Cisco CCNA / CCNP Tutorial: Home Lab Assembly For fear of the fact Study
Region of your CCNA / CCNP education is deciding what network topology to acquisition when you’re putting together your territory lab. Some of you are starting with one or two routers or switches, while others are starting with more. A character recently sent me a book of his Cisco routers and switches that he has to hand for the benefit of a habitation lab and asked in compensation my help in coming up with the most qualified behaviour pattern to use them.
There is no “proper” or “awry” answer to this theme; again, fragment of the learning course of action is configuring and reconfiguring the physical topology of your lab. Disenchant’s look at the routers and switches he has readily obtainable, including the interfaces on each, and take up with ditty achievable CCNA / CCNP serene lab setup.
The materiel list:
Two 3620 routers. Each has 1 serial port and 2 ethernet ports.
One 3640 router. This has two ethernet cards, each with two ports, and two AUI ports.
Three 2503s, my special favorite in search stamping-ground labs! These from 1 AUI refuge, 2 serial interfaces, and single BRI interface apiece.
One 2524 router. This has one serial seaport, 1 ethernet port, and the same BRI interface.
Limerick 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, undivided 2924 change, and joke 1924 switch.
At the present time, if you don’t from this much gear to creation with, don’t fall apart! Most CCNA / CCNP candidates don’t; this is more of an action in looking at what you do possess and using it to the utmost.
As I’ve mentioned in sundry of my CCNA / CCNP stingingly lab articles, an access server is a great thing to have. All he needs is an octal line to tie in his AS to the other devices we decide to use, and he’s all set. (If you be in want of an access server test configuration, there is song on my website in the Home base Lab section.)
A arrangement relay beat is also out-and-out to be subjected to, and the 4500 pleasure force a skilful FR switch. Having a construct relay cloud in your CCNA / CCNP bailiwick lab is a huge personality to get common sense configuring and troubleshooting frame relay, an essential artistry for CCNA success.
I would put both of the 3620s on the support relay cloud via the Serial interface, as obviously as two of the 2503s. That gives you four routers that liking be using frame relay to transfer, and that’s the most we can take since the 4500 has four serial ports. The 4500 thinks fitting necessary to be configured as a system relay direct and connected to the other routers via a DTE/DCE cable. (Again, if you desideratum a scaffolding relay birch configuration, the unified I drink in my pods is on the website in the verbatim at the same time setting as the access server configuration.)
The two 2503s that are on the frame relay cloud should also be connected via their BRI interfaces. The home lab also includes an ISDN simulator, which is high-priority to cede to routers to down via their BRI interfaces. Principled run about a couple of straight-through cables to sew those two routers to the ISDN simulator and that component is ready to go. (Recall that you can’t fasten Cisco routers speedily via their BRI interfaces.)
All of the routers in this lab arrange at least anyone ethernet or AUI anchorage, so we can buckle them all to either harmonious of the switches. The switches should be connected via at least two crossover cables to allow usage with trunking, root unite designation, and VLANs. Having two switches actually does combine quite a speck to a CCNA / CCNP native lab’s capabilities. You can procedure with strange subnets and vlans with as well. Don’t be on edge to sink in - that’s what a profoundly lab is all almost!
So now we’ve got four routers connected via frame relay, two via ISDN, and the others via ethernet segments. Two of the routers that are not using their serial interfaces should be connected directly via their serial ports. For this, you’ll just prerequisite another DTE/DCE cable. Astute how to bring up the activity between two soon connected serial ports is an important CCNA facility, and so is troubleshooting it. You should be qualified to bring such a interrelationship up with your eyes closed, and directly you post with your own CCNA / CCNP cosy lab, you’ll be talented to!
Also, don’t fail to tot up a loopback interface to each equal of your routers. I like to turn to account 1.1.1.1 in place of R1, 2.2.2.2 for R2, and so on. Advertising loopbacks is another heinous modus operandi to hire career with RIP, OSPF, EIGRP, IGRP, and problems routing.
We’ve taken a holdings of routers and switches and turned them into a fantastic CCNA / CCNP home lab. Whether you’re working with two Cisco devices or ten, coming up with your own abode lab topology is a inordinate learning involvement and the origin of developing your analytical and troubleshooting skills.
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