Yet another thread on labs!

2ndchance

I am looking at buying a used 871W with 12.4 Advanced IP Services for $375. This package includes everything for CCNA Security as well as OSPF/EIGRP/BGP for CCNP.

I have a few 2620XM routers with limited flash/DRAM that will make for good extra routers in a lab and I have access to 2950s and 2960s for any layer 2 labbing.

I like the idea of the 871W because I will be able to practice site-to-site VPNs between my home and the office.

If you had the money, would you buy it?

Thanks,

medic

I have an 871w that I got through the Cisco Networking Academy several years ago for $350. It is running (C870-ADVSECURITYK9-M), Version 12.3(YI2.

It's a nice little router. I use it for my home cable modem Internet connection. Sure it's a little excessive, but it's fun. It's nice to be able to check out the wireless config in IOS too.

I wish I could get the latest IOS for it but I do not have smart net on it.

Here is one on Ebay for $350. Doesn't say what IOS version it has though.

Cisco 871W CISCO871W-G-A-K9 Wireless G Router CISCO871 - eBay (item 230532556396 end time Oct-30-10 09:33:59 PDT)

2ndchance

That is a good deal, but the company I am looking at provides a limited lifetime warranty.

Let me phrase it this way: Would it be better for my long-term Cisco studies to have 2 2611XM's or a single 871W that I can actually use for my Internet connection at home?

mikej412

2ndchance wrote: »

Let me phrase it this way: Would it be better for my long-term Cisco studies to have 2 2611XM's or a single 871W that I can actually use for my Internet connection at home?

2 routers that you can reconfigure at will for your Cisco certification studies are more useful than one router that you can use for a home internet connection.

For $375 you can get 4 2600XM routers
-- or 4 1721 Routers and a 3550 Switch
-- or 2 2600XM routers and a 3550 switch.

tiersten

If you're using a router for your actual home internet connection then you're not really going to want to mess with the configuration too much anyway unless you like not having internet until you work out how to fix it! If anybody elses uses the connection as well then they're going to be really unhappy each time you mess around with that router

The 871W isn't actually that fast as well. I recently replaced the 1841 I use to handle my connection with a Linux based router (RouterBOARD) as an equivalent Cisco router that would be able to cope with FTTC speeds was looking to be expensive. I'd be looking at a 1941, 2900 or 3800 to comfortably handle that. Whilst it is nice to have an all Cisco network at home, it just wasn't worth the extra $$$.

medic

tiersten wrote: »

If you're using a router for your actual home internet connection then you're not really going to want to mess with the configuration too much anyway unless you like not having internet until you work out how to fix it! If anybody elses uses the connection as well then they're going to be really unhappy each time you mess around with that router

Agreed. I don't do much "messing" with my 871W. It's just my Internet router. I have created ACLs but not applied them and little things like that but really can't use it for labs. It was interesting to setup wireless with the GUI and then see what the IOS config for it looked like.

I have an 851 at home that I use for lab work. I also used a spare 1811 at work for my CCNA:S labs.

2ndchance

Thank you to everyone who your advice. It sounds like I'll get more out of my money if I go with something other than the 871.

I'm probably going to go after two 26**XM routers w/ at least 12.4(9)T ADV IP Services for the time being. It looks like I can pull that off without going over $200.00. I'm guessing one of these routers will need at least 2 ethernet ports if I am going to be able to simulate the concept of zone-based firewalls.

I'll get an 1800 or 2800 series down the road when I am ready for it. Thanks for helping me clear my head on this!

tiersten

If you want to look up the rated maximum performance specs for routers then read the router performance datasheet. The listed values are for absolutely nothing enabled like ZBF or IPS though. A very rough rule of thumb for the software based routers is that you halve the rated throughput for each major feature you enable.

There is a lot of other useful information on the Cisco Portable Product Sheets page.

hypnotoad

best to keep your cisco stuff and your home network seperate. i used to use a cisco router for my cable modem, but ended up losing my internet connection while labbing, which was painful. if you have an 871w you can go through a small soho router and keep the 871w part of the lab while using it for vpn.

2ndchance

Well, I have all my gear in place and everything is working. Only one problem: I ordered a Wic-1t and a Wic-2t without realizing they are different connections. Has anyone had trouble using a DCE/DTE cable like this one for the purpose of connecting the two devices?

3FT CISCO WIC-2T To WIC-1T DB60/ DTE to SMART SERIAL - eBay (item 360312045637 end time Nov-19-10 11:20:34 PST)

One of the routers has a second ethernet port, so I can still do several tasks between the two routers, but I'm not sure if I can make the VPN work the same since I really won't have any networks behind the second router.

Zartanasaurus

2ndchance wrote: »

Well, I have all my gear in place and everything is working. Only one problem: I ordered a Wic-1t and a Wic-2t without realizing they are different connections. Has anyone had trouble using a DCE/DTE cable like this one for the purpose of connecting the two devices?

3FT CISCO WIC-2T To WIC-1T DB60/ DTE to SMART SERIAL - eBay (item 360312045637 end time Nov-19-10 11:20:34 PST)

One of the routers has a second ethernet port, so I can still do several tasks between the two routers, but I'm not sure if I can make the VPN work the same since I really won't have any networks behind the second router.

I use cables like that in my lab. 2610 has an NM-8A/S and connects to other routers with WIC-2Ts.