Lab - Virtual or physical

emsrescue

Hi Folks,

Contemplating re doing my CCNA as its been more than 3 years since I sat the exams. Dont really do any networking anymore but it would give me something to do during the evening rather than spending money in the pub!

I was inspired to do this by finding my old lab kit whilst having a clear out so was thinking if it was still suitable or if something like GNS would be better.

I have:

2 x 1721 with 2 x wic-1t in each
1 x 2610 with 2 x wic-1t
1 x 2924 switch

IIRC the routers are all on 12.4 ios


So........

Do I keep them and have fun pluging console cables in and out of a pile of kit?

Or, do I try and flog them on ebay and see if I can get a couple of £'s for them and then use GNS and do it all on my laptop?

When I did the CCNA exams the simulators I had access to were a bit limited butI have had a quick look at GNS & Dynamips and it seems to be pretty good.

What do people think?

Cheers

J

tiersten

I'd keep the hardware since you've got most of what you need anyway. The only change is that I'd get 2x2950 switches and either sell the 2924XL or use it as a third switch.

Dynamips can emulate routers pretty wel but it can't do switches and its implementation of a switch is lacking several important features along with a totally different configuration interface. You can work around it mostly by putting a NM-16ESW into a router inside Dynamips but even then it isn't ideal.

emsrescue

Might keep my eye on ebay for some 2950's then. Cant really justify throwing a lot of cash at this but if they come up cheap enough then might be a possibility.

Thanks

tech-airman

emsrescue,

emsrescue wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Contemplating re doing my CCNA as its been more than 3 years since I sat the exams. Dont really do any networking anymore but it would give me something to do during the evening rather than spending money in the pub!

Just so you know, there's a new entry level Cisco certification called the Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician (CCENT). The material for the CCENT is like roughly half of the full CCNA material. To become CCENT certified, you take and pass the 640-822 ICND1 certification exam. Then later, you can take the 640-816 ICND2 exam to become a full CCNA. Cisco has adjusted the exam price for the single exam to become CCNA certified so that there's no longer a financial incentive to take the one exam path to CCNA certification instead of the two exam path to CCNA certification.

Here's some information about the CCENT certificate:
CCENT - Career Certifications & Paths - Cisco Systems

emsrescue wrote: »

I was inspired to do this by finding my old lab kit whilst having a clear out so was thinking if it was still suitable or if something like GNS would be better.

I have:

2 x 1721 with 2 x wic-1t in each
1 x 2610 with 2 x wic-1t
1 x 2924 switch

IIRC the routers are all on 12.4 ios


So........

Do I keep them and have fun pluging console cables in and out of a pile of kit?

What hasn't been mentioned is some sort of certification studying materials. How about you go get some study materials, try to accomplish the tasks in the studying materials and when you get stuck as far as accomplishing something with your equipment that you can't due to equipment limitations, then at that point make the decision to upgrade your network.

emsrescue wrote: »

Or, do I try and flog them on ebay and see if I can get a couple of £'s for them and then use GNS and do it all on my laptop?

As mentioned above, let technical limitations on your current equipment by going through your study materials dictate if you need additional/different equipment.

emsrescue wrote: »

When I did the CCNA exams the simulators I had access to were a bit limited butI have had a quick look at GNS & Dynamips and it seems to be pretty good.

What do people think?

Cheers

J

The experience problem with simulators is that simulators have perfect cables. I believe that learning from Layer 1 issues should be part of your overall experience instead of dealing with virtually perfect cables all the time.

miller811

emsrescue wrote: »

Might keep my eye on ebay for some 2950's then. Cant really justify throwing a lot of cash at this but if they come up cheap enough then might be a possibility.

Thanks

you should be able to purchase 2 2950 switch for less than $150 delivered.

This is well worth the investment. You will gain hands on experience, you can reload the devices, transfer the ios to a tftp server and back etc... stuff you cannot simulate with a simulator..