Which lab kit do you suggest?

G0R3

CCNA Certification Kits

I would like to purchase the most cost-effective package from this list. I don't want to blow money on anything unnecessary but I would like to have all of the required equipment to have a well rounded home CCNA lab.

Any advice from those who have been in my spot before?

Also, if any of the packages come with anything that would be useful to create a CCNP lab, that is a positive as that cert would be next.

Thanks!

dpjackal89

In my opinion, buying a kit is a waste. It's better to buy each router/switch individually. It's cheaper, you end up getting better gear, and you will learn more.

veritas_libertas

I have to agree with dpjackal89. You learn more from buying the parts and creating a lab than from buying a kit. It is also usually cheaper.

DANMOH009

GNS all the way!


Maybe not all the way but atleast till CCNP

veritas_libertas

Actually, I tend to believe that live equipment is the way to go until CCNP (for the exporsure). The only thing you are missing for the CCNP is switches

Corndork2

Honestly Kits are a waste of money, and a waste of potential.

Putting together a lab is one of the best ways to wrap your mind around connected network devices. Dont short yourself. Build your own lab. Source your own gear here, on ebay, and on craigslist. You'll be suprised how much you learn, and how much money you save.

Some nerds out there may even be able to offer up free equipment for your lab. Some companies will also give equipment away when decomissioning old gear. They usually pay to recycle by the pound, so anything you take helps them out too(I ran into 50 Cisco 3550's w/ POE, and a couple 42U racks for free that way)

Do companies buy kits when connecting their facilties? No. They pay us to spec, build and drop deployments.

Dont buy, BUILD!

Cisco Inferno

look at my sig. got all that on ebay for a little over $200. you need to have patience and snag good deals.

sucanushie

If you plan on going past CCNA and can spend a bit more I would suggest.

3X 3550 switches. If on a budget grab 1 3550 and 2 2950's

1X 1841
2X 2621XM

not necessary but handy would be an access server.



that would give you a great CCNA lab and then you would only need a few more items for CCNP.

fluffymom

They are reputable, have nice extra materials and you get it all at once. Probably any of the kits on that page with 3 routers and switches would be fine. You might be able to get some items cheaper on eBay, but once you pay multiple shipping costs it will probably be about the same. However you proceed, here are my suggestions for things to make a successful lab:
1) Get at least one router that has a FastEthernet interface so you can do inter-vlan routing and trunking how Cisco likes you to know it.
2) Get one router with at least two Ethernet ports. This way you can do the NAT scenarios (you technically can do it with serial ports, but you probably won't find labs that show it that way).
3) Make sure the routers have enough RAM to run IPv6. Especially if you are going to take the new version of the exam as it seems there are a lot more IPv6 questions on the exam.
4) Get at least one 2950 or higher switch that runs the EI version of IOS. As most 2950 switches run the SI(standard) version and do not support all the commands on the exam(the SI version supports probably 90% of the exam commands).

I saw someone else mention getting 3550s. They are really nice but not absolutely required for CCNA. You will need them CCNP time. I am pretty sure the Cisco Academy CCNP labs use two 3560s and two 2960s. So two 3550s and two 2950s will work for most of the labs if you need something cost-effective. So maybe you get a kit that does have a 3550 if you are going down the CCNP road.

Dee

d6bmg

Don't buy kits. They are overpriced. But individual parts.
2x 2950, 1x 3550 (if possible)
2x 2621XM, 1x 3725 (optional)
would more than suffice for CCNA.

If you are low on budget, you could get some 2501s as the chea router available at ebay.

FloOz

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I have to agree with dpjackal89. You learn more from buying the parts and creating a lab than from buying a kit. It is also usually cheaper.

Exactly! You really don't realize how much you learn from building up your own home lab.