Real hardware....

Usually when things don't workout, I change tactics.

Things did not work as well with the 709/1000 that I recieved, so I thinking of changing tactics.

Most people out there are saying having a real lab is the best way to go.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/823-techlabs-ccna.html

What do you guys think about this one?

Cisco CCNA CCNP LAB 2610 2620 Routers 2924 2950 Switch | eBay

The simulators are nice, but something is telling me I need to be able to touch the hardware and twinker around with things.

Surely I am touching the hardware at work, but I will not practice on live network.

I have a 1 car garage, and I do have some space under the bench to mount everything.

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Comments

Monkerz

Honestly, it is great to have hands on experience with real hardware, but I did not when I sat for ICND1 & 2. Packet Tracer and GNS3 were my only labbing experience. I think what helped me a lot was my eagerness to learn. I would debug everything to see how it worked.

odysseyelite

Real hardware is the way to go in my mind. I've watched all videos, read the books and now I am setting up the actually labs. It is one thing to read about a command in a book it is another to do it over and over on a real lab.

That lab is not what you need. Best thing to do, and others will agree, read all the threads about building a lab. You will get to know about the hardware, differances, and upgrade procedures. Most will tell you 3 routers and atleast 2 swithes. 2600xm's or 1760's routers and 2950 switches will get you in a sweet spot. They will be a good starting point for your CCNP.

2URGSE

I placed an ad in craigslist last night for some help, and this one guy who is a CCNP responded. He's running a small program for a few individuals, so I will be meeting with him tomorrow.

I am heavily gravitating towards buying this lab.

If one of the switches is 2950 and there other is 2924, is that a big deal?

Also, to run IPV6 I need IOS 12.3 and higher,

What did you think about the eBay link I provided?

2URGSE

Once I buy the equipment, is there a book that contains labs I can configure?

If so, can you please point me in the right direction to such book.

Thanks.

SdotLow

I haven't sat for the ICND1 yet, but I've heard a lot of people say you don't actually need the hardware to pass ICND1.

Have you decided if you're going for CCNP yet? Again, I've heard people provide gearing suggestions throughout various threads, advice that I have taken to create my own lab at home. I believe if you plan on pursuing CCNP you should shoot for 3550 switches as opposed to 2950 (someone please correct me if I'm wrong here). I'll give you an idea of what I've done.

1x 19inch Skeletek 30U rack (very nice rack! Worth the money, imo.)

1x rack mountable surge protector

2x Cisco 3550 Switches

1x Cisco 2950 Switch

2x Cisco 1760 Routers 64D/32F - Both with 2x WIC-1T Cards. (Some advice for you, make sure that above the FastEthernet port has a black box outlined with an "32F" inside of it. These are an updated model you should be shooting for if you decide to pick up 1760's, which are reasonably cheap).

1x Cisco 2620xm Switch 128D/32F - With an NM 4A/S (I plan on getting another one of these when I pass my CCENT so I can do Frame Relay).

5x DCE to DTE serial cables.

You want to shoot for good IOS versions on your equipment, and this will require you to have reasonable memory on your routers. Ideally 128D/32F, on 1760's 64D/32F you can get away with 12.3 which isn't so bad. If you get the good 1760's that I specified above you can upgrade them to 128D/32F.

Those kits you can buy are over priced. Search ebay for individual peices. I can give you some contacts for some ebay sellers that have 1 year warranties and have a ton of gear for good prices.

odysseyelite

Yes, there is a major differeances between 2924 and 2950 and is pretty much good as a access layer switch or a door stop. Mine sits out in the garage doing nothing. I don't think it can do VTP or STP. You want routers that run atleast 12.4.

Best advice is read the treads. I jumped the gun and bought equipment before I did and it cost me 100 bucks, not to badly burned but others have. I only use the 2500's for my frame relay setup.

You can also use Packet tracer or GNS3 to get the commands down. There are several ccna lab manual sites out there. Goolge and search features on this forum are your friend, but I'll give you some slack this time.

Here is one:

Free CCNA Workbook Lab Workbook

I also do the setups in my books and videos.

SdotLow

2URGSE wrote: »

Once I buy the equipment, is there a book that contains labs I can configure?

If so, can you please point me in the right direction to such book.

Thanks.

SUBnet.192 Cisco CCNA Lab Guides

Cisco CCNA/CCNP Lab Workbook
Free CCNA Workbook Lab Workbook
http://www.firewall.cx
NetSimK.com - CCNA Network Simulator

Subnet 192 is a free lab for both CCENT and CCNA. The other are links I pulled from suggestions on Cisco's CCENT study group. If you haven't done it, I would suggest signing up on Cisco Systems, Inc and going to their learning network. The CCENT study group has practice tests and a lot of valuable info.

2URGSE

odysseyelite wrote: »

Yes, there is a major differeances between 2924 and 2950 and is pretty much good as a access layer switch or a door stop. Mine sits out in the garage doing nothing. I don't think it can do VTP or STP. You want routers that run atleast 12.4.

Best advice is read the treads. I jumped the gun and bought equipment before I did and it cost me 100 bucks, not to badly burned but others have. I only use the 2500's for my frame relay setup.

You can also use Packet tracer or GNS3 to get the commands down. There are several ccna lab manual sites out there. Goolge and search features on this forum are your friend, but I'll give you some slack this time.

Here is one:

Free CCNA Workbook Lab Workbook

I also do the setups in my books and videos.

So you're saying the 2924 is no good?

Did you check out the link I posted, they promise access to IOS images so I can upgrade.

2URGSE

How about this package?

BEST EVER CISCO CCNA CCNP LAB 2600 2610 2620 2924 3524 | eBay

2. Yes, I am planning to pursue more advanced certifications after this.

mattlee09

2URGSE wrote: »

How about this package?

BEST EVER CISCO CCNA CCNP LAB 2600 2610 2620 2924 3524 | eBay
2. Yes, I am planning to pursue more advanced certifications after this.

Corndork2 wrote:

NEVER....EVER.... buy prebuilt lab from Ebay. They are all over priced, and not spec'd correctly. Plus, building the lab is a great way to learn about Cisco hardware. You learn about WIC's NM's and different routers and switches. You also learn more of the capabilities of different model routers, and as such, you can begin to grasp what kind of routers would be used in real life situations.

Save yourself the money, and give yourself the opportunity for the experience.... build your own lab. Spec out your own routers, load your own modules... just like you would in the real world.

If you have any specific questions about command sets, feature sets, or Cisco hardware, we're always here to help.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/67737-ccna-lab.html

Bl8ckr0uter

Don't buy that. Look else where:

If you are looking to stay cheap BUT have real hardware, look at these:

Cisco 1721 Wired Router with T1 csu/dsu or serial WIC | eBay

3 should be enough for the CCNA.
Add 2-3 2950 switchs and you should be ok.

2URGSE

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

Don't buy that. Look else where:

If you are looking to stay cheap BUT have real hardware, look at these:

Cisco 1721 Wired Router with T1 csu/dsu or serial WIC | eBay

3 should be enough for the CCNA.
Add 2-3 2950 switchs and you should be ok.

IOS 12.3 and they are in Orange county, GREAT FIND man, I really appreciate it.

13713

It is too easy falling into the pre-built lab setups. Especially if you have never touched hardware in general and your knowledge of the nuances that comes with hardware selection (os, additional memory, software). These labs target those that are overwhelmed with what to select in fear of making the wrong choice, or afraid of making purchases from multiple auctions to piece together that first setup.

I have gained a lot of knowledge from being a lurker here on the boards for the past year. When I first started looking at building my lab-setup I spent over a month reading Cisco's forums, here, and asking net-admin at work for any tips so I would not make the wrong purchase and have to spend more money in the long run because of my confusion without research. Even with the newly gained knowledge I was still hesitant at purchasing a kit via piecing it together by the best deals I could find on ebay/craigslist.

But I can tell you that if you even just spend 3 days of research you will save yourself literally a couple hundred bucks for the same gear that you would have received if you bought it in kit form. Not only that the kits put books, cd's, and videos containing lectures and labs (honestly this is filler) you can do better just researching for the same information/labs for free on forums and sites like this dedicated to helping one another out. Also you can save a lot buying separate pieces just because a lot of sellers do have free shipping, I know when I looked at pre-built labs almost none of them came with free shipping.

Best of luck on what you decide to ultimately do but I think you will come to appreciate your lab, and feel good about your decision after its put together and booted up for the first time.

One last thought... Not all those pre-built labs come with everything you need. Be extremely careful on what you purchase, from whom you purchase it and make sure that at least some form of warranty or return policy is part of the sale. Like I said you can do better for far cheaper.

alan2308

odysseyelite wrote: »

Yes, there is a major differeances between 2924 and 2950 and is pretty much good as a access layer switch or a door stop. Mine sits out in the garage doing nothing. I don't think it can do VTP or STP.

I used to think this way too, but after looking at this doc from Cisco, I really wouldn't say that the 2900XL line is really THAT bad as long as you have a 2950 or better as well. Packet Tracer doesn't do much more than they do, and people get through the CCNA just fine with Packet Tracer. And yes, they can do VTP and STP.

I have a couple at the bottom of my switch pile, I might fire them up again and see what all they can and can't do, since the Cisco doc doesn't seem complete.

Forsaken_GA

2URGSE wrote: »

How about this package?

BEST EVER CISCO CCNA CCNP LAB 2600 2610 2620 2924 3524 | eBay

2. Yes, I am planning to pursue more advanced certifications after this.

My recommendation would be to buy 3 2610XM's and 2 3550's. This is easily enough to see you through CCNA, and probably CCNP as well, and if you ever decide to build a CCIE lab, they'd be good enough for that as well. If you're patient and look for good deals, you should be able to pick up the total kit for between $500-$600 off ebay.

alxx

Take your time.

Look through the faqs, have a look at the recommended labs.

Do not buy a lab package.
Save your money and get better equipment for the same amount or less.

Start with a couple of 2950's
Look for the 2950T's (avoid the sx and fx unless you want to have fibre cables and gbics - extra cost).
Then a c3550. We don't need the L3 stuff for ccna AFAIK.

and maybe 2 or 3 of 1760's (try to get the 1760v's or the later model 1760's)
I prefer the 1760's to the 2600xm's (quieter)

Get a couple of wic2t's and wic1ts for the 1760's and the cables to go with them.

Then maybe a access box like 2511 or multiport usb to serial or serial to ethernet adaptors so you don't have to keep switching console cables.

I've ended up with a few 2950's, 1xc3550
2x 1760's, 3x 2600xm's , 1x 3660 and 1x 3640.
Along with more than a few NM's , and wic1ts and wic2ts.

Forsaken_GA

alxx wrote: »

Then a c3550. We don't need the L3 stuff for ccna AFAIK.

That only matters if you're not going to be doing anything but the CCNA. If you have *any* intention of going for CCNP, you are better off buying the 3550's as part of your CCNA lab. Then when you get ready to do CCNP, you already have the gear, whereas if you make a stop to the 2950's first, you'll need to spend additional cash on more gear.

If you know you won't go any further than CCNA, then yes, buy the 2950's.

Todd Burrell

I was able to get a couple of 2620XM routers and 2 2950 switches for under $300 on Ebay - and one of the places I bought the routers gave me access to a variety of IOS downloads. From what I can see this is a good setup for CCNA and it's a start for CCNP - I just need to look into getting a 3550 switch soon.

I liked Ebay because most people selling this equipment were more than willing to take "Best offers" for their items. I saved about $50 overall by taking advantage of this. I was able to use this money to get a couple of other cards for my 2620's (WIC 1DSU and WIC-2T)...

And you should always try and find someone on Ebay that offers free shipping. Some of the offers have VERY high shipping.

Also, I know that some folks have said that you should be able to pass the CCNA with no hardware. I do NOT find this to be true as I have learned a great deal from just simply bringing up the hardware and playing around with the commands, etc... I think hands on is a huge help for this exam...

alxx

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

If you know you won't go any further than CCNA, then yes, buy the 2950's.

Hopefully 3550's are a lot cheaper in the US than here (Australia).
I brought 6x 2950's for the price of a single 3550
(labs for myself and my brother)

Usual ebay prices here for 3550's are around $250 to $350 , occasionally get a smi for as low as $150
compared to $15 to 150 for 2950's (with plenty around $40)
AUD$1 = US$1.05

Not being in full time employment(20 hours a week), getting 3-4 3550's isn't financially feasible. 1 was expensive enough

SdotLow

alxx wrote: »

Hopefully 3550's are a lot cheaper in the US than here (Australia).
I brought 6x 2950's for the price of a single 3550
(labs for myself and my brother)

Usual ebay prices here for 3550's are around $250 to $350 , occasionally get a smi for as low as $150
compared to $15 to 150 for 2950's (with plenty around $40)
AUD$1 = US$1.05

Not being in full time employment(20 hours a week), getting 3-4 3550's isn't financially feasible. 1 was expensive enough

I got my 3550's for $139 each, with console cable and power cable. I was under the impression that SMI was not an issue because upgrading to EMI was free as opposed to upgrading router IOS.

alxx

SdotLow wrote: »

I got my 3550's for $139 each, with console cable and power cable. I was under the impression that SMI was not an issue because upgrading to EMI was free as opposed to upgrading router IOS.

Thats a good price. smi/emi isn't an issue.

You can upgrade ios yourself on routers and switches
("what happens in the lab stays in the lab") via tftp or xmodem.

You supposed to only get ios images from Cisco and you have to have a current maintenance contract on the switch/router to get it from them.
Not cheap.

So most people for home labs run unsupported hardware and software.

SdotLow

alxx wrote: »

Thats a good price. smi/emi isn't an issue.

You can upgrade ios yourself on routers and switches
("what happens in the lab stays in the lab") via tftp or xmodem.

You supposed to only get ios images from Cisco and you have to have a current maintenance contract on the switch/router to get it from them.
Not cheap.

So most people for home labs run unsupported hardware and software.

Just upgraded all of my IOS's today, making my switches EMI and my router 12.4t. :P

alxx

SdotLow wrote: »

Just upgraded all of my IOS's today, making my switches EMI and my router 12.4t. :P

Nice.

Have 12.1(22)EA on the 2950's and 12.2(50)SE (ipservicesk9) on the 3550.

Just waiting on some ram before updating the other 1760