CCNA Wireless Hardware Lab shock :shock:

I'm a bit shocked at the Cisco Press CCNA Wireless book...

It lists the ideal CCNA Wireless Lab as follows:

2106 Wireless LAN Controller
1131 AccessPoint

and

Cisco Mobility Express (CME) 526 controller
521 AccessPoint

Who has $2.5k + $1.5k laying around for a hardware lab at the CCNA level?

I was expecting small-medium sized business implementation of 800-series Cisco wireless routers.

Cisco Press: CCNA Wireless, page xxii wrote:

...the ideal exam preparation would consist of building a small wireless lab with a 2106 wireless LAN controller and an 1131AP, as well as a Cisco Mobility Express (CME) 526 controller and 521 AP.

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Comments

Netwurk

They are just letting you know that their wireless LAN controllers plus 1100's are the new gold standard, rather than the old stand-alone access points.

Cisco doesn't care how much you spend on lab equipment, so you need to do some research and apply a little common sense. I would try to help more, but I got my CCNA on the last go-round.

dynamik

I only read one chapter into the rough cuts on Safari, and they implied (and it seemed) that you could get through the exam without that equipment. My impression was that they knew it wasn't reasonable for a lot of home labs.

mamono

dynamik wrote:

I only read one chapter into the rough cuts on Safari, and they implied (and it seemed) that you could get through the exam without that equipment. My impression was that they knew it wasn't reasonable for a lot of home labs.

That makes a lot of sense, but it is very misleading when they make that kind of implied statement. Obvioiusly, not something I was happy to read as I was skimming through the beginning...

Netwurk

Cisco needs to let you know what the modern set-up is like. You can pass without the expensive gear, but you should know what it is.

But I agree that they go too far when they tell you that you need all that stuff for your lab.

gorebrush

Very similar to the CCNA Voice - the recommendation made by CBT Nuggets was for a 2801 Router. That has to be >1K

Expensive, but then as certification should be done by those with the actual experience of the devices in the workplace then there is a good chance that these people would have high exposure to this equipment.

networker050184

gorebrush wrote:

Very similar to the CCNA Voice - the recommendation made by CBT Nuggets was for a 2801 Router. That has to be >1K

Expensive, but then as certification should be done by those with the actual experience of the devices in the workplace then there is a good chance that these people would have high exposure to this equipment.

I agree the certifications are designed for people who are working with the gear not for people who have never touched the stuff and would need to spend thousand of dollars to get some exposure. It does suck though to have to put together an expensive lab for practice. Hopefully you can find a company that will build a lab for you. Not everyone is that lucky though.

gorebrush

The equipment is expensive stuff.

The sweet spot would be to work for a company that actually uses Cisco too...

If we had any spare stuff, I know my boss would be more than happy to loan it to me.

redwarrior

From what I have *heard* (my exam isn't until friday, but I'll post back then), while it is technically possible to pass this without hands-on exposure to the WLAN controllers or WCS, you'd have to go through the configuration guides pretty carefully and read those areas in the book which deal with configuration very thoroughly. Having some exposure to the hardware always helps.

I would probably, given the cost of the hardware, recommend taking a class from a training vendor over trying to purchase a lab set up. Those classes are usually only a few thousand dollars compared to the sticker shock of trying to buy a couple of AP's a WLAN controller, and a license for WCS.

JDMurray

mamono wrote: »

2106 Wireless LAN Controller
1131 AccessPoint

and

Cisco Mobility Express (CME) 526 controller
521 AccessPoint

Can you rent access to this equipment online? Or is there just too much hands-on-learning required with it? Maybe Skillpoint is working on sim labs for it.

hypnotoad

JDMurray wrote: »

Can you rent access to this equipment online? Or is there just too much hands-on-learning required with it? Maybe Skillpoint is working on sim labs for it.

Wow, I have access to this CCNA:W stuff but I don't know if it's worth setting it up for rack rental -- mainly because, have you guys seen the CCIE Lab setup? Have you guys seen the new CCNP:W track? Go look right now. Holy crap. You might as well sell your house to buy all this stuff.

CiskHo

Can anyone recommend a "preferred" lab for CCNA:W? I know the book says the 2106 & 1131 and/or 526 & 521 but if you could only afford one which set would you purchase and use for your studies? I have under $2K to spend for this and would love opinions or advice on which would be the better investment.

I already have a 2811 with HWIC-AP-AG but I don't think that will help me much as far as learning the controller topics cover by this exam. Right now I am think of going with a 2106 and two 1131s. Planning to install the gear in my house, while I read the Official Exam Cert Guide, so I can get some REAL hands on experience and learn as I go. Hoping to purchase within the next couple days. Any/all advice welcomed!

RTmarc

hypnotoad wrote: »

Wow, I have access to this CCNA:W stuff but I don't know if it's worth setting it up for rack rental -- mainly because, have you guys seen the CCIE Lab setup? Have you guys seen the new CCNP:W track? Go look right now. Holy crap. You might as well sell your house to buy all this stuff.

This is one of the reasons I pretty much had to let go of the Wireless track and re-focus back on R&S and Security. It's also a major reason why reportedly the only CCIE Wireless guys are Cisco TAC.