finally a good simulator for ccna study?

Saw this on Wendell Odom's blog
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/29523

Oh yeah, Cisco Press also announced a new Simulator for CCNA prep. The details are sketchy so far, and it's coming in October. I think it'll be a hit, but I'm biased.

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Comments

networker050184

Good simulator???

No such thing!!

nicklauscombs

astorrs

Packet Tracer 5.0. It's not that great from what I've seen.

But development is still on-going. It does support more IOS features though.

empc4000xl

astorrs wrote:

Packet Tracer 5.0. It's not that great from what I've seen.

But development is still on-going. It does support more IOS features though.

I don't mean to rain on your parade but with all this

* IPv6
* Multi-Area OSPF
* Route Redistribution
* Multilayer Switch (3560)
* SSH
* RSTP
* Frame Relay update
* Interface range
* Different grades for different commands in labs
* Possibility for locking PT to the student's name

and a good instructor this will be a great tool in the class. When I went through net acad, there were labs we did in packet tracer, and labs that we had to with real gear because the instructor thought it was better to use the real stuff. A good instructor will figure this out and having students connect multiple machines like you are in a real WAN is great way to learn how you really connect to the outside when you have people on opposite ends.

astorrs

I wasn't saying it wasn't still valuable or that the new features aren't worthwhile, just that it's still to finicky for my liking and doesn't always behave as the real equipment will. I have to say though I did prefer 5.0 to Boson.

scheistermeister

Packet Tracer is already great for CCNA and it sounds like it will be even better with 5, but I learned real quick that it blows balls if you even think about using it for NP stuff. I think they should just go the route of making their own dynamips that supports real IOSs. Now that would rock.

astorrs

scheistermeister wrote:

Packet Tracer is already great for CCNA and it sounds like it will be even better with 5, but I learned real quick that it blows balls if you even think about using it for NP stuff. I think they should just go the route of making their own dynamips that supports real IOSs. Now that would rock.

I guess that's where I find my dislike. I'm prejudiced and am looking for what I expect to happen, when it doesn't I grumble.

You're right though lots of people have learned Cisco with this tool and the improvements are good (and the layer 3 switch actually works

). As for the Cisco & dynamips, I want them to just come out with a IOS VMware appliance that let's say shuts itself off every 12-24 hours making it impractical to use in production but excellent for labs; I hope the recent ESX vSwitch support for CDP, etc is only the beginning...

scheistermeister

Hey did they ever fix the keepalives? I remember when I was studying for my CCNA I was pissed that it was REALLY squirrelly with a few things and one of the things I tried was no keep. and no matter how many times you turned them on and off with show commands it always showed them as being on.

astorrs

scheistermeister wrote:

Hey did they ever fix the keepalives? I remember when I was studying for my CCNA I was pissed that it was REALLY squirrelly with a few things and one of the things I tried was no keep. and no matter how many times you turned them on and off with show commands it always showed them as being on.

Never checked and I uninstalled it a while back. Sorry.

Glynixx

Does anyone know if it will be for retail sale or only for Network Academy students? (I know info is sparse so I'm taking a shot here).

Later,
G

127.0.0.1

nicklauscombs wrote:

Saw this on Wendell Odom's blog
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/29523

Oh yeah, Cisco Press also announced a new Simulator for CCNA prep. The details are sketchy so far, and it's coming in October. I think it'll be a hit, but I'm biased.

Nicklauscombs, I noticed this also. You can actually see an image of this below:

ShowCover.asp?isbn=1587202166&type=a

Develop hands-on configuration and troubleshooting skills with this router and switch simulator designed exclusively for CCNA 640-802 learning.

* 250 CCENT and CCNA labs
* Direct reference to CCNA and CCENT Exam Certification Guide materials
* Expert guidance from best-selling CCNA author Wendell Odom
* Save the hundreds of dollars you would spend on networking gear

It will be available on Cisco Press in September and will cost $149.99.

Glynixx wrote:

Does anyone know if it will be for retail sale or only for Network Academy students? (I know info is sparse so I'm taking a shot here).

Later,
G

No, unfortunately not, their information is copyright and strictly intended for Academy students only so they won't be offering it for sale. It will be available to those in the Alumni. I believe Packet Tracer 5.0 will be released some time near the end of this month.

astorrs

Oh this is more interesting than PT5. Thanks. I'll have to try to get my hands on a copy.

wolverene13

I don't think there really is such a thing a a "good" network simulator, but I think the best one out there is RouterSim Network Visualizer. More commands are supported than Boson as far as I can tell and it's a lot easier to use.

Paul Boz

www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=1587202166

Looks commercially available to me.

For a little more than the $135 or whatever you can buy a pair of 2600 routers and a 2950 switch and have the real deal though.

tiersten

Paul Boz wrote:

www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=1587202166

Looks commercially available to me.

For a little more than the $135 or whatever you can buy a pair of 2600 routers and a 2950 switch and have the real deal though.

Its not out yet.

Plazma

I liked packet tracer when i was in the netacad program for my CCNA. I prefer dynamips or a real setup.. I think Chris Bryant said it best "When you walk into a data center, you aren't going to find a bunch of simulators".

The best thing by far about the real equipment (or dynamips) is the fact you don't have to worry about limitations.. such as using the debug command and many other beneficial commands. Though since this is a Cisco product, I'm sure it has some more abilities than the others, but even so.. why spend $150 on a piece of software when you can spend $150-$200 for a decent lab setup?

Paul Boz

tiersten wrote:

Its not out yet.

Right, was responding to 127.0.0.1's post suspecting that it may be only available to cisco academy students.

tiersten

Paul Boz wrote:

tiersten wrote:

Its not out yet.

Right, was responding to 127.0.0.1's post suspecting that it may be only available to cisco academy students.

Ah okay. sorry.

127.0.0.1

Paul Boz wrote:

tiersten wrote:

Its not out yet.

Right, was responding to 127.0.0.1's post suspecting that it may be only available to cisco academy students.

@Paul: Oops, my post wasn't worded correctly. I meant that Packet Tracer 5.0 is only available to Cisco Academy students. The simulator released by Cisco Press will be available for everyone!

Paul Boz

Good deal.

Young Grasshopper

any update on this? says its scheduled to be released this month but it keeps getting pushed back for some reason

Netwurk

You can preorder on bookpool for $92 US

http://www.bookpool.com/ss?qs=CCNA+640-802+Network+Simulator&x=34&y=9

mikej412

Another date slip.... CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator is now "available" April 1st, 2009.

In the mean time, they are offering the CCENT 640-822 Network Simulator: Software Download which includes a CCNA ICND2 640-816 Network Simulator Upgrade (ISBN: 1-58720-240-9) at no extra charge!

I'd guess you have some time to decide before that free upgrade offer ends.... hopefully it will be around that April 1st date.

LBC90805

mikej412 wrote: »

Another date slip.... CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator is now "available" April 1st, 2009.

In the mean time, they are offering the CCENT 640-822 Network Simulator: Software Download which includes a CCNA ICND2 640-816 Network Simulator Upgrade (ISBN: 1-58720-240-9) at no extra charge!

I'd guess you have some time to decide before that free upgrade offer ends.... hopefully it will be around that April 1st date.

Something about that just screams APRIL FOOLS