lab suggestion ??

JayTheCracker

hi any lab suggestion for CCNA Security???

i have a laptop with 4GB RAM, yep, i'll upgrade it to 8GB (in this way, GNS3 will perform better)...

and for a Physical Lab,

is ASA 5505 will be sufficient or ASA 5510 is required?
and, any other devices to buy ?? (i've no switches & routers at all)

SteveO86

You should be able to lab everything in GNS3 nowadays.

Even the ASA's. I haven't done it yet but have seen many other people do it.

I hear the 5505 can do HA with the upgraded license, but I haven't setup HA on a 5505 before always 5520 and above.

JayTheCracker

ooops, i just knew the prices 5505 is just around usd 300
& 5510 is around usd 2000+ lols

for 5505, it's still in my budget, maybe i can find a used one too......

thanks for the reply , steve
by the way, are you seriously saying that i can do all the labs for ccna security (640-554) in gns3 ???

SteveO86

You should be able to lab most of the objectives. Some of the objectives concerning L2 security, IOS IPS, might not be possible in GNS3 but most of the others should be covered. I'd see how far you can go in GNS3 before buying the hardware, unless you are going to be expanding your lab to NP level.

the 553 objectives are very similar to the 554 objectives, with the exception of IPv6, ASA, and one or two others.

Roguetadhg

I don't think you'll need to really worry about the 5510+ until CCNP:Security. Labwise, atleast. I've done the asa on GNS3. Eh. It works, better than before - but it's definitely not polished from what I used it.

YFZblu

For the record, purchasing the ASA 5505 for this exam was just a waste of $300. I mean, I like the device and I have some plans for it on my home network; but really at the CCNA level of security the goal is to get a basic security posture in place and you are not expected to get granular.

The one thing I wasn't able to lab is ACS, but based on what I've seen it looks really easy to navigate without much prior experience with it.

So yeah - Save your money, lab it out in GNS3.

bodhi9

I too am trying to use GNS3 to prepare for the CCNA Security exam.

But where I am having trouble is acquiring the correct IOS software to run firewall zone functionality / C3PL as well as use the ASA firewall simulator.

Where is everybody getting the IOS software image to practice with?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Bodhi9