Which Switch?

Thanks for reading my post.

I'm studying for my CCNA and to that end, I have bought (rightly or wrongly) a Cisco 881 Router. I’ve now seen a couple of Cisco switches for sale; a Catalyst 2960 and a Catalyst Express 520.

Do I need to buy a switch or can I learn all I need to by using my 881 and/or the Cisco Packet Tracer software, together with the official routing and switching 200-120 books that I have? If you'd advise getting a switch, which one would be the better choice please?

My thanks to anyone taking the time to reply.

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TechnicalJay

What IOS does that router have? I believe people say you should have at least 2 or 3 routers and switches to practice for the CCNA.

clarson

I wouldn't get the cat express 520. you never see them in any labs from the kit builders. which means they aren't appropriate for a lab or other equipment is cheaper. The 2960 is a very good switch for cisco lab. you'd prefer one that is running the ipservices version of the ios.

The 881 is, like you said, good and bad. one hand you have both a switch and router. You can do all the switch and router commands. which is great. But, you only have limited switch ports to plug cables in. the switch and router is integrated. You aren't going to find any examples in your books that use this equipment. doesn't do serial. no expansion for adding anything like serial. but you might not need serial for the next version of the ccna exam. So, there is added complexity and will take some creativity to get it to do what you want it to do. So, you will learn more than a few things using it in your labs.

you can certainly do the ccent on packet tracer. and I would see what you can or cant do in packet tracer before going out and buying more equipment. If you find you'd rather have more equipment then you know you need some. I'd recommend that you have 3 routers for the ccna for doing ospf/egrip configuration, verification, and troubleshooting. and you'll need two or 3 switches to do spanning tree. give packet tracer a shot before buying more equipment because your probably going to need more than just a switch.

rob42

TechnicalJay wrote: »

What IOS does that router have? I believe people say you should have at least 2 or 3 routers and switches to practice for the CCNA.

Thanks for your reply.

show version reports 'Version 15.0(1)M5, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc2)'

Forgive me if this is not what you need, but I'm new to this. If you need more information, please let me know what commands you need me to execute and I'll report back with the output.

Regarding your comment about having 2 or 3 routers and switches, is the Cisco Packet Tracer software not enough to be able to simulate this kind of setup, or I'm I missing the point?

d4nz1g

catalyst express won't help you at all, i's even prefer running packet tracer over using that one

rob42

clarson wrote: »

I wouldn't get the cat express 520. you never see them in any labs from the kit builders. which means they aren't appropriate for a lab or other equipment is cheaper. The 2960 is a very good switch for cisco lab. you'd prefer one that is running the ipservices version of the ios.

The 881 is, like you said, good and bad. one hand you have both a switch and router. You can do all the switch and router commands. which is great. But, you only have limited switch ports to plug cables in. the switch and router is integrated. You aren't going to find any examples in your books that use this equipment. doesn't do serial. no expansion for adding anything like serial. but you might not need serial for the next version of the ccna exam. So, there is added complexity and will take some creativity to get it to do what you want it to do. So, you will learn more than a few things using it in your labs.

you can certainly do the ccent on packet tracer. and I would see what you can or cant do in packet tracer before going out and buying more equipment. If you find you'd rather have more equipment then you know you need some. I'd recommend that you have 3 routers for the ccna for doing ospf/egrip configuration, verification, and troubleshooting. and you'll need two or 3 switches to do spanning tree. give packet tracer a shot before buying more equipment because your probably going to need more than just a switch.

Thanks very much for your advice: if I'm going to buy equipment, I need to get it as and when I've a little cash to spare. My thoughts were that the 2960 looked as if it would be a good asset.

My best regards to you.

rob42

d4nz1g wrote: »

catalyst express won't help you at all, i's even prefer running packet tracer over using that one

Thanks for the advice.

clarson

version 15 ios, that is great.

yes, packet tracer can do multiple switches and routers for labs. But, packet tracer is a simulator and while it does many things very well. it doesn't do everything that real equipment does. Which is why I suggested using packet tracer and see where it leaves gaps. And, if you think that is a big deal, then spending another $150 on equipment is justified. But, if you are learning well using packet tracer, save the money for your next cert.

Some think using packet tracer is good. Some think using real equipment is better. Some like studying from books. Some prefer videos. I think you should use the tools that work the best for you.

rob42

clarson wrote: »

version 15 ios, that is great.

yes, packet tracer can do multiple switches and routers for labs. But, packet tracer is a simulator and while it does many things very well. it doesn't do everything that real equipment does. Which is why I suggested using packet tracer and see where it leaves gaps. And, if you think that is a big deal, then spending another $150 on equipment is justified. But, if you are learning well using packet tracer, save the money for your next cert.

Some think using packet tracer is good. Some think using real equipment is better. Some like studying from books. Some prefer videos. I think you should use the tools that work the best for you.

Cheers man; sound advice.