Building A Home Cisco Lab for CCNA?

Hello,
I recently passed my network+ and now am looking forward to the CCNA. I want to build a Home lab to learn on, you have any suggestions on what to buy? If someoen has done this, please comment, all info is appreciated!

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Dyasis

Jeremy Cioara has a nice small vid he recommends for a home lab, I'm still studying for my net+, but soon ill be moving to CCNA as well, so I've been looking around the web as well.

Just search youtube for: MicroNugget: Buiding a CCNA Home Lab

theodoxa

Routers From Cheapest to Most Expensive:

1751 - $20+
1760 - $20+
2600XM - $75+
1800 Series - $100+
2800 Series - $100+ (I found a 2811 $93 and 2821 for $99, though they will usually run slightly higher)
2900 Series - $800+

Switches From Cheapest to Most Expensive:

2950 - $25+
3550 - $65+ (Layer 3 Switch. I scored 2 for $70 because the auction ended at 5 AM and noone outbid me.)
2960 - $80+ (I got 2 for $100, but haven't seen any for that since)
3560 - $200+ (Layer 3 Switch. Cheapest I see right now is $225)

I would suggest at least 3 routers and 3 switches. 3 routers will do for most topics, but 4 would be ideal for Frame Relay [as it allows you to have more than 2 sites]. 3 switches is adequate for Spanning Tree. The 1700 series (1751, 1760) and 2600XM series will run IOS 12.4T, though not necessarily all of the packages (such as Advanced Enterprise). For CCNA, even IP Base should do most everything except possibly IPv6. The 1800, 2800, and 1900/2900 Series will run 15.1, but are more expensive [especially the 1900/2900 series which run close to a grand.] You can get an 1800/2800 series for about $100 if you are patient and know what to look for.

theodoxa

BTW, I don't know what your plans are for Post-CCNA: R&S, but as I plan to do Voice, I selected only Routers that would work for both R&S and Voice. Those would be the 1700 and 2800 series. I also made sure one of my switches supports Power over Ethernet [which will be useful once I start connecting IP Phones]. From what I've heard, you might want to get a Layer 3 switch (3550 or 3560) if you plan on continuing to CCNP and possibly an ISR (1800/2800 series) router.

Ltat42a

Check out the thread in my Sig below, it has a lot of good info -

hth

abraham1493

Thanks for all the replies and info guys! really helpful. I am excited to set one up,right now I am stuck with a HP Procurve 2610 series, I have had it for two years, it was given to me. It is loaded with features and I see them get sold for around $230 used on ebay. Is there any way I can mix this with my cisco lab? I would hate for my expensive piece to go un-used.

jahsoul

You could use it for interop but for Cisco exams, it would be best to use Cisco equipment. The Procurve would be beneficial for real world scenarios.

Ltat42a

abraham1493 wrote: »

Is there any way I can mix this with my cisco lab? I would hate for my expensive piece to go un-used.

Sure!...Use it in your RIP & OSPF labs. Do some debug commands, see how it reacts compared to the Cisco gear.

nopixel

What are the best home building lab guides out there right now?

WO's NetworkWorld articles are outdated from 2008 and all the images and diagrams are no longer working - making for a confusing series of articles. The certskills.com lab gear pages seem to have a lot of information gaps and CBT nuggets has a real world CCNA lab series but you have to be willing to pay $99 for 1 month of access - no thanks.

Are there any other recommendations for solid home ccna lab guides?