Recommendations for a home CCNA lab

WasteTimeChangingCars

WasteTimeChangingCars

WasteTimeChangingCars

Associate
Joined
2 Mar 2009
Posts
228
Location
republic of Agdgdgwngo
I'm going to be doing my CCNA soon and am wondering what router & switches is the best to get to practise on?

I've seen lots of recommendations, 2500s, 2600s, 800s etc but I'm not sure which one is the best

I’ve seen various lab kits on ebay but as I said haven't got a clue what to get ideally if someone could give me a shopping list that would be grate. I have got the CCNA training dvd by cbt nuggets which I have been studying on and off

Thanks in advance
 
My original lab was 4 x 2500 series of varying models and 2 x 2950. If I did it differently Id keep the 2950s and pick 3 or so 2600s with some WIC-2T serial interfaces. Should sort you out for all you need.

Currently I have the 4 2500s, 2 2950s and 4 2600s with varying WICs and a PIX. Looking at some L3 switches but they are pricey :(

- Pea0n
 
I'm using my 2950s and the 2600s for CCNP although its more important to make sure the IOS can support the required features. I need some L3 switches for some labs but only when I get the cash.

So in answer to that, anything that has serial ports, Fast Ethernet ports and the right software

- Pea0n
 
OK to answer these in order:

Cost wise, I paid about £25 for each of my switches off the bay and at the time between £10 and £30 per 2500 router. Add in the needed cables (console, serial, couple of ethernet ones) and thats another £20 - £30. I think in total I spent about £180 on my original lab, so really not that much. Ive just pickedup 4 x 2600 routers, 3 WIC2Ts and 2 WIC1Ts for £100 and a PIX for £40, luckily this was a bargain but look around and dont make the mistake of buying it all in one go. For a while you can get away with 1 switch and 2 routers, just add a second switch and third router in later and more importantly hold out forthe bargains. One thing I would say is pay very close attention to the IOS revision and features. Buy better buy once :)

Advantage of real life stuff? Lots. You get experience with the hardware, experience of HOW it works rather than just the CLI, chance to see real faults if they happen, access to full range of features and commands. TBH the list goes on. I did a lot of original work on Packet Tracer due to being lazy, but now I dont like it and at best I'll use GNS3 but still prefer to lab it up in phyiscal

- Pea0n
 
Last edited:
if some L3 switches are that cheap, is it best just buying them right off the bat for a CCNA lab and just sticking to their L2 functionality and not touching L3 untill CCNP?

Also, I can't seem to find the old thread but did anyone here ever manage to find the max real world throughput of different routers? It would be nice if I could use the kit for my home internet connection, but it would have to support 20Mb (not so tough) but also be OK for when I upgrade to 50Mb (where I bet most old cisco ebay routers would fail).
 
Last edited:
I'm not sure the 3500 or 3548 are layer 3.

Off the top of my head, there might have been L3 variants, but the majority weren't.

Pretty sure the 3550 and 'up' were layer 3.
 
Pea0n said:
Yes pricey as all the stuffon the bay is +£150, I can't find any near that price. If its else where care to share where?

- Pea0n
Click to expand...

They were all from eBay.

Dist said:
if some L3 switches are that cheap, is it best just buying them right off the bat for a CCNA lab and just sticking to their L2 functionality and not touching L3 untill CCNP?

Also, I can't seem to find the old thread but did anyone here ever manage to find the max real world throughput of different routers? It would be nice if I could use the kit for my home internet connection, but it would have to support 20Mb (not so tough) but also be OK for when I upgrade to 50Mb (where I bet most old cisco ebay routers would fail).
Click to expand...

That's what I did, I just bought all L3 switching.

And yes it was my thread about real world cisco 2600's and VM cable. I get an easy 50Mb throughput with quite a detailed NAT and ACL definition on my 2651XM.

Yamahahahahaha said:
I'm not sure the 3500 or 3548 are layer 3.

Off the top of my head, there might have been L3 variants, but the majority weren't.

Pretty sure the 3550 and 'up' were layer 3.
Click to expand...

All 3500 series were L3. The L2 switch of the era was the 2900 series.
 
paradigm said:
All 3500 series were L3. The L2 switch of the era was the 2900 series.
Click to expand...
I know there was a 2948-L3 switch since we've just torn some out.

Edit: The 3548 isn't a layer 3 switch. https://supportforums.cisco.com/thread/144742?tstart=0&viewcondensed
The 3550 are the first ones references as 'multilayer' so you probably want to look around there Pea0n :)

(And no, I've not found any cheap Layer 3 switches either. New ones from smaller brands are still at least £50/port generally.)
 
Last edited:
I've got two 1600 series routers in a draw that I've never used. Is it worth me using these for a basic CCNA lab, or are they only good for the bin?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom