layer 3 switchs (3550's)

strictly speaking you can get away with layer 2 switchs such as 2950's for the CCNA but its nice to have some layer 3 switch's to play with as its a big part of CISCO now.

you are looking to spend about £400+ for a decent CCNA lab, but its by far nicer to work with than simulators.

mgeorge

It always helps to get a real cisco router for practice on ios recovery, etc.. 2-3 Cisco 2610's will work just fine to familiarize yourself with the Cisco hardware.

What you cannot do with the Cisco 2600's use GNS3 for, its kinda like VMWare for Cisco routers. It emulates the hardware and you run the real Cisco IOS image on GNS3. (way better then packet tracer and other simulators).

Also check out the website in my signature, I've been building it since Nov of 2009 and its built around GNS3.

Mrock4

I highly recommend getting the real gear. There's certain things that you may encounter in your real lab that you would never encounter in a simulator (or emulator, such as GNS3/Dynamips). Some of these things, like manipulating IOS images or installing modules and such, may not help you pass your exam, but are invaluable in the real world, which is why we all study this stuff, right?

But, if you absolutely can't get your hands on some gear, GNS3 is definitely a close second IMO. I don't think I would personally recommend any of the simulators based on personal experience, but to each his own..just remember that there is a big difference between GNS3 and the simulators out there.

DevilWAH

mgeorge wrote: »

It emulates the hardware and you run the real Cisco IOS image on GNS3. (way better then packet tracer and other simulators).

Although I agree GNS3 is by fare a more complete simulator than Packet Tracer. Packet Tracer has the great feature of beng able to view packets as the cross the network, and see switching/routing descision at each hope along the way. For some one starting out in CISCO at the CCNA level I think packet tracer is a great bit of kit, it does kind of start to run out of steam as you get towards the end of the CCNA course's, but as a introduction learning tool to networking I think its a great tool. GNS3 although great has a very steap learning curve, espicaly if you dont understand the IOS and basic networking.

spartangtr

DevilWAH wrote: »

Although I agree GNS3 is by fare a more complete simulator than Packet Tracer. Packet Tracer has the great feature of beng able to view packets as the cross the network, and see switching/routing descision at each hope along the way. For some one starting out in CISCO at the CCNA level I think packet tracer is a great bit of kit, it does kind of start to run out of steam as you get towards the end of the CCNA course's, but as a introduction learning tool to networking I think its a great tool. GNS3 although great has a very steap learning curve, espicaly if you dont understand the IOS and basic networking.

Agreed. I have my own gear but I did end up using packet tracer when I was studying for ICND1. I would just get curious about certain things and why I got questions wrong and setup scenarios in packet tracer. The thing the simulation mode really helped with was ARP since you could examine the packet at each hop it took and what it's destination/source addresses are at L2 and L3.

CiskHo

For the CCNA I'd recommend:
3 2600s (will cover the routing and FR stuff)
2 WIC-1T (will cover serial/WAN links)
2 or 3 2950 (will cover CCNA level switching stuff)
GNS3 and/or Packet Tracer (will help you understand concepts)
1 2511 may be nice to use as a comm/access server but not needed
*And don't forget the needed cables (S/T, X/O, DCE/DTE).

You will find the 35xx to be very expensive compared to the 2950s and even though they are better switches they are overkill for the CCNA. If you know you plan to go CCNP then the 3550 or 3560 would be a better choice. However, their prices are on the way down so you may be better off waiting until you start the CCNP studies to get them. All comes down to:
1) What level of cert to you plan to reach.
2) How much $ you have available for a home lab.

DevilWAH

DevilWAH wrote: »

if you go simulator then look up GNS3 to get your head round.

however if you are very new to CISCO then if you can get it CISCO PACKET TRACER 5 may be a better starting place

And if you can afford some real kit then that is by far the best route. for a LAb you need

a few routers (3600 series will do the CCNA just fine)
a few layer 3 switchs (3550's)

strictly speaking you can get away with layer 2 switchs such as 2950's for the CCNA but its nice to have some layer 3 switch's to play with as its a big part of CISCO now.

you are looking to spend about £400+ for a decent CCNA lab, but its by far nicer to work with than simulators.

Nothing to do with the thread, but I am just curious why the post above got a negative feedback. however that in its self is ok, but if someone wants to post negative feed back, it would be nice if they gave a reason or useful comment.

a comment of "lol" really is not helpful..

mikej412

DevilWAH wrote: »

a comment of "lol" really is not helpful..

If I had to guess what they were laughing at:

DevilWAH wrote: »

a few layer 3 switchs (3550's)

I'll admit I did an on that one since this is in a CCENT/CCNA forum thread -- but otherwise your post seemed fine.

DevilWAH

To be fair though even I comments that 3550's are not necessary, And I would assume that any one who takes the time to set up there own lab for a CCNA course is planning on carrying on in the CISCO world. In which case I would say if you CCNA get layer 3 switches get them.

billscott92787

DevilWAH wrote: »

To be fair though even I comments that 3550's are not necessary, And I would assume that any one who takes the time to set up there own lab for a CCNA course is planning on carrying on in the CISCO world. In which case I would say if you CCNA get layer 3 switches get them.

Never good to assume anything in the networking world.... :P LOL. Just messing with you of course.


I would say to be honest, there is nothing that you can not do on your CCNA in GNS3 or packet tracer. I could have waited to do my lab until I got to the point of working on my CCNP. I spent about $600-$800 on my lab and to be quite honest, I used it one time on my CCNA studies. The rest I used packet tracer and Dynamips. My CCNP studies, so far BSCI, BCMSN, and so far what I've done on ONT, I have been able to do everything with GNS3 or Dynamips (pretty much the same thing versus the GUI interface).


IF you plan to go to CCNP, then I would say yes, get real equipment, if you don't have the money right now, just go with a simulator. The only difference is being able to physically "touch" your equipment.

DevilWAH

billscott92787 wrote: »

The only difference is being able to physically "touch" your equipment.

for some reason though that "touch" is just mmmmmmmmmmm... (or is it just me )

Having thought about this again, when I started my CCNA I already had quite a lot of IOS/hands on experience, and my lab was built from spares laying around at work, (my current lab now has 2X3750G's) that where laying around unused!!! But thinking about it from some one fresh to networking, both real hardware and GNS3 both have a steep learning curve.

Real hardware it is the cost of buying something you don't know much about. Not many people want to spend a few $100 on something they don't understand how to use.

And with GNS3 with out a little networking knowledge you will find it hard to start out getting it working, especially as you need IOS files, which understanding the different versions is an art in its self.

To some one really fresh to CISCO/CCCNA I would say get hold of packet tracer if you can. Its drag and drop to get going with, and like billsccott said it does every thing you need for the CCNA. And once you have used it a bit and started getting your head around it all. making the choice between GNS3, real hard ware or other simulation software will be much more informed.