CCNA Lab Pics

MAC_Addy

I've been collecting equipment to study for my CCNA...

So far I have - 1841, 2801, 2620xm, 2610xm, 2501, 2950 and 2950T.

Do you think I have enough equipment to persue this certification? I think I probably need some WIC-1T or WIC-2T.

alan2308

Way more than enough routers and switches for the CCNA, assuming that they have enough RAM/Flash to run a good enough IOS. Add some serial interfaces (WIC-1T, WIC-1DSU-T1, WIC-2T, WIC-2A/S, NM-4A/S, or NM-8A/S) to each of those routers and you'll be golden. A third switch will allow you to do more interesting things with Spanning Tree and VTP, but you can get by with 2.

2 serial interfaces per router, and 4 in at least one for a Frame Relay switch.

bigmantenor

Very clean setup, I like it. What kind of rack are you using?

jamesleecoleman

Wow thats great!!

xenodamus

Definitely enough for the CCNA. Just need interfaces/cables and you'll be ready to lab!

MAC_Addy

20U 19" Two Post Rack with Casters, Cold Rolled Steel, Black this is the rack I'm using. It's cage and nut, which is kind of annoying, but it works. I'm looking at getting some WIC's - have looked on ebay, but im affraid that i'll get a counterfeit one, any recommendations on where to get some from?

Shanman

Very nice setup...

MAC_Addy

alan2308 wrote: »

WIC-1T, WIC-1DSU-T1, WIC-2T, WIC-2A/S, NM-4A/S, or NM-8A/S.

The WIC-1T etc are to simulate WAN connections, correct? I have just began my studies on the CCNA, just learning the theory of the network right now.

bigmantenor

If I'm thinking of the right card, the WIC-1T has a DB-60. I personally have used the WIC-2T cards, which use the little smart serial cables.

Shanman

I use wic t1 cards and make t1 crosovers...saves mgr from having to buy cables.

alan2308

MAC_Addy wrote: »

The WIC-1T etc are to simulate WAN connections, correct? I have just began my studies on the CCNA, just learning the theory of the network right now.

Yes, they all serve that purpose. That's all of your realistic options for a home lab, and each of them have their own pluses and minuses.

alan2308

And here's a copy and paste from last time I covered this since I'm pretty lazy today. I forgot the WIC-2A/S which is pretty much the same as the WIC-2T as far as a home lab goes. The difference is speed between the two, and you'll never notice the difference when labbing.

alan2308 wrote:

WIC-1T - one interface per module, middle of the road price, uses same connector as the NM-4a/s or NM-8a/s commonly used for frame relay switches so cabling remains simple.

WIC-2T - 2 interfaces per module, different connectors than the NM-4a/s or NM-8a/s's. Costs more per module, but it's usually cheaper than 2 WIC-1T's.

WIC-1DSU-T1 - Normally the cheapest of the options. These are T1 modules which can be connected using a T1 crossover cable (not to be confused with a Ethernet crossover cable). The T1 crossovers can be bought or you can make them yourself real cheap.

NM-4a/s or NM-8a/s - Normally used for frame relay switches. High port density per module, but your 1760 does not have an NM slot.


One thing to consider when choosing is cabling. The NM's and the WIC-1T's use the same connectors. The WIC-2T uses different connectors as the WIC-1T's and NM's, but you can buy cables to connect these different connectors. The WIC-1DSU-T1's use their own connectors and cannot be connected to anything else. Personally, I've standardized on the WIC-1T's so I only have to buy one type of cable.

Corndork2

Nice hardware!

Grab yourself a L3 switch sometime and you've also got some future proofing for CCNP labs

tek2advanced

MAC_Addy wrote: »

I've been collecting equipment to study for my CCNA...

So far I have - 1841, 2801, 2620xm, 2610xm, 2501, 2950 and 2950T.

Do you think I have enough equipment to persue this certification? I think I probably need some WIC-1T or WIC-2T.

Nice setup! Your gonna also need 3 to 4 hosts too. Not sure how your going to accomplish that. But after I'm finished with my VLAN/IntraVLAN section, I should be able to emulate as many PC/Hosts using VM and Switches (Hardware/Software I already own)..

You're going to need "Smart Serial to Smart Serial" for your WIC-2T interfaces connections and probably a couple "DB60 to Smart Serial" for your 2501 serial interfaces, and dont forget the Ethernet AUI Transceiver for your Ethernet on the 2501.

Here's My Lab when I received it and put it together for the first time. Since, then I've added a 1U 9 Channel Switched Power Distributor. I added these specifically for my switches since they don't have on/off power switch on the power supplies. No way I'm leaving my rack on all day or dealing with unplugging or plugging the power cord.

Here's what I have at the moment:
1 x AS2511-RJ Access/Terminal Server
2 x 2611XMs with Maxed Everything
2 x 2950 with Enhanced Image
1 x 3550 with Enhanced Image
1 x Furman M-8x2 Power Conditioner
1 x Technical Pro PS-B9 PDU

I think we also have the same RACK also, which is the Skeletek... Its an awesome rack, you just gotta buy enough nuts and just snap them on every available slot starting from the top then moving your way to the bottom... This will save you the headache when your moving around your equipment on the rack.. You'll know what I mean, when you move equipment around on your rack..

bigmantenor

Shanman wrote: »

I use wic t1 cards and make t1 crosovers...saves mgr from having to buy cables.

I wasn't saying he couldn't use them, just that I have no experience with them. My school lab/home lab both utilize the smart serial cables.

MAC_Addy

tek2advanced wrote: »

I think we also have the same RACK also, which is the Skeletek... Its an awesome rack, you just gotta buy enough nuts and just snap them on every available slot starting from the top then moving your way to the bottom... This will save you the headache when your moving around your equipment on the rack.. You'll know what I mean, when you move equipment around on your rack..

Very similar, mine is a rack from cablesandkits.com, I guess it's one of their own brands - not actually sure.

I do know exactly what you mean! When I first purchased it I didn't realize that it was cage and nut. I've moved my equipment around and it's already a pain in the arse! I need to buy about 50 more of them but i've been too lazy!

Speaking of hosts, that's not a big deal. I have 4 extra (old) desktops laying around. I have installed RealVNC on each machine with a static IP so that I can remote into them. Each machine also has two network cards, the 2nd network card being used for my lab.

tek2advanced

MAC_Addy wrote: »

Very similar, mine is a rack from cablesandkits.com, I guess it's one of their own brands - not actually sure.

I do know exactly what you mean! When I first purchased it I didn't realize that it was cage and nut. I've moved my equipment around and it's already a pain in the arse! I need to buy about 50 more of them but i've been too lazy!

Speaking of hosts, that's not a big deal. I have 4 extra (old) desktops laying around. I have installed RealVNC on each machine with a static IP so that I can remote into them. Each machine also has two network cards, the 2nd network card being used for my lab.

I was thinking about building a computer with 8 dedicated NIC cards, but I found that to be to expensive. I also thought about buying cheap PC's and then I thought, I don't have room for it, plus it would mean more electricity.

Then I found out about VLAN trunking and InterVLAN the past week which makes more sense and solves all the concerns above. (the current Topic I'm learning (about 60% into my studies )

I only have one Desktop Computer in my Home/Lab, but it's a really powerful machine:
* 8 Cores OC at 4Ghz
* 18GB Ram
* Dual x 25" Wide Monitors
* And some other Peripherals
===================
Draws anywhere from 225-250 watts

Plus, add the power consumption of my Routers and Switches (approx. 40watt each x 6 Devices). And I have a .500 Kw (500 watt) setup. If I added 5 more desktop machines to my lab like you did, and I'd have a 1000 watt setup (most desktop draws approx 100 watts)..

===============================================

Now that I understand the concept of VLAN technology. I'm going to attempt to finally get my VM Guest machines to communicate with each other on different subnets sometimes this week. And, also have them communicate all my real network devices with just one NIC coming out of my Desktop PC.

Trunking should already be enabled on VM side, so I'm going to configure/enable Trunking on the Switch Port which is connected to my desktop. After I've done that, all of the ports on my switches can (in a sense) become dedicated NIC's for my all my Virtual guests machines. If I choose to..

To simply put this:
15 VMs on Different Subnets-> on 1 PC - > Leaves the PC with one CAT5 -> Connects to the Switch -> and branches out from the switch to their assigned Router and/or Switch Interfaces.

I'm pretty stoked about this, lols I had no desire to do the VLANing labs with just 2 PCs. The thought of continuously changing the static ip addresses on the hosts was not appealing to me. I hope this gives you an idea when the time comes..

tek2advanced

alan2308 wrote: »

And here's a copy and paste from last time I covered this since I'm pretty lazy today. I forgot the WIC-2A/S which is pretty much the same as the WIC-2T as far as a home lab goes. The difference is speed between the two, and you'll never notice the difference when labbing.