Cisco Lab

M

mssodin28

n00b
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
23
Hey guys, I have been looking at all your Cisco labs and networks at your homes.

My question is where can I acquire a cheap rack chassis, and a few cisco hardware.

and I am going for my CCNA certification and also what to know, what do you guys use the labs for?
 
Google skeletek racks, you should find a site called dantrak or something. They're cheap and really good.
 
skeletek is good, or find a local company that does off-lease resale. I found a place that was selling 42U Network appliance racks and bought two for dirt cheap.
 
as another person looking to pursue there CCNA cert i too would love to know what hardware you recommend. I asked over on EVGA forums and they all told me to just get a sim and i said i wanted to practice on real hardware.
 
Using a simulator is nice, but it doesn't give you the field feeling, you know? would you all just recommend a Catalyst 2900 and a couple 2800 routers?
 
mssodin28 said:
Using a simulator is nice, but it doesn't give you the field feeling, you know? would you all just recommend a Catalyst 2900 and a couple 2800 routers?
Click to expand...

You will find 2800 series routers to be very expensive. You should be fine with 2600 and 3600s for the routing. Switching I would pick up a 2950 and maybe a few older 2924XLs on the cheap. You can find the 2924xl series on ebay for $50 or less. You'll need to get at least one 2620/21 to get 100Mb FE ports, the 2610/11 don't have FE and you can't do VLAN trunking with regular 10Mb ethernet.
 
Captain Colonoscopy said:
You will find 2800 series routers to be very expensive. You should be fine with 2600 and 3600s for the routing. Switching I would pick up a 2950 and maybe a few older 2924XLs on the cheap. You can find the 2924xl series on ebay for $50 or less. You'll need to get at least one 2620/21 to get 100Mb FE ports, the 2610/11 don't have FE and you can't do VLAN trunking with regular 10Mb ethernet.
Click to expand...

He'll definitely find that the 2800 series routers are expensive - particularly because they are still one of Cisco's flagship remote-site routing products, and can hold a full internet BGP table.

I would suggest against any 2900 series switch as they have been end of life for a long, long time now. The only exception would perhaps be the 1000-base SX version they released some years back.

I typically recommend to anyone interested in setting up a Cisco lab, that they procure, at very least, a 3550 or 3560, as they support enough feature to get you through the CCNP exams.
 
BakedA|aska said:
I would suggest against any 2900 series switch as they have been end of life for a long, long time now. The only exception would perhaps be the 1000-base SX version they released some years back.

I typically recommend to anyone interested in setting up a Cisco lab, that they procure, at very least, a 3550 or 3560, as they support enough feature to get you through the CCNP exams.
Click to expand...

I only suggest the 2900s because they are cheap and are good enough for a CCNA lab. I wouldn't want one of those in any production environment because they are EOL. the 3550 and 3560 are still pretty expensive, too. :D
 
I used a combo of Packet Tracer 5 and real equipment. I bought real routers because PT5 didn't have the entire command list that a real router had to follow the labs I had. PT5 I really only used for fast lab builds and VTP labs with switches because I couldn't readily find switches cheap enough to fit into my budget. The 3550's you can get some off Ebay for around $250 if you really look. Some with 1 year warranties from the sellers. The 3560's though, are almost double the 3550's in most cases.
 
mssodin28 said:
Hey guys, I have been looking at all your Cisco labs and networks at your homes.

My question is where can I acquire a cheap rack chassis, and a few cisco hardware.

and I am going for my CCNA certification and also what to know, what do you guys use the labs for?
Click to expand...
jesus, another one of these threads....... Its truly a shame there is still NOT a stickey addressing the consistent Cisco questions myself and a few others CONSTANTLY answer.

To your question, it depends mssodin, if you're going to peruse other Cisco certification after the CCNA. If you're going to go for the CCDA,CCNP,CCDP, or even the CCIE you're going to want to buy equipment to accommodate it. My recommendation is this, don't waste your money on the real Cisco router hardware. Buy a decent server(or use one that you have already) and stuff it full of network cards. Buy 2-4 Cisco 3550's on ebay(or atleast one and two other dirt cheap 2950s) and connect them to the computer. Run DYNAGEN, not GNS3, DYNAGEN.. on linux. I can load up around 40 routers at one time on my server(granted, its a beast) but still.... 40!

Let me repeat, GO WITH Dynagen:) , unless you want a limited lab and a crappy electric bill when you begin to add more routers.
 
xphil3 said:
jesus, another one of these threads....... Its truly a shame there is still NOT a stickey addressing the consistent Cisco questions myself and a few others CONSTANTLY answer.
Click to expand...

It's a been about 2 months or so :p

A dynagen setup also implies that you have access to the IOS images. Yes I know there are ways to 'get' them, but has Cisco made any kind of stand on Dynagen labs and access to the IOS images? I can't just go to their site and download their images without an account.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top