Setting up my lab for ccna studies. Need input pretty quick

I know a guy here who just went out of business.. Well, his business isn't using the switches and routers they have. He has a bunch of used ones and new ones. The used switches on top of his head are 2950s.

He said if I come up to look at the new stuff in boxes he will give me a good deal on them.

I haven't gotten to the part with switches and routers and what all the goodies are on them in my studies, I've been more on subnetting and theory.

Are the 2950s good to have?

What model numbers should I look out for in particular in regards to switches and routers? How many of each should I have?

Just an idea of what to look for and buy.

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Comments

YFZblu

2950's are perfect for CCNA studies. As far as routers are concerned, I use 2600's.

Jasiono

I heard the 2960 switches are pretty decent if you can afford them.

3560 is a dream at the moment and I won't be up in the ccie for a while.

He has a router out of the box as well but it doesn't have any serial ports. 827 series.

I'll write down the 2600, thanks for that.

EV42TMAN

Look for routers that have 2 ethernet ports or else you'll be hunting for expansion cards. I built a home lab with 3 2620xms not knowing i'd need at least one with 2 ethernet ports. I spent 2 weeks hunting now a NM-1e that was less the $100 because the NM-1e-1w doesn't work on the 2600 series. $100 is a lot to spend on 1 10mbps ethernet port and 1 serial port.
Currently my lab is:
3 2620xms routers
3 2950 switches
1 3548 switch (i got it for free)
2 wic -1t cards
1 NM-1e card
1 wic-2t card

spd3432

Idle curiousity, but why do you need routers with two ethernet ports? I've got 5 routers (2 - 1721, 2 - 2620xm, 1 - 2620). None of them have 2 ethernet ports and I didn't have any problems putting together any labs.

Brain_Power

Does everyone have 2 ethernet ports on their 2600 routers?

spd3432

The spec sheet from Cisco for the 2600 routers is linked. Looking down the list, it seems that if the model number ends in a 0 it has 1 LAN port, if it ends in a 1 then it has 2. For the 2610, 2611, and 2612 models its an ethernet port, all other models except 2613 have fast ethernet ports. The 2613 has a token ring port.

I now have:
1 2610 --- 1 ethernet port
1 2620 --- 1 fast ethernet port (label says 10/100)
2 2620xm --- 1 fast ethernet port (each).

JeanM

Brain_Power wrote: »

Does everyone have 2 ethernet ports on their 2600 routers?

No. They have different models.... you can always add another port as needed...

prtech

I wouldn't buy routers. I'd just spend that money on switches. A couple of 2950s and 3550s. Use dynamips/gns3 to study routing.

veritas_libertas

prtech wrote: »

I wouldn't buy routers. I'd just spend that money on switches. A couple of 2950s and 3550s. Use dynamips/gns3 to study routing.

I disagree. When GNS3 is working perfectly than yes, for me it's hit or miss and I think for someone new to Cisco than having the real thing is worth it.

Does everyone have 2 ethernet ports on their 2600 routers?

I have two 251XMs that have two FastEthernet ports each. Great for Router on a Stick or studying how OSPF behaves on a broadcast network.

prtech

What issues are you having with GNS3? The only time I've ever run into problems was when I used 2600 IOS. 3725 works perfect.

My home lab is two 2651XMs, two 2620XMs, and two 2950s. I didn't even power it up once when I studied for ROUTE. I used GNS3 because it works and it's convenient. Now that I'm studying for SWITCH, I wish would've just bought 3550s or 3560s instead of the 2600 routers.

Real equipment is good to have but unless you already have a good set of switches, I wouldn't buy any routers. You can emulate routers but you can't emulate switches.

veritas_libertas

LOL Okay, point taken. I only have 2600 and 2500 routers.

YFZblu

The first 2600 I purchased had a 10Mbps ethernet port and a token ring interface - I chuckled.