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August 9, 2006
Ideal CCNA Lab Setup
Many of my CCNA-desiring friends have asked me if I could create a post that shows the ideal budget-conscious "study-lab" to prepare for the CCNA exam. Here's my suggestion:
The minimal equipment that I would purchase for the lab is as follows:

Here's the breakdown (prices updated 5.2008):
-Cisco 2514 router (two serial / two ethernet) with 16Mb Flash and 16Mb Ram ($20.00 - $45.00 Ebay price)
-Cisco 2900XL switch ($20.00 - $40.00 Ebay price); 1912 if your really budgetting ($5.00 - $15.00 Ebay price)
-Cisco 2501 router (two serial / one ethernet) with 16Mb Flash and 16Mb Ram ($15.00 - $35.00 Ebay price)
-Crossover serial cable ($5.00 - $20.00 Ebay price)
While this configuration is not the ideal, it will allow you to practice just about any CCNA-level concept you'd like. I'd recommend configuring it just as shown in the diagram (route your Cable/DSL home connection through the 2514) so you can practice NAT. The price differences for the equipment depends on your Ebay savvy-ness.
My recommended setup is just *slightly* more expensive (okay, maybe a little more than slightly), but will allow you to have 100Mbps connectivity to test inter-vlan routing configurations:
-Cisco 2621 router (two fast ethernet ports) with 16Mb Flash and 32Mb Ram ($150.00 - $250.00 Ebay price)
-Cisco 2900XL switch ($20.00 - $40.00 Ebay price)
-Cisco 1721 router (one fast ethernet) with 16Mb Flash and 32Mb Ram ($55.00 - $75.00 Ebay price)
-Crossover serial cable ($5.00 - $20.00 Ebay price)
-Two WIC-1T Serial modules for the routers ($25.00 - $75.00 Ebay Price)
This setup will allow you to move into the CCNP track with ease. Hope this helps!!!
Posted by JC at August 9, 2006 4:31 PM
Comments
I know the cisco 7200 emulator isn't a 2600 but if you can get hold of an IOS to boot it with, it should do similar. Still doesn't give you the switch capability but may be worth considering anyway.
Posted by: AC at August 9, 2006 6:54 PM
Yep. Good point - refer to this prevous post for more info on the 7200 Emulator.
Posted by: Jeremy at August 10, 2006 11:40 AM
awesome! I was looking for something like this.. I have the lab and all of the PCs I need; I wasn't sure what equipment I needed, can't wait to set it up.
Posted by: Rob in Ottawa at August 20, 2006 1:15 PM
Hi Jeremy,
Saw the diagram, thought it was very straight forward and just what i needed to start my ccna, so i bought both your books from Amazon!!
With the diagram in hand i found this guy from the UK in Ebay who sells put together kits for CCNA, etc. Link below... You think it would be ok?
Anyway nice mailling you and looking forward to the books!!
Posted by: David Jackson at December 13, 2006 10:51 AM
I'm getting rid of my lab if anyone's interested, auction ends Monday I think
http://cgi.ebay.ca/8-cisco-routers-complete-Cisco-lab-for-CCNA-CCNP-study_W0QQitemZ200068278603QQihZ010QQcategoryZ67317QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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I have the same problem as Philip. The extension worked for two days, after that it will clear the window and not display anything. I tried to uninstall mozilla, delete the profile and extensions and reinstall, but no luck :(
Posted by: software reviews at March 12, 2007 9:46 AM
Hi All
One thing I am confused about is does it matter what ADSL modem you put in front of the 2621?
I want DMZ features because I want ISA, Citrix etc. out there so does the 2621 support a separate dmz interface i.e. IOS 12.4 and do I need anything special on the ADSL modem to enable that?
Posted by: Kevin at April 20, 2007 6:05 PM
thank you for providing detail information .
Posted by: irfan khan at April 23, 2007 3:54 AM
Hi Jeremy,
I went to your CCNA training class in March (gush, it's May already). As I sit down reviewing the instruction material, I realized I don't have the answers for some lab assignments, as well as some other questions in the teaching material. Is there an answer sheet that match the instruction book?
I have a specific question related to lab 2B (it's actually a generic question): for a subnet connecting two routers, I take the mask has to be /29. I don't think it can be /30. For that will only leave one usable host IP besides network ID, and broadcast. Is that correct?
Another generic question: given a mask and an IP class, the number of subnets can be uniquely determined. Is that true?
For example, given mask /25,
then for class A, only the 1st octet is fixed, therefore there are 17 bits in the network mask can change in the IP address, therefore, there are 2 ** 17 = 131 072 subnets
for class B, there will be 2 ** 9 = 512 (9 bits in mask can change for the network)
for class C, only two (1 bit can change)
your comments (or anybody else's) would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: Yuan at May 5, 2007 3:27 PM
Hi Jeremy,
This is Yuan again. In my previous post, I mentioned /30 mask has only 1 available host IP, that's totally wrong on my part. It should have 6. I mis-counted one bit. You may want to delete my posts, so nobody will get confused. Sorry about that.
Posted by: Yuan at May 5, 2007 4:36 PM
Hi Jeremy,
This is Yuan again. In my previous post, I mentioned /30 mask has only 1 available host IP, that's totally wrong on my part. It should have 6. I mis-counted one bit. You may want to delete my posts, so nobody will get confused. Sorry about that.
Posted by: Yuan at May 5, 2007 4:37 PM
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Please feel free to contact me on +31616475456 or email me.
I understand that it is hard to find qualified people but I find it sincerely regrettable that delinquence and juvenility is now part of your respectable company's fabric.
Regards,
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Posted by: Bara' Jomaa at June 21, 2007 10:45 AM
That good ! Check more at
Posted by: hoanginlove81 at June 25, 2007 6:52 AM
Hi Jeremy,
Ive been studying your CBT Nuggets BSCI video and just wanted to say thats its a great video and really helps me to understand all of the concepts. I save money by building all of your labs in Dynamips w/Dynagen and everthing matches up the same with the results.
Just wanted to say thank You
Gavin
Posted by: gavin at November 3, 2007 8:46 AM
Jeremy,
What do you think about getting a Cisco 871 instead of the 1721 router for the *slightly* more expensive Lab?
Would that be enough even for a CCNP track?
Posted by: Nish Vamadevan at March 31, 2008 6:32 AM
I like to say that I click on those link and its not working. When I clicked it opens an Ebay site advertising some music CD. Some body need to updated.
Posted by: Edwin VEGA at May 12, 2008 5:11 PM
Try this site which offer many cisco ccna practice exams.
Posted by: Cisco CCNA at May 22, 2008 7:12 PM
Hi JC,
i would like to build a lab environment. Currently I am almost done with ONT (CCNP), but I would love to do CCVP and so on.
What do you think about the new 1861 routers? 3 of them and a few phones, Wic's, an advanced IOS, 2 x Cisco Webcams, Wireless accesspoint, cabels...
Posted by: Frank at May 27, 2008 12:22 PM
yes i would like to set up a lab. can you tell me how much will it cost ? and where can i get it from at best price?.
thank you
sajeed.p.a
Posted by: SAJEED.P.A at August 11, 2008 6:25 AM
Hi Jeremy,
What do you think about an ideal CCSP lab setup? Can I get a piece of your advise please? =-)
Posted by: Squash at September 29, 2008 4:17 AM
Hi,
I am trying to reach the webmaster of this blog to ask if he will do a review of my Cisco certification support site http://www.howtonetwork.net
I wonder if you can contact me at help@howtonetwork.net
Many thanks
Paul
Posted by: Paul at November 18, 2008 2:28 AM
hi jermy,
could please suggest me which hardware di u need to practice CCNP and as well as CCIE routing and switching. and i get them cheaper.
thank you
Posted by: venkat at February 4, 2009 12:53 AM
hello
Posted by: nazmi at February 21, 2009 3:26 AM
So considering you posted this almost three years ago, would you still suggest the same models for someone working towards certification today?
Posted by: JE at March 26, 2009 10:57 AM
Hi, JC -
Suppose I can also ask what you think about this lab towards certification today?
Thanks!
Posted by: Dan at July 8, 2009 1:30 AM
Nazmi,
Here is a very detailed lab suggestion article that is up to date. I hope this helps.
http://www.ciscokits.com/cisco-lab-suggestions/
Ron
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Posted by: Reennargo at January 9, 2010 4:13 PM
Even Cisco routers 2500 series appear to be enough for studying to the ccna exam, but I think that Cisco routers 2600xm series are highly recommended because they offer wide range of features. Additionally, they can be used to build CCNP/CCIE labs.
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Posted by: ApellVogalmog at January 15, 2010 4:47 PM
Dear Jeremy,
First of I would like to thank you for the wonderful contribution that you have done to give us back the joy of networking!
Now I did a lot of search to find out which CBT nugget you talked about access server (the one you use to jump between routers) but in vain.
I now have almost all of your CBT nuggets but could not figure out which nugget has that information.
Could you please help me out?
Thanks
Sriram
P.S: I hope I will get an email once you give me a response cos its tough to keep track of this blog all the time.
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