silverhairb
IS-IT--Management
Seems like a good switch but would it be a good choice for a CCNA lab set-up?
Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations gkittelson on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
WS-C3524-XL-A for CCNA Lab?
- Thread starter silverhairb
- Start date
- Status
CiscoGuy33
Instructor
silverhairb,
It all depends on how much it is and if it the ONLY switches you will have
The exam is based on the 2950's and 2960's
Given how cheap but close-to-current the 2950 switches are, I think for CCNA you should get at least one 2950 for a home lab. They go on Ebay for from $70 to $130.
You can get the older, cheaper 3500XL series or 2900XL series if you're really pressed for cash, but I don't recommend it as a replacement for the 2950. I have several 2924XL's and 1900's because I got them for $15 each for the 2924's and $5 each for the 1900's, I also like to learn what I still see out in the real world also!!!
You should get 2-3 switches to practice trunking, spanning tree features, VTP, and so forth. But make sure at least 1 of them is a 2950. It's worth the extra money to have a switch as the 2950, that is so similar to the current models, as well as the fact it is what the test questions are based on.
You really should read the Wendell Odom 7 part CCNA lab blog at Networkworld -
Hope this helps!!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
It all depends on how much it is and if it the ONLY switches you will have
The exam is based on the 2950's and 2960's Given how cheap but close-to-current the 2950 switches are, I think for CCNA you should get at least one 2950 for a home lab. They go on Ebay for from $70 to $130.
You can get the older, cheaper 3500XL series or 2900XL series if you're really pressed for cash, but I don't recommend it as a replacement for the 2950. I have several 2924XL's and 1900's because I got them for $15 each for the 2924's and $5 each for the 1900's, I also like to learn what I still see out in the real world also!!!
You should get 2-3 switches to practice trunking, spanning tree features, VTP, and so forth. But make sure at least 1 of them is a 2950. It's worth the extra money to have a switch as the 2950, that is so similar to the current models, as well as the fact it is what the test questions are based on.
You really should read the Wendell Odom 7 part CCNA lab blog at Networkworld -
Hope this helps!!
E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +
However, if you can get your hands on a set of 2924XL-EN switches on eBay for under $50 then by all means do it! You can only learn from them! Some run CatOS but that can be a learning experience all it's own!
For CCNA/CCNP you are best to stick with these four models at the moment!
2950
2960
3550
3560
Hope that helps!
B Haines
CCNA R&S, ETA FOI
For CCNA/CCNP you are best to stick with these four models at the moment!
2950
2960
3550
3560
Hope that helps!
B Haines
CCNA R&S, ETA FOI
- Status