CCNA Practical practice 1

[cyberspace]

I am just wondering, for the CCNA, will I get a great deal of benefit over actually buying a 2600 series router and a 2950 switch as opposed to just using Boson NetSim?

If hardware is the better option, what is a good (reasonably cheap) home lab and approx how much can it be had for?

Systems Administrator
BSc Network Computing, CCNA. Both in training!

 

[qz01gs]

Having passed CCNA I would say having a home lab really benefited me as I dont get to log onto to routers and switches in my main job.

I have notcied that the proces of cisco gear has defo come down in the last couple of months. In the UK you can get a 2610 for less than a £100. I recently got one of EBAY with WIC-2T.

The 2600 range is good as they are modular routers, so you can add modules on in the future, which is useful if you decide to take your studies further. But the 2600 are more expensive than the 2500 router which alot of people use for CCNA. Typically you can get these for between £25 and £55. You want to make sure that your routers have MAX flash installed and Max memory. For a ccna lab I would recommend three routers:

Cisco 2501
Cisco 2503
Cisco 2522(Frame-Relay)

For the 2500 series router you will need some transcievers, DB60 DTE/DCE cables to get started.

On the switch isde of things the 2950 is a good choice as the 1900 is no longer tested in the exam.

If you get a 2600 router you will be able to practice configuring router on a stick.

So as regards price I would say for a cisco 2501,2503,2522 and 2950 with cables you would be looking at £400 +

It may seem expensive but I think it is worth, it has its benefits. At interview will the Netsim guy know how to copy IOS to router or do a password recovery ??if you have your oen kit you can practice this stuff.

Hope that helps

 

[cyberspace]

Thanks for that, I think I may well get some hardware then, but buy it gradually!

Stuff like password recovery etc would be great to learn

I'll take a look on ebay

Thanks!

Systems Administrator
BSc Network Computing, CCNA. Both in training!

 

[qz01gs]

I found it really useful because I bought a cabinet and got rack mounts and fixed it all up. Good experience, sims dont teach you this.

 

[spokeydokey]

for info on password removal procedures, check this link on cisco's website, it gives the rundown on all the necessary processes...this was the first thing i did with equipment and then moved onto uploading IOS'. doing this i've learnt a little and am now getting the knowledge of what i've been applying, slightly back to front but i've no hesitation in playing with equipment now

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products...1831/products_tech_note09186a00801746e6.shtml

 

[GSTEFANICK]

GZ .. correct me if I;m wrong but you can not do router on a stick with all 2600 routers... only the ones that have 10/100 ether...

 

[qz01gs]

You can do it with any 2600 router.

See the link below

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps259/prod_bulletin09186a00800921e4.html

 

[maturus]

I think it's situational whether you should actually buy equipment or not. I had tons of exposure to the interface and had access to it at work when I took mine. The simulator was just fine for me because I knew had the stuff already worked. That being said, it's probably better to buy the equipment because you can keep those, I don't know about licenses and stuff on the sim and how long it lasts. Buying the actual equipment could come in handy later.