What else do I need for CCNP Lab

I already have the following equipment
2 x 2620XM 128/32 Routers
1 x 3640 128/32 Router
1 851W Router
2 2950 Switchs with Enhanced Images
1 2950 Switch with Standard Image.

I know going to need a 3550 switch will I need 2 or one? And how many more routers will I need and the models?

Find more posts tagged with

Save $250 on 2025 certification boot camps from Infosec!

Book now with code EOY2025

Button

Comments

billscott92787

If you want the "hands on" I'd get just one L3 switch. That should honestly do you fine. If you have the money get two. But to be honest you could do just about everything on Dynamips or GNS3. That's what I did. I have the lab but only have used it a few times. All based on preference. That's just my 2 cents

thenjduke

Okay but what about the layer 3 switches from what I have read GNS 3 can not do switches.

notgoing2fail

thenjduke wrote: »

Okay but what about the layer 3 switches from what I have read GNS 3 can not do switches.

It has very basic built in L2 switching from what I've seen. Nothing related to Cisco though in terms of IOS. The 3550 is a good choice, you can find it pretty cheap on eBay. I bought both of mine from there with inline power.

If you want to spend a little more, you should consider the 3560 because it offers PVLAN capability whereas the 3550 doesn't.

I've decided to stop spending money on equipment until I know exactly what I'm going to need for other exams as well, this will help future proof my needs and avoid overspending but it's going to take a lot of research time....

zerglings

The instructor from CNAP told me that all you really need is 3 routers and 4 switches (L2 and L3) for CCNP. He said you just need to learn how the protocols work, their behavior, and etc. It doesn't really matter how many you have.

I didn't listen to him and spent quite a lot of money to build a rack that will eventually lead to the CCIE rack.

As previously mentioned in another thread, I have the following:

1 x 2511
3 x 2500
3 x 2620XM (one has NM-8A/S for FR)
1 x 2621XM
2 x 2950
2 x 3550 (with EMI)

Planning to add 2 x 3560 and 3 x 1841 or 2801s. I'd prefer 2801 because it can support voice while 1841s do not.

notgoing2fail

zerglings wrote: »

The instructor from CNAP told me that all you really need is 3 routers and 4 switches (L2 and L3) for CCNP. He said you just need to learn how the protocols work, their behavior, and etc. It doesn't really matter how many you have.

I didn't listen to him and spent quite a lot of money to build a rack that will eventually lead to the CCIE rack.

As previously mentioned in another thread, I have the following:

1 x 2511
3 x 2500
3 x 2620XM
1 x 2621XM
2 x 2950
2 x 3550 (with EMI)

Planning to add 2 x 3560 and 3 x 1841 or 2801s. I'd prefer 2801 because it can support voice while 1841s do not.

We have almost the same equipment. Except that I don't have a 2620XM but instead a 3620. And since you're getting a 1841, I have an 1811W.

Funny too that you mention the 2801 as I was looking at that as well, but decided 2811 is best for me so I can also get a WLAN module for it, as well as it supports voice so it's quite versatile...

zerglings

notgoing2fail wrote: »

We have almost the same equipment. Except that I don't have a 2620XM but instead a 3620. And since you're getting a 1841, I have an 1811W.

Funny too that you mention the 2801 as I was looking at that as well, but decided 2811 is best for me so I can also get a WLAN module for it, as well as it supports voice so it's quite versatile...

2620XMs are cheaper (I think) that's why I went with that. One of them came from work so that was a discount. Heck, three of my 2500s and both 2950s were from work.

I am assuming that you're talking about eh NME-AIR-WLC modules? I am not into wireless stuff yet. Our wireless infrastructure is non-Cisco. Cisco has been trying for years to convince our Security and Wireless department to purchase Cisco wireless products but for whatever reason they don't purchase 'em. That said, learning wireless stuff is a bit pointless for me if I don't get to work on 'em. You don't use it, you lose it. Same thing with Unix, I studied a small part of Unix and since I don't work on 'em everyday I don't remember what I previously learned how to do.

notgoing2fail

zerglings wrote: »

2620XMs are cheaper (I think) that's why I went with that. One of them came from work so that was a discount. Heck, three of my 2500s and both 2950s were from work.

I am assuming that you're talking about eh NME-AIR-WLC modules? I am not into wireless stuff yet. Our wireless infrastructure is non-Cisco. Cisco has been trying for years to convince our Security and Wireless department to purchase Cisco wireless products but for whatever reason they don't purchase 'em. That said, learning wireless stuff is a bit pointless for me if I don't get to work on 'em. You don't use it, you lose it. Same thing with Unix, I studied a small part of Unix and since I don't work on 'em everyday I don't remember what I previously learned how to do.

I think the 2620XM's/3600's are roughly the same depending on how lucky you are on eBay. I won my 3620 for $25 bucks...

Yes the NME-AIR-WLC is exactly what I'm talking about. I'd like to cover voice and wireless certs so I figured getting one router that can handle both would be better.

It is terribly difficult to stay sharp when you're not exposed to the same technology everyday. I come from a programming background UNIX/LINUX and it's only been about a year since I've really had to work on one and I can tell you the details are drifting away.

zerglings

notgoing2fail wrote: »

I think the 2620XM's/3600's are roughly the same depending on how lucky you are on eBay. I won my 3620 for $25 bucks...

That's a great price!

notgoing2fail wrote: »

Yes the NME-AIR-WLC is exactly what I'm talking about. I'd like to cover voice and wireless certs so I figured getting one router that can handle both would be better.

I envy you for the amount of money you can spend for your home lab!

notgoing2fail wrote: »

It is terribly difficult to stay sharp when you're not exposed to the same technology everyday. I come from a programming background UNIX/LINUX and it's only been about a year since I've really had to work on one and I can tell you the details are drifting away.

Exactly, that's the reason why I'd rather learn it when I have to than learning it just because I want to. That's the reason why you can see Wireshark Network Analysis in my signature because I have to learn packet analysis. Though, we don't use Wireshark at work but I figured I'll learn something from it even though we don't use the software.

billscott92787

All I am saying is if you have the money go ahead and build the lab! I just used GNS3 when doing everything because I didn't have the extra money to spend when doing my BCMSN. I eventually am going to add 1-2 L3 switches, and another 2950 to my home lab. Possibly even another router or two. Just gotta get the money together.

zerglings

GNS3 crashes all the time. Heck, even running three routers crashes the application in my Win7 based PC. Yes, idle-pc is enabled. *sighs* I had a good experience with Dynamips though. But, nothing beats the real equipment. I dont wan't to start Dynamips/GNS3 vs real equipment now.

Nuul

zerglings wrote: »

I didn't listen to him and spent quite a lot of money to build a rack that will eventually lead to the CCIE rack.

As previously mentioned in another thread, I have the following:

1 x 2511
3 x 2500
3 x 2620XM (one has NM-8A/S for FR)
1 x 2621XM
2 x 2950
2 x 3550 (with EMI)

Planning to add 2 x 3560 and 3 x 1841 or 2801s. I'd prefer 2801 because it can support voice while 1841s do not.

Where are you getting your 3560s? I'm keeping an eye on ebay but they go for about 700 even there. Also, have you considered getting a 1751v rather than the 2801? It will still do voice pretty well and it's a ton cheaper. Don't make the mistake of getting the 1750 though, it doesn't do MGCP.

Bl8ckr0uter

Nuul wrote: »

Where are you getting your 3560s? I'm keeping an eye on ebay but they go for about 700 even there. Also, have you considered getting a 1751v rather than the 2801? It will still do voice pretty well and it's a ton cheaper. Don't make the mistake of getting the 1750 though, it doesn't do MGCP.

Besides the fact that the 1751 isn't rackable, is there any other reason why you wouldn't pick it over something like the 1760?

Nuul

knwminus wrote: »

Besides the fact that the 1751 isn't rackable, is there any other reason why you wouldn't pick it over something like the 1760?

Not really. I always looked at that 1751 for price reasons. I didn't realize the 1760s were going for this cheap...I might pick up a few in a couple weeks.

Bl8ckr0uter

Nuul wrote: »

Not really. I always looked at that 1751 for price reasons. I didn't realize the 1760s were going for this cheap...I might pick up a few in a couple weeks.

That's what I was looking at as well. Price is my main concern. I was looking at this thread because I want to add to my network to make it a good CCNA:Voice/CCNP lab.

tiersten

If you want to get a WLC then I'd get the standalone WLC instead of the NME-AIR-WLC. They're generally cheaper and you won't get annoyed by the differences.

thenjduke

I think going to get two 3550 EMI down the road. I will try and get them in next few weeks.

notgoing2fail

zerglings wrote: »

I envy you for the amount of money you can spend for your home lab!

Well not really. I've spent quite a bit the last 3 months on real lab equipment and my spending spree is coming to an end. I have to carefully craft what equipments I may need in the future that can accommodate other needs and that's kinda tough to do....

I've been checking out eBay and prices are still kinda high, I "could" afford them, but it's more of do I want to right now...

tiersten wrote: »

If you want to get a WLC then I'd get the standalone WLC instead of the NME-AIR-WLC. They're generally cheaper and you won't get annoyed by the differences.

Interesting that you say that. I'm looking for the 6 AP one. I think both support that as the minimum. I had thought they were both exactly the same feature wise which is why I figured the module would integrate well into the 2811 along with the voice modules.

On eBay, I've found the standalone unit for about $1500-$1600 bucks, while the module went for around $750. So my logic, was that if I can get a 2811 for about $1,000. Then I'd be looking at around $1700-1800. So for an extra $100-200 bucks, I'd have a 2811 router out of it, instead of just a stand alone WLC....

But if you say there are differences, that kinda puts a wrench into things....

knwminus wrote: »

Besides the fact that the 1751 isn't rackable, is there any other reason why you wouldn't pick it over something like the 1760?

Don't quote me on this, but I was talking to peanut, and he mentioned that although the 1760's are good for voice, they won't be suffice down the road if you want to do more voice tracks. Something about the IOS not being able to support later versions of CUMC or something like that....he's looking to sell his routers to upgrade to 2801's because of this.

So I guess it really depends on your long term outlook for what you want to do for voice...

Cyanic

I have always thought, if you buy the equipment at a reasonable ebay price, use it for a year or two, you should be able to resale it and get most of you money back. In the end, it may be much less then rack rental without the burdens. Although you would need to be able to put up the money for that time and you could always lose equipment to hardware failure, etc.

Nuul

Cyanic wrote: »

I have always thought, if you buy the equipment at a reasonable ebay price, use it for a year or two, you should be able to resale it and get most of you money back. In the end, it may be much less then rack rental without the burdens. Although you would need to be able to put up the money for that time and you could always lose equipment to hardware failure, etc.

Heh, you're forgetting the geek cred you get for having a rack full of Cisco gear next to your desk. Equipment is the way to go if you can afford it, though I'm still planning on renting rack time if I can't come up with at least one 3560.

burbankmarc

Nuul wrote: »

Heh, you're forgetting the geek cred you get for having a rack full of Cisco gear next to your desk. Equipment is the way to go if you can afford it, though I'm still planning on renting rack time if I can't come up with at least one 3560.

I have a boatload of 3560's at work. I ordered another one for a SAN switch because I specifically wanted to utilize pvlans, but to my dismay you cannot add etherchannel interfaces to pvlans...sigh

So I'm still in the market for 2, so I can build and tear down configs at will but that 700 price tag for 8 ports is killing me. It's like $88 per port.

Nuul

burbankmarc wrote: »

I have a boatload of 3560's at work. I ordered another one for a SAN switch because I specifically wanted to utilize pvlans, but to my dismay you cannot add etherchannel interfaces to pvlans...sigh

So I'm still in the market for 2, so I can build and tear down configs at will but that 700 price tag for 8 ports is killing me. It's like $88 per port.

Yeah, private VLANs and QoS difference are the big reasons I want a 3560. I've been seeing the 24 port versions going for ~$700, not just the 8 port version. you'd think with those going EOS they'd start to get cheaper...

notgoing2fail

burbankmarc wrote: »

I have a boatload of 3560's at work. I ordered another one for a SAN switch because I specifically wanted to utilize pvlans, but to my dismay you cannot add etherchannel interfaces to pvlans...sigh

The 3560's and 3750's are 100% exactly the same feature wise correct?

EXCEPT that 3750's are stackable via stackwise....

Just want to make sure I'm correct on this?

Nuul

Stackwise is the big difference. I think the backplane is higher on the 3750s too, but from a feature point of view they are very close to the same.

zerglings

Nuul wrote: »

Where are you getting your 3560s? I'm keeping an eye on ebay but they go for about 700 even there. Also, have you considered getting a 1751v rather than the 2801? It will still do voice pretty well and it's a ton cheaper. Don't make the mistake of getting the 1750 though, it doesn't do MGCP.

I'll get it from eBay but I may be able to borrow some 24 port 3560s at work once I start studying for CCIE R&S, at least that's what my manager said. Though, I think I am going to put it on hold for now because my manager does not want to pay for CCIE training. He'll pay for other bootcamp like for voice track but not the CCIE. I've already done CVOICE last year but haven't studied for it because I was trying to finish the CCNP before July. I am pretty ahead of schedule because of my TSHOOT beta exam result. I am reading Wireshark Network Analysis now because I need to learn packet analysis for work. If I didn't need to learn it then I would probably start reading Security+ (not really interested in Security but I'll take the certification for life any day of the week!). After that, start reading IIUC and read the CVOICE book that I received from my boot camp.

I saw 24 port 3560 for less than $500! That was a good deal! Too bad I didn't log in to my eBay account to bid for it! $700 isn't bad at all. Pretty much all 3560s (except for 8 port) are selling for $1K - $1.2K like three months ago or so. That's one of the reason why I am holding out because I know it'll go down. By the time they're pretty affordable I'll be able to start for my CCIE R&S pursuit that is if I am not hooked to voice stuff.

Never really looked into 1700s. But I'll start reading more about it. I want at least a multipurpose router for CCIE R&S lab or CCIE Voice lab. I know I can use my 2600XM for voice by buying NM-HDV. Not sure if I wanna go that route though. The reason why I want 2800s is because I don't need to buy the NM-HDV for me to be able to put the PVDM stick. On top of that, I'll be able to run the recommended IOS for the CCIE R&S lab.

tiersten

notgoing2fail wrote: »

Interesting that you say that. I'm looking for the 6 AP one. I think both support that as the minimum. I had thought they were both exactly the same feature wise which is why I figured the module would integrate well into the 2811 along with the voice modules.

They don't run the same firmware and I've hit weird differences between them before which are annoying when you're actually deploying these in a real environment. You'll have to deal with it as a service module as well. If it was a lab you may not care so long as they both have the same featureset and CLI/GUI.

I'm unsure whether the differences are important enough to actually matter for certification though. I know the NM doesn't do IPSEC and that it doesn't have 802.1D support. I'd assume that you'd do that in the router anyway.

Odd that you've found them to be cheaper though. I've not seen them often on the secondhand market but when they are they're always been significantly more expensive than the standalone WLCs like the 4400s.

notgoing2fail

tiersten wrote: »

They don't run the same firmware and I've hit weird differences between them before which are annoying when you're actually deploying these in a real environment. You'll have to deal with it as a service module as well. If it was a lab you may not care so long as they both have the same featureset and CLI/GUI.

I'm unsure whether the differences are important enough to actually matter for certification though. I know the NM doesn't do IPSEC and that it doesn't have 802.1D support. I'd assume that you'd do that in the router anyway.

Odd that you've found them to be cheaper though. I've not seen them often on the secondhand market but when they are they're always been significantly more expensive than the standalone WLCs like the 4400s.

There were two modules a couple weekends ago, both going for around $750.... I just rechecked and they are gone. Now the only remaining modules are $1200-$1500...

I guess I lost out on a pretty good deal.....

I'm glad you brought up some differences though, I will do more research. If it is true, then I would be more inclined to get the standalone, I hate finding out I'm missing features.

Kinda like getting the 3550's and not being able to do PVLAN's!!!!

burbankmarc

notgoing2fail wrote: »

Kinda like getting the 3550's and not being able to do PVLAN's!!!!

Or getting a 3k 3560G 48 port only to find out that you can't do pvlans with etherchannels...

Kaminsky

Whats the difference between a 3550-SMI with an EMI image and a 3550-12T which is EMI with regard to Layer 3. I've put their routing protocols side by side and they seem identicle.

notgoing2fail

burbankmarc wrote: »

Or getting a 3k 3560G 48 port only to find out that you can't do pvlans with etherchannels...

I understand that a switch needs to be in transparent mode to do PVLAN's.

So can you at the very least do regular trunking via 1 port with PVLAN's?

notgoing2fail

Kaminsky wrote: »

Whats the difference between a 3550-SMI with an EMI image and a 3550-12T which is EMI with regard to Layer 3. I've put their routing protocols side by side and they seem identicle.

SMI is standard and EMI is enhanced image.

You can do simple routing with SMI I believe. I think EMI supports more/better routing functions and protocols....