Big networking help/information/request :) (warning: wall of text)

[hellarda]

Morning,

I have been thinking about wanting to set up a proper networking/AD lab for me to play around with at home. Now I know most of you are just going to say 'you don't need that, its complete overkill blah blah' but yes it is overkill, but I won't actually be 'using' it, it will just be for testing and for me to experiment on and just have a play around

The reason I want to do this, is because networking is something I am really interested in and it is one of my 'options' for the future Still, being 16 I don't have lots of money to invest in this like I would like too (a couple of Dell SAN's would be nice but rather expensive ), However as long as I get something useful out of doing this (qualifications maybe CCNA?) then my parents are prepared to put a little money into it for me (i think ) I should imagine around ~£200-£250, however this is not definite so as cheap as chips if pos

So what I have at the moment:

Networking:
Billion 7800N Router
Cisco Linksys SPS2024 24-Port 10/100/1000 Gigabit SP Managed Switch.
HP ProCurve 1410-8G Switch

PC's
My main gaming rig.
Family PC
Sisters Laptop
Old Gaming rig (supports Vt-x)
Old Dell Dimension (64 bit does not support VT-x)

Server's
Dell Poweredge 2850 (4gb RAM two 3ghz xeons 64-bit does not support VT-x)
Intel SR3200 Chassis with an intel server board (4gb RAM two 2.4Ghz xeons 32-bit only)
Custom AMD server box (4gb RAM (can add another 4gb if needed though) supports 64-bit and AMD-v)

Storage
HP Storageworks EK 1502 Enclosure with 13x 73gb no array configured yet.
Have some other HDD's lying around which I could use, but not many.

Now I need to leave one machine running WHS for the family backups of My rig, the family pc, and sisters laptop. Currently I have it running on my old gaming rig but could change that if necessary.

Basically what I want to have is a completely separate network for me to fiddle around with. So I'd have one network for all the family stuff so sisters laptop, family pc, whs server. And then have another network for me to test with which would have access to everything else. Also to make it possible to have my gaming rig as part of both networks?

Up until now I have been looking on the fleabay for any cheap switches/routers/servers/hdd's etc I have also asked my dad if his work are upgrading/throwing anything out that I would be able to have, but i'm not very hopeful as their IT department aren't very big.

But I don't really know what I need to buy, I would like to get some cisco stuff, but I don't know what exact kit would be a good starting point.

I also really want to experiment with SANs etc but obviously I won't be able to unless I can find it cheaply somewhere...

Anyways, some questions for this amazing community

What kit would be a good starting point to buy? (cisco, routers, switches, firewalls, sans etc etc)
Does anyone know any good resources to teach myself how to use cisco gear?
How would I manage to setup the two networks?
If anyone has any old networking equipment they don't need and would like me to take it off their hands would ofc be happy to pay postage ))) (mods sorry if I am not allowed to ask that here, will delete if so.)

think that's it.

Will probably think of some more things later

Cheers guysss

 

[hellarda]

cheers for the replies guys.

I don't exactly know what I want, I guess I sort of want to do both cisco stuff and Server/AD things.

I had a look at the CompTIA N+ and started trying to get my head around subnetting and now have completely forgotten it

I would love to do a proper course, however I am (aslong as I get 6B's at results day which I should) going to continue at my school to do A levels, and my school do not offer anything like that. I could do ICT A2 level (already done AS) but I don't really want to learn how to use powerpoint... and my teacher was terrible for the AS course last year... :/ Also seeing as I am doing 4 possibly 5 AS's (Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Music Technology and possibly Geography) I doubt I will have much time to do another course. So I think going down the self taught route would be the only way

which CCNA/Comptia N+ books are good?
Would the MCITP be worth doing?

ta

 

[hellarda]

Subnets in theory are a lot more complicated than they ever will be in the real world.
The problem with theory is that you're rarely given any numbers to work with, where as in real life you do. Yeh they seemed very complicated in the guide I was looking through... :S

The official CCNA books published by Cisco are the best ones to get, and serve as useful reference material for when you need to do things at work. Saying that, most of the 'how to' guides are scattered around on Cisco's site anyway.
MCITP is worth taking but not very useful without experience of AD, simply because the concepts would generally be alien to you.

Well I have had an AD Domain setup at home with two DC's and was trying to get stuff working, by just fiddling around with it, but I sort of gave up as it become difficult to get it to work etc :/

If you're not going to be looking for a job, then don't bother with a CCNA. You'll end up having to retake it after 3 years (I think?) to get recertified.

hmm, yes but it could be useful for getting a job while at uni or something... I dunno

The computing routes in schools / education tend to focus on software and development - not something it sounds like you're interested in.
Definitely do physics and maths, both of these help with IT and understanding concepts like WDM ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavelength-division_multiplexing ) for example.

Yeh exactly, and no I'm definitely not interested in the software side, just doesn't really do anything for me. Yeh that was my thinking... hmm yeh that looks interesting