Back again with CCNA

I have decided ,after a quite long pause to re-start studying for CCNA.This time I decided to get a real-lab for my CCNA and not to rely on just Boson sim.

The lab I want to purchase have following details:
DETAILS:
Hardware
(2) - Cisco 2501 Routers - Latest IOS Version 12.2(x) Enterprise Plus, 16MB DRAM, 16MB Flash, (1) AUI Ethernet Port, (2) Serial Ports, (1) Console Port, (1) Aux Port, with AC power supply
(1) - Cisco Catalyst WS-C1912 Switch with Enterprise Software - (12) 10baseT switch ports, (2) 100baseTX ports, (1) Console Port, (1) AUI port, with AC power supply
or following link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cisco-CCNA-Home-Lab-Kit-2x2501-1x1912-XTRAS_W0QQitemZ5795330885QQcategoryZ28033QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Any comments?

Thank you in advance

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Comments

Webmaster

Not a bad kid, although the 1900 is a bit limited for the current CCNA exam, but the price is bad. Last time I checked I've seen better offers, around $300-$350 for a similar kit.

rono

then I will keep searching...any link it will be appreciated and thanks for your fast reply.

goasakawa

Webmaster wrote:

although the 1900 is a bit limited for the current CCNA exam....

im in the market for a kit, but i have no clue about model Numbers yet....what would Be good in your opinion ? i'm trying to grab 2 routers and a sWitch [the usual ]...Thanks.

Webmaster

rono wrote:

then I will keep searching...any link it will be appreciated and thanks for your fast reply.

I've noticed some online companies selling good ccna kits in the past, wouldn't know of any link by heart, but the best deals are usually at eBay. I.e. Shadown7 just sold his lab very recently:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5790117911
As you can see, that's a much better deal. I guess a 25xx router or 19xx switch should go for $100 average (may differ depending on IOS version and amount of memory), and when you buy 3, it should include all the cables (console and back to back serial) and transceivers for the AUI ethernet interfaces on the 2501 for example.

goasakawa wrote:

im in the market for a kit, but i have no clue about model Numbers yet....what would Be good in your opinion ? i'm trying to grab 2 routers and a sWitch [the usual ]...Thanks.

I'm not very familiar with the all the newer models/numbers, for the CCNA exam I think two 2600 (with Fast Ethernet) routers (although one can be 2500) and a 2950 switch is ideal. Those are unfortunately kinda expensive for the average CCNA student. 2501+2501+19xx-EN is still a good low-budget lab imo.

QUIX0TIC

Rono:

Let me ask you a basic question regarding your plans for Cisco? How far are you planning to take the Cisco path? Do you want to try for CCNP or its variants?

If you only want CCNA... then the two 2501s with 1924 will do fine. $445 is a bit expensive for the kit but it does have the book and the cables.. so you are getting everything at once. So, practically... you are a getting a 2501 for $130 each and the 1912 for $130. The cables for about $10 and the book for $50 dollars. That is a bit pricey but it is a all in one buy.

Or you can go for a basic kit... with out the books and cds (which you really dont need to the cds but the book helps) [url]ccna kit http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Cisco-2501-Router-1924-Switch-CCNA-Kit-16-16-2500_W0QQitemZ5795207593QQcategoryZ28033QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] and this is for $310 dollars. Which you are practically getting everythign for $100 dollars each.

Or, you can also piece the items... and get a 2503 for approximately $100 which just adds the ability to use ISDN with a BRI port but you will probably have to bid for those. I would choose bidding because last time I picked up a 2503 and I got it for $54 dollars plus $10 dollar shipping. So, it was a better deal. I also got a 2924 EN switch (which I think is better for my future studies for CCNP and CCVP) for only $139 dollars and I bought my book online somewhere for cheap.

So, again going back to the original question... are you planning only for CCNA or planning on going further? If going further... and if you have the extra cash... go for the better items so you can get more use out of them. If just CCNA... then stick with the basic kits and go from there.

Webmaster is right though and the 2600 series is nice and you can apply that to your future lab.. but also a bit expensive. But you can interchange them with modules. Just take a bit of advice and dont get the 2610 or 2611. If you are going to do it... go for the 2621 and get the two FE ports so you can perform ISL and 802.1q trunking which is a small portion of CCNA but a huge portion of switching for CCNP. You dont need the big beefy routers bc your home environment isnt going to carry that much traffic even if you create 20 backbone routers and send that many routes through it.

If you can give us an amount you are willing to spend... (dont say as little as possible) but a truthful amount and maybe we can suggest regarding the variables of bidding and getting a smaller bid. But, I would just bid and give yourself the maximum price and dont go past that... trust me... you will always get one that will slip by and you get a great price on it.

rono

QUIX0TIC:

Thank you for your reply!
I do plan taking CCNP,but first I shal pass my CCNA test and get a job first in IT.

So,I think it will be wise of me to keep an eye to future and chose an option for home kit lab that will help me passing CCNP.

Regarding books...I do not need more books I have already Sybex's 5th edition and CCNA self-study kit from Cisco(Wendell Odom).

All I need is the hardware,and what I want is a lab kit which allow me to study and practice everything for my CCNA.

I able to spent between 500-600 USD since I'm unemployed,now.

Have a nice day!

QUIX0TIC

If you are looking at 500 to 600 but not working... I would go skimpy and make sure you can spare that money.

With that money... I wouldnt buy a kit... they are always a little bit overpriced! I would think about bidding for a couple of 2503s. You can definitely bid them for less than 100 each. If you can... get 2 2503s and 1 2501. You can practically get a 2503 the same price as a 2501 but either way. When you bid for ebay... put max price as 75 dollars. Im pretty sure you can get them for that price.

Switches: This is a tough one. Dont know why but switches are more expensive. For further practices... you should get 2950s but they are way to expensive. I would either look for a 2912-EN switch and I just saw them for about 180. Or you can pick up a 1924-EN for 70 to 80 dollars. You can buy 2 of them instead of one 2900 series. That can help you with vlans with the two switches but I cant remember if you can do vlans in between 1900 switches. Also inter-vlan routing... you will need at least one 2621 or a 2610 with a two+ port FE module so you can perform "routing on a stick."

Cables... you need about 3 DB60 crossover cables... 6 dollars each. Hell, shipping will probably be more expensive.

Transceivers... about 10 dollars not including shipping.

RJ-45 cables... your discretion... learn how to make your own and go to your local RadioShack or whatever store or buy them all ready made. I would buy a cheap crimping tool and some RJ-45 heads with some cable and learn how too make straight cables and some cross overs.

With all that... that is about under 500 dollars.

johnnynodough

Quixotic is pretty much spot on - here has been my experience with getting gear on ebay, here is what I have acquired. Also I will give away a secret that has landed me some items for dirt cheap!

2 2501's, both came with 8/8 for memory and bootrom 5's. Payed around 70 bucks with shipping. Maxing out the ram cost about 30 total with shipping. The bootroms cost me 10 a piece with shipping, and were not easy to find.

So each 2501 cost me around 110 a piece.

Got two 1900 EN switches, both around 30 a peice, picked the up locallay and payed no shipping. Have gotten very little to no use out of them since I found that the IOS config is drastically different between the 1900, and the 2950, which is what CCNA tests on.

Just bought a 2924M-XL-EN, got it for 135 bucks, 150 with shipping.

Also just today bought two 2610's, got the auction for 257 bucks with shipping. Advertised with 16/64 memory each, no WIC's, ill let you know what I stick in those and how much they cost me.

The best Item I got on ebay, was a 1710, with hardware VPN module, maxed memory, for......63 bucks. Thats right 63 bucks. I discovered a secret, and I have kept it to myself for the last few months, but I am so appreciative to this community that I am going to share a nifty Ebay serach secret - People Mispell things! The 1710 was advertised as a CICSO 1710 router, and throughout the description the guy spelled it CICSO as well. SO when you would search for Cisco, it wouldnt show up. Make sure you search descriptions as well, people often mislable things, I have found tools in the toys section before, and got them for dirt cheap

Sniping isnt its all cracked up to be, I am a sniper killer

A few times a day I will go to ebay and just type "cisco", then I start in the networking section, I look at items that are ending withing the hour, prefferably within the last 5 minutes. I will bid the max I am willing to spend. Say I put in 150 and the auction is around 90. 9 times out of 10 I will get the item for 125 because all the snipers do, is bit up your proxy by a buck at a time or so, and they run out of time.

QUIX0TIC

And that is exactly why I HATE you "snipers!" J/k But, Ill give you another example of bidding on ebay... just this weekend I actually bought some 2501s for 14 dollars each. The shipping was 15 dollars so for less than 90 dollars... I got 3 2501s. (I actually didnt mean to buy them either but I thought if I can get them for that cheap.. I can just resell for 50 dollars.)

I also just purchased a couple of 3550-EMI switches for 14xx dollars. These switches are normally $2k but I got them for $14xx. Im happy about that... even though it is nice to have switches of that high caliber... Im hoping to resell them for $19xx dollars so I can buy better equipment later on.

But, that is for my NP/IE studies. I personally prefer to work with 2600/ 3600 routers and 2950 switches for my NA/NP studies. They are more versatile but yet they are more expensive.

Bottom line, you cant go wrong either way with a kit or getting it yourself. Just when you get it yourself... you might pay as much as a kit for the extra cabling and miscellaneous items but you at least learn installation and usage of those items versus just having someone do it for you and charging you extra for their labor.