equipment thus far

Hey all, thanks to some of your advices and such, I started goign after hardware. Here is what I have (most still on way):

2x Cisco 2501 (8MBf/8MBdram-going to be upgraded soon) with IOS 12.0-20
2x 1721 48MB dram/ 16MB flash, WIC-1DSU-56K, WIC-1B-U (on way) with IOS 12.4
1x 2610 32MB dram/8MB flash (upgrading memory soon) with no NM or WIC cards- Going to use this as Frame Relay unit with 1 8a/s or 2 4a/s WIC cards (on way) with IOS 12.0-1
1x 1601 with minimalmemory (soon to be upgraded) not sure what IOS

I know I still need a terminal access server, and that'll be ordered soon enough (once money starts coming in again) and probably three switches (most likely 2x 2924s and 1x 2950). I also need a few more serial cables, two more transceivers, and a couple little things here and there.

Here are the questions now.
For the WIC cards (the 8a/s and the 4a/s) do I need special cables, or are the regular DB9 DTE/DCE cables going to work?
should I ditch the 56K WIC cards on the 1721s and replace them with something else?
The cards on the 1721s (WIC-1B-U ), will they work as the ISDN/BRI for the training or will I need a specific NM or WIC ISDN/BRI card?
What card will I need exactly (probably for the 2610?) to hook up a cable modem to the network to get it online (or whatever router you suggest)?
And I guess finally for now, will I need to worry about picking up a wireless access point? I notice for both CCENT and CCNA that they mention wireless/access points. Will I just have to know how they "theoretically work* or will I have to actually configure one? (If I have to pick up one, what would you suggest?)

I am sorry if these sound like stupid questions, but after hours of googling, and reading in here with mixed answers, I am a *bit* confused, but proud of myself for getting this far. Please, I ask that you don't ask me to look at pictures, or link me to pics to check out (images, pictures, diagrams, and so on for that matter) because I can't see them to view them at all. :P Thanks again for the immense amount of knowledge and references in here, and thanks for help in advance.

Dr. Midnight

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Comments

mikej412

The NM-4A/S and NM-8A/S are DB60 connectors. The Serial ports on the 2500 series routers are also DB60 connectors. One side of a back-to-back connection will have to be the DCE end and set the clock speed.

For the WIC slots in the 2610, if you got a WIC-1T card that would have a DB60 connector. The WIC-2T cards use the smaller Smart Serial connectors. You can get DB60 crossover cables from eBay or CiscoKits.com. There are also various combinations of DB60 and Smart Serial crossover cables available if you decide to go for the WIC-2T someday.

You can hook up the 56K WIC cards back-to-back, but I think the pin outs are different from a standard back-to-back T1 cable.

I think ISDN was dropped from the CCNA. I'm not even sure if they kept the trivia questions. You'd need an ISDN Simulator to hook up two ISDN interfaces.

If you can't figure what you need or how to configure it, then you probably don't know enough to hook up your lab to the internet. Have you thought about network security and how it will affect your existing computers or network? Plus if you have a high speed broadband connection, you could lose some of that speed. That said, if you have the NM-4A/S or NM-8A/S in the 2600 for your frame relay switch, then you'd probably just use the existing Ethernet 0 and configure Router On A Stick. But you'd have to know about VLANs and the proper network cabling to get that to work.

I think there is a WIC-1ENT card that would work in a 1721 router that would give you a second Ethernet interface. That would be a more normal type of internet setup for connecting your lab and home network to the Internet. Plus that would match more closely setting up a Small Office or Branch Office for an Internet connection. You'd still need to setup security and NAT.

I did the CCNA before they added the wireless stuff, but almost any familiarity with setting up any kind of wireless access point may be enough for the CCNA. It probably would help if you were familiar with the Cisco AP web interface -- but I'm not sure which model would be best for the CCNA now.

Doctor Midnight

As far as the WIC-1T being normal DB-60, the serials on the 2501s being DB-60, adn the Wic-2T being the smart serial, I was aware of that through some basic learning I had already started. The clock rate on the DCE end is also something I have already sort of started to learn.

I have started a little training and am just building up with what I have. I have also known and seen on ebay the smart serial-DB-60 serial cables for somewhat cheap (IIRC). I was just curious because all of the stuff I found online explaining the WIC-2/4/8a/s cards just used pics to show the cable connection, and didn't actually say whether or not it used a standard cable (or if it did, they were in diagrams like the routing tables in the tech labs on this site).

As for the 56K, again I couldn't see the diagrams they used on almost every site, and wasn't too sure if normal would work. Thanks for that.

The ISDN setup I noticed (both on google and ebay) that you needed a simulator, adn was wondering if I needed to get just the sim, or order 2 more cards and a sim. But if they dropped that ISDN stuff, that'll save me money because I won't need the sim.

As for hooking up to the internet, I figured after reading/studying that the WIC-1ENT was good enough, but after reading so many different sites, I started to second guess what I had started to learn. They have them for both the 1721 and the 2610, and I hadn't even really checked for the 1601. I plan on setting up security and NAT and learning VLAN (why learn something half assed when you should go all the way?). I have thought about using bandwidth, adn what hooking up to the main network wil do to the rest of the computers. Security will not be a total problem, I will set up measures to make a little more secure than a basic unsecure router. Also, internet speeds will not be an issue as when I am learning/studying (which is the only time that the router lab is even on), I tend to be the only one using any sort of bandwidth, and don't tend to download things. The network connection to the internet is just to be able to not necessarily have to use my main computer everytime (if it is not handy-thank you laptop) when I need to access google or the labs on this site. Plus if I have one of the others hooked up, I can forget about the stupid USB-serial adapter that I had to buy.

Thanks for the help again.

mikej412

It's WIC-1ENET, not WIC-1ENT. Even having finally just typed the correct part number, I still want to type it wrong.

The data sheet for the WIC-1ENET still makes it sound like its only supported in the 1700 series routers. But the data sheet also sounds like its perfect for connecting your lab to the internet.

The Cisco Single-Port Ethernet WAN Interface Card (WIC-1ENET) offers customers using a Cisco 1700 series router the option of an additional Ethernet port for enabling broadband Internet access or deployment of a perimeter LAN or demilitarized zone (DMZ). Ideally suited for small and medium businesses and small branch offices, the Ethernet WIC offers a cost-effective method for expanding the capability of the Cisco 1700 series router.

Doctor Midnight

mikej412 wrote:

It's WIC-1ENET, not WIC-1ENT. Even having finally just typed the correct part number, I still want to type it wrong.

The data sheet for the WIC-1ENET still makes it sound like its only supported in the 1700 series routers. But the data sheet also sounds like its perfect for connecting your lab to the internet.

The Cisco Single-Port Ethernet WAN Interface Card (WIC-1ENET) offers customers using a Cisco 1700 series router the option of an additional Ethernet port for enabling broadband Internet access or deployment of a perimeter LAN or demilitarized zone (DMZ). Ideally suited for small and medium businesses and small branch offices, the Ethernet WIC offers a cost-effective method for expanding the capability of the Cisco 1700 series router.

Heh. With the reader reading it to me, I keep wanting to call it 1enit, or sane as yourself, 1ent (but that is just me). As for the quote you posted from the datasheet, I had come across that also. I just noted that on a couple of websites that sell parts for Cisco used parts, the WIC-1ENET (Have to try to get it right this time :P) is listed for the 2600, 1700, and 3600, but nothing directly from cisco to support that.

And as for your first comment on the WIC-1ENET and me hooking into the modem, you are absolutely correct on me not knowing enough to have it work correctly. All I need though is to do a little reading and configuring, and I'll get it right. Everyone has to start from nothing before he or she can accomplish anything.

tiersten

mikej412 wrote:

The data sheet for the WIC-1ENET still makes it sound like its only supported in the 1700 series routers. But the data sheet also sounds like its perfect for connecting your lab to the internet.

It is only supported in a 1700. IOS for a 2600 or 2600XM won't recognise it as a valid WIC.