CCNA Home Lab vs Training

XiaoTech

I've been thinking of getting into networking and I saw that a local community college offers a CCNA training course:

Tri-C course search results
http://www.tri-c.edu/NonCreditcourse.aspx?SubjectCode=ZCIS&Subject=ZCIS&CourseNumber=1000&Term=201180

The course meets up twice a week for 3.5 hours a day and is $1050. This is just for prep on the ICND1 exam. They have a separate course for the same price for ICND2. So we're talking over $2000 for training.

Now, I've read on these forums that it's possible to build a home lab for $500. I know for IT, most stuff is best done by self study. The main reason I'd even consider spending so much money is to have some type of experience on my resume.

Right now, my contract with my employer in Korea has ended. I got a sizable bonus and too much free time. I'm trying to figure out the most effective way to utilize my time. Should I do training? Or would I benefit more from building my home lab?

I've known this has been discussed before, but everyone's situation is different. If you have nothing but free time, and enough money to live on for three months, what would you do?

I would appreciate any input!!!

alan2308

The main reason that I took the Cisco Academy courses was because they were part of an Associates degree program. if you want to do some other classes, then they're a great idea. If you work better with deadlines and a structured course of study, then they're a great idea. Otherwise you can learn the material just fine on your own with a couple study sources and either a modest home lab (you can get a nice set up for much less than $500) or GNS3.

You can get through the CCNA with just a simulator such as GNS3, but if you don't have any real hands on experience with the gear I would strongly suggest a home lab.

instant000

XiaoTech wrote: »

I've been thinking of getting into networking and I saw that a local community college offers a CCNA training course:

Tri-C course search results
http://www.tri-c.edu/NonCreditcourse.aspx?SubjectCode=ZCIS&Subject=ZCIS&CourseNumber=1000&Term=201180

The course meets up twice a week for 3.5 hours a day and is $1050. This is just for prep on the ICND1 exam. They have a separate course for the same price for ICND2. So we're talking over $2000 for training.

Now, I've read on these forums that it's possible to build a home lab for $500. I know for IT, most stuff is best done by self study. The main reason I'd even consider spending so much money is to have some type of experience on my resume.

Right now, my contract with my employer in Korea has ended. I got a sizable bonus and too much free time. I'm trying to figure out the most effective way to utilize my time. Should I do training? Or would I benefit more from building my home lab?

I've known this has been discussed before, but everyone's situation is different. If you have nothing but free time, and enough money to live on for three months, what would you do?

I would appreciate any input!!!

I don't know your basis, but I estimate the CCNA is about 100-150 hours of studying. If you do it as a full time job, you could get it within a month.

The boot camp would be geared towards passing the test, not necessarily making you a better technician.

After you cleared the CCNA, you probably find yourself hooked on Cisco certifications. Just make sure to get a job while you catch that bug.

Concerned Water

I would probably go with GNS3 or Cisco packet tracer (both are free network simulators) and a good CCNA book like Todd Lammle CCNA study guide 7th edition exam (640-802). Well this at least worked for some guys I know.

wolfinsheepsclothing

I recommend building a budget home lab; hands on training without time constraints

effekted

You can snag 1721/1760 routers from eBay cheap, then get a few 2950 switches... I spent $80 shipped for a 1721 and 1760 both with WIC cards...would have been cheaper but I had to buy an AC adapter for the 1721 because I didn't pay attention that it didn't come with 1. Got a 2950 switch for $12 shipped.

cyberguypr

wolfinsheepsclothing wrote: »

I recommend building a budget home lab; hands on training without time constraints

+1. Excellent comment. Flipping the switch on my PDU and watching all those pretty lights go up any time I want is priceless.

XiaoTech

So it seems I have four votes unofficial votes for a home lab, two for CBT based lab, and one for the course. Okay, making my own lab is sounding good. When it comes to my current knowledge of networking, the only experience I have is setting up my home network and the material from the A+ exam. It looks like it's time to start doing some research and ebay price checking.

hyperrawr9000

The course doesnt seem to put too much time into it per week so you prolly will get better results with a home lab. The only advantage a course would give you would be people to discuss things with

alxx

Another vote for get a home lab.

Can get 3-4 routers , 3-4 switches , cables and wics for around $150 to 300
if you take your time and are patient

Can get 1721/1751 for around $10 - 20 shipped

for example a few I brought
Cisco 1750 Router | eBay
Cisco 1721 w/ WIC 1T | eBay
Cisco 1720 Router with WIC-1T | eBay
eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d?r

Avoid the 1720 and 1750 unless they have a wic1t or wic2t as they have less ram and flash than the 1721 and 1751.
You want 32MB ram and 16MB flash(at least , 64MB ram ,32MB flash is better) to be able to run as recent as possible ios images. Sometimes its worth buying the 1720's and 1750's just for the wics then resell the router.

If you want rackable equipment look at the 1760's/1760v or 2600xm's

Can get 2950's for around the same prices (20 -30), though you want to spend a bit more and get at least 1 3550 especially if you want to keep going after ccna.

1700 series memory
Installing and Upgrading Memory in Cisco 1700 Series Routers - Cisco Systems

1720/1721
Cisco 1721 and Cisco 1720 Modular Access Routers [Cisco 1700 Series Modular Access Routers] - Cisco Systems

17501
Cisco 1751 Modular Access Router [Cisco 1700 Series Modular Access Routers] - Cisco Systems

1760
Cisco 1760 Modular Access Router [Cisco 1700 Series Modular Access Routers] - Cisco Systems

alxx

here's one for someone in the UK
Cisco Lab 1700 series 1750 1751 1721 Routers x9 | eBay

SdotLow

XiaoTech wrote: »

So it seems I have four votes unofficial votes for a home lab, two for CBT based lab, and one for the course. Okay, making my own lab is sounding good. When it comes to my current knowledge of networking, the only experience I have is setting up my home network and the material from the A+ exam. It looks like it's time to start doing some research and ebay price checking.

I haven't seen this said yet, so I'll go ahead and put it out there as it's probably the best advice you'll get in this matter.

Make sure you go over this specific forum with a fine tooth comb to find information about WHAT to buy and what not to buy. The information you get from figuring this information out, and setting up your own home lab is priceless. I'm very glad I went this route in my training.

Also, if you're serious about making this a career (I mean Cisco) and plan to go on beyond CCNA, it might be worth your investment to pick up a bit more expensive pieces of equipment if it's in your budget. If you're unsure then obviously don't.

After I got my Network+ I started to study for Microsoft's 70-680 and 70-685. I was glazing over the information and drifting off. I had access to the CBT nuggets for those books/exams in addition to the CCNA ones. I took a break for a day and just watched the ICND1's first few videos and was hooked, and knew I wanted to do Cisco in specific. And so when I was pricing my lab I knew I wanted to get items that would carry over to future needs. Again, this will require it to be in your budget.

Some equipment you'll find has no warranty and the seller won't say much about it. Some equipment you can get from reputable resellers that provide a 1 year warranty on their equipment and provide all the cables / brackets you'll need (this is the route I went). I hate sounding redundant but, it depends on your budget :P.

asoft

It depends on how much time you have committed for your CCNA Certification, and your past experience. If you are new to networking, a formal class room training is preferred. If you already have some experience in networking (not necessarily Cisco networking) then, you can start with either a home lab or a simulator and self study material. Again, if you have some hands on experience with networking equipment, then spending money on a home lab is not worthwhile. One can easily gain the same experience using self study material and a network simulator.

Further, Cisco CCNA is only a start, and one probably needs to continue the certification track with CCNP/CCIE for better career prospects.

Best of luck!

skwira001

I'm not an accountant but I believe you'll get all that money back dollar for dollar up to $2500 on your taxes. I say go for it.

XiaoTech wrote: »

I've been thinking of getting into networking and I saw that a local community college offers a CCNA training course:

Tri-C course search results
http://www.tri-c.edu/NonCreditcourse.aspx?SubjectCode=ZCIS&Subject=ZCIS&CourseNumber=1000&Term=201180

The course meets up twice a week for 3.5 hours a day and is $1050. This is just for prep on the ICND1 exam. They have a separate course for the same price for ICND2. So we're talking over $2000 for training.

Now, I've read on these forums that it's possible to build a home lab for $500. I know for IT, most stuff is best done by self study. The main reason I'd even consider spending so much money is to have some type of experience on my resume.

Right now, my contract with my employer in Korea has ended. I got a sizable bonus and too much free time. I'm trying to figure out the most effective way to utilize my time. Should I do training? Or would I benefit more from building my home lab?

I've known this has been discussed before, but everyone's situation is different. If you have nothing but free time, and enough money to live on for three months, what would you do?

I would appreciate any input!!!

andy4tech

It depends on you ,some people get to know more from self learning and some in the classroom,whichever you believe will help you more,go for it.............though is good to have a lab at home even if you get classroom training for practices.

Todd Burrell

I'd throw in another vote for going the lab route. I'm currently studying for the CCNA exam and the hands on lab experience is very valuable in my opinion. I was able to get 2 2620XM routers and 2 2950 switches for around $300 and I then spent around $200 more on cards (WIC-1DSU-T1, WIC-2T and NM-4E for each router along with the necessary cables). This has given me some flexibility with these routers and with my networking options.

I would think the hands on is much better than most classes - but it would depend on the class and the cost.

Good luck...

johnnyarks

+1 for Home Lab, I took a month long course for CCNA, at a local school here in NYC, while its good for a noob, to get your feet wet...when I was finished with the course, I didn't feel rdy for the 640-802, 4 months later, I still don't, after buying my home lab, I took the ccent 1 week later! and passed! Getting hands on with the real thing makes all the difference, and its better to go into an interview and say "I've had hand on time with "x" hardware. I have a cisco lab with "this" equipment and for this long"...

and honestly how much knowledge will you retain if your sitting in a class for a couple of weeks, say you pass the test, but then what? if you don't keep up on your labing, then that data is gonna start leaking from your brain the longer you stay away from it...

I've spent about $600 for my lab (I went crazy got a router just for frame relay switch, and a 2509 $130, other wise it would've been about $180 cheaper, 5xrouters 3x2950s, 5x wic-2t). The CCNA class was $800, not including travel fare everyday to and from class, I'm getting WAY more outta my Lab than I did from the classroom.

skwira001

I highly recommend going to a community college. The CCNA has packet tracer and you can also download GNS3 which is emulation like VMWare not a simulation. After your 4 classes are over, I strongly suggest you purchase Testout. You can get student pricing for $89. The module tests you take in the Cisco Networking academy is second to none on how to measure your level of understanding.

XiaoTech wrote: »

I've been thinking of getting into networking and I saw that a local community college offers a CCNA training course:

Tri-C course search results
http://www.tri-c.edu/NonCreditcourse.aspx?SubjectCode=ZCIS&Subject=ZCIS&CourseNumber=1000&Term=201180

The course meets up twice a week for 3.5 hours a day and is $1050. This is just for prep on the ICND1 exam. They have a separate course for the same price for ICND2. So we're talking over $2000 for training.

Now, I've read on these forums that it's possible to build a home lab for $500. I know for IT, most stuff is best done by self study. The main reason I'd even consider spending so much money is to have some type of experience on my resume.

Right now, my contract with my employer in Korea has ended. I got a sizable bonus and too much free time. I'm trying to figure out the most effective way to utilize my time. Should I do training? Or would I benefit more from building my home lab?

I've known this has been discussed before, but everyone's situation is different. If you have nothing but free time, and enough money to live on for three months, what would you do?

I would appreciate any input!!!

asoft

johnnyarks wrote: »

+1 for Home Lab, I took a month long course for CCNA, at a local school here in NYC, while its good for a noob, to get your feet wet...when I was finished with the course, I didn't feel rdy for the 640-802, 4 months later, I still don't, after buying my home lab, I took the ccent 1 week later! and passed!

I've spent about $600 for my lab (I went crazy got a router just for frame relay switch, and a 2509 $130, other wise it would've been about $180 cheaper, 5xrouters 3x2950s, 5x wic-2t). The CCNA class was $800, not including travel fare everyday to and from class, I'm getting WAY more outta my Lab than I did from the classroom.

Though physical lab equipment is good for preparation, it should be viewed as one of the means of preparation. A class room training (or formal preparation using books and simulators) is essential phase of preparation. A home lab complements other means of study for CCNA cert preparation.

The following prep method is suggested:
1. A formal class room training (preferably for those who are fresh out of college and have no practical experience and those who have very tight schedule for preparation)
2. Exam Simulators/Network Simulators s
3. A Home lab with low end routers/switches that won't cost lot of money.

1. For formal class room training, usually Cisco Press books are sufficient or a Todd Lammle book is good.

2. For final exam prep, use of exam simulators/network simulators is recommended. These are available from Boson, and CertExams.com Note that exam simulators should have support for various types of questions including simlets, and router simulations.

3. A home lab equipment may be procured from ebay or any other network hardware store. One disadvantage of hardware is that any high-end models are very expensive.

Video training is an alternative to class room training. If one is unable to attend class room training, a video training is a good alternative.

Sources:
Cisco CCNA Books:
Cisco CCNA Store
Todd Lammle the official site - CCNA

Network Simulators:

Boson: CCNA Network Simulator - NetSim 8.0 - 640-802
CertExams: CCNA Network Simulator Designer

Video Training:
CBT Nuggest: http://www.cbtnuggets.com/it-training-videos/cisco/ccna

Audio Learning:
CCNA Audio - CCNA 3.0 #640-802 Lammle

Timber Wolf

My recommendation would be to go to a Community college that offers the Cisco Networking Academy classes and take those. The CC should have there own gear already for you to use while your go through the course.

While your going through the course though id shop ebay and start to piece together a home lab slowly. This way you can wait for the good deals instead of feeling like you have to buy everything all at once.

Finally id pick up the two Wendell Odom books to help fill in any gaps and to provide another resource.

ayseaf

Hello

I am going to get ccna and ccnp , I have the following

3 x 2924
2 x 2514
1 x 2620
1 x 2611
1 x 1720

Is thease enough for CCNA AND CCNP , Or i need to replace some of them . Let me know , Thanks

instant000

With the intent of full disclosure, I recently (within the past few months) made CCNA, and CCNA:Security, using only GNS3, SDM, Todd Lammle 6th Edition for CCNA, and Tim Boyles for CCNA Security.

My posts are in this forum somewhere, feel free to peruse those, just search for my name (if you have searching privileges, different forums have different rules on that).

certnerd

I would and did do the Cisco Academy Program. Getting a home lab is good, and the books and the CBTs etc. But will you actually do the study?

I wouldn't/couldn't so went to the network academy in leeds doing the Academy Program and in the end did CCNA and CCNP with them. Having all the kit, an instructor, a proper study plan, weekly mini assesments of progress and a time frame to work to got me through.

Being part of a group of around 10 like minded students and sharing the study also is a big plus to the Cisco Academy Program.

Netwurk

alan2308 wrote: »

You can get through the CCNA with just a simulator such as GNS3, but if you don't have any real hands on experience with the gear I would strongly suggest a home lab.

Good advice here - GNS3 can give you the impression that Cisco devices respond slowly to commands. To me, mixing GNS3 and real equipment is your best bet. If you get hands on at work, you may not need the real equip.

alan2308

ayseaf wrote: »

Hello

I am going to get ccna and ccnp , I have the following

3 x 2924
2 x 2514
1 x 2620
1 x 2611
1 x 1720

Is thease enough for CCNA AND CCNP , Or i need to replace some of them . Let me know , Thanks

I tried to respond to this post earlier, but it seems that my keyboard didn't survive the baby dumping my water bottle all over it. So I'm back, armed with a new keyboard.

The gear that you have now will get you through the CCNA. Many will argue that you should at least add a 2950 (or better) switch, but people have done it with 2924's.

For the CCNP as far as switches, you're going to need at least one 3550 (perhaps 2) which will run around $150 and a 2950 or two (can be had for under $50). And for routers, you'll probably want at least one that can run a better IOS than what you have now, as all your routers will only run up to version 12.3. You can get a 1721 or 1760 for under $60 or a 2600XM for around $100 on ebay. You can also just use GNS3 for the routers if you are comfortable using a simulator instead of real routers.

cisco_trooper

Definitely go for the home lab. Training has its place, and that place is when someone else is paying for it. The lab is an investment that will give as much to you as you give to it. If you build a home lab and are honest in your studies, you will outperform many people whether you get certified or not. LAB! LAB!! LAB!!!