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Cisco Certification: Suggested Toplogies For Your Home CCNA / CCNP Lab |
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When you make the decision to put your own home lab together
for your CCNA and CCNP studies (a very wise decision, if I
may say so!), the hardest part is figuring out how to spend
your budget. Do you spend it all on the routers and go with
a cheaper 1900 switch, knowing that the 640-801 (CCNA), 640-821
(Intro), and 640-811 (ICND) exams now place a premium on knowing
the ins and outs of a 2950 switch? Do you buy a frame relay
switch? Do you buy an access server?
One factor to keep in mind when you're starting to put your
lab together is that you don't have to put it all together
at one time. With some careful planning, you've got a lab
that you can use for your Intro studies, perhaps add a router
or two for ICND study, and then some more devices for your
CCNP study.
Of course, it also depends on your budget. If you've got
upwards of $500 to spend, great! If you don't, that's okay.
The key is that you're going to work with the real deal instead
of simulation programs. And remember that you can always sell
the equipment when you've achieved your certification goals.
You're basically renting the equipment and then passing it
on to another CCNA or CCNP candidate.
Let's take a look at several different toplogies, from basic
to more advanced.
One router. You'll have to keep the configurations pretty
basic, but getting started with one router is still a start.
You can practice setting passwords (and password recovery,
perhaps!) and become acquainted with the hardware. You can
practice setting the hostname and working with many global
configuration commands. There are obvious limitations, but
the big plus here is that you've gotten started working with
real Cisco equipment.
Two routers. You can do more with two routers than you might
think. Make sure the first two routers you buy have serial
interfaces. You can then purchase a DTE/DCE cable and practice
working with directly connected serial interfaces. This is
a valuable skill to have on your Intro and ICND exams. You
can put PPP on the direct connection and practice working
with PAP and CHAP, not to mention the vital troubleshooting
command debug ppp negotiation.
Two routers, one switch. Your first two routers should have
serial and ethernet interfaces. You can connect your routers
to the switch via their ethernet interface in addition to
the aforementioned directly connected serial interfaces. You
can create loopback interfaces on both routers and then practice
advertising them via RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, and OSPF. If you can,
make sure to get BRI interfaces on these first two routers
as well. The cost of an ISDN simulator might prevent you from
running ISDN at first, but plan for the future now.
It's best to spring for a 2950 switch if it fits your budget.
That switch has an IOS as opposed to the menu-driven 1900
switches, so the practice will come in handy on exam day.
If you simply can't afford it right now, a 1900 switch is
certainly better than no switch at all!
Three routers, one switch. I would consider using the third
router as a frame relay switch. If your first two routers
each have two serial interfaces, as well as the third one,
you can buy a couple of additional DTE/DCE cables and configure
your own frame relay cloud. The config for a frame relay switch
can be hard to find there is one on my website you're welcome
to.
Four routers, one switch. This setup would allow you to have
three routers communicating via the frame relay cloud, two
routers connecting through their directly connected serial
interfaces, and at least two of the routers communicating
through the switch. Quite a setup! I've got plenty of labs
you can run on such a setup, and you could even create your
own.
Five routers, one switch. At this point, you should consider
an access server as your fifth router. An access server is
a Cisco router with the capability to connect to up to eight
other devices via an octal cable. Not just any Cisco router
can serve as an access server, so make sure the one you buy
for this purpose has the proper async port(s).
An access server prevents you from having to continually
move the rollover cable into the console port of the router
or switch you need to configure. Once you have one, you'll
wonder how you lived without it!
From this point on, you can add a second switch or an ISDN
simulator. The second switch gives you the opportunity to
practice influencing root bridge elections and configuring
VTP an ISDN simulator will give you priceless practice with
ISDN in your home lab. (Don't confuse an ISDN simulator with
a router simulator. An ISDN simulator basically acts as the
phone company in your practice lab.) New ISDN simulators can
run up to $2000 easily there are many used simulators on ebay
and from used Cisco equipment vendors.)
I know exactly what you're going through when you make the
decision to build your own lab I've been there myself. I hope
you've found this article helpful in making a decision on
how to get started. If you have any questions about a network
topology you're considering building, please let me hear from
you at chris@thebryantadvantage.com. I'm glad you've chose
to put together you own CCNA and CCNP home lab, and I'll be
glad to help with any questions you may have.
About the Author:
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage,
home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study
Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. For a FREE copy
of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” and
“How To Pass The CCNP”, visit the website and download
your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam
questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!
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