Labbing for the MCSA

Hey all,

I currently work in the IT field as a mobility engineer. I'm not required at all to have any certifications or anything, but I'll be finishing up my Masters degree in December, and so my time is starting to open up. My Bachelors degree was in Information assurance, and was more policy/regulation focused, so I don't really have a ton of technical skills, although, I pick it up pretty fast.

Anyhow, eventually, I'd like to get my MCSE: Messaging certification, but for now, I'm trying to focus on the MCSA. I'm wondering if I can get some information on setting up a lab. I know this question has probably been asked ad-nauseum, but I didn't find anything in the forums that addressed my question.

Basically, I don't want anything expensive for a lab. Just minimum requirements or maybe a little better. I'm pretty familiar with using VMs, so I'll probably just take that route. Really, I'm just looking for a suggestion on what I need for a computer to run all the VMs I need without being really laggy. I currently use an ASUS laptop with 8.1 as my primary computer. I also have a Mac Mini that I hardly ever use (it's a newer one, I just use the laptop more) and I have upgraded the RAM (been awhile, but I'm pretty sure there is 8GB in there). I was thinking I would probably have to buy a new desktop, but I just want to make sure that I get one that is capable of handling the labs that I will need -- unless you think the Apple can do it

.

You guys are the experts, so hopefully you can point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

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netsysllc

Hard drives are usually going to introduce the most lag. SSD drives really help with this. I have run 3 Server 2012 VMs on my surface with only 4GB of ram and an i5 CPU. They were not supper fast but I was able to do the presentation that I needed to. I would recommend 16GB ram, and an i7 with SSD drives if you can swing it. There are some pretty beefy Dell PE c1100 servers on ebay pretty cheap.

Glenn1986

I agree with netsys - SDDs are perfect, but can be pricey and won't offer alot of storage (will have to run all your disks in dynamic likely). If you cant swing a SDD, get two drives to at least seperate your VMs. Worst case, one drive will do.

I also recommend at least 12 GB of ram, but ideally 16GB. Not all of your VMs have to be turned on at once, but its far more convenient building out a host machine that can handle 4-5 VMs in the "on state" so you dont have to keep turning them on and off. The first few MCSA courses you can get by with less VMs, however, 70-412 and some of the MCSE labs you may want to do multiple VM clustering etc. which start to add up.

You will require some lab work with directaccess and VPNs for 70-411. This can all be simulated through multiple virtual switches, so no additional routers/switches are needed.

For convenience i also recommend dual monitors! Easy to read instructions on one and lab on the other etc.

Good luck!

cisco_nerd

To bring back an old post... I am currently researching some hardware for a dedicated VM lab machine for MSCA and also to run some CUCM servers/cluster for CCNP Voice.

I looked into the path of getting a HP or Dell server from eBay but HDD space is the factor due to cost/gb. So I am no looking at building an AMD 3.5Ghz 8-core desktop with 32Gb DDR3 (with scope to 64Gb), 120Gb SSD to host the ESXi, and 1 or 2x 2Tb SATA for the VMs. To those with more experience, does this seem suitable? I can't find any information regarding ESXi 5.5 not being supported on this CPU as it only mentions server grade Opteron and Xeon CPUs on the VSphere compatibility website.

Its a relatively cheap option to build a lab machine this way compared to building a enterprise server box up with enough storage since CUCM, CUC, and the like require a fair amount of HDD space for voice mail and instal space etc.

Any help/tips/info/critique is welcomed!

Thanks!

TangoCash

Hi there,

FWIW I've set up my lab in Azure. This seems to be working well for me so far and the added bonus is I've learnt all about Azure in the process. Of course this isn't a dedicated/always on lab though and its important to remember to turn off all servers at the end of each studying session so as not to rack up a huge bill!

pjd007

TangoCash wrote: »

Hi there,

FWIW I've set up my lab in Azure. This seems to be working well for me so far and the added bonus is I've learnt all about Azure in the process. Of course this isn't a dedicated/always on lab though and its important to remember to turn off all servers at the end of each studying session so as not to rack up a huge bill!

Out of interest how do the charges work out when using Azure ?

TangoCash

pjd007 wrote: »

Out of interest how do the charges work out when using Azure ?

Azure costs for me seem to be around $10 - $20 a month at the moment. It really depends though on how much i use it and if i forget to turn servers off after I've used them. I wish they enabled the ability to cap the maximum monthly spend, but they don't have that right now..

Also, in case anyone is wondering, in order to connect client machines to the lab domain that i build in Azure i used the site-site connectivity option to connect to my local network. This works great but it also means i need to remember to turn off/disconnect the gateway when i am done with my study session. Not a huge deal for me at the moment and the fact its enabled me to learn the ins and outs of Azure i think justifies the cost (at the moment!).

6502

You can be cheap by using the MSDN Virtual Labs. Find a lab that has a few servers and clients and spin it up. They aren't perfect but I've found you can use the labs to install and configure features and roles outside the scope of the labs.