what to look for in CCENT/CCNA home lab builds

theodoxa

It took me a while to grasp the numbering, but [correct me if I'm wrong]:

0xxx - SOHO (e.g. 800 Series)
1xxx - Branch Office (e.g. 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900 Series)
2xxx - Medium Network (e.g. 2500, 2600, 2600XM, 2800 Series)
3xxx - Larger Network (e.g. 3600, 3700 Series)

The second digit indicates the generation, except for some reason they broke pattern for the 2600XMs which are really equivalent [generationally] to the 1700s.

x5xx (???, $23, ???) Archaic. Don't even bother with these. You can get a 1700 for close to the same price and run 12.4T.

x6xx ($15, $30, $40) End of Life. Except for the 2600XMs [which are actually a generation newer,] these can't run 12.4T and lack IPv6 and a few other things you might want to have. These were new when I was in the Cisco Academy (2001).

2600XM ($60). End of Life. These can run 12.4T.

x7xx ($25, ???, $136) End of Life. These can run 12.4T and should be sufficient for most to all of what you need for CCNA. Despite the numbering, the 2600XM Series belongs to this generation.

x8xx ($225, $280, $450) End-of-Life (Though recently enough that you can still obtain SmartNet, etc...on them). I haven't checked all the models, but some models may not yet be EOL. These can run even newer IOSes (15.0).

x9xx ($537, $1000, $4000) Current Generation of Routers.



5th Gen.
6th Gen.
7th Gen.
8th Gen.
9th Gen.




3600
3700
3800
3900


2500
2600
2600XM
2800
2900




1600
1700
1800
1900



Personally, I plan on buying a couple of 1700 Series and 3-4 Switches (2950). 2 Routers should be sufficient to do Serial/T1 connections. Anything more complicated (Frame Relay, Routing Protocols, etc...) I will probably be doing in GNS3. I'll get an 1841 Router and 3550 Switch whenever I have some extra money or I start working on CCNP.

Number of switches required:

1 Switches: Basic Configuration, Port Security, VLANs
2 Switches: Trunking (802.1Q, ISL, VTP)
3 Switches: Spanning Tree (STP, RSTP)

jdballinger

Your logic behind which devices to purchase is relatively sound. The only advice I would add on top of all of that is to perhaps consider going with 3 physical routers. OSPF DR/BDR elections are really only effective with more than two routers. I haven't tried doing it in GNS3 with their pseudo-switch they use, so I'm not sure how it works out. 2620XM routers are only about $40 each, so the cost to get an extra one is minimal.

Also, when you buy your 2950 switches, make sure you get the 2950T model, as the older ones can't run the higher IOS versions.

theodoxa

jdballinger wrote: »

Your logic behind which devices to purchase is relatively sound. The only advice I would add on top of all of that is to perhaps consider going with 3 physical routers. OSPF DR/BDR elections are really only effective with more than two routers. I haven't tried doing it in GNS3 with their pseudo-switch they use, so I'm not sure how it works out. 2620XM routers are only about $40 each, so the cost to get an extra one is minimal.

Also, when you buy your 2950 switches, make sure you get the 2950T model, as the older ones can't run the higher IOS versions.

Where'd you see the XMs for $40? The cheapest I've found is $60.