HP Procurve 4000m

M

m_cochran

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
167
Would this be a good switch to use for learning networking for an enterprise environment?
 
Trying to set up a small network at home with a few computers, looking to learn networking and eventually get my MCITP. My five year goal is to become a system admin at my company. Right now trying to get as much IT experience as I can at home with the different aspects of the field. Right now I am trying to get on in the helpdesk, desktop support, or in the NOC to get my foot in the door for the department.

Why would this switch not be that good, I thought I remember being recommended a Procurve before; plus this one is rather cheap on Ebay right now.
 
I would look for a cheap Cisco 2950-24, you can learn about TCP/IP with it then learn about Cisco IOS as well.
 
No - the management interface isn't similar to any modern hardware. While you could experiment with VLANs and STP, it is running very old software that does not have the featureset of a more modern switch, eg. Procurve 2610 or Cisco 2950 series.
 
I am reading the specs on the 2950 and cannot tell can you use a CLI to manage it with? I read where it said you can use a web browser interface to configure the switch, but I would like to be able to learn the CLI.
 
Jay_oasis said:
2950 is a CCNA quality switch, CLI is the only real way to configure it

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/swi...11_yj4/command/reference/intro.html#wp1020455

setting up Cisco switches from CLI is pretty simple, setting up Cisco routers and firewalls that gets confusing at times.
Click to expand...

I had to use CLI today, to configure one of these beasts :( Wasn't to bad, i thought would be worse.

cisco%20877.jpg
 
Honestly on most networking equipment (HP, Dell, etc; except for Cisco) 95% of what you need to do is in a nice web interface. The only things I have ever needed a CLI for on my Procurve switches is setting up port trunking. If you can't figure out a web interface on a modern switch there is not much is not much help for you. If you want to do so learning pick up a network+ book and read. Cisco is a whole other ball game, but I think you know that already.
 
I have found 2950's and 2600's on Ebay for around the same price, which of the two would be the better choice?
 
Your money would be better spent on books than equipment. Over 75% of what you need to know is in a book or can be simulated without a computer. Buying gear is a trap lots of people fall into because they want something tangible they can touch. Trust me you need to learn a lot before you ever need to play with the gear, it will just collect dust. Also don't but gear because you want to use it at home, you will be less likely to do the network studying you need to do on a switch that is running your home network as the lab work would "break" your home network. I know people who have passed their CCNA without ever touching a real Cisco switch.
 
Given where you are starting from, I'd agree with schnell at this point. Even if you go buy a used switch to play with, at least go buy some reference material to go along with it. Many publishers also have some basic excercises to demonstrate the principles in each chapter as well. Having the reference material on hand can speed up your learning quite a bit.

Side note. the Cisco 2600 is a router, the 2950 is a switch. Two different types of hardware.
 
schnell said:
Honestly on most networking equipment (HP, Dell, etc; except for Cisco) 95% of what you need to do is in a nice web interface. The only things I have ever needed a CLI for on my Procurve switches is setting up port trunking. If you can't figure out a web interface on a modern switch there is not much is not much help for you. If you want to do so learning pick up a network+ book and read. Cisco is a whole other ball game, but I think you know that already.
Click to expand...

seriously, especially the HP switches, no need for the CLI

I think Cisco makes their stuff complicated for no reason other than pushing their certs which is why I only use HP stuff at client sites... plus can't beat that lifetime warranty
 
Cisco 2950 or 2960
HP Procurve 2510, 2650, 2610, and 2824
Dell Powerconnect 5324, 33xx to 35xx

All of these would be good switches to learn, however schnell brings up many good points. If you are a beginner you are not likely to setup a complex home network that would teach you all the things you would need to learn. You are also not going to learn much with a simple switch, and a router / ap combo.

Labs are great, and I was glad to have mine when I was doing my CCNA, then CCNA wireless, however I still did 90% of my studying with the cisco academy books / website and packet tracer.

As a new guy trying to get a foot in the door helpdesk is a good place to do it, but if you want to be a sysadmin / study for your MCITP a better use of your money would be to build an ESX / hyper V server that you can then use to learn server OSes, AD, exchange etc. Those are more valuable skills as a sysadmin then a CCNA. So long as you understand the basic concepts of switching and IP routing that is really all that matters.
 
Nate7311 said:
Side note. the Cisco 2600 is a router, the 2950 is a switch. Two different types of hardware.
Click to expand...

You are right, I am an idiot. Also, on another note, I have a copy of CCNA 1 and 2 Lab Companion to read over as well.
 
I have been reading and looking into installing VMware on my computer I tried the VMware Go option and actually downloading the ESXi .iso file both look like they want to delete my Windows installation in order to install. Is there a different program I should be installing on their website instead?

I use Virtual Box right now, to run a couple of different machines but would really like to use VMware.

On another note, I decided to skip the switch right now and bought Windows Server 2008 inside Out and I am going to download an evaluation copy of Server 2008 to learn on.

I am also looking at getting the MCITP self-study kit that Barnes and Noble has for sale as well.
 
VMware ESX is a hypervisor OS. Meaning it needs to run on dedicated hardware.

Vmware workstation or Virtualbox are what you would want to be using if you want virtualization on top of XP.
 
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