A switch in software?

I've been reading here a bit on what people have used to build their labs and I've come to understand a few things. It appears that many agree that a GNS3 simulation will get one about 60% of what they need to understand the switching for the CCNA tests. A single hardware switch will get a person about 80% of the way. Getting to practice with 95% of the material requires at least two layer 3 switches with 3550 or 3560 series typically recommended. To cover 100% of the CCNA material, and about 90% of the CCNP material, one should have three switches. With four switches one can cover all the material in the CCNA, CCNP, and a vast majority of the CCIE. Getting more than four switches is just showing off.

What I've been wondering is if there is some sort of software out there that can emulate a switch and allow me to replace one of these switches with a common PC. Most of the protocols that these Cisco switches use are standardized, well documented, and publicly available. The reason that people use so many switches is not so much that they can type things in twice for setting up both ends of the link but mostly so that one switch has another switch to bounce packets back and forth.

If such software exists I'd like to know what it is and what you think about them. I ask this because money is tight and I need more practice. I took the ICND2 test a couple days ago and got a score of 706. More importantly I had the terrible realization during the test that I was completely unprepared for many of the switch questions since I have only one suitable switch in my lab. I have not been able to practice on link aggregation, spanning tree, trunking protocols, and so on. I've been able to really just read about them. I found I learn better by doing. I need to read about it and then do it before I understand it.

I need to decide real soon on what switches to buy and how many. I believe I'll get at least one 3550 switch. Once I get passed the ICND2 I need to keep moving onto the CCNP tests so please keep that in mind for any comments you may have. I found a place that is selling 3550 switches in the $150 to $170 range, does that sound like a good price?

Everyone here has been very helpful and I really appreciate that. I hope that one day I can answer more questions here than I ask.

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Comments

NetworkVeteran

The basic switch block you'll want for CCNP SWITCH and CCNP TSHOOT is two distribution-layer switches and two access-layer switches. For the CCNP, 2x3550 x 2x2950 is enough for 95% of the material. 2x3560 and 2x2950 is enough for 100%.

Three switches will only get you 20% of the way through the SWITCH lab manual and 0% through TSHOOT.

The simple solution is to rent. I paid $30 to get enough switch rack access to pass.

Zartanasaurus

If money is tight and you're already using GNS3, you can do switching with the ESW modules. They are limited, but should be fine for CCNA level topics. There's lots of things you can't do with them for CCNP topics though.

MacGuffin

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

The basic switch block you'll want for CCNP SWITCH and CCNP TSHOOT is two distribution-layer switches and two access-layer switches. For the CCNP, 2x3550 x 2x2950 is enough for 95% of the material. 2x3560 and 2x2950 is enough for 100%.

This is a slight variation on what I've come to understand. I have a 2950 switch now and getting another would probably be about $60 to $70. That's not going to hurt too much. Getting two 3550 switches would be about $300 ($150 each). I could do that if I feel I must. No software way around this?

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

Three switches will only get you 20% of the way through the SWITCH lab manual and 0% through TSHOOT.

Really? Only 20%?

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

The simple solution is to rent. I paid $30 to get enough switch rack access to pass.

Please recommend some places offering rack rentals. This might work for me. I would prefer real switches though. I'm not sure how much time I'll need and when I'll have time to practice. I'm assuming this is a monthly rate, is that correct? If that's $30/day or $30/hour then I fail to see the price advantage.

lantech

Have you tried Ebay? You should be able to get the 2950s and 3550s with a year warranty for cheaper. A quick search found a 3550 with a one year warranty from a top rated seller for 107.00 with free shipping. If you're willing to bid and forgo the warranty you might be able to get them cheaper.

NetworkVeteran

MacGuffin wrote: »

This is a slight variation on what I've come to understand. I have a 2950 switch now and getting another would probably be about $60 to $70. That's not going to hurt too much. Getting two 3550 switches would be about $300 ($150 each). I could do that if I feel I must. No software way around this?

2950s are L2 only. 3550s support the L3 functionality you'll need for CCNP. 3560s add a single CCNP feature, private VLANs, but are fairly essential to practice with for a CCIE pursuit.

Really? Only 20%?

I double-checked the Cisco SWITCH lab manual before I wrote that. Boson Netsim and SWITCH Simplified labs also used four devices, two distribution layer switches and two access layer switches. Four is the standard for CCNP/CCIE.

If that's $30/day or $30/hour then I fail to see the price advantage.

I paid $30/mo provided me 4hrs/day of access to a setup with 2x3550, 2x2950, and few routers I used as "clients".

Please recommend some places offering rack rentals.

The site I used stopped offering that service, but it was on the second or third pages of results I found when I Googled "Cisco rack rental". Each lab rental site has its own schedule and terms. You have to find the one that best matches your needs.

MacGuffin

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

If money is tight and you're already using GNS3, you can do switching with the ESW modules. They are limited, but should be fine for CCNA level topics. There's lots of things you can't do with them for CCNP topics though.

I'm not already using GNS3, I've only played with it for a few minutes. I checked on the capabilities of the emulated ESW modules and it appears that they are very feature limited. The question on the ICND2 test that put me in a panic was on etherchannel. The emulated ESW module will do static etherchannel but does not support PAGP or LACP. I was put in even deeper panic when a question on spanning tree came up. It appears the spanning tree support on the ESW module is quite limited as well. Perhaps I just got unlucky on the test and was hit with more switch questions than most but I would feel much more confident if I had some switches that supported these features. I might not need it for my CCNA but it appears I will need to know this stuff for the CCNP.

I don't have the speediest of computers around here for emulations. I might be able to make up for quality with quantity. Before I spend the time stuffing ethernet cards into a PC and installing some sort of switching software I'd want some assurance that I will get something that will meet my needs. I'm not sure that GNS3 will do what I want. Is there some other software out there I should consider?

Right now my rack consists of:
- Two 2520 routers
- One 2514 router
- One 2610XM router
- Two 2620 routers
- One 2950-24 switch
- One 2509 as a console server

I have a few other pieces of equipment that is on a shelf and disconnected as spares. I've got four 2501s, a 2505, another 2509, a 2610 (it's too short on memory to support dot1q or IOS 12.3), two 2900 series switches (also too short on RAM to do anything meaningful), and a 1900 switch. I believe I have enough switches lying about for now. I might want to get one or two more newer routers when I get into the CCNP some more but I'll see if I can make do for now.

bermovick

Packetlife has a good (free!) lab, you just have to find a free spot and schedule. I scheduled one session. I forget what it was for now haha.

Community Lab - Packet Life

Sett

I remember the BCMSN (the previous version of the SWITCH exam) videos by Chris Bryant where he labbed all the topics with just 2 switches. Really, it's enough, you can test everything with just 2 switches. As to the CCNA as far as I know, the PacketTracer should cover 100% of the material, doesn't it ?

martell1000

PacketTracer is covering everything you need for the CCNA, for CCNP i am currently using 2x2950 and 2x3550 but i guess it is totaly doable withe 2x3550

been also playing around with IOS on unix - which is doing a real good job on emulating switches, even was able to do private vlan with it.

Roguetadhg

I used packet tracer for switching. I really didn't focus at all with switching, thanks to the annoyances I found with packet tracer. $:\$

MacGuffin

I realized that with the weekend coming in a matter of hours that I'd have to act or another week will blow by before I get my gear. I ordered a 2950 24 port switch, a 3550 24 port switch with PoE, and two dozen ethernet cables. All that with a little extra for expedited shipping was less than $300. I probably won't use the PoE feature anytime soon but I figured for the $10 extra it cost me it was worth the gamble it would be useful in the future. I figured that one more 2950 and a 3550 is a decent compromise for now on hardware. I might regret not just buying two 3550s in the first place but the $60 or so for the 2950 is cheap enough that I doubt I'll regret that. I can always get another 3550 in the future if I feel I must.

While money is a big thing it's not everything. I did some looking around Ebay and didn't see huge cost savings. I also need some assurance that my gear will get to me in days rather than weeks. It appeared to me that most of those auctions will not end for almost a month. The sooner I get the gear the sooner I can start to practice, that means I can re-take the test sooner and move on to the CCNP. I feel like I'm missing out on job opportunities the longer it takes for me to get certified. I could very likely have saved $100 by shopping around more and wait for the gear to get shipped by the slow road. Penny wise? Pound foolish? I don't know.

I did some research on Packet Tracer and IOS on Unix and it sounds like those software packages are only available to people that have some sort of agreement with Cisco. I work for myself (which is just a nice way to say I'm unemployed) and have no agreement with Cisco. If I'm mistaken and either or both of these packages are available to people for free then please clue me in on how to get them.

It sounds like Packet Tracer and IOS on Unix will emulate a Cisco switch nearly completely. Since I already have a Cisco switch, and two more on the way, I don't need another Cisco switch as much as just another switch that can talk the same protocols. This could be a physical switch or an emulated switch. On some level I'd almost prefer it to NOT be another Cisco switch. The parts I had troubles with were the concepts, not the IOS commands. I believe that if I can get a handle on the concepts the IOS commands to make it happen should be trivial.

As I was typing this I got an e-mail with my FedEx tracking number for my gear. I can hardly wait to get my hands on them. Until then I can do some router labs, I need to get more practice on setting up some WAN links.