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!!!
