Cisco looks fun...

Just quickly skimming through my ICND1 book today which I will be starting shortly, I am assured of two things:

1) Even though I passed Net+ by a wide margin, I know next to NOTHING about networking.
2) It actually looks like I'll have a lot of fun learning this material, which is something I can't really say about Microsoft tests. Learning every single nuance about NTFS, share, printer permissions, etc., can get very dull.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or is it just me?

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captobvious

It is fun for me but I think that is because I didn't do the GNS3 thing and went out on eBay and put together a decent lab. Heck I can start my own company with the equipment I've got!

petedude

djhss68 wrote: »

Just quickly skimming through my ICND1 book today which I will be starting shortly, I am assured of two things:

1) Even though I passed Net+ by a wide margin, I know next to NOTHING about networking.
2) It actually looks like I'll have a lot of fun learning this material, which is something I can't really say about Microsoft tests. Learning every single nuance about NTFS, share, printer permissions, etc., can get very dull.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or is it just me?

The CCENT is fun because:
1) It's different
2) It has immediate but different practical benefits. In Microsoft's world, you focus mostly on end-point clients and servers but with Cisco you focus on making them talk.

stlsmoore

djhss68 wrote: »

Just quickly skimming through my ICND1 book today which I will be starting shortly, I am assured of two things:

1) Even though I passed Net+ by a wide margin, I know next to NOTHING about networking.
2) It actually looks like I'll have a lot of fun learning this material, which is something I can't really say about Microsoft tests. Learning every single nuance about NTFS, share, printer permissions, etc., can get very dull.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or is it just me?

That's EXACTLY how I felt about the Microsoft exams, go for it I enjoyed the journey as you can see through my blog Shawn Moore's Cisco Trek

apd123

captobvious wrote: »

It is fun for me but I think that is because I didn't do the GNS3 thing and went out on eBay and put together a decent lab. Heck I can start my own company with the equipment I've got!

Couldn't disagree more.

captobvious

apd123 wrote: »

Couldn't disagree more.

Disagreeing is what makes life worthwhile. But I can say I have had experience with actual equipment. It might help it might not but I wouldn't take my car to someone that only worked on emulators.

PC509

I have to agree that using actual equipment does help a lot. But, it can get expensive. eBay has been incredibly kind to me!

I could start my own multi-site business with the equipment I've got.

And yes, Cisco is a LOT of fun. Having the hardware makes it even more fun. It's nice to have a home network that is better than a lot of buiness networks! Enterprise grade equipment in a home network. Nice. I am finishing my MCSA, but am still studying for my CCNA. I find that the Cisco stuff is a lot less dry, more hands on and just, like you said, FUN! I like doing things with it, and studying isn't a chore. I'll just play with the equipment and do new things, not even formally studying, just goofing around. I guess I'm kind of a nerd....

djhss68

apd123 wrote: »

Couldn't disagree more.

I couldn't disagree more with your disagreement.

Sims are nice. Especially if you're strapped for cash. But IMO,if you have the money to burn, real equipment is the only way to go. Makes it a lot more fun and a much better learning experience.

spaat

For the record, GNS3 is not an emulator or simulator when it comes down to working with the CLI and the IOS. If you have a competent GNS3 setup, there is no real reason to purchase major Cisco hardware to get your CCNA. CCNP going into CCIE sure, but not CCNA.

djhss68

I've never used GNS3. It sounds a bit more complex. How do you implement something like that?

spaat

It's actually fairly simple to setup just make sure you have ample resources on the computer you will use. Go to GNS3 to download the program and the instructions. It's a free open source app and the instructions for configuring are very str8 forward. But the biggest obstacle is obtaining the IOSes (legally).

djhss68

But it doesn't seem too hard. I'm guessing you baically just load the IOS Image into GNS3 and it takes care of the rest.

BTW, what would be the LEGAL ways of obtaining new images. My 2520s are stuck with 11.3 and I want to upgrade them to 12.3. They have 16/16, so they're capable.

buu700

captobvious wrote: »

Disagreeing is what makes life worthwhile. But I can say I have had experience with actual equipment. It might help it might not but I wouldn't take my car to someone that only worked on emulators.

That's funny because when Bill Gates and Paul Allen originally ported BASIC to the Altair, they actually tested it by writing an Intel 8080 emulator and running it in Harvard's computer lab (they weren't 100% sure it would work when Allen went over to test it on the actual machine).

mikej412

djhss68 wrote: »

what would be the LEGAL ways of obtaining new images.

Buy a smartnet contract.... if one is available for the equipment.

For the old stuff like the 2500 series routers, make sure you buy at least 1 router with 16meg flash and one of the last 2 popular IOS images (a 12.3 IP Plus or a 12.2 Enterprise Plus).

While a 2nd hand router may come with an IOS image, it isn't licensed for use -- but what happens in your home lab stays in your home lab, so don't resell your old equipment to a side job customer as a "business solution."

UnixGeek

IMO, real equipment combined with GNS3 is the way to go.

I have a few physical routers and switches that I use for the smaller labs, but for the more complex ones, I use GNS3 to build all or part of the network without having to scale the scope of the lab down to the limitations of my equipment.

djhss68

mikej412 wrote: »

Buy a smartnet contract.... if one is available for the equipment.

For the old stuff like the 2500 series routers, make sure you buy at least 1 router with 16meg flash and one of the last 2 popular IOS images (a 12.3 IP Plus or a 12.2 Enterprise Plus).

While a 2nd hand router may come with an IOS image, it isn't licensed for use -- but what happens in your home lab stays in your home lab, so don't resell your old equipment to a side job customer as a "business solution."

Gotchya.

I did a bit torrent search and came up with some interesting results. But I won't get into that.

How much does one pay for these smartnet contracts?

I also have a 2620XM, 2621XM, and 2 2950s so I'm pretty much set for CCNA. It's just these 2520s with the outdated IOS that I need to fix.

LarryDaMan

captobvious wrote: »

Disagreeing is what makes life worthwhile. But I can say I have had experience with actual equipment. It might help it might not but I wouldn't take my car to someone that only worked on emulators.

There is no right or wrong on this topic. Doctors work on cadavers and pilots work with flight simulators. For me, I didn't see the point to buying equipment for my house. I use and have access to routers and switches at work. After all, you are using an actual IOS image with Dynamips. More and more folks are using these tools all the way through the CCIE, so for my CCNA, Dynamips was great.

I don't even see the need for GNS3, Dynamips/Dynagen works just fine without the pretty graphical interface.