My Lab...is it enough down the road?

Nafe92014

Hey all,

just taking a study break and looking at my lab and rack, I was wondering if the equipment and rack size will be enough for my CCNP down the road. Picture is attached.

PS: yes I know I need to dust it off. :P

cisco lab.jpg

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SpetsRepair

Looks great, what kind of rack is that? Startech?

What kind of access terminal are you running? Where'd you find it

Nafe92014

SpetsRepair wrote: »

Looks great, what kind of rack is that? Startech?

yes it is. 25U rack.

Net_Genuis

Your got a descent size rack for home lab. What devices have you got stacked there ?

Nafe92014

Net_Genuis wrote: »

Your got a descent size rack for home lab. What devices have you got stacked there ?

From top to bottom:

1x Startech 8 outlet PDU surge protector
1x RJ-2509 Terminal Server (used to access each device)
1x C2960 24 port switch
2x 2811 ISR with 2 serial interfaces
1x C2960 24 port switch
1x Epson WF-2630 printer

TechGuru80

Probably will need another router, and I believe layer 3 switches for CCNP. So probably 3 - 3550s or 3560s and lose the layer two switches. The nice thing is that on the CCNP you have pieces of technology split up...routing, switching, and troubleshooting...so you can buy equipment slowly.

Net_Genuis

Yes, I agree with TechGuru. 1 or 2 routers and 1 or 2 L3 of switches, then you have a solid professional home lab

james43026

Yeah, I would recommend at least 1 layer 3 switch, and 1 more router. Maybe another layer 2 switch.

theodoxa

For CCNP, you'll need at least 2 Layer 3 Switches. The 3550 is cheapest, but won't do Private VLANs, IPv6, or VTPv3. To do all the topics, you'll want 3560 or 3750 switches. If you plan on doing CCIE, I'd go with 3560-24TS, 3560-48TS, or one of the newer 3560E/3560G/3560V2 switches that support IOS 15 (the latter options are quite expensive).

As for routers, I would suggest all 1841s, unless you plan on doing Voice/Collaboration.

My CCNP Lab:

5 x Cisco 1841
1 x Cisco 2811 (Frame Relay Switch)
2 x Cisco 3560-24TS (Distribution Switches)
2 x Cisco 3750-24TS (Access Switches)
1 x Cisco ASA 5505 (This wasn't technically part of the lab, but sat between my home and lab networks. I exchanged routes with it using BGP and used VPN to connect to my lab remotely)

I used the TSHOOTv1 Topology

MTciscoguy

That can't be a lab, the cabling is way to neat!