Today, I'm going to wrap up the bigger picture of the three options for a CCNA lab. You might recall from early last week, I blogged about the first of 3 options for your CCNA lab, at least the router part:
1) Cheap, CCNA-only: 2 older model routers, plus cables
2) Tight budget, 3 router, some upgrade path
3) Good prep for CCNP next, without going overboard
Today, I'll get to the details on the other two options.
First, my suggested topology for options 2 and 3 are the same - three routers, with a need for 2 serial and 1 LAN interface per router. The following figure shows the basics, and how I'd probably leave it cabled most of the time - ignoring the switches for the time being.
Obviously, you'll need 3 routers - but which ones? Well, I've updated a table from a few weeks ago, this time in also include the 2520 model router, which I'm going to include in both my samples for options 2 and 3.
So, for option 2, I'll pick the following:
* 2520 (quantity 1)
* 2501 (quantity 1)
* 3640 (quantity 1)
The reasoning is that while the 2520 can't run the latest IOS versions, it does have 4 serial ports, and does not require an external Ethernet transceiver (cost savings). So, when you decide to study for CCNP, you can use the 2520 permanently as your Frame Relay switch, with 4 ports, which is probably enough. I chose the 2501 just to keep the cost down - boy, is it cheap! I chose the 3640 so that you could at least have 1 router with the most recent IOS version, just in case. The 3640 is the least expensive option (at least for the models I checked, when I checked), so that keeps cost down a little, and the WIC-2T can be used across most of Cisco's product line. Here's the parts list:
* 1 2501 router ($25)
* 1 2520 router ($125)
* 1 3640, WIC-2T, NM-1FE2W ($400)
* 1 back-back serial (DB-60/DB-60) cable ($10)
* 2 back-back serial (DB-60/Smart serial) cables ($20)
* 1 console cable (free with router probably)
* 3 AC power cables (free with router probably)
* 1 Ethernet transceiver (for 2501) ($20)
* 3 Ethernet cables (crossovers, if using as shown in the following figure) ($30)
This lab totals $630, with the 3640 being the majority of that cost.
Finally, for the 3rd option, I'd use the same basic choices, except I'd replace the 2501 with either:
* An 2610 non-XM
* An 1841
The 2610 has appeal for 2 reasons: even though it doesn't support the most recent IOS versions, it does support frame-mode MPLS. For example, when I built my lab network to create the MPLS chapter for my CCIE R/S Written exam cert guide, I used old (cheap) 2610's as the PE's, and my nice new 1841's as the PE routers. So, it's probably worth the extra $75 for the 2610 instead of a 2501. Also, the WIC-2T in the 2610 can at least be used in other newer routers down the road, which gives us a little bit of an upgrade path.
The 1841 has appeal for many reasons, with the primary reason being that of all the router models I've examined in the blog, the 1841 is the most likely router to still support the more recent IOS versions 2-3 years down the road. If I had to guess, I'd bet 2600-XM's won't support 12.5 mainline (down the road), but 1841's will. It's just a bigger bump in cost.
So, to be complete, here's the part list for option 3:
* 1 2610 non-XM router ($100), or 1841 ($650)
* 1 2520 router ($125)
* 1 3640, WIC-2T, NM-1FE2W ($400)
* 1 back-back serial (Smart serial) cable ($10)
* 2 back-back serial (DB-60/Smart serial) cables ($20)
* 1 console cable (free with router probably)
* 3 AC power cables (free with router probably)
* 3 Ethernet cables (crossovers, if using as shown in the following figure) ($30)
That totals $685 (2610, option 3A) or $1235 (1841, option 3B), with the 1841's cost being roughly half of the entire lab purchase for option 3B.
So, what's that give us? Here's a summary of the progression of prices and the changes relative to the previous option:
Option 1: $210 (2 routers, 2 serial links)
Option 2: $630 (adds 1 more router, latest IOS in 1 router, better FR switch for future)
Option 3A: $685 (replaces 2501 with MPLS P router capable 2610 non-XM)
Option 3B: $1235 (replaces 2610 non-XM with still-production 1841, with 2 routers running the latest IOS versions)
Next week, it's on to LAN switches, and possibly an end to the CCNA lab talk for a bit.
Odom, CCIE No, 1624, splits time between writing books for Cisco Press and teaching classes for Skyline ATS. In his 25-ish years in the networking industry, he has worked as as a pre-sale and post-sale SE for a few networking vendors, as well as a network engineer implementing network technology. Wendell has spent the majority of the last 15 years teaching, consulting, and writing about networking technologies, most of which in some way relate to Cisco products. His books include titles on QoS, CCIE R/S, as well as several titles related to CCNA certification, including the September 2007 book CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802) (Read a sneak peek of chapter 7). Click for the list of current titles by Wendell.
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re: a few more questions
Hi Wendell,
Thank you again for your awesome blog - incredibly timely (especially in my case) and very informative. I have a few questions for you.
1) I'm looking at a few 3640 routers - one has a a NM1E2W module. I read on Cisco's site that the NM-1E2W (note "E" not "FE") does not support WIC 2T'S or WIC 2 A/S cards. Does this pan out as true in your experience?? If it is true, are there comparable WICs you would recommend instead, or should I hold out for a NM-1FE2W module? Also - do you have any feelings on a WIC 2T vs a WIC 2A/S?
2) You replied to my last (and first) question (about recommended IOS packages) that the Cisco 12.4 Advanced Security Package will provide the full feature set required for the 4 CCNP exams. My qestion is a two-parter (possibly more parts as I continue typing - but we'll see); 1) Do you still think that the Advanced Security Package provides everything needed for the CCNP (BGP, IDS, Firewall, MPLS, etc)? and 2) How many of the routers that I purchase (or anyone for that matter) for a home lab for CCNP study would you recommend have that IOS and Feature set? Because I can't imagine that one router running BGP would have a very interesting time doing so if nothing else connected to it was able to run that routing protocol.
3) The CCNP self-study book for the BCSI recommends a home lab setup that contains 11 routers. Granted 4 routers in Pod A and 4 routers in Pod B are carbon copies of each other, but even if we take 1 pod out, we're still left with 7 routers. 7 and 3 are pretty far apart. If one was on a limited budget but wanted to follow the exercies and configuration in the book - which routers would you recommend excising? Would you make the pod only 2 routers and keep the 3 backbone routers, or something else? How much of their network can we cut out and still get the meat of the matter, in your opinion?
Thank you for your patience with this long (winded-heh) question, and for your help. I look forward to your reply, and to your future blogs!
Cheers!
Jim Woodward
Attempts to answer
Jim,
You could take over for me writing - you can fill up some space! ;0
1) Post a link on the ref that you think means "no WIC-2T in the NM-1E2W". However, I see references like this one (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/hw/routers/ps259/products_tech_note09186a00800ad3cc.shtml that shows the supported routers and IOS revs, which can be useful to check. But there's nothing there that implies anything about the WICs supported. I personally would just get the WIC-2T's, but that's probably just old habit - my recollection is that the A/S's can't run at faster clock rates, which may not matter for a lab - except if you want to drive traffic for QoS testing.
2) The same IOS all over does help, but I'd imagine you could get by testing most security features with 2 routers with that IOS. If the rest supported all the other features - probably true of an IP Plus feature set. I'm not going to have time to really research CCNP for a while, that's about all I can give you at this point.
3) Give me a link to the book you're talking about, and I can take a look. It's likely that the lab was a replica of either 1) the author's home lab, or 2) the lab used for a class, and they were using the class lab. However, most books are not written in order to make it convenient to do the exact same thing on your own gear. But I'll get a copy and look at it if you'll tell me which book.
Hope this helps!
Wendell
re: Your Answers
Hi Wendell,
Thank you so much for your reply. The link re: NM-1E2Ws and NM-2E2Ws is here:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps274/products_tech_note09186a00800b0858.shtml
The text in question is below the table almost at the bottom:
" The NM-1E2W, NM-1E1R2W, and NM-2E2W Network Modules do not have enough performance power to support the WIC-2T due to hardware limitations. "
The book is this one:
http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=1587052237
I'm off today to pick up 2 3640 routers w/1 NM-2E2W and 1 WIC 2 A/S each. I can always pick up an NM-FE2W w/WIC 2Ts later if I need (I'll have 3 empty slots).
Thanks again for your help.
Sincerely,
Jim Woodward
re: a few more questions
Hi Wendell,
Thank you again for your awesome blog - incredibly timely (especially in my case) and very informative. I have a few questions for you.
1) I'm looking at a few 3640 routers - one has a a NM1E2W module. I read on Cisco's site that the NM-1E2W (note "E" not "FE") does not support WIC 2T'S or WIC 2 A/S cards. Does this pan out as true in your experience?? If it is true, are there comparable WICs you would recommend instead, or should I hold out for a NM-1FE2W module? Also - do you have any feelings on a WIC 2T vs a WIC 2A/S?
2) You replied to my last (and first) question (about recommended IOS packages) that the Cisco 12.4 Advanced Security Package will provide the full feature set required for the 4 CCNP exams. My qestion is a two-parter (possibly more parts as I continue typing - but we'll see); 1) Do you still think that the Advanced Security Package provides everything needed for the CCNP (BGP, IDS, Firewall, MPLS, etc)? and 2) How many of the routers that I purchase (or anyone for that matter) for a home lab for CCNP study would you recommend have that IOS and Feature set? Because I can't imagine that one router running BGP would have a very interesting time doing so if nothing else connected to it was able to run that routing protocol.
3) The CCNP self-study book for the BCSI recommends a home lab setup that contains 11 routers. Granted 4 routers in Pod A and 4 routers in Pod B are carbon copies of each other, but even if we take 1 pod out, we're still left with 7 routers. 7 and 3 are pretty far apart. If one was on a limited budget but wanted to follow the exercies and configuration in the book - which routers would you recommend excising? Would you make the pod only 2 routers and keep the 3 backbone routers, or something else? How much of their network can we cut out and still get the meat of the matter, in your opinion?
Thank you for your patience with this long (winded-heh) question, and for your help. I look forward to your reply, and to your future blogs!
Cheers!
Jim Woodward
cisco certification path
i want to appear for ccna exam, can u help me to achive my goal in every aspect. i want to apply for cisco systems how can i. plz help me in this matter. i am frm India. how u reply soon.
Getting a job doing Cisco stuff
Dinesh,
Certainly, getting 1 or more Cisco certs help you get a job, but that's just one aspect. Anything you can do to get real experience with the gear can help as well. Of course, that's often a problem in any new career - how do you get the job that gives you the right experience, when it's hard to get the job in the first place? That's not a question for which I have a good answer.
As for getting CCNA, there are a lot of resources available. I'm a bit biased that the Cisco Press CCNA Exam Cert Library (2 book set) is particularly useful for getting both the CCENT and CCNA. I think the money on the at least 2 router pod I described a few posts back is worth the money, especially for people new to Cisco. Or, a simulator product can be useful as well (Cisco Press sells Boson's simulator for a reasonable price.) But if you dig in and read the books, try everything you can with the gear and/or simulator, and really focus on the troubleshooting sections of the books, then you'll be as well prepared as you can be without getting to use the products in a real network.
As for how to get the job, I'm probably not the right guy to ask - you might want to post on Brad Reese's blog. He runs a job/recruiting/careers site for Cisco folks.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Wendell
Knowing what I know now
If I knew what I know now
I would have primarily spent money on nothing but 3640's.
4 Modules
Does VOIP
Does MPLS CE AND PE
Does all the security you can do until you move into PIX/ASA territory
Price competitive compared to 2600XM's and 2800 ISR's both of which you still have to buy modules / WIC's for anyway if you want to be doing more than just a little bit of Ethernet Networking.
Still runs the latest IOS.
2600's only have 1 module + 2 WIC slots and the price starts to add up if you have to beef up the Flash/RAM or even worse the boot ROM's
2800's (except 2820's which is ridiculously expensive) only has 2 Module slots at best and is going to cost you a fortune on the grey market
3640's have 4 Module slots and is cheap on the grey market and cheap to upgrade Flash/RAM.
As I said, if I knew then what I know know now, this is what I would have bought.
Equipment list
So, If i were to get my hands on some 3640s, what module model numbers would I want installed in them each and how many? Also is a Cat 2950 switch acceptable if I have two of them? Please let me know so that I can start working my wheeling and dealing.
thanks for everything.
Some suggestions
Hey Glenn,
Closing our Friday with Dixie Dregs REALLY LOUD on the computer stereo... has nothing to do with your post, but hey, it's late on Friday, and my brain is toast!
On the 2950, for CCNA prep, I think a model with the standard image is plenty good. It's cheaper than the standard image models. If you go here
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps628/prod_bulletin09186a00800b3089.html you'll see the list, and be able to check models when shopping.
For 3640's, there's not a lot to look for differently on model numbers. Just go to Ebay and search networking stuff for 3640's, and that's about it. But on the 2950's, the only way to really know which software load is used is to check that list of models.
Hope this helps! HAve a good weekend.
Wendell
Knowing what I know now
If I knew what I know now
I would have primarily spent money on nothing but 3640's.
4 Modules
Does VOIP
Does MPLS CE AND PE
Does all the security you can do until you move into PIX/ASA territory
Price competitive compared to 2600XM's and 2800 ISR's both of which you still have to buy modules / WIC's for anyway if you want to be doing more than just a little bit of Ethernet Networking.
Still runs the latest IOS.
2600's only have 1 module + 2 WIC slots and the price starts to add up if you have to beef up the Flash/RAM or even worse the boot ROM's
2800's (except 2820's which is ridiculously expensive) only has 2 Module slots at best and is going to cost you a fortune on the grey market
3640's have 4 Module slots and is cheap on the grey market and cheap to upgrade Flash/RAM.
As I said, if I knew then what I know know now, this is what I would have bought.