CiscoLand vs. CiscoKits

RockhoundFA18RockhoundFA18 Member Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
in CCNP
I am looking to buy a lab to start studying for my CCNP. I have only run across a couple of sites, Cisco Land and Cisco Kits, that seem to have what I am looking for but I am having a hard time deciding which site to buy from. I have a $2000 budget for all of the equipment + rack mounting + shipping.

One of the questions I have is which site I should purchase the lab from and which lab I should purchase? I am having trouble deciphering why the CiscoKits labs are so much more expensive than the CiscoLand kits for comparable equipment. New vs. Used?

Second question is which site/company is more reputable or reliable? I want to make sure that I am receiving quality Cisco products and have a company I can deal with in the future when purchasing additional equipment to pursue different certifications.
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  • mikej412mikej412 Member Posts: 10,086 ■■■■■■■■■■
    RockhoundFA18 wrote: »
    I am having trouble deciphering why the CiscoKits labs are so much more expensive than the CiscoLand kits for comparable equipment.
    Is that before or after the exchange rate between Canadian/US currency and Customs charges?
    :mike: Cisco Certifications -- Collect the Entire Set!
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  • ColbyGColbyG Member Posts: 1,264
    None of the above. Use Ebay and piece the lab together yourself, this will be better and cheaper.
    http://blog.alwaysthenetwork.com
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  • keenonkeenon Member Posts: 1,922 ■■■■□□□□□□
    i would be looking at the virtual route as much as possible. Switches can't be virtual but the routers can. I managed to build my lab around 1500-1700 give or take.
    Become the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons
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  • peanutnogginpeanutnoggin Member Posts: 1,096 ■■■□□□□□□□
    ColbyG wrote: »
    None of the above. Use Ebay and piece the lab together yourself, this will be better and cheaper.

    I definitely agree with this! Buying off of eBay will save you money and get you better equipment.
    We cannot have a superior democracy with an inferior education system!

    -Mayor Cory Booker
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  • RockhoundFA18RockhoundFA18 Member Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I went ahead and priced out a lab on eBay. Wow! The extra bit of work tracking down the right equipment paid off. Thanks for the advice. Here is the lab setup I am going to purchase tomorrow.

    Switches
    3 X 2950
    1 X 3550 PoE

    Routers
    4 X 2611XM
    1 X 2511

    All of the required cables and ethernet. All under $2000 with shipping and a 20U rack.
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  • sides14sides14 Member Posts: 113
    Ebay will definitely save you money. Hopefully your purchases were under $1600.
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  • ColbyGColbyG Member Posts: 1,264
    That's a pretty good starter lab. Definitely consider using Dynamips instead of physical equipment.
    http://blog.alwaysthenetwork.com
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  • keenonkeenon Member Posts: 1,922 ■■■■□□□□□□
    ColbyG wrote: »
    That's a pretty good starter lab. Definitely consider using Dynamips instead of physical equipment.

    Agreed. You can purchase better switches with the lowered cost of the PC versus the many routers needed.

    I looked on craigslist earlier in my area and found a few quad core pc for about 300-500. You can add quad nics off of ebay from 5 to 40 each(you will need 3 of them). 3550s can be grabbed from ebay for around 200 each
    Become the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons
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  • CiskHoCiskHo Member Posts: 188
    peanutnoggin wrote: »
    Buying off of eBay will save you money and get you better equipment.
    You will also gain a bit of knowledge just by having to look up the part numbers, upgrade the IOS, etc, etc.

    OP: I think your 3550-PoE was a wise investment. It will help for CCNA, CCNP, Voice, etc.

    eBay for the win!
    My Lab Gear:
    2811(+SW/POE/ABGwifi/DOCSIS) - 3560G-24-EI - 3550-12G - 3550POE - (2) 2950G-24 - 7206VXR - 2651XM - (2) 2611XM - 1760 - (2) CP-7940G - ESXi Server

    Just Finished: RHCT (1/8/11) and CCNA:S (Fall 2010)
    Prepping For: VCP and CCNP SWITCH, ROUTE, TSHOOT
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  • Matteo916Matteo916 Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Buyer Beware! I feel the Trade-up program is a hoax!


    I purchased a CCNA kit and when I was done with it and moving on to CCNA Voice, I was told by Erik at CertificationKits that they did not have a buy-back program. Erik told me my best option was to sell my equipment on eBay then purchase my CCNA Voice items that he e-mail me a quote for. I sold and purchased my new equipment and e-mailed CK to let them know why I was not purchasing from them. They e-mail me back to let me know they have "one of the most generous" trade-up programs. Of course, a day late and a dollar short. I emailed them back to let them know they also have "one of the least helpful" customer service departments since I was not told about the Trade-up program despite directly asking if they had one. Happy ending: I was able to get what I needed for my CCNA Voice lab on ebay for $188.23 when they quoted me $423.99. Less than half!
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  • theodoxatheodoxa Member Posts: 1,340 ■■■■□□□□□□
    keenon wrote: »
    i would be looking at the virtual route as much as possible. Switches can't be virtual but the routers can. I managed to build my lab around 1500-1700 give or take.

    1841s are pretty reasonable now and 3560s are coming down. You could build a CCNP lab using actual routers for under $1,000.

    (EDIT) Oops...didn't realize someone had resurrected a 5 year old thread. 1500-1700 was a great price in 2010.
    R&S: CCENT → CCNA → CCNP → CCIE [ ]
    Security: CCNA [ ]
    Virtualization: VCA-DCV [ ]
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  • smguthriesmguthrie Member Posts: 28 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I'm looking to set up a home lab as well, but have zero networking experience and really don't know what equipment I should be looking at.

    Are the 2950C switches still ok to use for this purpose? I managed to find those very cheap and would most likely buy two of them along with a newer switch that costs more. I'm looking to stay around $500-$600 for switches, routers, cables, etc.
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