CiscoKits/Lab advice?

I think I'm going to start studying for some Cisco certs.. Starting with the CCNA and working through the CCNP more then likely.

I want a lab and I want real equipment. I also don't really want to spend forever piecing everything together trying to get the absolute best price on ebay.

So I am thinking about getting a kit on Cisco kits so I don't have to worry about anything... Money doesn't really matter that much, I'd like to keep the starting lab under a grand..

What would you guys recommend out of these?

CCNA Certification Kits

Also are there any better places to get full labs like this? Again, I know I could save some cash searching ebay, but I don't really want to waste my time with that and not really interesting in simulators at this point. I'd like to start out with some hardware.

Thoughts?

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Comments

beef1218

leefdaddy, welcome to the Cisco world.
The price on the CCNA Certification Kits website is a rip-off.
ebay is the place most people buy used equipments. If you don't want to wait, just look for some devices with fair "buy it now" prices, which will still be much much cheaper than CCNA Certification Kits website.

For switches, look for 2950, or 3550 if you wanna use it for CCNP.
For routers, look for 2600MX series, 3640, or 1721/2600series/2501 if you wanna save some money.
Be aware of the RAM/flash in the routers and if they are fully tested.

jovan88

You could probably get by with packet tracer or dynamips until you go for ccnp

Mark Knutson

$1,000 ccna lab, no need to shop for bargains.. Looks like a readily attainable goal, and any of the kit companies will probably work fine.

WilliamK99

If you have access to Packet Tracer, I feel that is probably the best "sim" tool out there and is almost as good as having the actual equipment. I know I am just going to sim it for my CCNA with no actual equipment and work on actual equipment for CCNP.

Of course, I have previous hands on experience with the equipment, but whatever makes you feel more comfortable is how you should proceed.

dynamik

A grand is complete overkill for a CCNA lab. Don't throw your money away. If you want to, I'll sell you every piece of equipment I have for that

WilliamK99

dynamik wrote: »

A grand is complete overkill for a CCNA lab. Don't throw your money away. If you want to, I'll sell you every piece of equipment I have for that

If he was going to use it as a baseline for future Cisco studies such as CCNP or CCSP, then it is a good starting investment. If he plans on just sticking with just CCNA for awhile then yes, it is a waste.....

leefdaddy

Yes, I plan on using this as a starting point... towards the CCNP and maybe the IE down the road...

I've decided that networking is really the path I want to take I believe... I've been kind of jack of all trades and working in IT since 2000.. mainly as a systems admin.

This is the kit I was kind of thinking about.. has a 3550 also so definately helpful towards the CCNP.

I looked around on ebay at buy it now auctions and yes I could save a little money, but not really a ton, plus this comes with all cables, lab books, etc...

Advanced CCNA/Starter CCNP Kit IV

It's not a complete rip off is it? I mean it seems somewhat reasonable to me. But what do I know

WilliamK99

I will say it is safer to buy from a legitimate company, for this reason and this reason only...

Tested and Guaranteed working!

Quite a few of the items sold on E-Bay are being sold for a reason....They don't work....

Forsaken_GA

You've just got to be careful who you're buying from Ebay. There are a few reputable sellers there. I've never had a problem buying from Optimum Data or Candela

dynamik

WilliamK99 wrote: »

If he was going to use it as a baseline for future Cisco studies such as CCNP or CCSP, then it is a good starting investment. If he plans on just sticking with just CCNA for awhile then yes, it is a waste.....

But you can always add to your lab as needed. There's no reason to tie up your money. Plus, the longer you have your gear, the less you'll get for it when you resell it. Why gather gear you're not using just to have it lose value?

leefdaddy

dynamik wrote: »

But you can always add to your lab as needed. There's no reason to tie up your money. Plus, the longer you have your gear, the less you'll get for it when you resell it. Why gather gear you're not using just to have it lose value?

Dynamik... what would you recommend I get for my CCNA lab then? Again, I don't want to use a simulator, I'd rather play with the real hardware as good as a simulator may be.

What do you recommend for routers and switches? Keep in mind I don't want old **** I can't use going forward on the CCNP.

dynamik

The 2600XMs seem to be the best if you're going for longevity. I'd go with three 2950s for switches, but you might want to substitute a 3550 or two if you're planning on doing BCMSN soon. I'm not really sure what the recommended equipment is for that exam. Keep in mind there are also rumors about the NP track being changed soon, so you might not want to invest too much too soon in the equipment for the current track.

Also, you might want to give dynamips/dynagen a shot. It's not a simulator.

Forsaken_GA

I'd actually go for some fully loaded cisco 3640's with NM-4A/S or NM-8A/S, as they can be upgraded to cover a whole slew of features, and gives you plenty of interfaces to practice Frame Relay with.

Panzer919

Packet tracer and some good labs will do you for your CCNA. I have a buddy who is studying for his NA now and he tried with just the books and he failed. I gave him packet tracer and the labs from my network acad curriculum and he said its helped him a ton.

IMO save your money for an NP lab if you decide to go that route.

TBellamy

"If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."—Benjamin Franklin

My opinion:

You are investing in your career and your financial future. If having the gear to touch makes you learn better and/or faster then build a lab. If this is just a hobby for you, then get on eBay and have fun. If you want to get gear that you know will work, then companies like CiscoKits are a good option. You will also get a CD with usefully recent IOS files on it as well when you buy a router.

I bought a router and some bits and pieces from them because I wanted it now and I wanted it to work. And then I used the CD to update some older junk I got from other sources.

leefdaddy

Well... I've been looking around and I'm thinking about getting this...

Cisco CCNA CCENT CCNP CCIE Home Lab Training Kit

It's onsale for $175 off and currently has free shipping... I think that's a pretty decent deal. Opinions?

Forsaken_GA

leefdaddy wrote: »

Well... I've been looking around and I'm thinking about getting this...

Cisco CCNA CCENT CCNP CCIE Home Lab Training Kit

It's onsale for $175 off and currently has free shipping... I think that's a pretty decent deal. Opinions?

I think you could do better with some selective shopping on ebay. Just looking at current prices, I could buy that same equipment for about $100 cheaper

leefdaddy

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

I think you could do better with some selective shopping on ebay. Just looking at current prices, I could buy that same equipment for about $100 cheaper

right, and I'm not arguing that... but honestly... I'd rather pay $100 more and not have to deal with 10 different auctions, payments, searching, etc...

I have money, I can always make more money, I can't make more time.

I mean clearly I wouldn't overpay by like $500 but $100 to save all that hassle is worth it to me...

Turgon

leefdaddy wrote: »

I think I'm going to start studying for some Cisco certs.. Starting with the CCNA and working through the CCNP more then likely.

I want a lab and I want real equipment. I also don't really want to spend forever piecing everything together trying to get the absolute best price on ebay.

So I am thinking about getting a kit on Cisco kits so I don't have to worry about anything... Money doesn't really matter that much, I'd like to keep the starting lab under a grand..

What would you guys recommend out of these?

CCNA Certification Kits

Also are there any better places to get full labs like this? Again, I know I could save some cash searching ebay, but I don't really want to waste my time with that and not really interesting in simulators at this point. I'd like to start out with some hardware.

Thoughts?

Before shelling out on a kit or individual purchases on ebay why not buy a couple of hundred dollars worth of rack time from a remote rack vendor first. Use some examples from a couple of cisco press books to set up configs on the remote rack. If you find yourself using up the credits in short order then go and get some gear for home use. I say this because a lot of people fill a room at home with equipment only to find that hours of cisco configuration really isn't for them.

This would at least save you the storage, noise and resell hassles of equipment that you may find doesn't get used as much as you thought it would.

Solaris_UNIX

leefdaddy wrote: »

right, and I'm not arguing that... but honestly... I'd rather pay $100 more and not have to deal with 10 different auctions, payments, searching, etc...

I have money, I can always make more money, I can't make more time.

I mean clearly I wouldn't overpay by like $500 but $100 to save all that hassle is worth it to me...

I guess you could argue that leefdaddy's time is also worth money too, right? I'm going to lowball this by a bit here.... assume that leefdaddy gets paid $25 an hour at work. If he saves 4 hours of his time by buying all the equipment at one e-bay auction instead of at 5 different auctions and by not having to spend an hour scouring the internet for decent IOS images to T.F.T.P. into the e-bay bought CISCO gear after he finds out it won't boot because the IOS image is corrupted (a very good CISCO networking lab exercise in and of itself), then by saving 4 hours of time, he saved 4 * $25 = $100 worth of money. So the price difference of buying the items individually vs. buying them all in one kit could be easily made up by saving just four hours that would have been spent searching for things like cables, valid IOS images, etc.

Now I personally don't buy from these lab selling vendors because I am ueber-cheap and I have to account to the girl friend (a.k.a. "financial planner") for how I spend all my money, but I'm guessing that his significant "financial manager" is more leniant in the spending department than mine is, so what I said still stands.... time is money

kalebksp

leefdaddy wrote: »

right, and I'm not arguing that... but honestly... I'd rather pay $100 more and not have to deal with 10 different auctions, payments, searching, etc...

I have money, I can always make more money, I can't make more time.

I mean clearly I wouldn't overpay by like $500 but $100 to save all that hassle is worth it to me...

If you really want to buy a kit that one's not all that bad in terms of items. You'd probably want to get another switch and possibly another router. Plus upgrade to the 2520 for your frame switch. Other than price the biggest problem I see with these lab kits is that they never include everything you'll want and usual throw in some random crap you don't need (the one you linked to has mostly useful items, with the exception of the 2 serial port 2500 router). If you don't want to use ebay at least put together your own kit from one of the used equipment resellers. In my opinion figuring out what you need is part of the Cisco learning experience.

leefdaddy

kalebksp wrote: »

If you really want to buy a kit that one's not all that bad in terms of items. You'd probably want to get another switch and possibly another router. Plus upgrade to the 2520 for your frame switch. Other than price the biggest problem I see with these lab kits is that they never include everything you'll want and usual throw in some random crap you don't need (the one you linked to has mostly useful items, with the exception of the 2 serial port 2500 router). If you don't want to use ebay at least put together your own kit from one of the used equipment resellers. In my opinion figuring out what you need is part of the Cisco learning experience.

Yeah, and I'm not saying I don't want to use ebay at all... I have no problem buying 1 router here or there to add to my lab... But I'd prefer not to have to search for all these cables, routers, etc all at the same time.. huge pain in the ass.

And thanks UNIX that is my point precisely. I know it's not the best "deal" in the world to buy a kit. But I think that one is pretty reasonably priced and saves a lot of headache. And yes my wife is pretty lenient. I told her I was going to spend around a grand on some cisco gear for studying and she said... "Whatever, we blow money on much dumber **** then that." Right on.

Turgon

Solaris_UNIX wrote: »

I guess you could argue that leefdaddy's time is also worth money too, right? I'm going to lowball this by a bit here.... assume that leefdaddy gets paid $25 an hour at work. If he saves 4 hours of his time by buying all the equipment at one e-bay auction instead of at 5 different auctions and by not having to spend an hour scouring the internet for decent IOS images to T.F.T.P. into the e-bay bought CISCO gear after he finds out it won't boot because the IOS image is corrupted (a very good CISCO networking lab exercise in and of itself), then by saving 4 hours of time, he saved 4 * $25 = $100 worth of money. So the price difference of buying the items individually vs. buying them all in one kit could be easily made up by saving just four hours that would have been spent searching for things like cables, valid IOS images, etc.

Now I personally don't buy from these lab selling vendors because I am ueber-cheap and I have to account to the girl friend (a.k.a. "financial planner") for how I spend all my money, but I'm guessing that his significant "financial manager" is more leniant in the spending department than mine is, so what I said still stands.... time is money

I don't think he's losing billable hours by putting a lab together is he? Just give up four hours on WoW or whatever and build the right lab. Personally I think you are better off taking the trouble to get all the bits you need individually. You learn a good deal and that's how it works in the field. To get sign off on any significant cisco purchase you can bet your specification will be poured over by someone before it's approved. All that fiddling about teaches you lot about what you need and importantly what you don't need!

All that said, if you want the convienience of an easy purchase by grabbing a kit it's your money!

captobvious

I've got an idea....send me the $1000. I'll do your shopping on Ebay for you and forward your "kit" to you!

leefdaddy

Turgon wrote: »

I don't think he's losing billable hours by putting a lab together is he? Just give up four hours on WoW or whatever and build the right lab. Personally I think you are better off taking the trouble to get all the bits you need individually. You learn a good deal and that's how it works in the field. To get sign off on any significant cisco purchase you can bet your specification will be poured over by someone before it's approved. All that fiddling about teaches you lot about what you need and importantly what you don't need!

All that said, if you want the convienience of an easy purchase by grabbing a kit it's your money!

Good point... I thought about that also. Still debating. But at I wouldn't say I don't "need" anything that comes in that kit. I'd pretty much be buying the same stuff on ebay. I'd probably pick up a 3550 switch on ebay to go with that kit.