Hello,
I have a cisco 2950 switch and a router at home to practice on, but i'm after confirmation that i can configure the switch without any devices plugged in, right?
any advice would be helpful, as i'm trying to refresh my ccna practical for my bsci confidence.
Cheers,
Matt
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
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....
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.