2nd try at posting,**New to Cisco, Help With choice of Home Lab

chris_widnes

Hi i just started with cisco and i am looking into getting a home lab, as i know very little about cisco products i would like some help.

I am looking at doing the ccent/ccna then moving onto the ccnp, so i will need a lab that will last me.

Please find as follows 2 labs that i came across on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cisco-2600-CCNA-CCNP-Lab-16F-48D-2621-2x-2620-2924XL-/330512456307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4cf413da73

AND

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cisco-3600-CCNA-CCNP-Lab-3640-2x-3620-3524-XL-Switch-/230567506449?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35aee4f211



all i really want to know is which lab would be best for my needs and also if possible the reason why.

thanks for your help chris

darkerz

Buddy,

If you look on the CCNA / CCENT page, we can see both of your duplicate threads. Please be patient, it's the weekend and many of us are not going to response immediately. In the time you have waiting for someone to spoon feed you, you could have read through the- almost hundred- threads on this forum about a CCNA/CCNP lap setup, all the advice and researched yourself. The only thing you are doing by spamming your thread without any need to is embarrassing yourself and getting people like me irked.

I suggest researching yourself and telling us the pro's and con's of each lab, I guarantee in the process you will learn what you need before anyone else tells you.

Also, try to capitalize and use some grammar.

chris_widnes

If i knew how , i would have closed down the previous thread.
As i am entry level and i have not even started on my ccent i would be unable to make a judgement on the best lab for my needs, hense that is why i posted on this forum.

alan2308

Neither of those labs are very good. The switches in both are not going to get you very far. As I usually advise, stay away from the prebuilt kits and assemble your own lab. 99% of those kits being sold on eBay are full of nearly useless gear at inflated prices hoping to prey on the uninformed. You'll save a lot of money and learn a lot in the process. There's a lot of knowledge to be gained in piecing together the best lab possible within your intended budget.

Start with the stickies, look through some other threads such as this one and start putting together a game plan for what you want to purchase. We'll be here to answer any questions you have along the way and to ensure that you are on the right track.

And most of us here are a tad more friendly.

Priston

There is a edit button on posts.

2950 switches are nice to use for CCNA labs.
I haven't decided which routers I like the most.

chris_widnes

Thanks for your help alan , i will get there in the end i hope hehe

mickeycoronado

alan2308 wrote: »

Neither of those labs are very good. The switches in both are not going to get you very far. As I usually advise, stay away from the prebuilt kits and assemble your own lab. 99% of those kits being sold on eBay are full of nearly useless gear at inflated prices hoping to prey on the uninformed. You'll save a lot of money and learn a lot in the process. There's a lot of knowledge to be gained in piecing together the best lab possible within your intended budget.

Start with the stickies, look through some other threads such as this one and start putting together a game plan for what you want to purchase. We'll be here to answer any questions you have along the way and to ensure that you are on the right track.

And most of us here are a tad more friendly.

I'm not trying to self promote here but collegeboi's thread (linked above) is an excellent thread and helped me get my stuff. Plus the mad scientists of this forum are all over those lab stickies. It's the place you wanna check out for sure.

chris_widnes

I just checked out the lab stickies, could of saved a bit of time if i checked them out first, such a silly sausage hehe

I just signed up for CBT Nuggets and the guy on there is recommending the Cisco 851w as a good starting point, so that might be a good option for me.

mickeycoronado

chris_widnes wrote: »

I just checked out the lab stickies, could of saved a bit of time if i checked them out first, such a silly sausage hehe

I just signed up for CBT Nuggets and the guy on there is recommending the Cisco 851w as a good starting point, so that might be a good option for me.

I don't know much about those but it is suggested to try and get about 3-4 routers to get through CCNA, are you thinking about getting four of those? What is your budget? Those are fairly pricey, at least for me anyways.

chris_widnes

Well the guy on the CBT Nuggets says just one Cisco 851w for the CCENT . In regards to my budget about £250.00 is my limit which is about 400 dollars.

mickeycoronado

chris_widnes wrote: »

Well the guy on the CBT Nuggets says just one Cisco 851w for the CCENT . In regards to my budget about £250.00 is my limit which is about 400 dollars.

Well I don't know to much about routers myself...maybe it's a super router/switch/convection oven or something. You'll have to wait for somebody more experienced to comment on that one.

With $400 you could put together a decent lab if you seriously played your cards right on individual items on ebay. I mean bidding wars/making best offers/hitting up the free shipping sales. Go over collegeboi's thread in that link over and over again. There's a lot of technical jargon in there but the more you read it the better grasp you will get on basic equipment suggestions, not just that thread, all the others.

I agree with Priston on the switches (2950's), mainly because that is what I was convinced to buy from reading around and the prices are good if you pounce at the right time.

alan2308

chris_widnes wrote: »

Well the guy on the CBT Nuggets says just one Cisco 851w for the CCENT . In regards to my budget about £250.00 is my limit which is about 400 dollars.

The 851W is a nice router, and having wireless is a great bonus, but there's a lot that the 851W cannot do (such as any routing protocol besides RIP). I would stay away from that model right now and look more at the 2600XM or the 1721.

Look at it this way. That router normally goes for $300 to $400, which may or may not leave you anything to buy a switch. I would imagine that most people continue on to the CCNA after finishing the CCENT, and you're going to need more than one router and one switch for the CCNA. Regardless of what your budget is, you have to strike a balance between quality and quantity.

chris_widnes

So say if i went for the 2600xm how many would you say i would need to pass the CCNA 2-3? , and also in regards to a switch would you have any suggestions?

The main reason i was looking at the 851w was 1, CBT Nuggets recommended it 2, I was a bit unsure that when i come to get a job in the industry if i havent been working on the most up to date Cisco systems that my knowledge will be lacking.

alan2308

chris_widnes wrote: »

So say if i went for the 2600xm how many would you say i would need to pass the CCNA 2-3? , and also in regards to a switch would you have any suggestions?

For switches, the 2950 is the sweet spot on the price to features ratio.

2 routers and 2 switches at a minimum, 3 of each is better, 4 is better still. If you need to save a few bucks, your third router and switch can be a lower end model, like a 2900XL switch or 2500 router. Also keep in mind, on a modular router like the 2600XM series, you'll also need WIC cards. I recommend 2 serial ports per router.

Armor149

I would suggest going to Lab Gear . There is a lot of brief information to give you an idea of what you should be looking for as far as equipment goes and what equipment is sufficient for what certs.

seekrit

Save your money and emulate your routers.. Buy 3 x 2950's with 9 crossover cables and a single strait though cable so you can study VTP, STP, and inter-vlan routing. The extra cables are for ether-channel, it's just cool..

Do it..

Da-Regulator

Advanced CCNA/Starter CCNP Kit II

I'm thinking about getting that...

Hypntick

alan2308 wrote: »

The 851W is a nice router, and having wireless is a great bonus, but there's a lot that the 851W cannot do (such as any routing protocol besides RIP). I would stay away from that model right now and look more at the 2600XM or the 1721.

The 1721s are neat little things. I have a pair myself even though I have yet to start my studying for CCNA. Figured i'd pick them up in prep for it later on. If you do get them, you'll spend around 40-50 bucks for maxed out memory and a power brick. They are small form factor, so not rackable. I notice most people just sit them on top of whatever else is in their rack.

As for WIC modules, a WIC-2T will run you about the same as one of the 1721 routers.

alan2308

Hypntick wrote: »

As for WIC modules, a WIC-2T will run you about the same as one of the 1721 routers.

Unless you need a boatload of ports in the router, the WIC-1DSU-T1 is real cheap right now and you can make yourself a stack of T1 crossover cables.

alan2308

seekrit wrote: »

Save your money and emulate your routers.. Buy 3 x 2950's with 9 crossover cables and a single strait though cable so you can study VTP, STP, and inter-vlan routing. The extra cables are for ether-channel, it's just cool..

Do it..

That still doesn't get you around the "I've never touched a real router" problem.