For those who are attending and will attend WGU

What should I get in the way of a lab? I know I'll need a Cisco CCNA lab, may be a few computers, and may be a rack. Just looking for input, may be we can put a list together? Thanks.

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veritas_libertas

I would check under the Cisco CCNA threads.

earweed

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I would check under the Cisco CCNA threads.

+1 First you should consider how long it'll take before you get to the point of taking the class where you'll study for your CCNA and CCNA:Sec. The equipment you may need down the road may be cheaper by the time you need it than it is now. If you buy the equipment people are using now it may not be up to date by then.

chmorin

This is the wrong location for this thread. Regardless, it is not entirely needed to purchase equipment strictly for your CCNA. Packet Tracer and GNS3 provide a decent outlet for you to practice your CLI needs. While it is always better to work on real equipment, sometimes it is not financially reasonable to go out and buy a rack of equipment. When you start to hit CCNP studies, it is more important to have real equipment.

Regarding a lab anyway, there are loads of similar threads to this one in the CCENT/CCNA forums.

themagicone

I wasn't necessarily talking just about the CCNA portion of the program. Do you need anything special or help to do the A+, N+, Microsoft Certs, etc? All I have now is my 2yr old desktop. When it does come to the CCNA portion, I'll probably build out a lab that will work up to CCNP w/voice. Someone else is flipping the bill for what ever I need (or want really). Thanks

earweed

themagicone wrote: »

I wasn't necessarily talking just about the CCNA portion of the program. Do you need anything special or help to do the A+, N+, Microsoft Certs, etc? All I have now is my 2yr old desktop. When it does come to the CCNA portion, I'll probably build out a lab that will work up to CCNP w/voice. Someone else is flipping the bill for what ever I need (or want really). Thanks

When you get to the MS certs, if going the Network path you may want a computer which will run 64 bit OS's and have around 8GB of ram you'll be doing all of your labs on VM's. We have access to VMWare workstation as a WGU student and it'll be sufficient for every lab you'll need.
I don't have the setup( but wish I did)My main comp will handle 3 VM's. I have a few spare comps here I set up to be extra servers and clients. I didn't have to use this setup but just wanted to. I'm able to do the labs fine with what I have. Most labs on the MCITP:EA path don't require more than 2 or 3 VM's.

mikej412

I think the question is about the lab equipment for all the stuff that's part of their degree, not just the CCNA or CCNA:Security.

The two questions I'd have are:
1. Which degree program at WGU?
2. Which certifications are part of which degrees?

The CCNA is 4 routers & 3 switches for the best CCNA Lab. One router should do SDM and Router on a Stick. The CCNA:Security needs 2 of those routers to run at least IOS 12.4(9)T Advanced Security feature set (or greater).

Not sure with MS Certs are part of the degree options, but a beefy PC with the processors/memory to run a few simultaneous Virtual Machines is always good to have around.

themagicone

Do we access to current ios's as a student? Besides that ill get a good a desktop with a lot of memory. I just want to make sure I have what I need as someone is paying for it all.

earweed

The questions about the CCNA at WGU are not likely to get answered here. They only changed the security program last month. You may get your answers to what you'll need for your CCNA as afr as lab equipment on the CCNA thread. As far as what WGU supplies you ie;IOS's. By the time you get to the point of needing them, they might, it's a program in the middle of changing.
As far as what get's supplied to all IT students, you have MSDNAA (XP Pro, Vista Business, Windows 7 Pro, Server 2k3, Server 2k8, and many other software packages), Dreamspark (More MS software) and VMWare (VMWare Workstation)

As for your desktop something able to do virtualization and would be best to have a 64 bit operating system. Core i5 or i7 with 8GB of ram 1TB HD ,since someone else is paying for it, get something that'll do the job right.

fly351

chmorin wrote: »

This is the wrong location for this thread. Regardless, it is not entirely needed to purchase equipment strictly for your CCNA. Packet Tracer and GNS3 provide a decent outlet for you to practice your CLI needs.

+1, you don't NEED to have them for your CCNA. But if you really want to, check out eBay, there are CCNA/CCNP lab kits that sell for cheap.

themagicone

Thanks for the replies. I'm in a very unique position, and I hope I made the right choice. I've been doing field service on electrical/electronic/mechanical equipment since I've been 15, I'm 26 now. My last major job was a Field engineer position for a reproductive biotechnology company. Long story short, I injured my back little over 2 years ago. I can't do the bend/twist/lift'ing anymore that the field service required. As it stands at the moment Worker Comp should be picking up the whole bill to retain me in a new field. I was looking more into electrical engineering but I just can't fathom trying to figure out how to do calculus. I've worked with computers in great detail over the last 10 years so the technical classes should come somewhat easy to me. I'm hoping that I'll have a leg up due to my past experience after I graduate and won't have to spend too much time in entry level IT jobs.

petedude

earweed wrote: »

When you get to the MS certs, if going the Network path you may want a computer which will run 64 bit OS's and have around 8GB of ram you'll be doing all of your labs on VM's. We have access to VMWare workstation as a WGU student and it'll be sufficient for every lab you'll need.
I don't have the setup( but wish I did)My main comp will handle 3 VM's. I have a few spare comps here I set up to be extra servers and clients. I didn't have to use this setup but just wanted to. I'm able to do the labs fine with what I have. Most labs on the MCITP:EA path don't require more than 2 or 3 VM's.

I'll second much of this, except to say you might be able to squeak by temporarily with 4GB of RAM. That's my situation at home, and I'm finding some Server 2008 VMs will function acceptably in 640MB of RAM if need be.

themagicone

Dell has a really nice XPS 430 w/ 12 gigs of ram, i7 and 1tb drive for $1000. I'm thinking of getting that as my school/test machine. Also a 27" ultra sharp screen for $400 might come home too.

Hyper-Me

My current lab is my desktop at home which is a custom built box running Windows 7 Ultimate and ive been using VMware Workstation 7.

Core i5 Quad
4GB DDR3
500GB SATA 3.0
1GB ATI 4950

Im adding a box this week that is

Core i5 Quad
8GB DDR3
1TB SATA 3.0
1GB Nvidia card

This new box will be getting Server 2008 R2 running Hyper-V role and an install of System Center Virtual Machine Manager for future labbing. (and those darn CBT's if I ever get around to them)

For my software needs, I have a current Technet subscription that allows me to lab basically anything Microsoft from the past 20 years.

fly351

Nice.. I need a good test box. ATM I just switch between my desktop and laptop. I have an old AMD box that I am going to setup to run GNS3 to keep the load off my laptop.

Desktop:
AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4ghz
2 - 1TB sata hdd (still need to mirror my main)
4gigs of ddr3 1600mhz
Radeon hd 4870 x2 - 2gig video card

Laptop:
AMD Turion 64 x2 1.8ghz
120gig hdd
2gigs of dd2 667mhz

jahsoul

I'm running all my dynamips/dynagen labs exclusively on my desktop..I'm just waiting on a couple extra dollars to buy 2 2950's and a 3550.

AMD Phenom II x4 FX-5000 @ 2.7ghz (had it at 3 but will run @ 2.7 from now on)..the best $37 dollar investment ever!
8gb DDR2 RAM
250gb Maxtor HDD
Still waiting for Ubuntu 10.04LTS but I just might stick with 9.10 until they release 10.10 so I know that it's right.

I may do a little on my laptop but I just have a couple of videos on here. Probably will just use as an extra PC during labbing

Regular Macbook Pro 15"
2.8ghz Core 2 Duo
4gb DDR3 RAM
500GB HDD