actually, i'll add more questions to this - how many 2950's would suffice to have a reasonable size lab at home?
and i have access to cisco 800, 1600 and 1700 routers - which of these would be most suited to a lab at home?
Thanks
M
directly_connected
Unregistered
A 1700 series with SDM capabilities or an 800 series with SDM capabilities would be best for a lab these days, as exams include SDM now. Three switches and three routers are best for a lab, as OSPF/EIGRP elections can be seen with 3 routers with debugging, and STP elections (root bridge) can be seen but you need at least 3 switches for this, and 3 routers for elections on routing protocols and such. One of the routers can be a 2503, and you can config it as a frame relay switch, as you could see OSPF behavior across frame links.
Tim
I recommend GNS3 for router emulation. It is a GUI interface that runs on top of Dynagen and Dynamips. It uses the actual router IOS's for 2600's, 3640's, 3660's, and 7200's and supports many of the interfaces like WIC-2T, NM-4T, NM-16esw.... It does full router emulation so you get the full set of commands from the IOS. If you want to run it on XP make sure that you have a machine with plenty of horsepower or it is likely to have interfaces and routes that flap. If you have an older machine, I highly recommend Linux. It uses far less resorces than Windows and I have had almost no problems with it. I also recommend that you use the 3660 routers with NM-... interfaces. Best of luck....
lunchsnotfree
Unregistered
I agree with Ed. GNS3 rocks! I am working on my CCNP and I used it for my CCNA lab practice a lot. It can even connect to your real networks as well as SDM, and it works pretty well for me. There is no other emulator/simulator that is free and better than this, JMO.
