CCNA Lab- 4500 or 2522

[wintermutecz]

I just passed the 841-821 INTRO test yesterday and will begin studying for the ICND shortly. Despite the fact that I work for a company with 3 very large datacenters within walking distance of each other, I get very little access to the equipment due to security restrictions (I work for the help desk). While I hope to get an entry level job with the Network Infrastructure team eventually I would like to get some practice on real routers primarily for my own benefit, but also with the CCNP in mind later down the road. Since they seem to be constantly upgrading the testing hardware (2500 > 2600 routers, 2900 > 3500 switches) I feel it would be a waste to buy expensive equipment now. My plan is the following and any comments/critiques would be helpful:

1) Setup an initial lab with the following:
- One 4500/4700M with an NP-4T module
- Two 2501s 16F/16D running 12.2 IOS
- One 1912 Switch

This would allow for practice with routing updates, and the 4500/4700 could serve as a Frame-relay switch as well.

2) Add the following after plenty of hands-on time:
- An NP-1FE to the 4500/4700
- One 1912 Switch

With the 100BaseT FastEthernet port and extra switch I could practice intra-VLAN routing using (I think) both ISL & 802.1q protocols.

I know this post is a bit long, but I've been reading for days now about setting all this up and am still not sure if I've got a plan that gives me the most bang for my buck. Down the line I should be able to get a job that gives me access to the Test lab at work and plenty of the latest hardware to play with.

Any alternate setup suggestions are welcome.

 

[JRMS]

How was this test? Was there other areas that was emphasised more than others. I'm looking to take the 801 test in a couple of weeks.

 

[wintermutecz]

I couldn't say for the 801 test, but the INTRO test wasn't all that hard, IMO. There were quite a few questions about the OSI layer and which descriptions & protocols matched the different layers. There were also some questions on CDP & Ethernet. The three SIMs were very easy. However, the 801 test is a different story. I think both that test and the 640-811 ICND will be more difficult.

Anybody have any advice regarding a Lab setup? I guess the other option would be a 2522 for the core router. It could function as a frame switch but I wouldn't have any 100Mbit interfaces to practice VLAN trunking.