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Cisco CCNA / CCNP Home Lab Tutorial: The (Many) Cable Types And Their Purposes |
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One of the most common questions I get from CCNA and CCNP
candidates who are setting up their own home labs is "What
cables will I need?" The answer is "It depends."
As you know from your exam studies, the physical layout of
your lab is what determines the cables you'll need. Let's
take a look at the most common home lab cable types and when
you will need them.
Straight-through cables have quite a few uses in a CCNA /
CCNP home lab. You'll need them to connect a switch port to
an AUI port on a router (and you'll need a transceiver for
that as well). If you have an ISDN simulator, straight-through
cables can be used to connect a router's BRI port to the simulator.
Crossover cables are used to connect switches and allow them
to trunk. If at all possible, get two switches in your home
lab. This will allow you to gain valuable experience in manipulating
root bridge election, working with STP, and creating EtherChannels.
DTE/DCE cables are used to connect two routers via their
serial cables. If you are planning on using a frame relay
switch in your lab, you'll need several of these. You can
also get some great practice in by directly connecting two
routers and bringing the connection up (and making sure it
stays up!). This is valuable practice for your CCNA exam.
Octal cables are used to connect an access server to each
of the other routers and switches in your lab.
Finally, there's that precious blue cable, the rollover cable.
Rollover cables (sometimes called "rolled cables")
allow you to connect a host device directly to a router or
switch's console port. These cables have a way of disappearing
around an IT shop, so make sure to take one home - and leave
it there!
About the Author:
Article by Chris Bryant.
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| Call 813.852.6400 now for more information to find the best router or switch to best help you with your certification exam. Having "real" hands-on experience is extremely beneficial not just for testing, but also ensures you are actually familiar with the device you are working on.
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