Equipment 'kit' question

chipe

I am looking to start on my CCNA.
Is this a good kit to start with?

1x Cisco 2511 router AS2511-RJ
2x Cisco 2621 32768K bytes of processor board System flash
2x Cisco 2610XM 49152K bytes of processor board System flash
3x Cisco 2950T- 48-port Switch
1x Cisco 2900XL
1x Cisco NM-4A/S Module
3x Serial DTE/DCE Cable
1x Cisco MEM2620-32FSBOOTROM
1x 14u NETWORK RACK
1x CentreCom 210TS Twisted Pair Transceiver
2x BayTech RPC-14NC Remote Power Control

All this is 400$. Is this a good deal? Should I offer less?
Would this equipment suffice, or should I look for newer equipment?
I dont know what IOS version is required for the certification nowadays...

EV42TMAN

for the CCNA you need routers that can run ios 15 which the ones you have listed can not. I would by you lab piece by piece off ebay instead its a better value.

Jon_Cisco

I don't recommend buying a full kit before you start studying.

First if you really like your own home lab you will probably want to add to it. So buying a kit takes away some of that fun or leaves you with duplicate equipment. Second unless your picking up a friends used kit your probably over paying for someone else to create the kit.

The first and last items on the list are all that would interest me at this point but they all look like they could work.

I seriously recommend buying a Cisco 1841 router and maybe a 2950 switch. That will get you started and you will use them for a long time.

advanex1

12.4+ Is actually still sufficient. Having 15.x would just keep you super current. You can do almost anything with 12.4 that you need to on the exam.

Matro

What are the main differences between 15.x and a 12.4 IOS?

chipe

Is there a list somewhere of switches and routers that support IOS 15?
The only lists I find online seem to only have a few at a time, not a complete list. Also, the ones i find cost thousands of dollars….

astrogeek

I'm not sure how important having IOS version 15 is for the new CCNA exams, but in my opinion MOST kits sold are not worth consideration. The main reason being that they often include a lot of stuff you really don't need and will have a hard time re-selling. A good example are the non XM routers in the lab you listed and that 2900XL switch. That is some seriously old gear that isn't even worth the shipping charges. I could be wrong, but I believe 2600 (non XM) routers can't even run IOS 12.4, which was the requirement for the old CCNA exams. The XL switches are pretty cheap switches too that are missing some common configuration commands.

In my opinion, the best lab for a CCNA student is to simply focus on buying physical switches - Three 2950 or 2960 (non XL version) switches would be a good, cost effective switching lab. As for routing, I'd recommend going with GNS3, which can emulate a router within your PC/laptop. All you need is a router's IOS image and you can create as many routers as your PC can handle.

If you prefer physical router hardware 2600XM routers are cheap and can run IOS 12.4, but I don't think they can support IOS 15. 2800 series routers would be great, I believe they support IOS 15 but they can be pricey. Again, I don't think you really need IOS 15 so sticking with 12.4 can save you some $$$ and I don't think you'd really be missing much.

It can be confusing to figure out what you need, and Cisco's weird naming conventions don't help, but if you stick with what is popular you should be good. Hopefully I'm not confusing you with the XM and XL stuff, again, Cisco really doesn't help here!!