CCNA/CCNP Home Lab

[Sone]

Doing a CCNA at the minuite and due to the lack of kit at college i am thinking of buying my own. Not sure what to get, what would you guys reccommend?

Thinking of either:
2 x 1600 Routers ~ £40ea
2 x 2500 routers ~ £75ea
2 x 2600 routers ~ £140ea

and either
1 x 1900 switch £40
1 x 2900 switch £??

Want to be able to expand the kit if i decide to do a ccnp, what do you guys think is the best value? and is a switch really required for ccna?

(my current fave is 2 x 2500 and no switch)

 

[Sone]

2500s are pretty decent boxes to learn on especially for the money, you can pick up 2501s off "the auction site" for £40-50. Just make sure it has 12.2t IOS installed. The main problem with 2500s is that they're based on ancient processors and take literally 5 minutes to boot up, 2600s are a lot quicker but are more expensive. If I were you i'd get 3-4 2500s with 12.2t IP Plus IOS. Then go from there. I wouldn't recommend a 1900 for learning the CCNA as the command syntax is very outdated and will confuse you compared to the 2950 commands which is pretty much what they teach. You can get a 2950 off the auction site for around £200-300. Expensive but very versatile.
Good luck in your studies

thnaks for the help, are 2900 series swithes ok? (WS-C2924-XL-EN)

 

[Sone]

CCNA/CCNP Setup

Routers
+ Cisco 2503 Ethernet Router 16D/16F IP Plus 12.3
+ Cisco 2501 Ethernet Router 16D/16F IP Plus 12.3
+ Cisco 2521 Router / Frame Relay Switch 16D/16F IP Plus 12.3

Switches
+Cisco 1900 Switch running Enterprise IOS
+Cisco 1900 Switch running Enterprise IOS

Accessories
+2 x serial DB60-DB60 crossover cables
+4 x cat 5E straight-through cables
+2 x cat 5E crossover cables
+2 x RJ45 / DB9 console cables
+2 x ethernet transceiver for 2501, 2503

All this is avalible as a bundle on the net for £295 + p+p I can mention where but im sure youll figure it out.

Ive bought one and i dont need anything else.

Been talking to that guy, think i am going to buy just a 2501 and 2503 off him. A little pricey but seems far easy than messing about getting everything separtly.

Does the 2521 being token ring cause you any problems?

 

[Sone]

I used 2 2516s and a 1721 with a 2912XL. most expensive bit was the 1721 @ £110 off ebay. They're IOS 12.1 thought. you won't get a 1700 that price with 12.2t. Unless you DL it through Emule or whatever...

decied to get 1 x 2610, 1 x 2501 , 1 x 2503.

Need to get a switch aswell but havent seen many for sale.

How much was the 2912XL?