Computer and Technology

A CCNA or CCNP applicant who wants to be completely prepared for their examinations is going to put together a house lab to exercise on.  With used 'cisco' routers and changes more cost-effective and numerous then ever before, there's really no reason to not have one!

With the many different designs available, there is some easy to understand misunderstandings among upcoming CCNAs and CCNPs about which routers to buy and which ones to prevent.  You can take almost any set of 'cisco' routers and put together a house lab; aspect of the studying procedure is getting what devices you have available and placing together your own lab!  For those of you planning to begin your house lab or add to your current one, this content will record the routers I use in my 'cisco' coffee pods.  You certainly don't have to have all this devices, but this provides you with some guidelines on how to get began.

The most flexible wireless router you can get for your CCNA / CCNP home lab is a 2520.  These routers come with four sequential slots, one ethernet slot, and one BRI interface for ISDN exercise.  This mix of connections indicates you can actually use it as a structure communicate change while using the ethernet and BRI slots for redirecting.  (There is no issue with using a lab wireless router as both your structure communicate change and a exercise router; for a structure communicate change example settings, check out my website!)

My coffee pods involve five routers and two changes, and three of the five routers are 2520s, due to their flexibility.  A latest auction web sites look for revealed these routers promoting for $99 - $125, an excellent value for the exercise you're going to get.

I also use 2501s in my house laboratories.  These have less connections, but the mixture of two sequential connections and one ethernet interface allows you to get a lot of exercise.

A mixture that performs very well is using three 2520s; one as my devoted structure communicate change, one as R1, and another as R2.  Add a 2501 as R3, and you can have a structure reasoning linking R1, R2, and R3, a immediate sequential relationship between R1 and R3, an Ethernet area that contains all three routers, and an ISDN relationship between R1 and R2 if you have an ISDN simulation.  That mixture will allow you to get a number of exercise for the examinations, and you can always offer it when you're done!

2501s are very cost-effective, with many in the $50 variety on auction web sites.  It's quite possible to get three 2520s and one 2501 for less than $500 complete, and you can get most of that money-back if you select to offer it when you're done. 

With four routers to perform with, you're probably going to get fed up with shifting that system wire around.  An accessibility hosting server (actually a 'cisco' wireless router, not the white-colored bins we usually think of when we listen to "server") will help you out with that.  An accessibility hosting server allows you to set up a relationship with each of your other routers via an octal wire, which stops you from shifting that system wire around constantly. For an example of an accessibility hosting server settings, just check out my web page and look in the "Free Training" area.

Access hosting server costs differ quite a bit; don't anxiety if you do an auction web sites look for and see them charging lots of cash.  You do NOT need an costly accessibility hosting server for your CCNA / CCNP house lab.  2511s are excellent routers to get for your accessibility hosting server.

One query I get often from CCNA / CCNP applicants is "What routers should I buy that I can still use when I'm prepared to research for the CCNP?"  The CCIE lab changes consistently and sometimes significantly when it comes to the devices you'll need.  During my CCIE lab research, I discovered that leasing time from on the internet holder lease suppliers was actually the best way to go.  Don't think twice when placing your CCNA / CCNP house lab together, thinking what will be appropriate for the CCIE lab a season or so from now.  None of us know what's going to be on that devices record, so get the CCNA and CCNP first - by developing your own 'cisco' house lab!