CCNP Switch

ITtech2010

Hey Everyone,

I recently landed a Network Admin job for a security exchange company. It's my first network job. I'm very excited about it. Most of the job responsibilities will include creating vlans, troubleshooting stp, going over VRRP and HSRP. I am tight on money right now and I know GNS3 is useless for preparing this exam. Is there any other options? I heard about renting labs online.

Would I be able to create my own lab? Is one already provided?? Because I want to use equipment while I go through the CBT series. I completed reading the CCNP Switch Cisco book. I just want to cover the CBT's to gain experience and more of a understanding of Switching. I am prepared to rent a lab if I have too. I'll get the money eventually but I start monday so I want to at least have four days of preparation. Thank you!

vinbuck

GNS3 can actually emulate some switching functions and it can be helpful to learn the basics of VLANs, dot1q trunking and STP. It seems that your immediate focus is to learn about these topics and not preparing for SWITCH. In four days, you should focus on the topics that GNS3 is capable of and try to get your hands on some equipment at your new job that you can practice on. It's great that you want to get a head start on learning, just realize you won't become an expert on switching in 4 days

Good luck and congrats on your new job...oh and welcome to the wonderful world of networking!

ITtech2010

vinbuck wrote: »

GNS3 can actually emulate some switching functions and it can be helpful to learn the basics of VLANs, dot1q trunking and STP. It seems that your immediate focus is to learn about these topics and not preparing for SWITCH. In four days, you should focus on the topics that GNS3 is capable of and try to get your hands on some equipment at your new job that you can practice on. It's great that you want to get a head start on learning, just realize you won't become an expert on switching in 4 days

Good luck and congrats on your new job...oh and welcome to the wonderful world of networking!

Thank you for the reply back! Yeah i understand I won't get it done in for days I just at least want to get a head start like you said. Familiarizing myself with the topics would help. I do want to take the CCNP Switch exam. I want to become a CCNP eventually and after switch i'm jumping into Route. I will see what GNS3 can do for me while i go through the CBT's if i feel limited then I'll look at some racks online. Thanks for the advice and I'm glad to be in the networking world FINALLY! lol

Timber Wolf

The prices on 3550 has actually been dropping quite a bit in the past few months i noticed. Ive seen some of the non powered versions selling for around $65 on ebay and i just purchased a powered one for $115 shipped, and these where Buy it now prices. Two 3550's and either a 2950 or another 3550 should be all need for a lab. Just build it over a longer period of time and keep on the watch for good deals and it will have less hurt on your wallet and become a better investment.

nicklauscombs

the packetlife lab also is a good free solution though youll have to plan ahead as it seems to fill up fairly quick.

ITtech2010

Thanks for the feedback Tim and Nick! I will look out for deals on ebay and see if i can acquire some routers for home labs. I've been trying to get into the networking field for a long time and I'm just glad to finally get my foot in the door. I know i have a lot to learn. Thanks for the info on Packetlife nick. I will look into it more now. I see that the labs are free so I will try to schedule something. while i go through cbts.

pert

I know everyone on these forums are obsessed with labbing on actual equipment. However, you don't need labs to understand HSRP or STP, you need to read about how they work in detail and understand it. The commands you need to enter are short and super simple, the concepts and understanding how it works enough to know how to use which command correctly is where people get hung up. I know some people just NEED to be hands on to learn, but if youre not one of those people you don't need to mimic their methods. You don't need muscle memory, you need understanding.

networker050184

pert wrote: »

I know everyone on these forums are obsessed with labbing on actual equipment. However, you don't need labs to understand HSRP or STP, you need to read about how they work in detail and understand it. The commands you need to enter are short and super simple, the concepts and understanding how it works enough to know how to use which command correctly is where people get hung up. I know some people just NEED to be hands on to learn, but if youre not one of those people you don't need to mimic their methods. You don't need muscle memory, you need understanding.

Most people aren't recomending labs to memorize commands, you can do that in notepad. The labs help you see how the theory works on the actual equipment. You can learn a lot by breaking and fixing an STP setup that you can't learn in a book.

pert

networker050184 wrote: »

Most people aren't recomending labs to memorize commands, you can do that in notepad. The labs help you see how the theory works on the actual equipment. You can learn a lot by breaking and fixing an STP setup that you can't learn in a book.

You would learn that "when I do X then Y happens", but you wouldn't learn why and thats that you need to know.

networker050184

pert wrote: »

You would learn that "when I do X then Y happens", but you wouldn't learn why and thats that you need to know.

Yeah, you need to know both. Learning or labbing alone isn't going ot give you both.

tokhss

Honestly, you can read the material and move on to the next chapter with an understanding of the material. But thats it.... labbing provides results, applying the knowledge you THINK you learned to the actual equipment you have just been reading about. I can honestly say that the way I learn is not all from reading, but from applying myself to whatever it may be, in this case, the equipment that I am supporting. My lab also motivates me well beyond any book could ever do. The moment you figured out how to get something working even after you tried the books way is priceless.

Learning WHY is just as important as learning HOW. they compliment each other. We have tonz of admins, engineers, developers out there who first learned on the job or in lab before they even understood the concept of 8 bits = 1 byte.

vinbuck

pert wrote: »

You would learn that "when I do X then Y happens", but you wouldn't learn why and thats that you need to know.

I think most people on here are speaking from actual field experience and not just "cert prep" experience. I designed a Multiple Spanning Tree topology for an MPLS Service Provider Core and I did a lot of reading, but in the end I had to put together a mock-up of the equipment to understand how it all worked together and to work through the glitches of a cross vendor spanning tree implementation. Sidenote: glitches aren't in the book

pert

I'm talking about the exams specifically. However, even at work when troubleshooting the question of "Why isn't this working" theory > labs. Information is information regardless of source. When X then Y because Z, W, or maybe N. When I took my switch exam I did less than 1 hour total of labbing, maybe 130 hours of study, and 10 hours of quizzing. I understand some people have trouble learning from written material, or just learn much better hands on. You need to understand the material, not lab, study, or quiz. Achieving understanding is whats important, if you have a preferred method fine, but the method isn't important, the result is.

vinbuck

Theory is great to build a foundation but there is no substitute for boots on the ground experience. It goes far beyond a person's ability to learn from a book versus a lab - hands on teaches you the things you can't learn from reading. There is a reason the CCIE candidates call the CCIE written the "lab ticket"

battlefield tactics aren't learned in a classroom, they are earned in the field.