Help with my Cisco Labs

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

Soldato
Joined
29 Jun 2004
Posts
12,957
In September i'm going to buy my own labs for my CCNA. Nothing over the top, but something to work with. At first, i'll have about £40 - £50 which will hopefully get me my first router and switch. Then onwards, in Sept - Oct i'll be getting more money to buy different parts. And hopefully, a 6u cabinet too.

Right now, i've been looking at Cisco 2500 and 1600 routers. The 1600 are dirt cheap and can probably buy two of these, if not three. The 2500s I believe are far more powerful however, cost £30 - £40.

Im undecided on the Catalyst Switches as I don't know which to go for.

I'm also faced with another problem. Labs like these:

ciscoro1.jpg


Now, I only have one computer at home. How will I tackle the problem of getting the other two? I can't afford two other computers or laptops. One thing I thought was buying three serial to USB adapters for the console cables. Also, having three NICs. I've got two NICs onboard on my motherboard, I can buy another (they're dirt cheap nowadays). Will this idea work?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks :)
 
Nope. Sorry mate. Thanks for the reply but i'm not interested in sims. I can't learn by readin. I learn by doing. By setting up pieces of equipment, checking status lights etc. Although, admitidlly, most of it is reading from a hyperterminal session.
I need something physical.

If anyone else wants to reply feel free to :)
 
I'm unsure about VLANs. Hopefully i'll learn that later in the CCNA! I'm not up to VLANs yet.

What's this virtual machines then?

Edit: Been reading VMWares website, and i've been looking at the VMPlayer, free edition. I read that, if i've interpreted carefully, that I can asssign different NICs to different Virtual Machines which'll help me in my labs. However, does this free version allow me to mimmick three different workstations at the same time?
 
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I'll look into that when my CCNA allows me to.

Thanks for your advice.

Now all I need to do is look into the equipment. I'm only a student with limited funds, so, would a 1600 series router suffice for my CCNA?
 
Nope. Haven't a clue how to do it.
I just downloaded it though. It looks okay.
When I installed it, it was complaing it's not on a server OS (Windows XP). However, it seems to work fine :)

I quickly created a Virtual PC, And named it Windows XP nVidia (for the nVidia Ethernet adapter). However, when I started the virtual machine it says no OS was detected :eek: Do I need to install Windows XP on each Virtual Machine? :eek:

And how did you add the individual ethernet ports?

Thanks for the help mate.

Edit: E-Mail in trust if it saves you time mate. I'll check back tomarrow morning :)
 
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Cheers for the help. I've got 1Gb RAM, and will allocate 256Mb RAM to each VM, thus leaving me 256MB left in real time Windows.

I have a feeling this is going to be hard :eek:

Edit: How do I mount a Windows XP ISO? :p (I have the Windows XP CD)
 
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Which means I'll have to allocate more than 1Gb per machine as I have.
Okay, i'll allocate 8Gb to each machine.

What software would you recommend I make the ISO with?
I was thinking nLite.

Edit: Mr. Shark. I've tried the simulators. They're not my cup of tea. The way I learn is by touching and feeling (no sick thoughts there boys! ;) ) Thus, I need some routers and switches next to me :)
 
Beautiful. I've got it working! I've got Windows XP installed on the VM. All I need to do is allocate individual NICs and away I go with my labs!

Thanks for all your support and help.


All I need to do now is decide on my kit.

Edit: I was advised to install VM Tools on each OS. Where can I find VM tools?

Edit 2: http://www.vmware.com/support/ws4/doc/new_guest_tools_ws.html is this it?

Edit 3: I read the link. I've got it installed. And I LOVE VMWare :D
 
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I don't have money to spend each hour mate. I'm going to buy my labs slowly one step at a time. The first 2 weeks i'll buy a router and switch. Then, as money progresses, another two routers and switches to complete my lab. Thanks for the offer.
I've made my final decision and it's going to be the actual labs.

I'm having trouble assigning each individual NIC to an OS. I've followed what growse said.

growse said:
Once you've done that for the 3 virtual computers you need (installing VMWare tools on each OS is a good idea as well), you need to 'assign' each vm to a nic. First, edit the settings of each vm to set the ethernet connection to "custom". Set the first vm to VMnet1, the second to VMnet2 etc. Then, go "Host"->"Virtual Network Settings"->"Host Virtual Network Mapping". Here you should see a list of each VMnet adaptor, and a dropdown box next to each one. Assign each physical nic on the host to each VMnet.
Click to expand...
 
Update 30-09-06

I've managed to acquire the following:
D-Link DES-818 Switch (free)
D-Link DES-810 Switch (free)
Cisco 2501 Router (£30)


ciscolabs001mediumhw0.jpg


ciscolabs004mediumui7.jpg


So far, i'm a happy bunny. Those D-Link switches will go as soon as I need a managed switch (edit: as soon as I need a Cisco Catalyst) :)
Hopefully, i'll be getting a Cisco 2514 in a few weeks.
 
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