CCNA lab

Can anyone tell me if this is a good setup for a Lab? i don't want to spend money only to realize that i made a mistake. I will not be taking the exam until around june/july.

ONE Cisco 3600 Series 3620 Router having 16MB Flash, 64MB RAM, 2 Ethernet, 1 Serial Interface
TWO Cisco 2500 Series 2501 Routers having minimum 1 Ethernet port, 2 Serial Ports

(we will provide 2501,2503,2505,2507,2513 or 2514 depending on the availability in stock. All routers have minimum 1 Ethernet and 2 Serial Ports)

3. TWO Cisco 2950 Series Enterprise Switches WS-C2950-24 having 24 Fast Ethernet Interfaces

THREE Back to Back Serial Cables to connect Routers
TWO Console Cables to configure Routers and Switch
FIVE Power Cables

7. FOUR Ethernet Cables

The setup is $300. Any help or information is appreciated.

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Comments

Futura

I'm not sure of prices in the US but I would buy myself one decent switch, say 3550 or 3560 to start. just that on its own will open a new world to you. There are loads of stuff to do with one switch. Even the Telnet Lines/Console lines can have so much config.

Passwords/transport/Access Class/SSH/Telnet/login/no login/login banners/MOTD/ loads of stuff.

Lock yourself out of it and recover it using confreg, download the IOS to your pc, erase it off the flash and restore it.

Make some vlans/configure ports/ACL's

The list goes on and on

Once you have had so much fun with your one good switch, you will know what to buy next.

This is only my opinion, btw.

And your one good switch will still be valuable when you move through the Certs.

I am on voice now, and my trusty 3550 does everything I need it to.

azaghul

Sounds like you're buying a kit...

Personally I'd stay clear of 3600 and 2500 series routers, way to archaic these days.

For routers I'd look for 2600xm or 1750/1760.
For the switches I'd look for 2950G with enterprise image.

A good place that explains CCNA Lab gear well is CCNA Build Lists as it weighs up all the options.

d6bmg

Unless you have bought it already or getting it for real cheap, you shouldn't buy those 25xx series routers. I bought two of them yesterday and after that one fellow member advised me against it, saying that 2600XMs would be better.
SO I would like to re-iterate the same thing to you.

arbdef

I would like to thank everyone for the advise.. I will let this "deal" pass.

JeanM

3640s aren't that bad at all, can easily run 12.4 and have plenty of room for modules/cards and 32mb/128mb config.

alxx

3600 + nm8 or nm16 card/s as access server

2600xm are much better as are 1760's - 1721 and 1751 are also useful
can put nm4's in 2600xm

1841's are nice but can be a bit pricey same with 2800's

paq7512

arbdef: I thought I had to have a lab to pass the CCNA, and bought one. Never used it often, I used packet tracer and gns3. Great studies to you.

pogue

I would actually go so far as to say to use solely GNS3 for the routing part of CCNA, but look out for a good deal on a 2800 series router. CCNA will provide an overall good foundation in routing/switching, but you may eventually wish to get into Voice/Security. If you do, you can get a 2800 series router with IOS 15 and CME pre-installed, with a bunch of memory in it. While GNS3 is definitely good for routing, nothing beats having at least one router that you can integrate with your home network. The 2800 series will actually allow you to do stuff like create a VPN endpoint that you can practically USE, unlike GNS3.

As far as switches, I recommend getting at minimum two 3550s/3560s. They can be had cheap enough now to also be practically used on your home network. I connect my XBox 360, Tivo, Lab PC, and VoIP phones to a Cisco 3550 PoE switch. You can either choice the Power over Ethernet model of switch, or when the time comes, you can just get the power bricks for the phones..

I really do foresee the time when it may be advantageous to provide prospective employers the ability to VPN into your home lab and "check it out". One 2800 series router, appropriate cards in the router, and some VoIP phones and a DDNS client running on your lab server can do a lot to convince an interviewer that you can actually implement the technology...

Russ