Post Your Lab (PICS)

Hey Everyone,
I couldn't find any other thread similar to this after searching for a while, so I wanted to get one going. It would be great if everyone could post pictures of their current home or work lab (Big or Small). Hopefully we can get the CCNP/CCIE folks to post in here as well.

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LinuxRacr

megadeth199 wrote: »

Wow guys nice lab I just have 2 2950T with no rack.

I've a little question for my lab ... I've just got a cat in the house and what rack should I get with a cat near ?

Something that will help hide your wires, and keep it out of the cabinet...something with doors?

MAC_Addy

I have a cat, well, I don't have a cat, but my fiancee does... She (the cat) doesn't really go near any of the cables around the back - she usually sleeps behind it though, since it's nice and warm for her. The cat is weird, too. She LOOOOVES to chew on plastic things, but not cables. If I were you I'd either take the risk, or figure how many U's you need and search for a network cabinet. Cabinets can get very, very pricey.

jsb515

well another option and one that has worked well for me with my two cats is using this product.

Amazon.com: Innotek SSSCAT Cat Training Aid: Pet Supplies

it works great and the cat learns to stay away and its not harmful to them.

alxx

Some cats don't like fans/things blowing at them.

Could rig up a high frequency (out of human hearing) circuit to generate annoying noises to keep the cat away . One of those cat stop devices (amazon and pet shops sell them)

Then put a few catnip plants in a different room on the other side of the house/apartment.

DevilWAH

MAC_Addy wrote: »

Our company leases a lot of buildings. We needed two offices in a city - I went in there to do an estimate on what we'd need. They were sitting in the IT closet all boxed up. I thought that previous owner would take them, but no. I let them sit in there for 3 months before I brought them home. Of course, I'm not going to sell them - that'll be wrong. But I did take up the running configs along with the IOS.

My last company let me rack up my lab at work with remote access, there was also a deal I could use the spares we had in stock for DR. At one point I have 5 X 3750's and 6 X 3550. Was a sad day when I left and only got to take the cheap old routers with me

MickQ

DevilWAH wrote: »

My last company let me rack up my lab at work with remote access, there was also a deal I could use the spares we had in stock for DR. At one point I have 5 X 3750's and 6 X 3550.

One word: nice.

megadeth199

MAC_Addy wrote: »

I have a cat, well, I don't have a cat, but my fiancee does... She (the cat) doesn't really go near any of the cables around the back - she usually sleeps behind it though, since it's nice and warm for her. The cat is weird, too. She LOOOOVES to chew on plastic things, but not cables. If I were you I'd either take the risk, or figure how many U's you need and search for a network cabinet. Cabinets can get very, very pricey.

Lol same thing it's not mine. I don't thing my girlfriend cat will go around she don't like to me near my computer case. She just like to be on my chair. I saw that a cabinet can be realy pricey so i think i will go with a rack

thanks guys.

mattau

Here is my lab, currently doing ccnp. Purchased a few more switches to get me through SWITCH and use my pc with ubuntu on it to bridge dynamips to my switches. Also got a cheap shelf cabinet type thing from the local hardware store. It seems to do the trick.

x3 2950's ( i purchased a couple extra of these so i could build more interesting spanning tree topologies )
x1 3550
x1 3750 ( my most recent addition )

I also included a picture of my custom built terminal server

I saw a few people doing this using the ser2net program in linux to map terminal sessions to all your usb ports. This is so handy! and beats buying an access server! plus I am beginning to see the power of linux in general, as I have written a few scripts to open up dynamips and my terminal sessions for me automatically vs having to fumble around in windows.

Basically its a usb hub with about 7 ports on it then from the hub I purchased 5 usb to serial connectors that hook up to the console cable going into the back of the switches. Then as you can see in the pic all the other cables go into my room lol ( because I hate the noise of a lab going, I segregated the areas so I can lab in peace) I have a 5m usb extension cable going to the back of my pc then I have another 3 ethernet links going into dynamips to act as hosts. ( I also found away to make 3 ethernet links going into dynamips to create as many hosts as you want in different vlans )

It took me a while to get all this going it is my current solution to building a "cheaper" lab to get through ccnp whilst at the same time providing enough complexity to try alot of interesting scenarios
Another solution to doing this would be if you had another pc lying around to host dynamips on with ubuntu on it, you could avoid all the cables as you could just have 1 ethernet cable running to the ubuntu machine and remote into it. I could see that would most likely be the way to go for a CCIE lab.

photo.JPG

photo1.JPG

JeanM

Mine is still growing

2x 3640 running 12.4 32/128mb with NM4A/S and 1E2W
3x 2620 with WIC2T cards
1x 2620 with WIC1T card
1x 3620 with 2x 1e2w modules

3x 2950-24
3x 2950T-24

Digi CM32
PIX 515

Somnipotent

Work in progress in reconfiguring my old CCNP R&S lab to mirror INE's topology. Sold off the 2950s and 3550s and replaced them with 3560s and 3750 PoEs. BB1/FRS, BB2, and BB3 are shown on the bottom. The empty slot above the switches are reserved 3x 1841s which are on order. R3 (not shown) is a 3825 ISR. R1 and R2 (2811s) are on order as well.

Final configuration will feature:

2650XM Access Server
2x 2811 ISRs (for future Voice telephony work)
3825 ISR
3x 1841 ISRs
2x 3750PS EMI
2x 3560PS EMI
3x 2650XM

182728_10100543205648477_1693717559_n.jpg

MAC_Addy

Here's an update of my rack. I decided to fix all my cabling mess around the back. It looks so much better now! I still have to attach the rest of my console cables.

I have also upgraded and improved my lab in recent weeks while preparing for the SWITCH exam.

The black unit on top is an APC power switch that allows me to power on/off the lab with a browser.
Below that is an MRV access server that provides console access via Telnet/SSH or Web to all devices.

The 5 routers are all pretty old stuff (2500 Series) but I think I can still use them when approaching ROUTE.

The three Switches are 3550-24, 3550-48 and a 3560G-48 (nice!). I just ordered two more GBICs and cables to get more interconnects.

I hope this lab will be sufficient to get me through CCNP

Lab_Foto.jpg

DevilWAH

whats the power switch you have, I looking for one

the switchs should do fine for CCNP, only 3560 supports prvt vlans, but you can get away with just one, you might want a few layer 2 switchs 2950's jsut to bulk it out, but the ones you have will be a nice core to build up around.

astrogeek

Is that APC a 7900? That's what I have, I like it but lately the web interface has been very laggy - I think something might be wrong with it because sometimes it will just stop responding for about 10 minutes or so. Not sure if anyone else has had similar issues, I don't seem to have any problems when accessing it via telnet/ssh, but https is a struggle.

From top to bottom:

Digi CM 32 Console Server
APC AP7900
2611XM 256MB with CME
2621XM 128MB
3550-24-PWR (EMI Image)
(3)3550-48 (EMI Image)
Dell PowerEdge 2850 with 3 Adaptec Quad NIC cards - (2) ANA-62044 & (1)ANA-64044LV

These older pics don't show the Digi CM 32 console server I recently added, but are of much better quality:

And some fuzzy camera phone pics showing the newly added Digi CM 32 :

Yes, it's an APC 7900. A nice upgrade compared to the Baytech RPC I had before. It's got a nice web interface and works quite well for me.

I was thinking about adding a 3506 to play more with Fiber but since this is an L2 Switch only I am not so sure if those 60 € would be well spent...

Benson_Harlee

This is what ive got so far.

SAM_1686.jpg

SAM_1689.jpg

ron.wellman01

This is what I have so far.. Its small but good enough for CCNA level stuff.

IMAG0059.jpg

Jasiono

Is this a decent setup for the cost?

CISCO COMPLETE CCNA LAB PACKAGE 16/64 2950 2612 2611 WIC-1T 2610 XM 2620 KIT 0746320181813 | eBay

Or can something better be built for around $300?

I'm studying for the ICND1 and then ICND2 exam. I can't afford those gigantic switches you guys have in those pics. I've been researching them and all and a lot of those are out of my league expense wise.

I also can't seem to find any racks really.

oli356

Considering what I bought and doing the currency conversion I think that price is about right.. I always got recommended to buy 3 routers though and 3 switches (not as important though).

Three switches is better than two, for improved study of Spanning Tree Protocol, and also VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) - the third switch is not quite so important as the third router, but still a "nice to have" if it fits within budget. The modern CCNA syllabus really needs a minimum of CIsco 2950 switches.

With just two routers, they will always be directly connected, one way or another, and so most of that discovery process is redundant. The third router is placed between the first two, breaking that direct connection.

My lab
3 2950s
3 1760s (4 WIC-1Ts)
Its very messy at the back! But its also next to my desk which I use 7 plugs for.. I wish the switches had power switches on though like the routers, unplugging the power lead is annoying =( Also want a rack but they look so expensive.

Jasiono wrote: »

I also can't seem to find any racks really.

Dantrak Net - New and Used Networking Equipment and Peripherals. Skeletek Racks and Accessories. best place for racks.

oli356

Wish they shipped to England

MAC_Addy

Well crap! I didn't notice you were from ol' blighty. You might want to check out eBay. You might be able to find something there. Or perhaps use google's shopping page.

Jasiono

Sweet. Thanks!

Jasiono

Look what I found. Just needs some fans!

Server Rack / Cabinet

LinuxRacr

Nice find!

TehToG

oli356 wrote: »

Wish they shipped to England

I've just bought one of these. Cheap and cheerful. Be aware though that I'm fairly certain (given the angle) that this is designed for audio gear so you'll not be putting any servers into the rack. Should be idea for my CCNA Lab though. It arrives tomorrow so PM me if you want an update on how good it is/isn't.

TehToG

oli356 wrote: »

Wish they shipped to England

I've just bought a Startech RK12OD from Amazon. £40 give or take. It's designed for audio rack mountable stuff but it should hold a few switches/routers easily enough.

MAC_Addy

Good point - my fellow co-worker has a 16u audio rack that he bought off ebay. It has caster wheels and is very durable.

TehToG

I'm doubly hit because I'm from Northern Ireland. Shipping always destroys the price for me and picking up used local stuff isn't as easy. I've managed to get 2 x 2950s -24 port for <£30 but cannot find cheap routers for the life of me.

Markybhoy

TehToG wrote: »

I've just bought a Startech RK12OD from Amazon. £40 give or take. It's designed for audio rack mountable stuff but it should hold a few switches/routers easily enough.

Im just starting to get into networking and picked up one of these to, seems to get decent reviews.