Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Home Lab Flock For fear of the fact Chew over
Voice of your CCNA / CCNP education is deciding what network topology to acquisition when you’re putting together your people’s home lab. Some of you are starting with solitary or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A bloke recently sent me a list of his Cisco routers and switches that he has available by reason of a home lab and asked for my help in coming up with the best feeling to turn to account them.
There is no “favourably” or “err” answer to this question; again, fragment of the information development is configuring and reconfiguring the fleshly topology of your lab. Let’s look at the routers and switches he has at, including the interfaces on each, and meet up up with entire credible CCNA / CCNP home lab setup.
The equipment shopping list:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial seaport and 2 ethernet ports.
At one 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my special favorite in search nursing home labs! These from 1 AUI refuge, 2 serial interfaces, and single BRI interface apiece.
Only 2524 router. This has one serial seaport, 1 ethernet refuge, and one BRI interface.
One 4500 router. This has eight BRI ports, 2 ethernet ports, and more importantly, four serial ports.
He also has a 5200 access server, an ISDN simulator, one 2924 alteration, and only 1924 switch.
Second, if you don’t arrange this much outfit to creation with, don’t horror! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an distress in looking at what you do maintain and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in uncountable of my CCNA / CCNP home lab articles, an access server is a great id‚e fixe to have. All he needs is an octal cable to attach his AS to the other devices we choose to object, and he’s all set. (If you have need of an access server test configuration, there is chestnut on my website in the To the quick Lab section.)
A arrangement relay swap is also inordinate to from, and the 4500 require cause a skilful FR switch. Having a frame relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP bailiwick lab is a superb style to collect common sense configuring and troubleshooting frame relay, an quintessential skill instead of CCNA success.
I would put both of the 3620s on the layout relay cloud via the Serial interface, as well as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that resolve be using mount relay to transmit, and that’s the most we can obtain since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 thinks fitting desideratum to be configured as a enclose relay rechannel and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you need a edging relay beat configuration, the one I put in my pods is on the website in the after all is said place as the access server configuration.)
The two 2503s that are on the schema relay cloud should also be connected via their BRI interfaces. The home lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is necessary to cede to routers to correspond with via their BRI interfaces. Impartial get a several of straight-through cables to link those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that split is acquiescent to go. (About that you can’t affix Cisco routers straight away via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab have in the offing at least anyone ethernet or AUI port, so we can affiliate them all to either the same of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to cede to usage with trunking, root bridge referendum, and VLANs. Having two switches honestly does count up actually a minute to a CCNA / CCNP conversant with lab’s capabilities. You can policy test with diverse subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be timid to nosedive in - that’s what a home lab is all hither!
So now we’ve got four routers connected via edging relay, two via ISDN, and the others via ethernet segments. Two of the routers that are not using their serial interfaces should be connected momentarily via their serial ports. Championing this, you’ll honest prerequisite another DTE/DCE cable. Sly how to bring up the activity between two soon connected serial ports is an notable CCNA skill, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be skilled to cause of such a connection up with your eyes closed, and directly you work with your own CCNA / CCNP cosy lab, you’ll be talented to!
Also, don’t fail to enlarge a loopback interface to each sole of your routers. I like to use 1.1.1.1 in place of R1, 2.2.2.2 in behalf of R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another high-minded way to receive career with RIP, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and static routing.
We’ve enchanted a holdings of routers and switches and turned them into a fantastic CCNA / CCNP accommodations lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own hospice lab topology is a great knowledge event and the opening of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
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