Confused.cisco

There are any number of good places for courses if you are looking for formalized Cisco training. I've had good experiences with IBM Global Services, and Global Knowledge from that end.

One of your best resources for specific information is the Cisco website itself. Most things you want to know you can either search for there, or on Google.

If you are looking for a basic kit, you should look at what you want to do. I could suggest the following as a basic kit to get yourself familiar with the basics of VLANs routing, etc:

2 Cisco 2621xm routers 2 Cisco 2501 routers with transceivers (the ethernet port isn't your usual RJ-45, it is an AUI port and needs an adapter to give you the RJ-45 port for regular connections. Alternatively, 2 Cisco 2611 routers or 1721 routers with an Ethernet WIC on each would do the trick. 1-2 Cisco 2924-xl-EN switches, again for practice with VLANs.

If you want to learn about Power over Ethernet, Quality of service and similar voice related services, a 2960 or 2, or possibly a couple of

3560 switches could be useful

It all depends on how far you want to go, how much you want to spend, and what your objectives are.

Have you considered using a virtual lab as an alternative to purchasing hardware?

This could prove to be more cost effective.

Take a look at:

I used their virtual lab to prepare for the QoS exam 642-642 and found it quite helpful.

You are going to need some real routers in order to prepare for the CCIE lab but I think it would be better to wait until you are closer to taking the lab before spending a lot of money on hardware

Hello, Speedy,

For CCNA/CCNP you can use virtual Lab Dynamips/Dynagen. This emulator use real Cisco IOS images (i.e. you will get expirience of working with real Cisco, not a limited emulator. It's easy to configur and it's free.)

Look here:

S> Hi All, S> I am currently looking at doing some Cisco training CCNA/CCNP to start with. S> I am looking for a good source of information regarding what exams I need to S> take and also info regarding all the different modules that Cisco supply, S> such as what does 1 x NM-2FE2W ( with 2 WIC-1Ts installed ), 1 x NM-1E2W ( S> with 2 BRI WICs installed ) and 1 x NM-1FE-TX mean? I have been trawling S> ebay looking for equipment to build a suitable lab for training, but the S> different modules and options are confusing. Also what kit would be a good S> purchase to start with, bearing in mind that I would like to progress onto S> CCIE with the kit. S> Last thing, regarding the Cisco IOS versions, if a router has an S> older version of IOS say v11.x can this be upgarded to 12.x easily S> and what is the likely cost of this? S> S> Hope you can help, S> JV

WBR, FROLOV Victor

You may wish to investigate Network World Magazine's:

Chris Bryant, Cisco certification home lab expert

Sincerely,

Brad Reese on Cisco Network World Magazine Cisco Subnet