CCNP Lab?

First off, I'm not Cisco certified yet. I'm currently finishing up studying for CCENT and I have 3 x 2950 switches. So far I haven't hit any big routing or switching stuff yet. I'm running GNS3 for the routing bits, but I want to build a lab which is capable of doing CCNP routing and switching.

Will GNS3 not linked to physical switches be enough for ROUTE or would I have to hook GNS3 up to physical switches for any part of ROUTE? I would presume no but better ask anyway.

I've been watching the beginning of the CBT Nuggets for SWITCH and Jeremy recommends a 3550 & a 2950 for the lab. What would be suitable for SWITCH? 2 x 3550s 1 x 2950 or what combination would be best?

I'd appreciate any recommendations you might have...

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Chris_

For ROUTE I would say that GNS 3 is all you need.

SWITCH is a different, Jeremy's idea that a 2950 and 3550 are sufficient is a little bizarre, especially as a number of times in the videos he kinda says ' if I had another 3550 then.........'

I would suggest that you add 2 3550s or 3560s to your lab for this exam

cuuloco10

I do agree with Chris... Minimum of two 3550 switches along with with 2950's.

Asif Dasl

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking of keeping all 3 x 2950s for CCNA then selling 2 of the 2950s and getting 3550s. Would I need all 3 2950s for CCNP?

burbankmarc

I did the BCMSN with 2 2950's and 2 3550s. Which is all you'll need for the TSHOOT as well, plus GNS3. The 3560s/3750s are ridonkulous in price compared to the 3550, so unless you plan on building a home CCIE/CCVP lab I wouldn't recommend anything higher than the 3550.

Asif Dasl

Yeah I was just looking at the price of the 3560s and yikes! Cool, I'll keep the 2950s and pick up 2 x 3550s after the CCNA. Thanks all!

Slowhand

burbankmarc wrote: »

I did the BCMSN with 2 2950's and 2 3550s. Which is all you'll need for the TSHOOT as well, plus GNS3. The 3560s/3750s are ridonkulous in price compared to the 3550, so unless you plan on building a home CCIE/CCVP lab I wouldn't recommend anything higher than the 3550.

Even if you're going for the CCIE, it's probably a little bit of overkill to have a Catalyst 3560 or a 3570 in your home lab when 3550's do almost everything you need for your practice. For anything else you absolutely need, you can always rent rack-time on the higher-level models.

down77

FWIW Jeremy over @ Packet Life has a free community lab that you can sign up for and use for many of your labs. Just make sure not to abuse the privilege. If you do a google search you can find endless labs to play with.

burbankmarc

Slowhand wrote: »

Even if you're going for the CCIE, it's probably a little bit of overkill to have a Catalyst 3560 or a 3570 in your home lab when 3550's do almost everything you need for your practice.

I disagree. The difference in WRR and SRR alone is reason enough to buy a 3560 for your CCIE, add in PVLAN, IPv6, and PoE for CCVPs then the extra cash looks a bit more reasonable. But again, it's too much for a CCNP lab.

Slowhand

burbankmarc wrote: »

I disagree. The difference in WRR and SRR alone is reason enough to buy a 3560 for your CCIE, add in PVLAN, IPv6, and PoE for CCVPs then the extra cash looks a bit more reasonable. But again, it's too much for a CCNP lab.

Ah, but that's the reason a lot of people recommend renting rack-time to save that money, since there are differences between the 3550s and 3560s. It's an option to save a bit of cash when you're getting up that point. Of course, if you've got the money, having the 3560 always handy isn't a bad thing either.

MrBaker

idk if anyone has their CSE but does the 3560 8Port have the same features as a 24/48port. My friend gave a 2948 L3 that isn't cutting it and I didn't see anything that points out the differences in the product brochure on Cisco's site...