buying router for cnna practice. please advise

hi, im just starting CNNA semester 2 and i think im gunna need a router :P i had a quick look around ebay but would like some suggestions of what to get. my teacher said a 2600 if possiable but they are a bit more expensive than a 2500 which should suit me till sem4 (as he said)but then there are 2501 and stuff. what should i get?

thanking you in advance

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

TranscenderMichael

I would think that 2500-series routers would be just fine for your studies.

hoshiko

so any 25XX would do? theres no real bad ones to avoid or anything?

williamwbishop

It would be preferable to get one that has an ethernet port, other than that....no real big differences enough to stop you.

fusebox

A router that has atleast one Serial and one ethernet (or AUI)
In my case I purchased the cisco 2503 routers. I read in another thread somewhere that the 2504 is a token ring ports that are not suitable for CCNA.... someone else can probably confirm.

garv221

I have a 3600 (3662) series & a 2950 switch.

shadown7

I'm also in CCNA II and the 2500 series of routers will work for you. If you plan on getting a switch most people around here (including myself) will buy a 1900 series switch. The current switch on the CCNA exam is the 2950. The major different of the two switches is the 2950 is command line based and the 1900's use a menu system.

I bought my stuff from http://www.virtualrack.net/promotions/january2005.html. I gave you a link to the sale page. Right now you can buy a 2501 for 89.00.

oconn11

To be honest, I am finishing CCNA3 (CISCO Academy) next week. I bought a complete CCNA Exam kit from HorizonDatacom in Ohio (2 routers, cables,CDs etc) for $350. But I prefer and use the new Simulator that Boson and CISCO put out a few months ago. It has labs, tests, and Chapter reviews. So far it does everything the 2 routers did. Also I can setup my own networks (routers and switches etc). It cost $80 a few months ago from Amazon. I passed Intro Exam.

Webmaster

shadown7 wrote:

I'm also in CCNA II and the 2500 series of routers will work for you. If you plan on getting a switch most people around here (including myself) will buy a 1900 series switch. The current switch on the CCNA exam is the 2950. The major different of the two switches is the 2950 is command line based and the 1900's use a menu system.

I agree, for most people, those without a huge budget, two 2500 (i.e. 2501) routers and a 1912/1924-EN switch will do just fine. You won't be able to do everything, but as you can read in some older home lab topics, it's better than a sim, especially when you never touched a cisco device before.

Shadown7, sounds like you got an older 1900 with CatOS and no enterprise edition. You should try upgrading to IOS (basically turning your router into a 1900-EN version) so you will have a command-line interface.

shadown7

Webmaster wrote:

shadown7 wrote:

Shadown7, sounds like you got an older 1900 with CatOS and no enterprise edition. You should try upgrading to IOS (basically turning your router into a 1900-EN version) so you will have a command-line interface.

I'm glad you brought that to my attention. Thanks!

johnifanx98

Hi Webmaster,
I noticed that typical CCNA tool kit doesn't include switch. Do it mean I need to buy a switch more besides the tool kit? Thank you.

Webmaster

You're welcome Shadown

Hi johnifanx,

Not necessarily 'need', but it would make the lab a bit more ideal and make it easier to learn the basic switch config commands. Still not perfect but a couple of 2950 switches is still a big investment for the average CCNA student. If you invest in a 2950 you'll want something newer than 2500 routers as well, so most people stick to the combination of two 2500 routers and a 1912/1924 switch.

Also, if you do buy one, you can usually sell it for pretty much the same price you bought it for. I've seen them for as low as $50 on ebay, for the 1912-EN (enterprise, IOS version+vlan support). And if you decide to continue with CCNP after CCNA, it's always nice to have an extra device in your home lab.