Minimum hardware needed for CCNA Wireless

Cat5

What's the minimum hardware necessary to adequately study for the CCNA Wireless? I know you have to do what you have to do, but money is tight, tight, tight, so I can't buy any more than necessary. Which makes me wonder about the CCNP Wireless down the road.....

2URGSE

Cat5 wrote: »

What's the minimum hardware necessary to adequately study for the CCNA Wireless? I know you have to do what you have to do, but money is tight, tight, tight, so I can't buy any more than necessary. Which makes me wonder about the CCNP Wireless down the road.....

What book are you studying with?

I for instance, kept my CCNA wireless lab (2600's, 2950's and a 1700 router).

You'd need a Cisco 2100 Wireless Controller and a Cisco Aironet 1200 AP for example. Got mine on eBay.

Cat5

Thanks. I haven't begun to study for the wireless yet, actually. I'm studying and getting ready to re-take my CCNA, then I'll begin on the wireless. Btw, I've heard others refer to the "quick reference guide" in relation to their wireless studying, but I have no idea what they're referring to. Do you?

And I'm curious how much your Cisco 2100 Wireless Controller and Cisco Aironet 1200 AP cost you? I have some ancient Cisco routers/switches from around 2007/2008 I could still use for basic stuff - unless they're too old for even that now.

pert

You don't need any hardware, period. You need to memorize the UI though, and know exactly what is under each section of the UI in a standalone AP, WLC, WCS, etc. You REALLY need to know the UI, not just feel comfortable with it. You need to be able to write down the exact steps on where you'd click in UI to accomplish any task.

Besides the UI stuff, this test is ALL theory. The equipment / hands on portion content is just not as plentiful or as in depth. The theory stuff is super, super in depth and you need to memorize every minutiae of every technology. If you're reading the Quick Reference guide, you reallllllllly need to memorize everything it has to say about everything. You can't just focus on the bullet points. You need to know every numeric value, every definiton word for word. I failed the first time because I took the test thinking that knowing the technologies and being able to explain it was good enough, it was not, not even close.

P.S. The Quick reference guide is the updated book from Cisco for the new exams. I would start with this. There is also a good book from Lammle, but I feel like it was outdated for the current exam and did me more harm than good when it came to the test. It's hard to give example without breaking NDA, but when Cisco explains a technology the way they will explain it will be how its referenced in the test. When lammle explains it he explains it os you understand....which is great, but that understanding won't lead to choosing the correct answer on the exam. The Lammle book is still an extremely good book if you want to learn about wireless.

NetworkVeteran

I know someone who passed it, and they didn't buy any equipment. Cisco exams generally don't require buying gear. However, they did have hands-on access to at least some Cisco wireless gear on-the-job.

2URGSE

Cat5 wrote: »

Thanks. I haven't begun to study for the wireless yet, actually. I'm studying and getting ready to re-take my CCNA, then I'll begin on the wireless. Btw, I've heard others refer to the "quick reference guide" in relation to their wireless studying, but I have no idea what they're referring to. Do you?

And I'm curious how much your Cisco 2100 Wireless Controller and Cisco Aironet 1200 AP cost you? I have some ancient Cisco routers/switches from around 2007/2008 I could still use for basic stuff - unless they're too old for even that now.

I paid about $250 for both.

I am a strong believer that touching and working with the equipment, as well as understanding the theories behind what makes it work is the key.

2URGSE

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

However, they did have hands-on access to at least some Cisco wireless gear on-the-job.

Not everyone have access to the gear on the job, let alone being allowed to install and configure it, which is why some of us find it easy and very helpful to buy the gear.

It's also great, because if there are issues, you're not working on someones' live network and in a risk of causing interruption in business and/or being fired.

My .002 cents.

NetworkVeteran

2URGSE wrote: »

Not everyone have access to the gear on the job, let alone being allowed to install and configure it, which is why some of us find it easy and very helpful to buy the gear.

That tends to be when I rent equipment--faster, and cheaper! FYI OP, ProctorLabs is offering 7.5hrs of rack time for $60.

2URGSE

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

That tends to be when I rent equipment--faster, and cheaper! FYI OP, ProctorLabs is offering 7.5hrs of rack time for $60.

Each to his own, I OWN mine!

2URGSE

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

That tends to be when I rent equipment--faster, and cheaper! FYI OP, ProctorLabs is offering 7.5hrs of rack time for $60.

How about some help with my OPERATIONAL MODE = down.................

NetworkVeteran

2URGSE wrote: »

Each to his own, I OWN mine!

\
Heh! Owning equipment is, of course, also very good. I bring this up because the OP mentioned money being tight.

Not long ago I got my JNCIA certification using VMs. Why? Because an opportunity was coming and I wanted to ensure I could efficiently move around JunOS. Fast forward a bit and I have PTXs and more MXs to play with than I can shake a stick at! Every situation's different, but I find the sooner I'm certified the more those opportunities naturally start flowing.

2URGSE

OP: if you're buying switches, spend a little more and buy 2960's or 3560's or any other Cisco switch with PoE. This is helpful in powering access points and even Cisco phones without those power injectors all over the place. (The 2950's do not have PoE)

Also, go for the Cisco Aironet 1242 or higher.

Don't forget the Cisco 2100 Wireless Lan Controller (WLC). Has very nice web management interface, supports up to 6 AP's.