2610 upgrade -vs- new router

After my post on this thread, I checked up the modules that would let me upgrade my 2610's to be more usable, and WOW - $70 for the NM- modules, just to get an extra ethernet port or two!

I'm thinking perhaps just buying a better router, but now that I've thought about it a bit more I'm wondering if it's even necessary.

The 1 10Mb port built-in would let me run ROAS. I'm not certain what a reasonable frame-relay lab would require as I'm not to that point yet.

[EDIT] Or not; just found out the router port has to be FA or greater. bleh.

I don't think a 3rd switch is necessary; my current 2 should be suitable for the VTP I'm currently reviewing. I'm just waiting for my crossover cables now.

Can anyone who's gone through this recently give me a heads up? Anything I get at this point I'd want to last me through the -security, maybe -VoIP and possibly CCNP studies as well.

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Comments

notgoing2fail

How do you think I feel? I bought a 3620 (which I absolutely love by the way) for $25 off eBay.

Bought 2 modules for it, a daughter card NM-4T so I can turn it into a frame-relay switch and a 2E-2W module so I could have ethernet modules since the router doesn't even come with one!!!

I think the NM-4T was about $40 and so was the 2E-2W...so you will see modules costing more than the router themselves!!!

As for what you're looking to do. It's such a tough question, I ask myself everyday WHAT DO I NEED!

It's hard to think ahead so that you can get equipment that would possibly cover any cert you're looking to take.

A good example are the 3550 switches that I bought. I bought two of the with inline power. Thinking that these L3 babies would cover me for many scenarios, I didn't find out until the CCNP SWITCH that I cannot do PVLAN's on them!!

It's these little details that get you down the road!!

mikej412

bermovick wrote: »

[EDIT] Or not; just found out the router port has to be FA or greater. bleh.

The 1720 WITH a FastEthernet port CAN'T do ROAS (an exception to the "FA rule" ).

A 261x with 12.2( 8 )T (or greater) IP Plus (or greater) IOS CAN do ROAS (an exception to the "FA rule" ).

You can put an NM-4A/S in your 2600 and use it as a Frame Relay Switch.

JSK

The 1721 is a cheap little router. It can run 12.4 IOS with 32F/64D. Plus it has 2 WIC slots. I see them selling on ebay for $30-40 shipped.

Wendell Odom actually recommends the 1721 even for CCNP labs on a budget. CCNP Shopping Spree ? What to Buy? | NetworkWorld.com Community

**EDIT - See Mike's post above.

I wasn't aware of the ROAS issue **

bermovick

What's IP plus on the legacy IOS names? I don't see anything in the naming conventions that specify that.

mikej412

JSK wrote: »

**EDIT - See Mike's post above. I wasn't aware of the ROAS issue **

The 1721 routers are fine -- it's just the 1720 that doesn't ROAS.

The 1721 also does SDM.

bermovick wrote: »

What's IP plus on the legacy IOS names? I don't see anything in the naming conventions that specify that.

Cisco Partner Central Portable Product Sheets
Portable Product Sheets - Partner Central
Router Memory, Router Performance, Switch Performance, Modules Cross Reference, etc

There's also a PDF there that explains the IOS naming -- the legacy stuff is at the end of the PDF.

bermovick

Yeah; I was looking at a copy of the naming conventions but I don't see anything that obviously stands for IP Plus. I'm going to guess it's s (Plus, or "LAN Only" on Cat6K/7600), as the other that has the word plus seem even less appropriate (ent is Plus (only used with 'telco'), whatever that means).

tiersten

bermovick wrote: »

Yeah; I was looking at a copy of the naming conventions but I don't see anything that obviously stands for IP Plus. I'm going to guess it's s (Plus, or "LAN Only" on Cat6K/7600), as the other that has the word plus seem even less appropriate (ent is Plus (only used with 'telco'), whatever that means).

You're looking for something which has an s in the code with no number after it since those mean something else.

c2500-ik8os-l.122-29b.bin would be:

c2500 = 2500 router
i = IP
k8 = Crypto (DES)
o = Firewall
s = Plus
l = Runs from Flash
122-29b = 12.2.29b

tiersten

I guess a 2600 example would be more useful since this is a thread about 2600 routers!

c2600-ik9o3s-mz

c2600 = 2600 router
i = IP routing
k9 = Crypto (3DES)
o3 = Firewall/IDS
s = Plus
m = Runs from RAM
z = Compressed

So this would be an IOS file for a 2600 that has IP Plus FW/IDS + 3DES which is a compressed image that runs from RAM. It'll load itself into RAM and then decompress before starting.

tiersten

As this is a 2600, be aware that certain NMs aren't compatible with it. The combo NMs which give you an Ethernet port and something else like WIC slots aren't supported at all. The FE only NMs do unofficially work in a 2600XM but I'm unsure about a plain 2600.

bermovick

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm not going to work on upgrading these; for the price to upgrade both I could just get a better router (like an -XM). Especially since I can do ROAS on them, and a 3rd router would (from what I understand from what I've read) make frame-relay better.

OK now I'm confused. REALLY confused.
I was running c2600-i-mz.123-26.bin. File size 7,754,580 bytes.
I also have c2600-jsx-mz.122-8.T.bin. File size 7,398,824 bytes.

I tried copying from tftp. I got the option to erase my current flash which I did since I don't have enough to store both, and get an error that I don't have enough space! How can 7.39MB fit yet 7.05 not!?

R1#dir flash:
[snip]
7864316 bytes total (7864316 bytes free)

tiersten

bermovick wrote: »

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm not going to work on upgrading these; for the price to upgrade both I could just get a better router (like an -XM). Especially since I can do ROAS on them, and a 3rd router would (from what I understand from what I've read) make frame-relay better.

Do what mikej412 said and buy a NM-4A/S or NM-8A/S to turn the 2600 into a frame relay switch. No point dedicating a more powerful router like a 2600XM to frame relay duty. You can plug some WICs into the 2600 as well and use it as part of your topology.

kalebksp

bermovick wrote: »

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm not going to work on upgrading these; for the price to upgrade both I could just get a better router (like an -XM). Especially since I can do ROAS on them, and a 3rd router would (from what I understand from what I've read) make frame-relay better.

OK now I'm confused. REALLY confused.
I was running c2600-i-mz.123-26.bin. File size 7,754,580 bytes.
I also have c2600-jsx-mz.122-8.T.bin. File size 7,398,824 bytes.

I tried copying from tftp. I got the option to erase my current flash which I did since I don't have enough to store both, and get an error that I don't have enough space! How can 7.39MB fit yet 7.05 not!?

R1#dir flash:
[snip]
7864316 bytes total (7864316 bytes free)

You probably need to run squeeze flash, which actually removes the files. On some platforms running delete is kind of like dropping a file in the recycle bin in Windows, it still takes up space until you empty the recycle bin.

bermovick

Cool; it's amazing the things you learn outside the book heh.

notgoing2fail

yeah squeezing is a neat trick and don't forget to also verify the image before trying to load it.