CCNP Lab Contest: Win a Free Cisco Press Book

As promised, and just for fun, I want to do a contest. There's no one right way to build this CCNP lab we've been discussing for a while, even making lots of assumptions. So, I'm going to offer a few suggestions for each budget range. As usual, you can comment about my choices, tell me what you'd do different, tell me what models/IOS versions/cards might make it better, what models you can get for cheaper, and so on - just like we've been doing. However, for the contest, if you'll take just a little extra effort, you'll have a shot at a free Cisco Press book.

So, here are the rules.

• Sometime between when I post about the $800, $1200, and $1600 lab, you should post your own idea for a CCNP lab that falls within that same budget.
• Last day to post is May 6^th, 2008, nww.com server time.
• You have to make the same assumptions I make in my blog posts about my suggested build lists at those same budgets. Those assumptions include that we all use the prices I put forth, that we use the models in the summary blog posts here and here, and that you reserve the amount of money I state in those blog posts for overhead such as Access Servers, FR switches, and cables.
• You must login at http://www.networkworld.com/ before posting. It's not enough to just supply your name - you must login so we can tell who actually won without letting everyone claim to be the winner.
• You must follow the same general format of my build lists in the upcoming posts, just so I can find the info more easily. Sample below.

For example, maybe in the $800 budget, you might suggest:

• 3 x 2501                                     $75
• 1 x 3640                                    $200
• 1 x 2950 Enhanced image          $250
• 1 x 2950 Standard image           $150
• $100 reserve (required)             $100
• Total:                                         $775

I'll post 1 of them this week, and get the other 2 done the week of April 28^th, and then I'll pick a winner after May 5^th.

I've got a couple of people to help me judge the entries. Again, this is for fun, so the judging will be subjective to some extent. But, we'll consider the following when judging the entries:

• Does it follow the same assumptions made in my blog posts?
• Is it within the stated budget?
• Would the judges pick it instead of the ones Wendell suggested?
• Is there a groundswell of comments from ya'll in the blog saying you like someone's best? (No posting about your own suggestion!)
• Did you offer a good argument why you'd prefer your suggested lab?

The prize is that you get to search http://www.ciscopress.com/, find anything listed that's less than $100, and Cisco Press will send it to you. Thanks to Cisco Press for springing for the freebie! I'll announce the winner after May 6^th.