Building my lab... piece by piece

CbrandonB

Hi all,

I have decided to start working toward my CCNA. I went through 2 semesters of double classes a few years back that covered the entire CCNA exam. This was right after they went version 3 I think and the cert was pretty tough. I feel confident in taking it, especially breaking it up with CCENT first. I am planning on finishing it by the end of the year. With this in mind, and with an eye toward CCNP afterward, I have started building my lab and I thought I would chronicle it here since there are usually A LOT of questions about home labs on these type forums.

First off, definitely the biggest single help to me was CertificationKits.com. I believe they're a sponsor of this forum, too. They have some very awesome guides on their website as to which routers and switches have which features and why you may or may not want to purchase them for your lab. Specifically, I'm talking about CCNA Certification: CCNA, Cisco certification, Cisco routers, Cisco switches, Ci .

With that guidance, I decided on the following:

2950 x2
3550 x1
26XX x2
26XX XM x1
Maybe one more as a frame relay switch.

What do you guys think?

So far, I've picked up the following on eBay:

2950 and 2611 $55 shipped
3x2950 $52 shipped

Two of those will be going to friends so I will have my 2 2950s and a 2611 for $65 roughly. Not too bad. Still have a few to go, though.

Just thought I would share my experiences. I think I've been able to find pretty good prices. It takes a bit of hunting, but its doable. I've also already got a rack that I used to put musical equipment into. I'm probably going to have to get a bigger one, though.

Brandon

alan2308

Also consider the 1721 and 1760 router. You can find them on eBay for under $50 and you can run IOS 12.4T on them. They're cheaper than the 2600XM's and much better than the 2600's for not much more money.

Neither can take an NM module though.

CbrandonB

Very nice. Thanks for the headsup.

Are NM modules the primary difference between say a 2610XM and a 1760? In other words, would there be any advantage to a 2600XM over a 1760? I really like that the 1760s have everything on the front of the router and that they're still rack mountable. Good stuff.

Brandon

Excellent1

On the 1760's, just make sure you get the ones with the 32mb flash. These will have the "32F" in a small black box above the 10/100 ethernet port.

Link to previous post about this: http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccvp/44802-cisco-1760-memory-upgrade.html

CbrandonB

Also very good to know. Thanks.

Brandon

CbrandonB

I picked up a 2621 today. I'm pretty sure its got a WIC-2T in it and it also comes with an Adtran TSU ACE and a few cables. Not bad for $20.50.

Cisco 2621 with Adtran TSU ACE 2nd. Gen. and Cables | eBay

I believe it will probably come in on Thursday.

I also met a guy who locally had some 3620s. They're mostly loaded with 1E2Ws and 2E2Ws, along with WIC 1Ts and some VICs. I think I may pickup a 3620 from him next week that is loaded with 4 WIC-1Ts, which will take care of all of my serial connections. I am planning on putting an NM-4T in my 2611 to serve as a frame relay cloud. Other than that, I believe all that's left will be a 3550 and a 1760!

Brandon

jblaven

Thanks for starting this post! It will definitely help!

CbrandonB

Glad to know its helping someone.

Brandon

CbrandonB

Picked up a bit more today.

I received a 2e2w in the mail by mistake of a shipper. They were supposed to send me rack ears.

I also picked up a 3640 with 3 1e2ws in it and 4 WIC-1Ts along with a 2520/2521 for frame relay switch and a 2e2w with a T1 WIC card in it. Not too shabby for $160. I'm now debating on keeping my 2611 or not. I will probably sell it in favor of a 1760 I believe. A 1760 and 3550 and I'll be finished... for now. That should have me fairly well covered and I will be able to use the 2621 one day as a home router in front of probably an Untangle box, just for the fun of it.

Grand total:

2520
2611
2621
3640

2x2950s

4 WIC-1Ts
1 WIC-2Ts
3 NW-1E2Ws
2 NW-2E2Ws

That's a pretty good start methinks. A 1760 and 3550 will round it out and I will be done with the hardware and diving all the more into studying and practicing.

Brandon

lanrexng2

Cisco CCNA 3 Router & 3 Switch Lab Kit! is this 3 router 3 switch kit worth it?????


Thanks for your time

CbrandonB

Well, whether its worth it or not is up to you to decide. If you were to ask me if I'd buy that kit, I'd say no. Those switches and routers are fairly cheap on eBay. You could buy all 6 of those for probably under $200. Now, having said that, these guys also give you all of the cables you need as well as some training materials that seem to be pretty good. That makes up for some of the price, but not all of it, IMO. Personally I can make my own ethernet and crossover cables (as I'm sure MANY people around here can, probably yourself included ) and serial cables are $7 shipped on eBay.

For example, here is a 2924 that went for $10 with $10 shipping: WS-C2924M-XL-A Cisco 24-Port 10/100 Switch w/Two Module | eBay

I bought a 2621 the other day for $20 plus $15 shipping: Cisco 2621 with Adtran TSU ACE 2nd. Gen. and Cables | eBay

Here's a 2501 that went for $10 plus $15 shipping: Cisco 2500 Series 2501 Router | eBay

Add $40 or so in for cables and you could buy the same set on eBay for $185 roughly. However, you may have to add some memory and/or flash to your routers to max them out and you won't get their lab book. To me, its not worth it. Probably $250 at the max vs. $475.

I'm not trying to dog CertificationKits, they have good info on their site that I learned a lot from. But their kits are a little on the high side IMO. However, if you didn't want to piece everything together, that would be the way to go, but you're going to pay a premium.

Just my opinion.

Brandon

switchrat

After several weeks of reading, posting and thinking I came to the concusion the kit prices are not worth it. I purchased 3 switches 1x2950, 2x 3550 5 routers all 2621xm with max memory for 550.00 bucks. After another 300.00 in cards and cables I'm done. All that extra stuff, labs, notes, and my favorite SDM 2.5 (free of of cisco website) can be had for free off the net. Much of the free stuff is thanks to some great technician's. I could not find one kit with that gear for under 1400.00. So, read and ask questions to get an understanding, use the websites for free information then purchase your gear from college students, Ebay etc. OH ya make your own cables, Cisco has all the pinouts, just type pin out in Goggle then hit the cisco links. Register Jack 45 are dirt cheap. serial cable can be had at Graybar, buy the end pieces if they have any, I got 20 feet for free. Graybar or an electronic store will have all the connectors as well. All yo need is solder gun, solder, flux all item you need and need to know how to use.
Have Fun

alan2308

lanrexng2 wrote: »

Cisco CCNA 3 Router & 3 Switch Lab Kit! is this 3 router 3 switch kit worth it?????


Thanks for your time

No, it's not at all worth it. Stay clear of the prebuilt kits. They're almost always overpriced and underpowered. You'll spend a lot less and learn a lot more by piecing together a lab on your own.

Besides the price, you definitely don't want the 2900XL switches. They're missing a lot of features, and of the ones that they do have, some are implemented differently. Only buy one if you want a something cheap for a third or fourth switch and stick with the 2950's and/or 3550's for your main study switches.

lanrexng2

Thanks for all your replies
I have just put myself under hot pressure and want to get CCNA labs going already .

Thanks again!

CbrandonB

Here's a great article from Odom:

Cisco Cert Zone: CCNA Lab Part V: Ruling Out (or In) 2500 and 2600

This is the 5th lab article he has done. Great information. Its actually making me reconsider my lab.

Brandon

Jollycork

CbrandonB wrote: »

Here's a great article from Odom:

Cisco Cert Zone: CCNA Lab Part V: Ruling Out (or In) 2500 and 2600

This is the 5th lab article he has done. Great information. Its actually making me reconsider my lab.

Brandon

Glad you posted that from Odom's column.

Great blog series for the CCENT and CCNA candidates thinking about buying equipment for a home lab and not sure
what to get and more importantly why to get it.

CbrandonB

It is definitely a fantastic resource! All articles that he has done on lab selection have been exactly what I was looking for. I wish I had found it sooner as I could have avoided buying and selling a 2611.

Brandon

CbrandonB

It lives!



Still gotta grab 2 1760s and ditch the 2611 (anyone interested? ). I also need to do a memory and flash inventory and see what needs how much of which. Lastly, I've still got to finish my 70-686 by the end of the month. Then it will be on like Donkey Kong.

Brandon

Netwurk

Piece by piece is the way to go, that's how I did my lab.

I like the OP's choice of the 3640's as they are affordable and very expandable. Plus they can do 12.4

I have 3

CbrandonB

Nice. I picked up this 3640 locally for $40 and it had 2 1e2ws and 1 2e2w in it. Not too bad. I booted it up only to find it didn't have any RAM, but that's ok. I'm going to get 2 1760s since they're only about $45 shipped and will run 12.4T.

Brandon

Netwurk

You definitely need RAM for your 3640's

If you're low on flash and can't run 12.4T, you can boot from a TFTP server. That's what I do with one of mine.

CbrandonB

Yep, already ordered the RAM for the 3640.

To be honest, though, after playing with Packet Tracer (I'm an academy alumnus), I'm very seriously considering selling this stuff and buying a nice netbook instead! I travel a bit for work and it would be great to have a nice lab and a way to read my books on one little 2 pound device. I'm going to play around a bit more with it before I make my decision, but I think that sounds pretty good right now. We'll see, though.

Brandon

onesaint

CbrandonB wrote: »

Yep, already ordered the RAM for the 3640.

To be honest, though, after playing with Packet Tracer (I'm an academy alumnus), I'm very seriously considering selling this stuff and buying a nice netbook instead! I travel a bit for work and it would be great to have a nice lab and a way to read my books on one little 2 pound device. I'm going to play around a bit more with it before I make my decision, but I think that sounds pretty good right now. We'll see, though.

Brandon

This has been my debate all along. I love real equipment, but do I need the rack? Will the wife kill me for the 32db constant hum? lol. Ive used packet tracer a good deal in the network academy stuff and its nice and will get me through for sure. Although, Ive learned more about IOS versions, names, and gear, shopping for it than I ever did reading the Cisco Discovery books. Go figure.

Brandon, how are you going about picking up this stuff locally? Craigslist or something?

CbrandonB

There is definitely value to having the physical equipment. I believe that I garnered a TON of information just buying these things. More than enough for CCNA, and it may be a while before I do CCNP. But I believe there may be more benefit to having a nice netbook. I feel comfortable selling the equipment from that perspective. I probably need to wait until I actually start doing more labs to make a final decision, but I may not have the patience to wait that long. We'll see.

And I found the 3640 on craigslist. There are a few guys just down the road from me who buy out bankrupted banks and they had a ton of 3620s and a few others.

Brandon

CbrandonB

Holy crap... I just got an amazing deal...

I just picked up a 3660 (I know, I know... they're freakin' HUGE) with (get this)... 4 NM-8A/S modules in it for $44 plus $26 shipping!!!

Its the modules that make this beast worth it! Haha!

Cisco 3660 Router With Serial Cards | eBay

I will resell those modules individually and make a little bit of money back to help pay for all of these other auctions I've won.

Brandon

alan2308

CbrandonB wrote: »

Cisco 3660 Router With Serial Cards | eBay

I was just browsing ebay around the time this one ended. Lucky for you I didn't see it and get in on the bidding.

CbrandonB

Haha! I'm glad you didn't see it. I only bid $50 on it as a test to see if I could get it above the reserve, and I did, and ended up winning it, too! Shocked me, but I'll definitely take it.

Brandon

CbrandonB

Got it in today. There's a bit of damage to one side of it. It took a hard hit on its way here, but everything powers up fine. Someone used this as their main X25 router, or so the label says on the front.



Couldn't ask for a better deal for sure.

If anyone needs a 2520 or 2611, let me know. I'll be making some great deals on them.

Brandon

SdotLow

Very nice!

I'm planning on getting a lab put together. From the kits I've seen on the kit sites that I've been using as a reference for the gear I need to lab with, I'm thinking 3x 2610xm routers and 3x 2950c switches.

Any advice / suggestions?

I haven't bid on anything on Ebay yet because I'm not quite certain about what exactly I need to lab for my CCENT/CCNA. I plan on going further, so getting some things for the future isn't so bad for me. My budget is probably in the $500 - $800 range ideally. Lower would be wonderful but that's what I'm willing to part with.

odysseyelite

CbrandonB wrote: »

It lives!



Still gotta grab 2 1760s and ditch the 2611 (anyone interested? ). I also need to do a memory and flash inventory and see what needs how much of which. Lastly, I've still got to finish my 70-686 by the end of the month. Then it will be on like Donkey Kong.

Brandon

I like the rack. Where did you get it? Is there a lid that snaps on the front to make it easily?

CbrandonB

SdotLow wrote: »

Very nice!

I'm planning on getting a lab put together. From the kits I've seen on the kit sites that I've been using as a reference for the gear I need to lab with, I'm thinking 3x 2610xm routers and 3x 2950c switches.

Any advice / suggestions?

I haven't bid on anything on Ebay yet because I'm not quite certain about what exactly I need to lab for my CCENT/CCNA. I plan on going further, so getting some things for the future isn't so bad for me. My budget is probably in the $500 - $800 range ideally. Lower would be wonderful but that's what I'm willing to part with.

Those with more experience can also chime in, but those 6 would be an excellent lab. The XM's might even be overkill for CCNA, although I believe they may also be useful for CCNP if that's in the near future for you.

The 2950s are perfect for CCNA. If you shop around, great deals can be found. I was able to get 3 2950s for about $60 shipped. That's not the norm, but those kinds of deals are out there. As was suggested to me, you could also consider the 1760 (and 1721) routers if you're wanting to run 12.4T (which I assume is what the XMs are for) without breaking the bank. You could potentially put all 6 of those together for around $200 to $250 with 1760s and get the same functionality as far as CCNA is concerned. You may want to add a router to act as a frame relay switch to simulate your cloud.

odysseyelite wrote: »

I like the rack. Where did you get it? Is there a lid that snaps on the front to make it easily?

I have a background in music and this is a simple light-duty ATA rack that has been used to hold all kinds of recording equipment. I got it from a friend for $75. Definitely a bonus to living in Nashville, these racks are in an abundance.

Brandon