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2600xm Routers, what to look for and get?

mark076hmark076h Member Posts: 154
in CCNA & CCENT
I got my 2950EI switches now to get some routers. I take it the 2600XM is the way to go. So, what should I be looking for when I look on ebay for these? what is a normal price range?
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    odysseyeliteodysseyelite Member Posts: 504 ■■■■■□□□□□
    mark076h wrote: »
    I got my 2950EI switches now to get some routers. I take it the 2600XM is the way to go. So, what should I be looking for when I look on ebay for these? what is a normal price range?

    I've been shopping around for them myself. Another member gave me a tip: look at the 2650xm and 2651xm routers as well. Sometimes they can be cheaper than the lower models. I've been seeing them go for around 65-75 each plus shipping. I've purchased a 2620xm for 61.50 plus shipping and a 2650xm for 40.00 plus shipping.

    Look for them with WIC cards. Alot of sellers are selling them bare and the cards can be expensive to buy separate. As of today someone has been flooding ebay for them and setting the price to 100+.

    Keep your eye out and you will get your hands on a few. I've also elected to get a 3540 router based on some other reviews on the board. It has 4 modular slots so it can be used for several different applications.
    Currently reading: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
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    simtechsimtech Member Posts: 213
    Try from 2610xm, 2611xm, 2620xm, 2621xm, 2650xm, or 2651xm. Make sure it's xm when you got the product. I almost got stiffed by the vendor when they sent me non-xm even on the listing, it was xm. Also, look for WIC, RAM, and Flash Size.
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    JSKJSK Member Posts: 166
    Also keep an eye on how much ram and which IOS version is installed. You may want to upgrade the IOS to something newer in which case it has to meet the memory requirements.

    FWIW, I scored a 2650XM with 128/32 for $50 shipped. But I was taking a chance on an item in which the seller could only verify the router would power on. I could have possibly ended up with a $50 paperweight. lol
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    mark076hmark076h Member Posts: 154
    What is a good amount of RAM?
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    wbosherwbosher Member Posts: 422
    mark076h wrote: »
    What is a good amount of RAM?

    Depends on the IOS you want to use.
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    mark076hmark076h Member Posts: 154
    wbosher wrote: »
    Depends on the IOS you want to use.

    well what IOS would I want to use? I ma building a CCNA lab?
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    hermeszdatahermeszdata Member Posts: 225
    mark076h wrote: »
    well what IOS would I want to use? I ma building a CCNA lab?

    Obviously, the latest version available for that series if you can get it.
    John
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    erfolg255erfolg255 Banned Posts: 36 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Hi I'm not sure about required version of IOS for Ccna but for ccnp is 12.4 so I assumed might be similar for Ccna as well. Good advice get the latest if you can
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    odysseyeliteodysseyelite Member Posts: 504 ■■■■■□□□□□
    mark076h wrote: »
    well what IOS would I want to use? I ma building a CCNA lab?

    12.4 is the latest. Some of the sellers will include it or give access for you to download it from their website. The IOS's are not free from Cisco and are not easy to get. From my readings on here, the IOS is non-transferable from user to user. Since the IOS is not tied to any serial numbers...yet....people tend to ignore it.

    There are a ton of discussions on how are students suppose to study for their exams without having a easy way of obtaining the latest IOS.

    People either obtain the IOS through a Cisco partner (mostly through their jobs), purchase an expensive agreement with Cisco for each device or obtain them by "other" means...
    Currently reading: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
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    ZeroHunterZeroHunter Member Posts: 148
    mark076h wrote: »
    well what IOS would I want to use? I ma building a CCNA lab?

    One of the neat things though; if you buy one router with the IOS of 12.4, you can use it to transfer that IOS to the rest of the units you buy, assuming that the others support it also.

    I personally bought (2) 2611XM's and (2) 2610XM's, and I upgraded the the memory to 256Meg and the flash to 48Meg, these are easy upgrades and not very expensive. I am now on the look out for a 2621XM or better. I would really like to have 5 routers total in my lab.
    Z3r0

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    tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    odysseyelite wrote: »
    12.4 is the latest.
    The latest for a 2600XM is 12.4.15T. There are later 12.4Ts but they stopped when 12.4.15T was out and don't build anything newer. They still do rebuilds of 12.4.15T though.

    The latest IOS for current routers is 15.1T.
    odysseyelite wrote: »
    Since the IOS is not tied to any serial numbers...yet....people tend to ignore it.
    It isn't on a 2600XM but it is on ISR G2 routers. There is only one giant unified IOS per model and you unlock the various feature sets by typing in an activation code. You can get a time limited one time trial code if you want to test something in a larger IOS than what you're licensed for.

    For CCNA you'll only need 12.4 with something like the Advanced Security feature set. Obviously you can compromise if you don't have access to 12.4 or an Advanced Security build. People have managed to successfully study and pass the CCNA with a 2500 with IP Base 12.3 before.
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    mensmens Member Posts: 69 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Check out aeci_uk_ltd on Ebay. He usually has a bunch of 2600xm's for sale. Go for the ones with two fastethernet ports ('11, '21, '51). Or go for a bargain on some '10, '20, '50 xm's and get NM-1FE-TX if you need that extra ethernet port.
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    tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    As you're looking at 2600XMs, be aware of what NMs and WICs are supported.

    Any combo NM is NOT supported so a NM-2E2W which gives you two ethernet interfaces and 2 WIC slots will not work. It won't get recognised by IOS at all.

    The single FE NMs are not compatible at least officially but they do work. The NM uses the same Ethernet chip as what is integrated into the 2600XM so the driver is present in IOS.
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    controlcontrol Member Posts: 309
    tiersten wrote: »
    As you're looking at 2600XMs, be aware of what NMs and WICs are supported.

    Any combo NM is NOT supported so a NM-2E2W which gives you two ethernet interfaces and 2 WIC slots will not work. It won't get recognised by IOS at all.

    The single FE NMs are not compatible at least officially but they do work. The NM uses the same Ethernet chip as what is integrated into the 2600XM so the driver is present in IOS.


    Hi,

    Can you advise why the NM-2E2W would not work on a 2600XM series? I'm looking at purchasing some 2600xms and just want to be aware of what cards will and won't work.

    Thanks
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    tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    control wrote: »
    Can you advise why the NM-2E2W would not work on a 2600XM series?
    It isn't supported in the 2600XM IOS at all. It just comes up as an unknown card.

    There isn't a hardware limitation that prevents it working. The 2600XM IOS just doesn't support it as the 2600XM was never meant to be used in that role.
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    mark076hmark076h Member Posts: 154
    Ok thanks for the info everyone. So i take it I should get one of the 2600xm models with the 2 fast Ethernet ports or I would have to get a fast Ethernet Add-on card. Also, i should look for the latest IOS pre-installed. I see 2600's with the latest IOS with 128MB DRAM already installed for around $130.
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    alan2308alan2308 Member Posts: 1,854 ■■■■■■■■□□
    mark076h wrote: »
    Ok thanks for the info everyone. So i take it I should get one of the 2600xm models with the 2 fast Ethernet ports or I would have to get a fast Ethernet Add-on card. Also, i should look for the latest IOS pre-installed. I see 2600's with the latest IOS with 128MB DRAM already installed for around $130.

    A second Ethernet port really isn't that big of a deal. While it's true that you can never have too many ports, I've yet to really NEED a second on any of my routers at this level.
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    mark076hmark076h Member Posts: 154
    alan2308 wrote: »
    A second Ethernet port really isn't that big of a deal. While it's true that you can never have too many ports, I've yet to really NEED a second on any of my routers at this level.

    What if you want to connect a bunch of them together for routing practice? do people use the WIC Cards for that? I know on the old 2500 series you would use the serial cable and set a clock rate?

    How would you connect the 2600 series together in a chain for routing?
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    wbosherwbosher Member Posts: 422
    mark076h wrote: »
    What if you want to connect a bunch of them together for routing practice? do people use the WIC Cards for that? I know on the old 2500 series you would use the serial cable and set a clock rate?

    How would you connect the 2600 series together in a chain for routing?

    Yeah you're correct, WIC cards will do the trick for serial connections. You can also connect a couple of routers to a switch via the ethernet ports, or directly using a x-over cable.
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    mark076hmark076h Member Posts: 154
    wbosher wrote: »
    Yeah you're correct, WIC cards will do the trick for serial connections. You can also connect a couple of routers to a switch via the ethernet ports, or directly using a x-over cable.

    I figured that's what people would do, daisy chain the 2600's together with the fast Ethernet ports to learn routing?
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    tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    mark076h wrote: »
    I figured that's what people would do, daisy chain the 2600's together with the fast Ethernet ports to learn routing?
    You'd buy serial WICs and the necessary cables.
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    mark076hmark076h Member Posts: 154
    tiersten wrote: »
    You'd buy serial WICs and the necessary cables.

    Can you show me which Serial WIC's you would want to get?
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    tierstentiersten Member Posts: 4,505
    mark076h wrote: »
    Can you show me which Serial WIC's you would want to get?
    No. Do some research. A part of the Cisco certifications is understanding what the hardware is and what you need certain parts for. I recommend reading this guide first (hint: it is mentioned there) and the FAQ for the CCNA portion of this forum.
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